Please join us in prayer for the following.
-Christmas break has started! Woo Hoo!
-Co-worker Shannon Hugo came over last night for dinner and brought a copy of White Christmas to watch. We had a lot of fun and Max and E seemed to like it too.
-Shannon and many other teachers are leaving Korea for the break. Tad and Teal are heading for Switzerland to ski, please ask the Lord for travel mercies for all of them.
-Jo Anna is coming from China to visit for Christmas! She is due to arrive on Thursday the 23rd.
-Max has been very two years old lately and is driving us a bit crazy. Please ask that she learn to obey and that we are good parents.
-Elisha is very close to walking. It's great!
-Yesterday, I developed some severe lower-back pain and had to be checked out at the hospital. I am not seriously injured, but the pain is bad and my back is weak. Please pray that it heals quickly and I do not injure it further.
We love you all. Thank you for your prayers.
~Ryan
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Korean Jeopardy
For $100: these are the current weather conditions in Korea.
Answer: What is- insanely cold?
For $200: Elisha's current favorite past-time.
Answer: What is- pull everything out of cabinets and shelves as fast as possible, as often as possible.
For $300: this person can take several unassisted steps and stand unsupported for longish periods of time.
Answer; Who is- Elisha?
For$400: Corrie did this the other day, blaming it on her bleeding heart.
Answer: What is- rescued a freezing kitten from a field on the way to Home Plus.
For $500: Corrie then did this with the kitten the following day.
Answer: What is- put it in a box and left it outside a pet store down the road.
Answer: What is- insanely cold?
For $200: Elisha's current favorite past-time.
Answer: What is- pull everything out of cabinets and shelves as fast as possible, as often as possible.
For $300: this person can take several unassisted steps and stand unsupported for longish periods of time.
Answer; Who is- Elisha?
For$400: Corrie did this the other day, blaming it on her bleeding heart.
Answer: What is- rescued a freezing kitten from a field on the way to Home Plus.
For $500: Corrie then did this with the kitten the following day.
Answer: What is- put it in a box and left it outside a pet store down the road.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Quotable Max Quotes, take 2
Conversation with Max early this morning....
Max: my belly hurt.
Me (Corrie!): your belly hurts? Do you want to sit on the potty?
Max: no. Go see doctor.
Me: your belly hurts so you want to go see the doctor?
Max: yes. Ride school bus, go see doctor.
Ahhhhhh I get it....
Then, it got better.
Max: E-sha's belly hurt. Go see doctor.
Me: E's belly hurts? No, I think he's okay.
Max: my belly hurt. Ride school bus. Go see doctor.
Me: your belly still hurts? Let's go sit on the potty.
Max: no. Ride school bus, see doctor. Eat ice cream.
Yes, folks, she wants to go see the doctor just so she can ride on the "school bus" and eat ice cream. A floor or two below the doctor's office is the pharmacy, and across from the pharmacy is a Baskin Robbins.
Enough said.
Max: my belly hurt.
Me (Corrie!): your belly hurts? Do you want to sit on the potty?
Max: no. Go see doctor.
Me: your belly hurts so you want to go see the doctor?
Max: yes. Ride school bus, go see doctor.
Ahhhhhh I get it....
Then, it got better.
Max: E-sha's belly hurt. Go see doctor.
Me: E's belly hurts? No, I think he's okay.
Max: my belly hurt. Ride school bus. Go see doctor.
Me: your belly still hurts? Let's go sit on the potty.
Max: no. Ride school bus, see doctor. Eat ice cream.
Yes, folks, she wants to go see the doctor just so she can ride on the "school bus" and eat ice cream. A floor or two below the doctor's office is the pharmacy, and across from the pharmacy is a Baskin Robbins.
Enough said.
Some current prayer requests
I was trying to put prayer requests at the end of each blog post. You see how long that lasted.
Please pray:
- for my mom's side of the family. Her father passed away early Monday morning after a brief hospital stay. He had not been doing well for a long time, so we were all prepared, but still.
- for continued good health for us. Ryan's Christmas break officially starts on Friday, and we all know about the Kolbe family's propensity towards illness during breaks.
- for a great visit with Ryan's sister, Jo Anna, who is coming to spend a week with us over Christmas. We are really excited about her visit! And hoping we don't get sick... see above.
- for wisdom and patience raising the kids.
Please pray:
- for my mom's side of the family. Her father passed away early Monday morning after a brief hospital stay. He had not been doing well for a long time, so we were all prepared, but still.
- for continued good health for us. Ryan's Christmas break officially starts on Friday, and we all know about the Kolbe family's propensity towards illness during breaks.
- for a great visit with Ryan's sister, Jo Anna, who is coming to spend a week with us over Christmas. We are really excited about her visit! And hoping we don't get sick... see above.
- for wisdom and patience raising the kids.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Happy Belated Thanksgiving
I know Thanksgiving is a time for remembering and being thankful. To be perfectly honest, which I can and will be since this is, after all, our blog, I always found it kind of hokey to be all gushy about being particularly thankful around Thanksgiving. I'm not saying it's wrong, I just had a hard time with the whole "let's list lots of things we're thankful for, since it is Thanksgiving today." I'm more all about being spontaneously thankful.
I feel like a Thanksgiving scrooge, though, when everyone is sitting around talking about all the things they're thankful for, and I'm "ummming" and "uhhhing." Yes, I have tons and tons of things to be thankful for, but put some pressure on me and I can't think of any of them. Add to that the stress of wondering what other people are going to think of the things I list off, and I just shut down. "Gee, I forgot to list family. Will they think I'm not thankful for my family? What about my health? Ooooh Mr. So and So just mentioned being thankful for XYZ. How am I going to top that?? Will people think that what I list is stupid?" You get the idea.
So, to those of you out there who HAVE spent a Thanksgiving with me, please know that I, Corrie, am not, in fact a Thanksgiving scrooge. I just hate being put on the spot.
However, without further ado, here are some things I am thankful for RIGHT NOW:
-my husband
-my kids; or, to be more precise, the fact that my kids are currently sleeping, and it is quiet and peaceful and I can blog
-my friends Pam and Renee
-that our water bill is a flat 30,000KRW a month, no matter how much we use
-my comfy comfy bed
I feel like a Thanksgiving scrooge, though, when everyone is sitting around talking about all the things they're thankful for, and I'm "ummming" and "uhhhing." Yes, I have tons and tons of things to be thankful for, but put some pressure on me and I can't think of any of them. Add to that the stress of wondering what other people are going to think of the things I list off, and I just shut down. "Gee, I forgot to list family. Will they think I'm not thankful for my family? What about my health? Ooooh Mr. So and So just mentioned being thankful for XYZ. How am I going to top that?? Will people think that what I list is stupid?" You get the idea.
So, to those of you out there who HAVE spent a Thanksgiving with me, please know that I, Corrie, am not, in fact a Thanksgiving scrooge. I just hate being put on the spot.
However, without further ado, here are some things I am thankful for RIGHT NOW:
-my husband
-my kids; or, to be more precise, the fact that my kids are currently sleeping, and it is quiet and peaceful and I can blog
-my friends Pam and Renee
-that our water bill is a flat 30,000KRW a month, no matter how much we use
-my comfy comfy bed
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
And so what we have learned...
... applies to our lives today, and God has a lot to say, in His Book!
Brownie points to whomever can tell me what that is from.
Yesterday was not such a hot day. And I'm not talking about the snow on the ground. Max is still getting over something, E is still getting over something, and I'm fighting off a sore throat and losing my voice. Do you have any idea how irritating and frustrating it is to have to not only repeat EVERYTHING you say 3 or 4 times to a 2 year old who just says "Huh?" but to do it with a sore throat?? It was not a good day.
Before bed last night (read: before I passed out, only to spend 3/4 of the night either coughing or taking care of a child who was coughing), I was working on my Bible Study, "The Power of a Woman's Words" (written by a lady who lives in Matthews, NC. Go figure. Longer story short, I was drawn to verse 12 in Colossians 3. Yeah, I've read it before. Heck, I've even memorized it. But it was still new and fresh. And no, I'm not old. (Inside joke.) Anyway, in the tNIV it reads : "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Ouch. Compassion, I'm fairly good with. But it goes downhill from there. To the "punchline," if you will. Patience. Why does God save the zingers for last? (So it seems, anyway.) I wasn't patient. Yes, lots of things happen to try my patience. Some DO need to be dealt with. Some just need to be... being patient with.
Case in point: while I was in the middle of writing the above paragraph, Max stood on her sippy cup, causing the lid to pop off and orange juice to go all over the floor. No, it was not an accident. Really? Seriously? I have to stop writing my post on patience to mop up orange juice from the floor?
This isn't the first time Paul talks about patience. He does it earlier (at least in the Bible) in the book of Galatians, 5:22-24. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
The thing about the last part is that it isn't a one time and you're done thing. It's moment by moment, decision by decision, thought by thought, and word by word thing. It's HARD. I fail. A lot. Way more than I succeed. Thankfully, I know that not only do I not have to do it own my own, but Christ stands in the gap for me. I'm saved by grace, not works.
Brownie points to whomever can tell me what that is from.
Yesterday was not such a hot day. And I'm not talking about the snow on the ground. Max is still getting over something, E is still getting over something, and I'm fighting off a sore throat and losing my voice. Do you have any idea how irritating and frustrating it is to have to not only repeat EVERYTHING you say 3 or 4 times to a 2 year old who just says "Huh?" but to do it with a sore throat?? It was not a good day.
Before bed last night (read: before I passed out, only to spend 3/4 of the night either coughing or taking care of a child who was coughing), I was working on my Bible Study, "The Power of a Woman's Words" (written by a lady who lives in Matthews, NC. Go figure. Longer story short, I was drawn to verse 12 in Colossians 3. Yeah, I've read it before. Heck, I've even memorized it. But it was still new and fresh. And no, I'm not old. (Inside joke.) Anyway, in the tNIV it reads : "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Ouch. Compassion, I'm fairly good with. But it goes downhill from there. To the "punchline," if you will. Patience. Why does God save the zingers for last? (So it seems, anyway.) I wasn't patient. Yes, lots of things happen to try my patience. Some DO need to be dealt with. Some just need to be... being patient with.
Case in point: while I was in the middle of writing the above paragraph, Max stood on her sippy cup, causing the lid to pop off and orange juice to go all over the floor. No, it was not an accident. Really? Seriously? I have to stop writing my post on patience to mop up orange juice from the floor?
This isn't the first time Paul talks about patience. He does it earlier (at least in the Bible) in the book of Galatians, 5:22-24. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
The thing about the last part is that it isn't a one time and you're done thing. It's moment by moment, decision by decision, thought by thought, and word by word thing. It's HARD. I fail. A lot. Way more than I succeed. Thankfully, I know that not only do I not have to do it own my own, but Christ stands in the gap for me. I'm saved by grace, not works.
Monday, November 29, 2010
I got bean pasted.
We knew this day was coming. We had heard horror stories from other people about when it happened to them. Somehow, we had managed to escape for just over 4 months unscathed. Then, it happened. Elisha, Max, and I walked down to the market today (the one that is big and bustling on days that end in 4 and 9. I'm not even kidding.) for something to do. We walked around and looked at things, seeing what was what. We walked by a great bakery. Max decided that nothing would do but that we go back and check it out. I'm good with that- I like bakeries as much as the next guy. Maybe a bit more. So we go in, look around, Max touches a few things (disobeying me, obviously, and making it so I had to buy those touched things), and we make a few selections. This bakery, though small, had dozens of yummy looking things to offer- French bread, rolls, regular bread, sugary looking things, puff pastry looking things, some covered in honey, etc. One things that caught my eye and called to my tastebuds was what appeared to be a nice round bread, kind of like a pita (pronounced PEA-tah), but more doughy. It looked soooo yummy. I decided that that needed to be on our tray of things we were purchasing.
The nice lady bagged up our few things, we paid, bundled back up (did I mention it snowed last night?), and headed outside. Max started gnawing on a cookie, and I pulled out the nice, round, yummy looking bread. Took a biiiig bite (at least as big as is befitting a lady) and.... AGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH they filled the middle with a semi-sweet RED BEAN PASTE. The HORROR. The LET-DOWN. The UNMITIGATED GALL!!! (That last one is from something but I don't remember what now...) Talk about sad. Talk about another lousy event in already lousy day.
Needless to say, I didn't eat anymore.
Now, Koreans love their red bean paste. Apparently. They put in places where an otherwise unsuspecting person wouldn't expect it. Like in the middle of doughnuts. Trickery. They even have ICE CREAM that is red bean flavored. We assume so, anyway, as the packet has red beans all over it. We have not purchased one. So, like I said, we were counting ourselves lucky to have escaped thus far. Well, I guess technically Ryan still has. He tasted it when he got home from school, but he knew it was coming.
They also have a thing for pressed fish paste. I haven't tasted that. I reeeeeaaaallllllyyyyy hope I never do.
The nice lady bagged up our few things, we paid, bundled back up (did I mention it snowed last night?), and headed outside. Max started gnawing on a cookie, and I pulled out the nice, round, yummy looking bread. Took a biiiig bite (at least as big as is befitting a lady) and.... AGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH they filled the middle with a semi-sweet RED BEAN PASTE. The HORROR. The LET-DOWN. The UNMITIGATED GALL!!! (That last one is from something but I don't remember what now...) Talk about sad. Talk about another lousy event in already lousy day.
Needless to say, I didn't eat anymore.
Now, Koreans love their red bean paste. Apparently. They put in places where an otherwise unsuspecting person wouldn't expect it. Like in the middle of doughnuts. Trickery. They even have ICE CREAM that is red bean flavored. We assume so, anyway, as the packet has red beans all over it. We have not purchased one. So, like I said, we were counting ourselves lucky to have escaped thus far. Well, I guess technically Ryan still has. He tasted it when he got home from school, but he knew it was coming.
They also have a thing for pressed fish paste. I haven't tasted that. I reeeeeaaaallllllyyyyy hope I never do.
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