This what December in Texas looks like.

Yes, this is what we were doing the last days of December in Texas!

Washing cars

in our short sleeves

bubbles everywhere

clothes soaked

hands in bucket

Sonic slushes in hand!
(Braedan's cousins are enjoying this weather, as last year,
they were up to their waist in snow!)

Even the dogs enjoyed the beautiful weather

and Lizzie the bunny too!

But it is still Texas, so of course, we found this snake (thankfully already dead) right next to where we had just been sitting.

And what would a 'warm winter's night' be without a little s'mores?

We roasted up some marshmallows in the new fire pit

well, technically, this one's on fire!

But they sure were delicious!

Ending our 2010 with some family time in our short sleeves, car washing, s'more making way! Happy New Year!

Insert Cricket Chirp {Here}.

Has it really already been 9 days since my last post?!?!?

Where in the world have the days gone?!

I just realized tomorrow is already New Year's Eve!

How can that be?!

Our Christmas was great, had so much fun with all 17 of my immediate family members under one roof!

We got a new computer, which is AWESOME! But, none of my software is installed yet, which means I can't upload or edit any pictures...working on that!

Took my first photo class yesterday, which was great!
Learned A LOT about my SLR and hopeful that my pictures will start turning out even better!

And I just have to give a shout out to this amazing artist who drew this fantastically adorable picture! I ordered this print before Christmas and it arrived the other day with an extra print, which I'll share as soon as my printer is hooked up to my new computer!



She is also a Korean adoptee and you can find her store
and read more about her HERE. I so wish I could afford her fabulous personalized portraits she also does! Maybe one day! If I could, I would order one of everything in her store and cover the wall in my office! Just sayin'. :0)

As the New Year approaches, 2011 will bring many changes to our family which we will share as each event happens!

(Trust me, I wish I could share every single one, but not yet!)

But they will be big and hopefully bring our family great luck!

Wishing all a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas! 매리 크리스마스

And the winners are...

Comment #5

Jenny said...
Oh! Fun! Avery's fav hands down right now is her Disney Princess CD Storybook. Close seconds are anything princess. It's not like we ever go to Disney or anything lol ;)

December 16, 2010 1:56 PM

Comment #3

Craig D said...
My daughter is only 21 months old, but she LOVES books! I have caught her in her play room surrounded by toys looking longingly at the bookshelf above her reach seeking out the book she would "read" if she could get her hands on it. With that said, there is no favorite in our house, but "I Don't Have Your Eyes" and "Mr. Brown Can Moo" are two big ones. She also loves David and Goliath... well, Goliath.

By the way, you're more than welcome to follow my blog too. Email me and I'll send you an invite. We also have a daughter adopted from Korea.

December 16, 2010 10:07 AM

(And Craig D, I'd love to have an invite to your blog too!)

Chosen by random.org!!

Will you both email me at jeonjugarden@gmail.com to claim your prize?!?!? Thanks!!

I must say our favorite books right now are Bee Bim Bop, Big and Little, and of course, anything Dr. Seuss!

Thanks for sharing yours!

We read our copy of 'I Love You Like Crazy Cakes' and it is very sweet!

Happy Referral Day!

Today is our second anniversary of the day we received our referral!

Hard to believe that much time has passed!

And oh what a surprise that phone call was!

We had been waiting several weeks to go to committee on a photolisted child, where, on December 18, were told the other family had been chosen.

All three of us were down with a wicked case of the stomach flu
and it was a rough day!

But the very next afternoon,
we received a phone call that would change our lives.

The social worker at Holt told us that a new referral had come in just that morning and they thought our family would be a good match!

A good match it was indeed!

We definitely had a wonderful Christmas that year!

Happy 2nd Referral Day Seon-Mi!


And I have LOVED reading the comments on the giveaway post below about your favorite children's books! Keep them coming! Winner will be announced tomorrow, 'cause I'm giving a little extra time to enter!

A Giveaway! *ended*

TWO lucky winners will receive this
'Adoption Rocks' tote (13.5" W x 13.5" H x 4" D)
great for library outings,
which is what we plan to use ours for,
amongst other things...

AND their very own copy of
'I Love You Like Crazy Cakes' by Rose Lewis!

We've not yet read this book,
but it comes highly recommended
and will be under the tree for our kids this year!

And as an added bonus...
• Holt receives 5%-15% of the total of your purchases on all merchandise on Amazon.com
• If shoppers enter Amazon.com through Holt's website ALL purchases from Amazon.com will benefit Holt…

which is where I purchased the books!

So...

how do you enter to win?

Easy peasy.

FIRST, make sure you're a 'FOLLOWER' on our blog by clicking the 'FOLLOW' button in the side bar to the right of this post.

Why? 'Cause I like to know who's following our blog and to follow you and yours! Some of my most important relationships in the adoption world have been formed right here online through this blog and message boards. I value those friendships, whether we've met in real life or not! And, you don't have to be adopted or an adoptive parent to follow our blog or be my friend, I love meeting people in general! With all the views our blog receives around the world, I am so interested to see who you are!

So there, that's why you need to follow!


SECOND, leave a comment on this post with YOUR favorite children's book! Does not have to be adoption related! Just a favorite in your family!

Two lucky winners will be randomly selected on or around Sunday, December 19 and will be announced shortly after, so check back!

{Where's Waldo Braedan}

And how scary are all those demon eyed kids?!?!?! Clearly didn't edit this pic from his school Christmas program this evening!

Fort Knox Zoey

We have a runaway child.

Last Saturday, Zoey was supposed to be napping, but ended up crawling out of her crib (for the very first time, I might add), turned off her fan, closed her door behind her, went through a locked baby gate (even locking it again behind her), unlocked the front door, and ended up next door at my parent's house after my mom heard her knocking at their front door.

Needless to say, we all about had heart attacks.

So, of course, we ran right out and bought a chain lock for the front door, which my husband promptly installed and warned her to stay put in that crib until we came in to get her!

Naps and bed time routines took a big hit as she she realized she could get out and do what she wanted. We returned her to her crib many a time and the minute she woke up from nap or the night, she immediately crawled out and came downstairs. Fortunately, I was always awake before her.

Fast forward to this past week, a little before 6am in my pitch black house.

I heard something out in the gameroom, which is right off our bedroom and jumped up quickly as I realized it was my little escapee.

Sure enough, there she was, headed into Braedan's room with a bag of chips and a granola bar, I presume to get some help opening them.

It was obvious she had been up for some time as she was wide awake, so after putting her in bed with Danny, I went downstairs to check things out.

She had, of course, been in the pantry, and who knows where else, but had also attempted to leave via the front door again and the only thing that stopped her was that trusty chain Danny had installed right after the first attempt.

I'm not gonna lie, I burst into tears right there.

Realizing that in the pitch black, with all of us fast asleep, not even knowing she crawled out of her crib, had that chain not been on the door, there could be a lot of bad, bad scenarios.

This was enough to scare me sleepless!!

So, later that day, off I went to Babies R Us! The cashier thought I was insane as I started emptying my cart full of baby proofing items! She was like, "is this all for her?!?!" pointing to Zoey as I didn't even look up to tell her, "uh-huh!"

Danny and I set everything up last night for our first 'test run' to see what else we could possibly need, if anything!

So what does it take to keep our two year old escapee from, well, escaping?

Baby Gates on the stairs...two of them, one at the top and one at the bottom. We've had these since she came home, and can open them on her own as of recently, but still help deter her somewhat.

Back door...has had this baby proof door handle since she started opening doors and was constantly letting in the muddy dogs or running to nana and papa's house every chance she had. Still can't open it with her tiny hands, which is why she started using the front door!

Front door...as you can see from the holes, the chain lock was removed and this put in it's place so the door cannot open AT ALL even when she gets the deadbolt unlocked. This thing is serious.

Her bedroom door, yet another baby proof door handle on the inside of her door.

But the one that helps me sleep at night without rushing to her room every hour on the hour to make sure she's still in there, is our new video monitor.

Positioned right above her crib, this thing is awesome!! And yes, I did still wake up every hour last night and check it to make sure she was still in there!

And yes, woke up the second I heard her climbing out of that crib and watched her make her way to the door, where she was stopped by the safety handle and let out a cry for us to get her!

Can you see her black hair and outline of her little body in this pic?!?!?! The infrared camera is amazing! It's pitch black in her room!

So, so far, so good.

This mama may actually get some sleep tonight, since our house is now Fort Knox.

Pretty soon, the adults won't be able to get out either!

I must say, this girl is definitely keeping us on our toes! I hate to compare kids, but Braedan did NOTHING like this when he was little! He was literally like 3 years old before we convinced him it was okay to get out of his own bed and come find us! Seriously!

I guess they say your first is always easy, that's why you want a second!

Personally, I believe this is God's way of handing me a good dose of karma.

I can tell ya that if there's ever a third, we will be much, much, much more prepared. :0)

Wordless Wednesday {My Boys}

Can't.Stop.Thinking.About.It.

Saturday, I was craving me some Korean food!

But I wanted to make it quick and simple!

So I decided to make my normal recipe for yakimandu filling, but instead of putting it into small wonton wrappers, why not make them full size eggrolls?!?!

Why I didn't think of this before, I have not stinkin' idea! But it was genius! And oh so delicious!

Dip it in a little of our favorite sauce, which is equal parts soy and rice vinegar with a sprinkle of sugar to taste, some sliced scallions and sesame seeds, and wah-la! It's dinner!


But my craving wasn't fully satisfied, so I decided to pull out the kim-bap!

It's so easy and you can put just about anything it in you want!

I use toasted seaweed, sticky rice mixed with a little rice vinegar and sesame oil while it's still warm (this does something to the rice to keep it nice and sticky, but also firm, not mushy) and this time I used carrot, cucumber, pickled radish and bulgogi meat.

Roll it all up with a sushi roller, slice it and dip it in that same sauce!


I cannot stop thinking about it! It was so yummy!

(And I love both of these cold the day for breakfast! Yes, breakfast. Yes, cold!)

However, note to self (and you other kimchi makers)...I have been making my own kimchi for a while now and have found the combination of the ingredients I really like in it. I wanted to make some to go with this meal, but after not being able to find an ingredient I normally use at the market, I picked up some kimchi base in a jar.

No. Not a good idea. It was horrible!! And tasted mostly like fish and sugar, which is not a good combination in any recipe!

So, let this be a warning...do not make kimchi with sauce out of a jar! Even if it came from the Korean market!!

The hangul dress and the new blog.

So you may notice the blog going through a bit of a makeover...it's a slow but steady process! I've still got a few kinks to get out and a new photo banner to add, but eventually it will all come together, so bear with the bit of the mess that it is right now!

And then on to the Hangul dress...a while back a fellow adoptive mom found this awesome fabric and I got in on some. It's been sitting in my fabric bin for months till last week when I decided it would look great as a little black dress of sorts! I must say my little girl totally rocked it!

Only problem is...I have absolutely no idea if it's right side up, upside down, sideways, or backwards! So I apologize to all the Korean readers if it's not right!! (Namely a few foster moms that I know check our blog!)

It's still cute either way and my girl looked stunning in it!



And you may notice the new 'watermark' on my pics...no I'm not opening a photography business, and no, my real name is not Kim Park!

In fact, I hate it when people assume my name is just 'Kim'! It's not!! It's KIMBERLY!! (I seriously think people think it's just Kim because I'm Asian!) I don't mind being called Kim, just don't call me Kimmie. :0)

But I do try to keep our last name off the blog for privacy sake, and when coming up with a catchy name for my photographs, decided on Kim Park...Kim being how you pronounce Zoey's Korean last name, and Park being my Korean last name.

It's just a way to keep track of the pics I take and so no one else 'uses' them for personal use! So there you have it...

Not flesh of my flesh,

Nor bone of my bone,

But still,

miraculously my own.

Never forget

for a single minute,

you didn't grow under my heart,

but in it.

Wordless Wednesday {A Letter to Santa}

You can take the girl outta Korea...

but you can't take the Korea outta the girl!

Little Miss Zoey wanted to dress herself today and I thought her choices were oh so colorful!

Afer our A/C was running all day yesterday, the weather finally cooled off this morning enough for her to wear her newly crocheted fingerless gloves in turquoise...

and the infamous Crocs with socks...(which I understand is quite controversial, but I do it too in cold weather!)

and of course her grey leg warmers, which you may be thinking aren't colorful at all, but she only wore these because her striped hot pink ones were dirty so I wouldn't let her wear them...

and her oh so colorful, "fower dess" as she calls it, as in 'flower dress'...

topped off with what we like to call her 'coat of many colors'...

and of course, we must be modest, so she chose the smallest bloomers she could find, ones that her foster mother sent home with her and fit her at nine months old. She wanted to wear her black and white polka dot ones, but again, those were dirty. (maybe I need to do some laundry, huh?!?!)

but it all made for one very content little daydreaming girl...

who seems well on her way to rockin' it like a K Pop Star...

Gotta start somewhere, right?!?!?