Small Prayer Request

***UPDATE***

YAHOO!!! Micah doesn't need surgery! The bow in his bone is straightening out, so no need for a plate to be put in! Micah has a half-cast on which means he can now happily bend his elbow. We were also able to get the waterproof cast as well. Just his luck though... We've had rain and thunder most of the afternoon. Poor kid can't get a break (no pun intended).

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Micah will be going back to the Pediatric Orthopedist tomorrow to see if his arm is healing properly. Please pray that surgery will not be required and that the doctor will give the OK to put the half-cast on his arm.

Again, thank you for your prayers.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Father's Day is a bitter sweet day for me. It's a day that I have celebrated the last 9 years with my husband, as the father of my children. At the same time it is now the 22nd year I have not celebrated this day with my Daddy. I was 11 years old when my father past away from cancer. This time of year is tough because last week would of been his 87th birthday as well. Not sure if he would still be alive at 87 years of age, but I still think of him on his birthday anyways. I miss him terribly around this time of year.

Short Road Trip

On Friday morning Soowan received a phone call from a company and did a short phone interview with them. About a half an hour later the company called back and then hearing Soowan say something like, "Let me talk it over with my wife and I'll call you back."

Soowan came into the living room and said, this company wants me to come in for an interview today. (I was thinking to myself, "Why do you need to check with me first for?)... Then Soowan said, "The interview is in Norman, OK." (which is a 3 hour drive away).

We had nothing planned for the day, nor for the next day, so we decided we would all go together and stay the night in Oklahoma City. Within an hour we were showered, packed and out the door. Amanda slept 2/3 of the way there! YAHOO!!! We dropped Soowan off, for his 3 hour interview, while the kids and I drove around and found things to do while we waited.

The company was not too far from the University of Oklahoma (OU), so we took a nice walk around the campus. Micah's favorite part was the seeing OU's soccer field. He was amazed by the grandstand, and the huge scoreboard. I told him maybe we will be seeing him play on that field in about 10 years. Micah quickly reminded me that he was not going to be attending OU but Texas A&M for college. I then replied quickly back, that he could still be playing soccer on this field when Texas A&M plays OU at home. Crazy kid.

After we saw most of the campus we began to drive around some more. We found a Carl's Jr. (there are not many in TX) and I pulled into the drive-thru to get some criss-cut fries (YUMMY). We then found a Mardel's (Christian bookstore and home-school supply center) and spent another hour or so browsing around the store, finding cards and a gift to give to Soowan for Father's Day.

After Soowan's interview we drove up to Oklahoma City. While trying to find our hotel we came across the Oklahoma City National Memorial. We decided to park the car and tour the memorial. The memorial is a beautiful tribute to those who lost their life in a tragic moment of our nation's history. We would of loved to walk through the memorials museum, but it had already closed for the day.

Two things about the memorial touched me in many ways. One is the 'Survivor Tree'. This American Elm Tree survived the powerful blast. The bark of this tree is still charred and grey from the inferno that blew past by it. The building next to the tree still remains, even though the top few floors of the building hopped up and shifted a few inches from the power of the explosion of the federal building.





The 'Field of Empty Chairs' touched me on so many levels. Each chair represented a person who was killed from this horrible act of hate. In all there are a 168 chairs. Micah was the fist to notice that some of the chairs were smaller than others. We soon learned those chairs represented the youngest victims of this tragedy. Until that moment, I had forgotten that the building had a childcare center within it. So sad... so very sad.





Here are some more pictures we took of the memorial.

By the time we arrive to our hotel, got checked in, etc., it began to storm outside. We had booked this specific hotel because if was in the Bricktown vicinity of OKC, where there are several restaurants and a river walk area to stroll on. We had planned to check out the river walk and eat dinner there, but considering it was raining buckets outside, we went to Plan B... ROOM SERVICE!!!

This was Micah's first experience with room service, because this is something reserved only when Soowan and I are traveling without kids. Micah now wants to ONLY use room service while on vacation, and Soowan's reply to him was, "OK, then you can pay for it!"

The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and decided to take a stroll through the river walk area before it got too hot. Nothing but the coffee shops on the plaza were open. It is definitely more of a nightlife kind of place. Lots of bars and clubs and those sorts of places. Soowan and I both felt that possibly it was best it did rain the night before instead of taking the kids to a huge party scene.

We walked the entire length of the canal and back. We enjoyed our walk and Amanda saw ducks (up close) for the first time too! She chased them into the canal and wanted to follow suit, but much to her demise we wouldn't let her. A very loud, temper tantrum soon followed, so Soowan picked her up, strapped her back into the stroller and she remained there for the rest of our walk. I know we're such mean parents!

Our unexpected trip turned out to be a nice little get-a-way. Soowan is still interviewing and waiting for God to show him the RIGHT job. Continued prayer for him would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!

I want to add... If Soowan does get this job he interviewed for in OK, does not mean we will be moving to OK. The company would hire Soowan to launch a new office in the DFW area. Just wanted to clarify after receiveing numerous emails saying, "YOU CAN'T MOVE!!!"

What's Your Cardboard Testimony?

My cardboard testimony is:

I'm the wretch that song refers to... now I'm saved by AMAZING GRACE!

Nate Huss

I had mentioned a few posts back that Micah won a prize on a local radio show. It didn't take long for the package to arrive, and with much joy there was more items in the envelope than expected. Along with the Adventure in Odyssey CD and DVD (that we knew was coming) was another CD by an artist named Nate Huss. We're not sure if the radio station mistakenly sent this CD, or if they were being extra generous that day... All we know is that our family is grateful to learn of this new artist and have been blessed by his music.



Micah being the little music man he is, has listened to Nate Huss' CD over and over again in his room. The other day Micah asked if we could find him online to learn more about him. We found Nate's website (which Micah loves because it's interactive) and I soon fell in love with his music, because many of his songs are about his adoption story.

The song, “You Still Know my Name” Nate wrote about his redemption through adoption. Another song "Your Own" he wrote to his birth mother.

Nate has 8 brothers and sisters of different races and nationalities. He talks about his family in his biography on his web page. Click on Nate's notepad to read his bio, and to hear the one of the songs I mentioned click on the ipod.

I also wanted to add that Micah sent a message to Nate talking about how our family has been built through adoption and he wrote us back! He shared a little more with us about his experience and also shared that one of his sisters is adopted from Korea as well. It was nice that Nate took the time to write Micah back and that he didn't send an email back advertising himself and his music. I can't stand it when artists do that!

Jumpin' Around

One of our wonderful, kind, sweet and supportive neighbors are moving back to France in a week. =0( Our family is heartbroken to see them leave and we will miss them dearly. I will write more about Thomas family later on this week, because I'm still trying to find all of the pictures we have of them.

Considering they are returning back to Paris (doesn't that sound so divine?), there are many items the family purchased in the U.S. that they can not take back with across the pond. One of those items is their children's beloved trampoline. Yep... we bought it! It was hilarious watching Soowan and Patrick throw the humongous contraption over their fence, carry it across the street, and then throw it over our fence into the backyard. They took the safety net off of course, but still! Nothing broke and it's as good as new considering the trampoline is only a couple of years old.

I took the kids out this morning to jump around, but soon enough the heat of the day was beating down on us so we came in. In the later afternoon thunderstorms blew through and brought with them cooler temps. After dinner we all went out to jump around some more. We had a blast! I even managed to do a couple of flips myself! Amanda our little dare devil loved every minute of it. The higher we bounced on the trampoline (in return she would get some air) the harder she laughed. When we would stop bouncing Amanda would begin to whine and become frustrated because she hasn't quite figured out how to jump yet. I'm sure in no time she'll get the hang of it and be a little bouncing beauty.

We had an enjoyable evening and now I'm going to go and take a long, hot bath and may send Soowan out to get me some Ben-Gay for my aching muscles. I really shouldn't of done those flips (even though it was super fun!).

Becoming A Pearl

Becoming a Pearl
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
~James 1:2-4

It takes an oyster somewhere between three and six years to produce a perfect pearl. The process begins with a small piece of sand or other irritant entering the oyster. The oyster then coats it with layers of nacre, which after years of this process, we come to know as a pearl, like we see on necklaces in jewelry stores.

Like the sand in an oyster, God uses a little irritation in our life to create beauty. A friend once told me that she never prayed for her children to be happy.

For if they were always happy, she said, "how would they ever develop character and experience personal growth?"

Going through trying times is not pleasant, and James does not tell us to pretend we are happy in the midst of it, but to consider it an opportunity for joy. God gives us a promise that we can "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3b-4). It is through the hurt, pain and ugliness that, oftentimes, God creates beauty in each of us. Without the irritation, God cannot create in us a beautiful final product.


It is said that not all oysters produce perfect pearls naturally. In every three tons of oysters, you are likely to find only three or four that make a perfect pearl. When we embrace the struggle or irritation in our lives, God uses it to make us into something beautiful. When we run from or ignore our pain it is hard for us to learn from it and see God's hand in it. Embracing the rough times and trusting God will ultimately help you become all God is training you to be.

Small Update!

Soowan had three interviews yesterday and each came with an job offer. He has more interviews set up for today and later this week as well. Ever since he posted his resume online Thursday night, his phone has been ringing off the hook, and his email box has been filled with companies interested in interviewing him. So now our thoughts are not 'will he find a job?', but 'what position does God want him to accept?'. Prayer of discernment for Soowan would be greatly appreciated at this time.

As far as how Micah is doing... He's feeling as good as any active 9 year old with a broken arm, in a cast above his elbow during summer break would feel. Poor thing stares out the window at the swimming pool in the backyard, and sighs deeply. Micah has just about eaten half of the candy that friends and loved ones have given to him in his 'get well soon' care packages. So my thought is once this broken arm is healed, his teeth will begin to rot and fall out with all the candy he has been snacking on! LOL! I guess we'll have to make sure whatever job Soowan takes has a good dental plan.