More photos from Korea

Just some photos from the DMZ...

 Last bit of train track at the northern most point in South Korea.

 DMZ tour building. We got to watch a video on the DMZ and also this is where the 3rd tunnel is. LOOOOONG walk at about 11% incline in a 5' tunnel. I did it in flip flops carrying Dean the whole way. Totally worth it though.

 Last train to come across the DMZ.

 These are ribbons with messages written on them from families in South Korea to their family stuck in North Korea. There are still many families here that have not been able to make contact in 60 years. This is right next to the Peace Bell and train. Very moving.

The boy's favorite thing at the Korean War museum in Seoul.

<3 

Coffee with the boys

One of the best things about the Christmas/New Year's season is that Randy get's time off work so we can do things together. This past Sunday we decided to take a trip downtown to do some window shopping and get some coffee for us and hot chocolate for the boys. My ultimate goal was to find the slip on boots that everyone is wearing in my size; this goal remains unreached as by Korean standards I have rather large feet and no one carries my size. Although I didn't find my shoes, we did have a great time downtown. here are a few photos from our coffee experience at...well, I don't remember the name of the coffee place. We picked the cafe because of it's bathroom proximity. I think is was Angel in Us coffee, but I'm not sure. Either way, we got to use the bathroom and had some pretty darn good coffee and hot chocolate so that's all that maters.

 This is mostly what Dean did - run around and climb on the chairs. We ended up getting his "coffee" to go.

 Johnny enjoyed the people watching and posing for photos. Of course, everyone thought it was super cool to wave at an American kid. He's in for a huge shock when we go back to the states and he' not a celebrity any more!

<3

Some photos

Had some time to sit down and work on some photos today on my new computer. Enjoy!

Self portrait

Self portrait taken before the 25th Trans Ball, December 17, 2010. 

Darn you Achilles!

It irks me to no end that I am still suffering the after effects of my short tour of duty in the Army - two busted knees from too much running and road marching which has led to ankle sprains, hip pain, and now a strained Achilles tendon. The worst part isn't the pain, I can handle pain; the worst part is that I know that even though I can handle the pain, I should let it heal - which translates into no running.

On the bright side, in a moment of weakness my wonderful husband agreed to run October 9th 2011's Army Ten Miler with me in D.C.! Hurray! October 9th happens to be my birthday so we're making the race and trip to D.C. my birthday present. Of course now he is trying to recant his decision because running is not his "thing", but I'm not letting him out of it. I don't think he understands that it's not just a race - it's the Army Ten Miler. There is nothing like the feeling of running through D.C. with 25,000 other people - most of them vets - passing runners with full size American flags, amputated legs, signs and shirts dedicated to the fallen and those still serving. Most everyone running the Army Ten Miler runs it for a purpose, and that purpose isn't to make a PR. The last time I ran I talked to several other runners about why I was running and why they were running and each person had an amazing story of love and patriotism. I remember crying while running past a double leg amputee soldier who was clearly in pain and everyone that ran past him said thank you, clapped and shouted words of encouragement. There's just no other experience like the Army Ten Miler - from the Vietnam Vet that was running his tenth Army Ten Miler that I met at the starting line to the service member I paced for two miles that was running in memory of the buddies he lost on his last deployment (3 months earlier). There's just nothing like it.

Hopefully I'm smart enough to let my Achilles heal.

The buzzer on the dryer just went off and it's back to reality - sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by running mags and photography gear while the Lion King plays on the TV. I've still got a lot of photos to edit and I need to take some new ones of my own kids. Need to finish cleaning the house before Christmas so I can actually relax for a few days.

It's really amazing to me sometimes how much my thoughts bounce around sometimes. One of my major goals for the Christmas break is to finish my photo book of our time in Korea. Here's a little sample of what I'm putting in it:

I have really enjoyed my time here in Korea and will continue to photograph what I experience over the next 6 to 7 months that I am still here. We are headed home in July/August so Johnny can start Kindergarten and I can also start school, Randy will probably be just a few weeks behind us. I'm really going to use the rest of my time here wisely - lots of photos with my new Canon camera! 

Lost in Translation

I still find it funny that in order to sign in to write this blog I have to use google chrome so that it can translate the web page for me from Korean to English. Not that I haven't learned at least enough Korean to get around town (mostly related to food and how much stuff costs), but it's a little difficult trying to navigate a web page in Korean when you only know the basics.

I wish I had google chrome for my life.

Some of the things that people say and do just boggles my mind. But, until they come out with a translation device to make stupid make sense I suppose I'll just have to sit back and shake my head.

On a brighter note, I've gotten to take LOTS of wonderful photos lately of some very beautiful people...

The joys of  being a photographer; I'm always meeting new and wonderful people. 

I was hoping to get up to Seoul this week to take some photos of Itaewon all covered in snow but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. So I will just have to wait till we get some of the white puffy stuff down here. Although it is raining so I might just go do some light painting...

Get Back to Work!

So my wonderful husband is supposed to be working on his application for SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) sponsorship for the Chaplain Candadacy program and instead he's messing around on facebook...ugh. I'm about to go over there and fill the application out for him! Fact of the matter is, the faster he gets all the paperwork done the more likely that we get to go home sooner.

Randy has been gone a lot the past two weeks. Translation: I've been going insane. Couldn't go run because it's too cold to use the jogging stroller outside now. No alone time unless I was passed out asleep. No adult time. Non-stop cartoons and kids asking for juice and snacks, fighting, and just basically driving me insane. Makes me wonder when the military powers-that-be are going to wake up and realize that a 15 hour work day doesn't just burn out their soldiers - it burns out their spouses too. And lets face facts, a burnt out military spouse is WAY more dangerous than a burnt out soldier. Just try giving me an Article 15 and see what happens!

Thank GOD my husband is a smart man an knows better than to poke the badger with a spoon (I would be the badger in case you didn't understand that analogy). So I have gotten my run time in and am a lot less stressed; I'm no longer envisioning dousing his Battalion with gasoline and dancing around the burning pyre naked. It's times like these that I truly appreciate the man my husband is - self-sacrificing, humble, loving, and smart!

There's no cream for the itch I have

My stomach is in knots, I'm anxious, can barely sleep, have no motivation to do anything - translation: it's time to move! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Korea; I consider Korea home. But the fact remains that this is the longest I've lived in one place since I was 15 and it's time for a change. 

Feels like I'm in a holding pattern of the gym, kids, photography and housework waiting for the rest of my life to begin. I feel like I have gotten all I can out of this PCS and it's simply time to move on, even though that moving on probably means will end up back in Korea in a few  years. 

My current situation is all about waiting and I hate waiting. We're waiting to move, waiting on Randy's application for the Master's program to get accepted, waiting to apply for the chaplain candidacy program, waiting to finish my nursing degree, waiting to have another baby...just basically waiting to find out what's going to happen and when. I'm tired of waiting. A while back I asked God to give me patience - this wasn't what I had in mind. 

At the same time I'm really trying to take advantage of the time I have left in Korea. Like I said, I LOVE Korea. This is the only place besides San Antonio, in the great state of Texas, that has felt like home. I'm still going to school, making sure I spend lots of time with the boys, training in my running, practicing photography, but it's just doesn't feel right any more. It's a hard feeling to explain, but I just feel the need to go, move on, leave, change, and mostly just get out of dodge. It's like having and itch that can't be scratched and it sucks. 

I've done a few sessions this past weekend and am happy with the results. I totally loved working with the Stewart family; they reminded me why I love photography. Their photos weren't anything amazing, just family photos. But they interacted so naturally it was easy to shoot and catch those special moments between them.

So why am I still so frustrated? On the one hand I feel like I'm so busy that I'm neglecting my relationship with God. I know that it should be first on the list, but I still place it after everything else I "have" to do. When did God become something to do, another box to check, something to get to when I have finished everything else? Mostly I'm frustrated with myself for letting this happen. I'm in the middle of a self induced spiritual dry spell and I need to start digging my way to water. 

I was reading last night the last part of Faith Under Fire: An Army Chaplain's Memoir by Roger Benimoff. Of course I can't fully relate to everything he went through in Iraq, but in the last few chapters he began to talk about grace. Being a Christian isn't about never having a bad day, never feeling spiritually dry, or being safe from terrible experiences. Being a Christian is a about going through those times and instead of relying on yourself or someone else, relying on God. 

"God has a plan" seems so cliche and overused but it's true. Even when it feels like nothing is happening, or even that the wrong thing is happening, there is a reason. So I don't particularly understand why I going through this desert, but I'm sure there's a reason and all I should do is rely on God and trust in his grace for all my impatience and shortcomings. 

Abracadabra

I am so frustrated right now as I'm sure most photographers are at some point in their career (not that this is my career per say, but you get the idea). Vent time, hold on...

As a photographer I can smooth out rough edges, take out splotches and zits, whiten eyes and teeth, and even remove an unfortunately placed tattoo or visible bra strap.

As a photographer I CANNOT make you a size 2 when you're really a size 10, make your face/nose/butt smaller/skinnier, remove extensive tattooing (without it looking like something has been removed)...basically, I can ENHANCE what is already there - I can't CREATE something out of thin air. I am not a plastic surgeon or a magician.

Besides, the photo is supposed to be of you, not what you wish you looked like.

Alright, I've vented - deep breath...

I did have a great weekend with my family despite my children and dogs taking turns throwing up. I even got to eat Thai Food for the first time since we got to Korea! It wasn't as good as Thai Taste in San Antonio, but it scratched the itch.

Speaking of itches, I am sooooo ready to move. It's not that I don't like Korea because I absolutely LOVE Korea and I hope we get to live here again in a few years. It's just that I've been in the military so long that after being in one place more than two years I start to get a little anxious (and my house starts to get a little cluttered).

Hopefully in a few months we'll be boarding that plane headed for SA...

Would everything please stop throwing up?!

So I'm awakened last night at 0200 to the sounds of Dean screaming. I say "I'm" because Randy was still fast asleep; I had to yell at him and flip on the light to wake him up. So the entire bed was covered in vomit, including Johnny who was sleeping next to him. Fun.

Needless to say that after that the entire night was spent trying to keep Dean from screaming his head off and cleaning up vomit. He's not especially pleasant today either.

So here I sit, tired with tons of work to do trying to motivate myself to go teach a spin class at the gym. It's been a good weekend though, despite all the  trouble with North Korea. Thursday morning Randy ran the 5k with me. Neither of us won anything but watching him have an asthma attack was well worth the run. I came in about 25:15 after pacing Randy the first half of the race; he came in about 45 seconds after me sucking wind the whole way down the chute.

Of course after that I decide to make him and a CPT we picked up along the way to run another mile. It's always fun to chick two guys in front of their SGM. Hopefully we'll get to do some rock climbing before the weekend is over.

Friday night I gave my testimony at Church. I don't like talking in front of people especially when I'm not prepared (I forgot all about it till about an hour before hand). I ended up talking about how thankful I am for my marriage having been married before and it not going so well (to put it mildly). All in all I think it went well and I let the Holy Spirit guide me.

So Happy Thanksgiving. Time to get ready for Christmas and hopefully start making plans for going back to the states. Should be hearing something soon about Randy's Seminary application and then Chaplain Candidacy. It'll be nice to be back around family, but I am already sad to be leaving Korea. Hopefully God will see fit to send up back here; Korea has really been a blessing for us.

Gobble Gobble.

It's the craziest time of the year

Another long weekend full of photography. Managed to get in over 10 miles of running this week which makes me happy (and much less scary for my family). I must admit that I am really looking forward to only having one session next weekend instead of the four I've been averaging. It'll be a good break before December kicks in. So here's what I've been working on so far this weekend...

Right now there's this buzzing in my head. I need more hours in the day to get everything done. It's the most wonderful time of the year and also the craziest. Between boyscouts, photography, the kids, the husband, the dogs, running, school, the gym, and all the additional stuff that happens this time of year like balls, parties and other mandatory fun I don't feel like I have enough time to do it all. Running is the only thing that keeps me sane and even that has begun to feel like just another "thing" I have to do. 

Because you have to do the things you have to do. At least this year we opted out of the Christmas Cantata and all that other stuff that just means more appointments and less time together as a family. I suppose that's what bugs me the most: this time of year is suppose to be about family, about togetherness, but it ends up being about how much "stuff" you can fit in to your schedule to maximize the enjoyment and experience of the holidays. Of course this maximization that seems to be such an American trait (I blame the Democrats for this), means we end up frustrated and annoyed with each other instead of joyful and fulfilled.  

So this year I'm cutting back - no big Thanksgiving meal, no cantata, no excessive shopping for things that we and our family doesn't need, no agreeing to do things that are going to be time consuming or take away from spending time with my boys. By minimizing the "stuff" I will be maximizing my enjoyment of the holidays, because all I REALLY want for Christmas is time with my family. 

Of course, even with all my minimizing I still feel overwhelmed with "stuff". Hopefully the Thanksgiving weekend will be relaxing and give me a chance to recharge. I'm very blessed to have a husband that  allows me my much needed me time (which usually means time for a run sans jogging stroller laden with kids) and helps out around the house so I have less to do and more time with my boys. I can't thank God enough for him. And that's really what this is about - thanking God for my beautiful family, amazing husband and enough time/energy/ability to accomplish all the "stuff" I have to do with enough time for what I really want to do - spend time with my family. 

I'm about to loose my mind!

So really, when I don't get to run I start to go a little nuts. I can't seem to focus for anything - I need my cardio! Made plans to go run at the gym since it's 30 degrees outside and windy, too cold for the kids in the stroller, but of course that's the night the hubby has to work until who knows when. UGH! So I've been sitting here working...got some great stuff done but I'm so anxious that I can barely stand it! 

 I'm just about ready to get the kids dressed and go drop them off at the husband's office for two hours...on the plus side I had some totally awesome session this weekend! So many great photos I just can't seem to edit them fast enough. I try to aim for a one week or less turn around time so that I don't get too back logged with photos to work on.

Seems like each session I do becomes my new favorite. Such beautiful families. I'm lucky in that I get to see people at their very best - all dressed up and grinning from ear to ear. I get to take photos of adorable babies and then give them back to their parents when they start crying or poop! It's really great!

So the kids are totally driving me nuts. Must...leave...house...must...go...run...

Maybe after I run I can write a blog with complete sentences and thoughts!