Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice, low key Thanksgiving. I decided that I wanted to host my own dinner since it has been several years since I have cooked a turkey and done the whole thing myself. David's family wasn't doing a big thing this year so we invited his parents over for lunch and they did their own thing for dinner. It worked out really well. 

It's always amazing to me how much time and effort goes into preparing the Thanksgiving meal and then it only takes 30 minutes to eat. I spread out a lot of my prep in the days before Thursday--I made homemade cinnamon ice cream, caramel, and the cranberry sauce. 

David decided he was going to use one of our leftover Halloween pumpkins (which wasn't carved) to make pumpkin pie. Now, if you know David, you know he doesn't cook. But he did the research, found some recipes, and spent most of Wednesday roasting, pureeing, and making the pumpkin pie filling. I think it turned out pretty great (even though I'm not a huge pumpkin pie fan). 

I put the turkey in the oven early in the morning on Thursday (after dry brining it the day before) and went for a run. When I got back, I finished off the stuffing, mashed potatoes, apple pie, roasted carrots, and gravy. David insisted the turkey would take forever, but it was done pretty quickly. In fact, it probably cooked too long and it was a little dry but I actually don't mind that because you just drench your turkey with gravy anyway. 

Luckily, David's parents arrived early and we got down to eating as soon as all the food was ready. My mother-in-law brought rolls and sweet potatoes. It was a delicious meal. 

And here's sweet Benjamin cuddling with his grandpa. That boy is just too cute and sweet for words. He really loved the sweet potatoes and turkey. I think Adelaide maybe ate a roll and Zara ate most of her food. I've been enjoying all the leftovers, but the kids are pretty sick of turkey. Bhaer still thinks it's great and keeps trying to hop into the refrigerator to eat the leftovers. 

Thanksgiving 2011

Yes, yes, I know that we're way past Thanksgiving time, but I wanted to share some of the photos I took from our week in San Diego to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had a great time with friends and family. And eating. Oh yes, we did eat!

Poor little baby was so tuckered out, she fell asleep on the bed while David was reading. My parents' cat Bronte joined them. Sadly, Bronte was hit by a car and killed just before Christmas. She was a sweet little cat.

My sister drove down from Lemoore with her three kids. Zara loves spending time with her cousins. I think she especially likes Anna. They even had matching pajamas (which was so not done on purpose, by the way).
Zara and Seth, who are three weeks apart.

And general mayhem rules when six of the seven Hayman grandkids are afoot.

The day after Thanksgiving, or was it Saturday? we went for a walk down by Lake Hodges.


Seth just kills me. His cuteness grew by leaps and bounds when he started walking. I don't know why, but Seth walking is just about the cutest thing I've every seen.

Besides this adorable little thing, of course.

It didn't take long before my brother-in-law Brigham was carrying/pushing all three of his kids. Talk about a work horse.

Now, maybe if I try really hard, I can get our Christmas pictures up sometime before Valentine's. :)

Gratitude Countdown: Day 1

I can't believe it's already November and that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Where does the time go? I'm almost done with my roadtrip updates--and I'll continue to post them until I see them through to the bitter end--but I wanted to do my two week gratitude countdown in anticipation of Thanksgiving again. I really enjoyed doing it last year because it made me very aware of how much I have to be grateful for and how blessed I truly am. I have even more to be thankful for this year so I'll try not to do any repeats from last year. (Maybe. :))

I am grateful that David got into the MBA program at BYU and got out of the Navy. Now, the Navy was very good to us (I'm finding it weirdly hard to let go of our ties to the military) and it was a good job. But it was never David's lifelong career plan; rather, it was a means to an end. He gained some valuable things in those seven years: two degrees (AA in Korean, BA in accounting), financial stability, a home, and a wife and daughter. Though David enjoys learning new languages, he did not love his job. He did his job and he did it well, but he had no passion for it.

But now he absolutely loves what he's doing. He's really enjoying his program and comes home every night excited to share what he did and learned that day. It's such a nice change from the last two years. I'm so glad he got into this program. It was absolutely the right step for him and us.

Zara's First Thanksgiving

Yup, I'm way behind on my blogging. While I love the Christmas season, it does tend to take up a lot of your time what with the shopping and the baking and the general merriment. I wish I knew a better way to make it a more calming and spiritual holiday.

In any case, I'm not here to talk about Christmas, I'm here to talk about one of my other favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. Like last year, we celebrated our delicious meal with our friends the Bartletts and the Cottrells and hosted two sets of missionaries (all American) who were excited for American food. I love Thanksgiving. I love the food and the friends and family and the reminder that we need to be grateful for what we have been blessed with. I'm truly grateful this year for all the things I mentioned before in my gratitude posts and so much more. This has been a wonderful year for my little family.

Here are a bunch of photos from the day:

Homemade apple pie. The filling is still not where I'd like it to be, but the crust is awesome.

Pumpkin maple cheesecake.

Turkey. You know what's a good idea? To make sure that you've properly removed ALL the bags they stuff inside the body cavity. Because I kinda didn't do that this year. I thought I had, but apparently not. Still didn't ruin the deliciousness of the turkey, though. Just made me feel like an idiot.

Zara loves to hold onto her rattle.

Being held by our friend Spencer.

Zara is tired too after a big day of eating.



But she just doesn't want to let go of her rattle.

After our delicious meal, David and I went to the base movie theater to see Harry Potter because we're big, huge, Harry Potter-loving nerds. And Zara, being the awesome baby that she is, slept through the whole movie. So a great end to a great day and I can't wait for the last Harry Potter movie. It's going to be awesome.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 15

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is the last day of my gratitude countdown, but it may be something I continue to do once or twice a month from now on. I've really enjoyed listing all the things I'm grateful for. Every day I think about what I could write about and I've found so many things to be thankful for. It's really helped me to be so much happier when I stop to think about how truly blessed I am.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am most grateful for my little family: me, David, and Zara. I love my extended family, of course, but there's something so special and sweet about having your own little family. I felt it most when my parents were visiting. It was the first time I've really spent any time with my parents since getting married and it was surprising to me how different it feels to relate to my parents not just as my parents but as another married couple as well. I've never been more grateful that I married such a wonderful man like David and that we get to build the kind of family we want together. We truly are equal partners and David has really taught me so much about myself and how to communicate effectively. We have very similar goals for our lives and how we want to raise our children. When I think about our future together, I just get so excited at all the possibilities.

I'm absolutely in love with my crazy, chunky, beautiful, smiley, squeaky, joyful, happy monkey baby. I just can't wait to see what kind of woman she becomes and to meet those other potential future children of mine. Sometimes it scares me just a little to think of how much of my life will be devoted to the raising and rearing of children, but then I think that I'll never experience true joy without them. Zara wraps everyone in the joy that she exudes.

But more than all the babies I'll raise, I'm so grateful to have my best friend by my side to wander through this life together.

It truly doesn't get any better than this.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 14

At my Book Club meeting this past month, we somehow got on the topic of the difference in how we equate the work of men and women. We talk about the number of lives lost of our soldiers and sailors during our many wars. We erect monumets to them and have holidays set aside for their remembrance. Yet there are far more women who have died in childbirth than who have ever died on the battlefield. And how do we honor those women? They don't get Vetern's Days or poignant statues to remember their sacrifice. [Bear in mind, that this was a discussion among a group of military wives. We love our men in uniform and are extremely grateful for their sacrifice. I love patriotic holidays where we honor our soldiers and sailors. But the point was the discrepency between men and women's sacrifice and the value we place on those lives.]

Being a woman can be a dangerous thing and today I am monumentally grateful for the many wonderful women in my life who have touched me in so many ways. So today, I'd like to honor those women by expressing my gratitude for the many unique and important things they have taught me.

For my mother, for instilling in me a great love of learning and a passion for good books.

For my sister, for showing me how to be an independent and strong woman.

For my mother-in-law, for raising such a remarkable man.

For Kara, for proving that friends are the people who know everything about you and still love you anyways. We've been friends since we were 9 years old and I wouldn't be the woman I am today without her good influence.

For my grandmother, for teaching me the definition of charity.

For Jen, for making everything more fun.

For Whitney, for showing me that people are full of unexpected greatness.

For Tessa, for constantly amazing me with the depth of her sincerity, thoughtfulness, and sweet nature.

For Nicole, for demonstrating what true loyalty and friendship is.

For Tabitha, for teaching me the power of persistence.

For Mandy, for always lending a listening ear.

For Cara, for being patient and helping me strengthen my faith.

For Jasie, for teaching me that you can't judge a book by its cover.

For Amber, for inspiring me to be a happier person and for letting me be me.

For Kathryn, for teaching me how to knit, how to breastfeed, and for showing me that I'm not alone.

For Jenn, for telling me it's okay to have emotions and for hosting the best parties around.

For Rachel, for teaching me the beauty of being your own person.

For Erin and Abby, for teaching me how to see beyond myself and recognize the needs of others.

For Melissa, for telling it like it is and for making me feel like if she can do it, so can I.

For Kate, for being my American Studies sounding board and for introducing me to the Outlander series.

For Lexie and Lizzie, for understanding why we love what we love. [American Studies]

For Emily, for being a source of much baby-related information and encouragement.

For Darsha, for teaching me to not sweat the small stuff.

For Ruth, for showing me that laughter truly is the best medicine.

For Kimberly, for being a woman of opinions who is not afraid to express them.

For Amanda, for staying faithful in the face of much adversity.

For Tonya, for holding my hand while I pushed a human being out of me.

For Zara, for teaching me how to be a mother.



I'm sure there are many women that I'm forgetting. There are so many women who have touched my life and made it better. Who are the women in your life and how will you honor them today?

Gratitude Countdown - Day 13

I'm grateful for all the places my wandering feet were able to visit this year. We started out the year with a trip to Taiwan, celebrated Memorial Day in China and have spent the last month exploring more of Korea.

I'll be honest: the idea of living in Asia was never all that appealing to me. Asian art, culture, history, and languages have never held the fascination for me that Europe holds for me. (I'd live just about anywhere in Europe in a heartbeat.) But the more time I spend in Asia, the more I come to love it. And while I still don't find ancient Asian history all that exciting, I'm enthralled by its modern history (within the last 100 years) and I have a new desire to learn their languages, particularly Chinese. I've developed a great love for the people of Asia and I'm fairly certain that David and I will be spending more time here in the future. Plus, I think it's really cool that Zara gets to say that she was born in Korea.

I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had which I could never have predicted for myself. I've learned so much and grown in so many ways.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 12

I'm grateful for nail clippers. They're handy little inventions. Seriously, how did people use to cut their nails?

Also Burt's Bees chapstick. I seriously could not live without you. Seriously.



This very special post on gratitute was bought to you by the word seriously.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 11

Today I'm grateful for fall. Fall is such an awesome time of year and I love the change from the summer's oppressive heat to fall's gentle cool breeze, crisp air, and colorful leaves. The world is absolutely exquisite in the fall and I love living in locations where fall really gets a chance to shine (like on the East Coast and here in Korea). The only downfall is that fall never lasts long enough. Summer always seems to run too long and then winter comes too soon. But while it lasts, fall is spectacular and it makes my soul sing. Here are a few shots I took last week that showcase the beauty of this season.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 10

Today I am grateful for squeals of babyish delight and beautiful baby smiles. (Forgive the bad lighting and video quality. I'm not a professional anything.) You can't help smiling and laughing at such a sight.

She really is the most delightful baby ever. I'm so glad she's mine.

Gratitute Countdown - Day 9

Like the Cookie Monster, I am grateful for cookies.

Cookies are awesome.

See, I used to think that cake was the best thing ever. And I do really, really like good cake. (Bad cake kinda sucks though.) But cookies. Cookies totally blow cake out of the water. Because cookies come in so many different varieties in so many different shapes and colors and flavors. You can throw just about anything into a cookie. And it almost always tastes good. If I want something sweet or I just want to bake something, I almost always turn to cookies.

I'd like to give a special shout-out to Lofthouse sugar cookies (my favorite store bought cookie creation) and my pumpkin cookies with brown butter maple frosting (my favorite fall cookie) and my chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal and toffee bits (my favorite anytime cookie). My life just wouldn't be complete without you.

So if you have any great cookie recipes, pass them my way. I never say no to a good cookie.

Gratitute Countdown - Day 8

You know what feels like a little slice of heaven?

A hot shower.

I've always thought showers were nice. But sometimes showering was a bit of pain. You know what I mean. When you slept in too late and you had to get dressed in a hurry but you looked like a truck ran you over. So you try to shave your legs while conditioning your hair and you can't remember if you already used shampoo or not. Those are not the type of showers I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the hot, steamy shower you take after a long, long day of breastfeeding and changing poopy diapers and getting spit up all over. After a long, hard, but satisfying day of work to be followed by a comfortable bed and a good night's rest. Or after a hard workout when you smell like a pig but feel like you could conquer the world. Those showers are awesome. I've come to really enjoy and really look forward to a nice, long, hot shower while the baby is finally asleep in her crib. It's my way to relax and unwind and clear my head. It's my me-time and it's become so necessary to my mental well-being. For that brief ten to fifteen minutes, I get to feel like me again.

So yes. I'm thankful for hot showers and indoor plumbing. There's almost nothing else better.

Gratitute Countdown - Day 7

I am beyond thankful for my American washer and dryer (provided by the Army). Even though there are a lot of countries that have as high a standard of living as America, the one thing they seem to lack is the dryer. I don't understand why this is. In Italy, our washing machine looked like a medieval torture device and it took almost 2 hours to do one tiny load of laundry which then had to be hung up to dry. Most Koreans have nice washing machines, but no dryer or they have a dual machine that washes AND dries. But everyone I know who has one of these machines says it takes about 4 hours to do just one load and it doesn't ever really get things completely dry. Since the amount of laundry I do on a weekly basis has more than tripled since bringing a baby into this world, I simply couldn't live without my washer and dryer. There's certainly no way we could use cloth diapers or keep Zara in clean clothes all the time.

Our washer and dryer are squeezed into a tiny little utility closet along with our oven. It's cramped in there, but I don't care. Plus, Korean homes aren't built with dryer hook-ups so we have to stick our dryer's hose out our window. But I'll take the bugs and mosquitos and frigid winter air that comes into our house as a result as long as I have a functioning washer and dryer. Seriously, how do people [with children] live without them? We really are so blessed to have such wonderful appliances that make life and unpleasant chores so much easier. I mean, can you imagine doing laundry the old-fashioned way? So everytime I throw a load of laundry in the washing machine and then walk away, I try to remember how blessed I truly am.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 6

I'm thankful for the internet.

I'm an internet addict. A junkie. I need to check my email 3,567 times a day. I just do. I'm a Facebook stalker (but the good kind). I'm constantly visiting my friends' blogs to read about their lives. And probably some of your friend's blogs too, when I get especially bored. I get to "see" my friends and family via Skype and our webcam. I can watch all my favorite television shows. I can still shop at all my favorite stores. I get to be 6,000 miles away from all my friends, family, and homeland and still keep in contact with them and still feel like I get to be a part of everyone's lives. It's a truly blessed thing.

I can still remember the first time I ever heard about the internet, the first time I used it. It blew my mind. It still blows my mind. I have no idea how it works....I'm just glad that it does. And now that I've been using the internet for so long to do so many things, it's a wonder that we ever lived without it.

So I love the internet. We're good friends. I have a hard time staying away. But sometimes I can restrain myself. (But this is why I'll never own a smart phone because I cannot be trusted with that much access. I'd be useless as a human being.) Isn't it amazing that we get to live in our modern world with all of it's amazing technology and inventions? Yes, I think they sometimes distract us from what's most important in life and certainly make being productive much more difficult, but they also bring amazing advantages with them.

I wouldn't be able to share this message with all my friends and family all around the world right now. And that would be truly sad.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 5

I am very grateful for our plucky little car. It's been a good, reliable car for us and takes us where we need to go.

We sold our cars in Hawaii before we came to Korea. We just didn't think that either of them were nice enough to ship all the way here so we just decided that we'd buy some used, but serviceable car when we got here. And how we came to buy the car we did was one of those events in my life that reminds me that God is always watching out for us and that there is a reason that things work out the way they do.

We got to Korea in June of last year but since money was a little tight, we decided to wait to purchase a car so we walked, took the subway or taxis everywhere. By October, with the promise of a cold winter looming ahead of us, I decided that we could wait no longer; I needed a car. So we started looking around for used cars everywhere we could but since it was no longer PCS season (when soldiers move to new duty-stations), there weren't many options available, particularly in our price range.

We called around to a few listings and checked out a few cars but none seemed right. We called about a Hyundai, selling for $2000, which was a little bit more than we wanted to pay for a car but David knew not to test my patience anymore. I was sure that we would buy this car and I was over-joyed at the thought of finally having a vehicle again. But, as we were walking to the commissary to test-drive the car, the owner called David to tell him that he had just sold the car to someone else. Needless to say, I was very upset. There just weren't any other cars out there and that had been our best bet. David tried to cheer me up and say that we'd find something else. Once we got to the commissary, we noticed a new "for sale" sign that hadn't been there before. It was for a 1996 Kia Sephia and the guy was asking only $850 for it. It seemed like too good a deal to pass up so that night David called. Later that week, we test drove the car and we both knew it was the right car for us.

We found out that the guy had just put up that sign and we were the first people to call him. So it all worked out the way it was supposed to and we didn't have to stretch our money to cover the cost of a car. I'm so grateful that our car has lasted us this last year. I'm happy every time the ignition starts and I can drive our car to work, the grocery store, or to a friend's house for some much needed social time. I'm grateful for the independence that a car brings and that driving in Korea has become second nature--and much less scary--to me now. I hope our car will last us until next June, when we can pass it on to some other soldier or sailor in need.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 4

If there's one thing I'm going to really miss when we leave Korea (besides easy access to Korean food) it'll be our apartment. I love our home. Love. And I'm trying to resign myself to the fact that I will probably never live in a home so nice for a long, long time. We may complain about certain aspects of the military, but they do take good care of their people and our beautiful home here in Seoul is one of the perks. Some of our friends have very nice apartments as well, but I still think ours is the best.

I love that we have four bedrooms (including a guest room if anyone wants to visit) and lots of space. I love my kitchen with it's big gas range (I love cooking with gas....electric stoves just aren't as good), built-in refrigerator/freezer and bountiful cupboard/counter space. The only thing that could make it better would be a full-size American oven but I'll take my tiny little one. At least I've got an oven.

I'm so grateful that we get to live off-base. I love our little neighborhood with its tiny streets and cramped little markets and delicious restaurants. I love that we are in walking distance to several Korean landmarks (Seoul Station, Seoul Tower and Namdaemun market) and that we get to really feel like we live in Korea, not just some high-rise two feet from base. I love that I can see the 63 building from our living room window, I love that I can just run down to the market 50 yards from our house to buy ice cream whenever the craving strikes, and I love that I can never get lost in this city because Seoul Tower always points me home.

Yes, there are things that frustrate me about living in Korea (and even in our home....some carpet would be nice) but mostly, I just think about all the wonderful memories that have been made here. And even though the world outside my window is so very foreign to me, inside my apartment, it truly does feel like home. And I'm always happy to be here.

Gratitute Countdown - Day 3

Today I am grateful for garbage disposals and dishwashers. Dirty dishes are the bane of my existence. There are many, many things I'd rather do than wash dirty dishes. I love to bake and cook but cleaning up after the baking and cooking is done sucks. (Though admittedly, there are the rare moments when washing the dishes can be therapuetic.) I am grateful that we have a dishwasher to help lighten my load. We didn't have a dishwasher in Hawaii and even though are dishwasher here is on the smaller side, it's still a dishwasher and I still love it for getting my dishes are sparkly and clean with just the push of a button.

On the other hand, I never knew how wonderful and magical garbage disposals were until I moved here. We have to collect all our disgusting food waste and put it in little yellow bags. It's beyond gross. I miss the days when I could just throw food down the drain and watch it disappear, never to return again. Oh garbage disposals, I never knew how wonderful you were until I didn't have you anymore. I'm really looking forward to having a garbage disposal again when we move back to the States.

Gratitute Countdown - Day 2

I am very grateful for my health. It is something that is so easy to take for granted until you don't have it. I have been very lucky to have had relatively few health problems in my life aside from the seasonal colds and flus that strike every year (and even then, the last cold I had was last Halloween). Sure, I've broken several bones and received three sets of stitches, but those were the result of being rather accident-prone, and in all cases, I healed completely. Until I got pregnant, my biggest medical issue was my Barothlin gland cysts but since my outpatient surgery two years ago, they haven't bothered me again. I am also grateful for adequate health insurance and access to good health care providers when I've needed it.

My healthy body is a huge blessing. I need to remember to not take it for granted and to treat it better. I should eat better (darn my sweet tooth!) and exercise more. I want my body to last me a long, long time.

Now my teeth, on the other hand, are a whole other story. I should have married a dentist.

Gratitude Countdown - Day 1

"When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed.
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

We sang this hymn ("Count your many blessings") at church last Sunday and it got me thinking about how many things I have to be thankful for. So for the next two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I'd like to document the many things--both big and small, silly and serious--that I have to be grateful for this year.

The first thing I am thankful for is my fertility. No seriously. It sounds weird but it really is something I am so, so grateful for. It was around this time last year that David and I decided that we wanted a baby. The time was right and we were ready. So we tossed out all our birth control methods, counted my cycle and went to town. It only took one try. Honestly. One try. It takes some people months. Years. Sometimes it never happens. But for us....a month. And in those agonizing two weeks--a whole two weeks!--that I waited to take a pregnancy test, I thought how awful and horrible and soul-crushingly hard it would be to want something so bad and be disappointed every time. To get that negative sign and know you'd have to be patient, oh so very patient, to try again and face the possible disappointment or supreme elation once again.

In reading about pregnancy, fertility, and implantation, I realized how shockingly difficult it is to get pregnant. I mean, it seems like it should be easy. People have been doing it for thousands of years with no help. Lots of people end up pregnant without wanting to or even trying to. But it amazed me to learn just how many little things need to be juuuust right for that one tiny sperm to meet a ready and willing egg that results in a viable embryo. A lot of things can go wrong.

I have many friends who struggled for years to get pregnant. Who are still struggling and are doing everything they can and spending lots of money to get something which came so easily for David and me. And now, a year later, I have the most perfect and beautiful baby girl anyone could ever ask for. It truly is a miracle.

So yes, I am thankful for my fertility. I only hope I'm not so fertile that Zara ends up with a little baby brother or sister before I'm ready for the next one.

Thanksgiving

I've fallen behind in the updates lately. (And I was doing so well there for awhile.) The lack of new posts can be contributed in part to the fact that I've been keeping myself mildly more busy lately and that we haven't really done anything extremely exciting recently. Work and school have been sucking most of the life out of David while I've been rejoicing in our newest purchase: a car! It's so lovely to have a car again. It makes running errands and visiting friends so much easier and I'm starting to suffer fewer heart attacks everytime I drive the streets of Seoul. I'm starting to learn how to drive like an Asian.....which isn't really a good thing but it's necessary if I'm to stay alive here.

The most newsworthy thing to happen this past week was Thanksgiving. And what a day of thanksgiving it was!

I made several pies, of course, but my proudest accomplishment was this absolutely delicious maple pumpkin cheesecake.

Cheesecakes still freak me out just a little because you can't stick a fork in one and declare that it is done. They are supposed to still be runny and jiggly and it's a cheesecake's wriggles that make me nervous. Is it wriggling too much? Or not enough? In any case, this cheesecake set up very nicely. (I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested.)

We celebrated our Thanksgiving feast with our friends from church (the Bartletts and Cottrells) and four missionaries. There were two Korean missionaries and two American missionaries. Needless to say, the American missionaries were very happy to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pie again. I am very grateful that I get to live in a foreign country but still have access to all the familiar foods from home.

I'm also very grateful for David. He works extremely hard and I really appreciate all that he does for us. (And aren't we cute?)
Here's the majority of us (minus the children) digging into our feast. And what a feast it was, too. We had two turkeys, two pot roasts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, green beans, two types of bread, jello, salad, and numerous types of pie.

After dinner, Superman and Spiderman here decided to cause some mayhem and destruction.

Mostly by attacking David. One thing that I've always loved about David is that children love to play with him and that he, in turn, has the patience to play with them. See, I find playing with children to be mind-numbingly boring. I can only handle about 5 minutes of it before I'm desperate to get away but David always spends at least half an hour playing with the kids and they love him for it.

There's always a lot of swordfighting going on. And most of the time, it was four against one.

As we were finishing our meal, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. It might be trite and cliche, but it really is very touching. This year, I have two things that I am most grateful for. One is that we've made some wonderful friends already in our time here in Korea. It's hard to be so far away from home, but now I have a support system and network of friends from our ward that rivals even my family. In some ways, being so far removed from home and family has made us all turn to each other in ways you wouldn't normally do. But since we all are in the same boat, we all help each other. And I'm so grateful for those relationships. It makes the thought of being away from home for so long or having a baby in a foreign country not seem so scary after all. I feel truly blessed to have made these friends so quickly, especially since I've always had a difficult time befriending new people.

The second thing I'm grateful for this year is being a woman. I've always been particularly drawn to women's history and I spent a great deal of time researching the home and women's role within the home during graduate school. And I've come to the perhaps unpopular opinion that the so-called "liberation" of women and the feminist movement have done more to debase and destroy the notion of womanhood and femininity than it has to uphold it. Women are sacred; the work we do to bear and raise children and to keep our homes warm and safe is the most important work on earth. And yet, to be seen as the "equal" of men has required women to give up their place in the home, become things to objectify and sexualize, and has reduced women to say that they're "just a wife and a mother" as if that's somehow not good enough. I love being a woman. I love my femininity, and I love that my husband worships me all the more because I want to be a mother, I want to stay home to raise our children, and I want to vacuum our carpet wearing high heels and pearls. (Just kidding about the last part.....we don't even have carpet!) I certainly don't mean to say that women who have high-powered careers or choose not to have children are any less of a woman than I am, but rather, I'm grateful that I've finally learned to embrace my womanhood and be content to not have the career that I had always envisioned for myself and to finally have found a purpose for myself outside of the world's expectations for me.

So, Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. And on Friday, David and I put up the Christmas decorations because I just couldn't wait to bring some Christmas cheer into the house. And of course, Suyom just had to help us set up the tree in the way she knows best: taking a nap in the box.


Happy holidays!