in his element.

we just got home for our church's annual summer youth group retreat. what an amazing four days it was! seeing our students refueled and blessed is always such a privilege. *we* were so blessed.

we *are* so blessed.

God is so good and we are so grateful for His family.



choi boy has been welcomed into our church family with open arms since even before he came home. all of our youth group kids eagerly awaited his arrival and celebrated with us as we brought him home. they love on him and adore him like crazy.

despite that, i was a little nervous about bringing choi boy to his first retreat. but knowing him, i shouldn't have worried at all.

let's just say he didn't mind being the center of 200 teenagers' attention.

:)

cb is a classic extrovert who flourishes and is energized when in front of people. he shines brightest when he has an audience and even begins rounds of applause for himself. it's kinda ridiculous and a lotta hilarious.

imagine choi boy's sheer joy when discovering he had a large captive audience that surrounded him nearly 24-7 while at retreat.

the boy couldn't contain himself!

he walked into every room like he owned the place.


he was like the little mayor of the youth group, doling out hugs and handshakes and high fives wherever he went.



he even gave out sweet kisses.

one of our youth group girls proclaimed cb's kisses to be *perfect* -- "they're not wet and yucky, but just right with the cutest pucker!" i'd have to agree. :)

cb charmed the big girls into joining him in whatever activity he felt like doing.


he sweet talked them into giving him some extra treats,


and coyly pretended to ignore them and play hard-to-get as they watched his every move.


but it wasn't just the girls he captivated.

oh, no. the big guys crowded around him and scooped him up at every chance they got.


especially when they witnessed choi boy's athletic prowess and penchant for all things sports-related.



see? choi boy was totally in his element. he savored every minute of the attention he got and came running back to me with a huge, proud grin on his face as if saying, "umma! they like me! they REALLY like me!!!"



in all seriousness, though, seeing choi boy relish and delight in being around so many people (many of them well-meaning, but in-your-face teens) is just more confirmation God really knew what He was doing when He chose cb for us. of course, we would love cb no matter what kind of personality he had, but knowing how much he *loves* being around people gives us such peace and comfort because right now our lives involve being around lots and lots of people lots and lots of times. it's not easy being a pastor's kid, and the Lord knew we needed someone that would not only endure but also enjoy being in the spotlight at large gatherings. and my goodness, how he enjoyed that spotlight...;)

and i have to give credit to our awesome youth group kids, too. they could easily have dismissed cb as just a baby, but instead they choose to love him as their own. it is amazing to see how well cb fits in not only with our little family, but also with our large church family. watching 200 youth group kids love on and interact and laugh with (and sometimes at) a wild, attention-hogging toddler is just beautiful and a true picture of agape love.

God is so good. and we are so grateful.

sae chingoo deul. {new friends}

now that the awkwardness is behind us (and thanks for coming out and showing your lovely faces. i so appreciate it!), let's talk about something fun, yeah?

this past saturday, our church had a food festival where lots of korean yumminess was promised. i invited some local blog buddies to come out and it was so fun eating, chatting, and hanging out with these other mommas.

of course, i whipped out the camera to capture some of the fun!

kala drove over 2 hours to come hang out and i'm so glad she did! matthew is even cuter in person. for reals. this was the fourth time i've met up with sandra and the third time i saw ben. and this time, he let me hold him! :) it was a very proud moment for me. :)

ben and matthew were too busy checking each other out to pay attention to the camera. and good thing, cause i don't know if my lens would have been able to handle the cuteness had they both been looking at me!

some more sizing up:

i wish i had gotten a shot of matthew shoveling japchae in his mouth -- it was too cute!

we ate lots of delicious food, including one of my favorites and yours, hodduk! hannah, jen's little girl, could not get enough!


after stuffing ourselves, we headed out to the playground so the littles could play. they were so cute exploring and walking around:


ben was very interested in the twigs and the mulch:


matthew LOVED the swing. his little legs were kickin' up a storm and he was laughing the cutest laugh.



ben was squealing, but i'm not sure if they were squeals of delight or terror. sandra?


matthew enjoyed watching the cars. kala wasn't kidding when she said that this boy loves his vroom-vrooms!


and ben? checkin' out more the mulch. :)


so fun seeing ben and matthew play! can't wait til choi boy is home and he can join in on their mulch-exploring/squealing-and-swinging/car-watching fun!

and finally, the obligatory group shot:

from left to right -- kala, jen (who was matched this past july and is patiently waiting for her little guy to come home!), sandra, me, and becky (who was matched with her son in september is waiting for his homecoming, too.).

this is why i love the blogging community -- the friendships i have made with these ladies (and many others of my amazing bloggy friends!) have kept me sane through this wait...and i am so excited for the day when all our littles will be home and *they* will be friends.

makes my heart smile. :)

a bit of happiness.

oh man, after i wrote that post this morning, i went to church and the sermon really hit home. the pastor spoke about suffering -- so appropriate and what i needed to hear. i know the word "suffering" sounds a bit dramatic, but sometimes, it's really what i feel like we're doing during this wait and through a lot of this journey from infertility to adoption.

the point that really spoke to me was when the pastor was talking about rejoicing in the midst of suffering. though it sounds crazy to think that one would rejoice while suffering, his point was that there is more to life than just the here and now and that in the grand scheme of eternity, this time of suffering is often but a moment and a mile marker on the road to heaven that builds our faith and brings us closer to God. and, as he said, if you can rejoice through suffering, you can rejoice through anything...amen.

so, i am going to choose to rejoice. and as contradictory (and perhaps a bit disingenuously so) as i may sound from this morning's post to this, i find that i usually have to make the choice to rejoice before i actually can.

i rejoice in the fact that our choi boy is being lovingly cared for by his foster mom. i rejoice because our son is in good health. i rejoice in the fact that we even have the means to adopt. i rejoice because we *do* have a son and we will be with him soon.

and, so, i'm going to focus on things that make me happy.

like finding great deals! :)

yesterday, my friends amy, christine, and i went to a local children's consignment sale and we found some incredible deals for our little ones. i was chatting on fbook about it with dana, and she requested a post seeing all my goodies. so, this one's for you, dana!

because we thought choi boy would be home late summer/early fall, the vast majority of clothes we had for him were t-shirts and warmer weather clothing. my shopping mission when approaching this consignment sale was to find some fall/winter clothing for choi boy, and my goodness, the sale delivered! look at my finds:


how cute is this outfit? i love the orange plaid with the brown pants. it reminds me of fall foliage.


i heart this striped sweater so much. and the navy pants have such great detail with yellow stitching.


don't you love henleys? and this one is thermal, too! and how sweet is that embroidered dinosaur (ahem, apatosaurus)?


this jacket is my *favorite*! i love, love that it looks like a miniature version of a man's jacket. and how can you go wrong with blue suede shoes?? choi boy will have to grow into them, but they are stinkin' adorable.

the best part about the jacket?

it's REVERSIBLE! i didn't know this until i got home, so it was like i got a surprise extra jacket! so rad. rad, indeed.

and finally, of course i couldn't leave without some books:

but not the hippopotamus (jeepers, that is a hard word to spell!) is my favorite sandra boynton book, and i love the carl books, too. have you seen my duckling? is another sweet one that i love because there are very few words and you have to really look at the pictures to get the story, very much like the carl books.

the best part was that most of these items were new (some still with tags) or very much like new.

and the grand total for all these finds? $23.75. score!

happy now. :)

i just threw all these clothes in the wash and did my first load of choi boy laundry. kind of exciting! and a random question for you mommas...i know you have to wash before wear with infant clothing, but do you have to do the same with new toddler clothing?

choi boy's future?

let's take a dip into some silliness, shall we?

a friend shared this article from stuff christians like (i know, silly!) a few months ago. as i read it, was seriously laughing aloud because so much of this is true!

i especially love the first one. although choi boy won't really look like either of us, the statement that is in number one is fully true. i know from firsthand experience. just kidding! maybe. kinda. :)

could this be what choi boy's future looks like?

(if you're like me, you are too lazy to actually click a link and be directed over to a separate page. so, for your sake and mine, i'm just going to copy the article here!)

The YMK

Our laser-like focus on Pastor’s Kids has left out a large segment of the church population. One such group that I’d like to bring to your attention today is the Youth Minister’s Kid (YMK). While I may not have kids of my own right now, as someone who desires to be in youth ministry “for the long haul,” I hope to one day be able to sit my hypothetical kids down like in How I Met Your Mother and tell them all sorts of wacky stories about what they can expect out of their formative years.

So, hypothetical Youth Minister’s Kids (hYMKs), what can you expect to experience growing up with a youth minister as a father?

1) You will pray each and every day that you are going to grow up to look more like your mom than your dad. Everybody knows that youth ministers like to “marry up,” and, let’s face it, your mom is hott with two “t”s. I will remind you of this every time I talk to high school students, which may prove to be a bit awkward for you.

2) You are going to get stuck with some babysitters of questionable quality. Your dad knows a lot of high school students, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a babysitter for date night from among his student leaders. Unfortunately, the things that make Sally a great student leader (four finger tabbing on the bass, goldfish swallowing abilities and shaving cream pie construction ability) don’t necessarily translate into awesome babysitting. You may have a blast with Sally, but you may also end up having to walk around for an hour with blocks of ice duct taped to your feet.

3) You will spend at least one month of every summer at a youth camp. This is what is known as a perk. I made sure the camp has an 8-year-old sized mountain bike, and I’ll let you be the one to lead the football team down the mountain bike path I cut into the side of the cliff. I am also in tight with the college interns, which means that they will let you do doughnuts in the wave runners when no one else is looking. You’re welcome.

4) While other parents will be highly concerned with their kids’ nutrition, I will be feeding you a steady diet of youth group leftovers. Prepare yourself for cold pizza, Dr. Thunder and the dreaded stale Costco sandwich crèmes every Monday night.

5) It is my personal goal in life to educate you about the finer points of Frisbee golf long before you can ever hope to spell “Frisbee.” The upside of this is that you will have a killer drive and the short game of a Frisbee-zen master. The downside of all of this, however, is that you may be a little confused if you ever enter sales. Typically, clients prefer country clubs over the old wooden benches that are surrounded by old joints and crushed beer cans in the city park.

6) Be prepared for me to use embarrassing stories from your life in over half my talks. That time you wet your pants in the middle of your birthday party? What better example could anyone possibly think of to lead off a sin talk?

7) You will spend the rest of your life being asked by well meaning members of the congregation when your dad is going to settle down and become a “real pastor.” You can try to change the subject, but it is often easiest to distract the nice old lady with a Thomas Kinkaid print or some Testamints.

Those are my 7 things I think every youth minister’s kid needs to know.

rest.

june marked the end of peter's sixth year at open door. sheesh! time flies!

our church is gracious and generous enough to give a 3 month sabbatical to the pastors after every 6 years. so, as we begin our seventh year of ministry here at odpc, we have these next 3 months to rest, be refreshed and seek the Lord's calling for our next season of ministry. don't worry, we are definitely coming back to odpc in october!

initially, we hoped and prayed that we would be spending part of our sabbatical picking up choi boy in korea and adjusting to our new life as parents. there is a small chance this may still happen (praying HARD!), but we are also looking forward to having an extended time to rest and just be still.

we'll be heading to wisconsin/chicago at the end of this month for a week and a half stay (SO looking forward to spending time with little molly, eating custard and burgers at kopp's, and brewers' games -- for the baseball food, not so much the brewers - ha!). we may also plan some weekend trips here and there, but for the most part, we'll be home (i'm still tutoring tuesday-thursday) resting.

do you sense a theme here? :)

we are so grateful for this time and are ready to get some hardcore rest! (is that an oxymoron?)