Happy Birthday Taylor!

We had Taylor's birthday party this past weekend. About 20 friends and family attended the Kuk Sool Won birthday party. Everyone had a great time. At the end of the event every child got a chance to break a real board. Here are a few pictures and video clips from Taylor's birthday party.

Olivia breaking the board on her second try.

There was kicking, blocking, an obstacle course, and face painting. It was especially fun for the kids to have heir names written in Korean by PSBN Steffen on the board they broke. Taylor's birthday party was the talk of class today.This weekend was very busy for us. We've been planning a big Sunday School fundraiser the past few weeks and we were able to pull it off with the help of many caring and giving members of the church. We cut and shredded veggies all evening Friday, woke up at 5:15am on Saturday to start rolling egg rolls and frying, then sold the egg rolls in front of Sam's Club until 4pm. It was extremely cold so I was very proud of the kids who stuck it out to the very end. We were able to make $950. We'll be sending a large portion of that to help children in Laos who are less fortunate then we are.

In addition to the long weekend, Taylor tested for her Red Stripe and passed. After Taylor's birthday on Sunday we all crashed. The girls have separate beds but often sleep together. I hope they always choose to be together in this way.

I love my kids

I was driving Taylor and Ayden home from our evening activities today and Taylor asked me a string of questions that seemed very out of the blue. Her first question, "Mom, before you and dad had me and boo boo, did you have a lot of free time and was it easier?" We had a discussion around how before we had kids we thought we were so busy but we learned after having kids that we wasted a lot of time. In order to have careers and a family we learned to become really efficient with time. Life is harder but more rewarding. This lead to a whole host of other questions until she finally let me into why she was asking the questions.

Taylor and Ayden watched the first 30 minutes of the second 2008 Presidential debate with us. Taylor brought up a specific question that was asked. She repeated the question nearly word for word then she repeated Obama's response and captured everything he conveyed. The gist of what Obama said was that he fundamentally disagreed with Sen. McCain on the economy. That for many people, wages and income have flat-lined and it is getting harder and harder to save and to retire. That a tax cut for 95% of working Americans would help those who are working two jobs, people who are not spending enough time with their kids, because they are struggling to make ends meet.

"Mom, I just felt like Barack Obama really understood the question and what is happening to people. He knows what people are going through right now with the economy." Then she got really quite and I could tell by her voice that she was about to cry. I asked why she felt so sad and she said to me, "I'm sad that parents don't have as much time to spend with their children because they are working so hard. I know what all those children feel like and how sad it must be for them. I'm just glad to know that Barack Obama understands where children are coming from and how they are being affected by this." What she was trying to confirm was if what Obama had said would hold true for our family, if things are harder now, if we would be spending less time with them in light of the economy and if so the thought of having a President who could relate to children was very important for her.

We continued to talk through out the evening until I put the girls to bed. As I retold the story to Kong all I could think was, "Man, this is my kid. I'm so lucky." I'm so lucky for one that she has a natural curiosity; two, that she would want to watch the debate (we had to force the girls to go to bed after 30 minutes) and three that she would take a debate answer and apply it to herself and other people/children. Obama must have made an impact on her because days later she was still thinking about the responses. Though she is a blessing, this natural curiosity makes it extremely challenging to be her parent. She's been asking us a lot of questions about the market, the economy blowing up and finances so ask me next week if I still feel blessed : )

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I am extremely proud of both my girls. Ayden is already displaying a very mathematical mind, just like her dad. She sees everything as patterns, geometric shapes and is always putting everything she sees into number context. You can't eat anything without her wanting to put numbers around the object, what it means if you eat one or two or three more. She can't look at three people sitting around without pointing out that the three people make the three points of a triangle and if one more person were to sit in a particular place a diamond would be formed. Pretty amazing for a 5 year old, right?

Maybe all kids are like Taylor and Ayden. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. Maybe I'm just a proud parent. Whatever the case, I love them so much and I am so blessed that God gave me these two children that I think are amazing.

On another note, I read this amazing article on msn.com and thought I'd post a link in case anyone else wants to read. It's about people who love each other so much that even death can't separate them. Okay, it sounds creepy when I say it that way but trust me, if you believe in true love then you have to read it.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26980587

Great News!

I was accepted into the Northeastern MBA program and will be starting class in November. I am excited to get back to studying. That means scalling back and rearranging priorities. More to come on this topic.

Appalled

I am appalled. The assessment that Sarah Palin exceeded expectations because she had no major gaffes and completed some of her thoughts. Is it just me or has America sank to a new low? When someone is viewed as a success if they don't completely screw up? I just don't get it. The sad thing is that there are people out there who actually believe that Palin won the debate. She did not answer questions, regardless of the topic she continued to bring up energy and Alaska, she was condescending, spoke in generalities and repeated sound bites. Unbelievable.

What was up with the winking? It was not folksy to me, it was down right insulting. Just imagine if I went into a meeting with one of my clients and I winked at the CEO and his staff not once but multiple times. How inappropriate. Do you think it reflects well on me if I use language such as, "Do you guys think this is a good plan for your company?" or "Dog gone it, sure looks like there is an error with your account." I have no idea why this is considered a positive trait. That is not the kid of person I want representing America and speaking to foreign leaders on our behalf.

Palin was extremely unknowledgeable and could not give any details. She couldn't even speak to McCains record. I am thoroughly disgusted and it blows my mind that people can look at McCain and Palin and think these two people should be leading our nation. All Palin does is make an already sexist society view women with lower standards. She is the perfect example that women are less intelligent and expected to perform at standards less then men which is why they don't deserve equal pay. She has set women back 50 years.

I guess my expectation of people using full sentences, having knowledge about the topics they need to defend or fight for and ability to concentrate on the issue at hand makes me an Obama elitist. If you truly want to see how sad John McCain's campaign is go to his website. The first thing that pops up is not John McCain it's Palin. He knows he can't win so what does he do, he puts up his gimmick and hopes that the American people are dumb enough to fall for it.

My thoughts on Biden...My sister Stephanie said it best when she said, "Biden is a bad ass!" He is a true reflection of what a true leader should look, behave and speak like. He was Clearly speaking from experience, understood the issues, was smart and extremely personable. He was strong but soft at the same time. There were so many times he could have hammered Palin but didn't. God forbid he seem condescending by pointing out her obvious flaws and mistakes.

Put our nation, our earth and our children first. Vote Obama/Biden on November 4.

Take a look at this...

The girls and I came home from an evening activity to find two grasshoppers mating. I've talked to the girls about mating but I have only told them as much as they can (or should) comprehend. They don't know yet how this translate into humans. God I hope I don't need to have that conversation for a few more years. Anyway, as we discussed what the grasshoppers were doing Taylor kept asking me why one grasshopper was carrying the other one. My explanation was, "...that's just how animals and insects generally mate." I know that left many more questions in her mind but I was counting my lucky stars that she didn't verbalize them.

I do have a question for those few people who read my blog. Taylor will be having her 9th birthday party in a few weeks. We talked to Taylor about birthday gifts and made the suggestion that maybe we ask her guests not to bring a gift but a canned good item for donation and/or make a contribution to her UNICEF collection. She was really excited about the change. In return we told her we would take her shopping to buy "stuff" she's been wanting. Kong made a comment that people will think we are hippies. What do you think? Do you think I'm cheating my child out of basic childhood pleasures? It's not like my kids need anything, right?

This past weekend we visited the Her's in Kansas City for a celebration. We drove 6 1/2 hours to KC, stayed one evening and drove 6 1/2 hours back the next day. It was a long and tiring trip but worth it. We got to see the newest addition to our family, Baby Lola who is beautiful, and spend time with the Hers even if it was just for a few hours. Pulling in at 1:30am, Kong and I had guests at home waiting for our return. It was wonderful hosting the Hers from Wausau. We even got to spend a few hours with them today before they went back home.

Lastly, I've been working with our children at church on a big fundraiser. An fundraiser of this size with kids has never been done before. The kids and I are super excited so please keep us in your prayers. The event is scheduled for October 18 (the day before Taylor's Birthday Party) so it will be a busy weekend. I will need great patience that weekend so all prayers are welcomed.

Happy but Sad : (

After years of talking about the good Taylor could do with her long beautiful hair she finally got it done. That's right. We got it cut last weekend. Taylor cut her hair and donated it to Locks for Love. Locks for Love takes the donated hair and makes wigs for children who are going through cancer treatment and have lost their hair.

I had a really hard time with this whole hair thing. I'm not sure if it's because cutting her hair would signify that Taylor is growing up or that I just couldn't part with it because it was so long and beautiful. Taylor was so ready to cut it and was very excited about what this meant for a child who really needed it. When we lived in Chicago she had a ballet friend who did lose all of her hair with Chemotherapy which drove home the importance of doing this. I kept asking her the week before we cut her hair if she was really, really read. I guess I was the one who wasn't ready to lose my little girl. Anyway, she looks beautiful. Everyone has been commenting on how mature she looks. Just what a mom who can't handle her eldest getting older wants to hear. Here are some photos from that day.
Before:

After!

Look how pretty she is.


Both of the girls started school in early September. Every year since Taylor has been in school I've gone with her and taken pictures. This is the first year I decided not to do so since she is in the 4th grade now. The first day of school is always exiting but nerve wrecking so I still went with her. I just didn't take pictures. She was actually a little sad and asked why I wasn't going to take pictures. Then we got to school, she saw her friends and pretty much forgot all about it. Ayden started school a week later. Here are some photos from Ayden's first day of school. She's a big girl Kindergartner now.
Already made a new friend.
Lastly, I tested for my blue stripe in Kuk Sool Won on Saturday and received my promotion. I thought I was going to die. PSBN Steffen does his best to torture us. We did over 350 push ups and made us sweat for an hour and a half. The higher ranking belts tested for even longer. It was a really hot day too so that made testing even harder. My right knee has been hurting so I know I'm not doing something right. I need to figure it out as I would hate to quite because of my knee.

Life has been busy around here. With Kong teaching on Thursday night, the girls and I attending Kuk Sool on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday; Taylor with hip hop dance on Thursday; Ayden with gymnastics on Thursday and Church on Sunday there doesn't seem to be much time for anything else these days. Not sure how we are going to fit theatre and swimming into the schedule. Crazy!!!!!!

Simple Joys of Life

The girls are so funny. Since they can't have real pets (not because we don't like animals but our life style does not lend itself to caring for animals the way they need) so they have acquired two inset pets. The grasshopper belongs to Ayden and the dragon fly to Taylor. The thrill of catching bugs and jailing them in glass pickle jars. What a simple joy. This reminds me of the time Kong went to Newport Beach, CA for work and the girls asked him to bring them something back. He bought them each fun t-shirts (that were too expensive) and Taylor's comment to Kong was, "Oh, we were hoping for something like a seashell from the beach." They just wanted something simple. Nothing fancy. Anyway, see if you can identify where the insects are.

I had to include these pictures because they are hilarious. Last weekend Taylor was at Girl Scout camp so Ayden had nothing else to do but play by herself. She decided she was going to be Wonder Woman. To my surprise I found her outside sitting at the top of the front stair. I asked what she was doing and she said that she was waiting for a big gust of wind to blow her cape so that she would really look like Wonder Woman. She insisted on the hands on the hip pose as it was more realistic. I have no idea how long she had been out there or what people passing by were thinking but here is a series of pictures of her waiting for the wind gust. She finally gets the gust she's been waiting for.

Lastly, want to share that Ayden tested for yellow belt and she passed. She's been working really hard to remember her Ki Cho Hyung and techniques. We are really proud of her