Here is Charles 4 year later. I took these a couple weeks when were were out playing in the snow. They just show such classic Charles expressions...the only one missing is that grin with the eyes just say they are up to something. Making a snow angel.

Bold, Audacious, Daring,

We've been working on a room in our basement--which is still largely unfinished--but we did get the very back room sheetrocked, mudded, textured, and painted. We've used many words to describe how we decided to paint our new room. They ranged from bold, audacious, creative, fun, and patriotic....though not to the US...but to a very cl0se friend of the U.S. We now have a taegukki room. The taegukki is the name of the South Korean flag. And, now we have one proudly and boldly painted on our basement wall. It looks really good and we had a great time doing it. I forgot how much I liked painting things just a little bit bold. The boys LOVED it. We brought them down when we had finished and they just stood there looking at it without saying a word. And, then they smiled...'It's the taegukki!' Even Min pointed and smiled...'gukki,' he said. We've moved a sofa in and a TV along with a few toys. Now we have one clean, livable space in the basement while we try to work on the rest.

I have a few more pictures to post tomorrow. We went to the Cities on Friday for a vacation. It was sort of a family time since all the boys Family days are close together, and it was the day after Soel Nal, which is the Korean word for Lunar New Year, a huge holiday in Korea. And, we had a REALLY great Korean lunch.

Happy Family Day, Min!

Today was the day I brought Min home. I can't believe that it has already been a year. He still seems so little but when I look at these pictures I see that he has changed so much.
Taken in the van on the way to the airport in Seoul. I was so excited to finally be able to take him home, yet so sad that I was taking him away from such an amazing country.
Sound asleep on the airplane. Thankfully, SOMEONE got some sleep...it wasn't me.
This was taken today. His clothes came from Korea and were a gift from a friend.
He certainly has grown and is such an amazing little guy. He's always so happy, and is VERY busy. He has a lot of words and knows exactly what he wants. And, if he doesn't know the word, he points, grunts, and pushes until he gets you where he wants you. He's not afraid of his brothers, and is really starting to like wrestling with them. They are very careful.

I have to finish with a funny conversation I had with the boys on our way home from tae kwon do. We had listened to the CD from their Christmas program for the 3rd time today and Away in the Manger had just finished.
Henry, 'Were Mary and Joseph Jesus' real mom and dad?'
Me, 'Yes.'
Henry, 'But, Jesus is Gods' son.'
Me, 'Well...yes. God helped to make Jesus. But, Joseph helped to take care of Jesus when he was born and while he was growing up.'
Charles,' When were God and Jesus born?'
Me, 'Well, God just was. He wasn't really born. Jesus was born a very long time ago.'
Charles,' Oh.'
Henry, 'Now, Jesus is dead and he lives in Heaven.'
Charles,' Where are Mary and Joseph?'
Henry, 'They're dead too. They live in Heaven with Jesus.'
Charles,' How does God get us to Heaven?'
Me, 'I don't really know. He just has a special way.'
Charles,' Maybe we climb up a stairs or a ladder.'
Me,'Maybe.'
Charles,' Do you think God just drives on a road when he takes us to Heaven.'
Me, 'I'm not really sure. The Bible doesn't tell us how God gets us to Heaven.'
Charles, 'I think He might climb to the top of a tree and jump really high.'

A new level of chaos

Our home has reached a new and incredible level of chaos these days. Part of the reason I haven't blogged for so long. Also, everyone has been sick. I went in 2 weeks ago and found out I had pneumonia and pleurisy (an inflammation of the pleural lining). All that is important is that it hurts like the devil. Anyway, I'm on the mend finally. But, Min has a terrible cough. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to have a fever and has been feeling well. He's also in a terrible stage of separation anxiety. Travis can't even put him to bed.

Andrew is as curious as anything and into absolutely everything. It's nearly impossible to get anything done since he has to 'help,' or make even more of a mess than the one I'm cleaning up. I usually don't load the dishwasher unless he's sleeping since he always tries to climb inside. As you can see from this picture, he LOVES the key drawer and is finally tall enough to see inside if he stands on his tiptoes. He has a favorite set of keys...the camper keys with a little orange flashlight attached.
And, of course, he likes the pots and pans. What kid doesn't? We don't care if he plays in there, but aren't really sure what this was all about. He seems to think that sitting INSIDE of most things is fun. The basket that holds his toys is always fair game when it's empty (which is most of the time).
And....yes....even the drawer under the stove isn't safe. It took him a little while to figure out how to get in there, but was pretty proud once inside. He even managed to convince Charles to give it a try.
Thankfully, it's one of those older, stronger stoves that managed to hold up to two boys sitting inside it.

If I have a monument in this world, it is my son. Maya Angelou

Why God made Little boys
Author: unknown

God made a world out of his dreams,

Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,

Prairies and plains and wooded land,

Then paused and thought, "I need someone to stand

On top of the mountains, to conquer the seas,

Explore the plains and climb the trees,

Someone to start out small and grow,

Sturdy, strong like a tree" and so...

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,

To explore and conquer, to romp and run,

With dirty faces, banged up chins,

With courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He'd begun

He surely said, "That's a job well done."

I had to include that poem for a couple reasons. First, we received the monthly newsletter for the Korea program at our agency in St. Paul. They are asking people to please consider adopting a boy since there seems to be so many waiting there. I am frustrated by this. Why aren't more people who are choosing to adopt from Korea wanting to adopt boys? If I had the money, there were would be another little guy at our house. Secondly, our boys...especially Min, have reached a whole new level of energy and busy-ness. It could have something to do with the cold weather (at least for Henry and Charles) and not being able to be outside, or just because this is what happens when they get to be 6, 4, and 1. Who knows....Anyway, there are days when I feel like I like in the zoo. That's somewhat fitting, however, since we've officially made our family slogan, 'Where The Wild Things Are.' I want to put a sign up on the front door with that saying.

Min had turned into a maniac. I'm not sure how many times during the day we say, 'What are we going to do with that Min,' and 'Min. You are dangerous!' He is amazingly curious, like most 1 year olds he's also fearless, and he is far more agile and mobile than most 15 month olds. He's climbing up the stairs for a couple months. Thankfully, he's not interested in coming down. He LOVES to throw things in water. One day, the boys had had baths. They had just gotten out of the tub and I had gone to their room to help them find clothes. Their dirty clothes were still laying on the bathroom floor and the water was still in the tub. Thankfully, I didn't wait too long to go in there because Min was just starting to throw the clothes in the bathtub. He is also climbing the brothers bunkbed ladder. I saw this one morning when I was home with Charles and Min. I was in the bedroom putting away some clothes and the boys were playing in Charles room. Pretty soon, Charles is yelling, 'Mom!! Come quick! Min is doing something dangerous!' I found him halfway up the ladder. He's gotten much better and can now make it all the way up to the bed. Just stuck a few pictures on.

This was outside a few days ago when the weather was MUCH warmer.

Min is always so proud to stand at the top of the stairs.
I was taking the Christmas tree down and he just had to try to crawl under it. He made it under and back again. Speaking of crawling under things, I found all 3 of them under Henry's bed today looking for something. Of course, Min got a little stuck and needed some help getting out.
He didn't really want to be in the highchair. I think he just had to try crawling up on something and standing on it. Yes, it is a little car. Thankfully, it didn't roll away.

All else is well. The boys are relatively healthy with the exception of Min starting a cold. The weather is BEASTLY cold...for here. The folks in Powers Lake might think its balmy : ) We started working in the basement. It is unfinished and we've started putting up a little sheetrock and doing some electrical work. I have seriously considered padding the walls and making the kind of springboard floor that gymnasts use. The boys could really go wild down there!!

Happy Family Day, Henry!!

Today was Henry's Family Day ( actually I'm backposting...today is really Saturday and he came home on the 4th.) I couldn't post until today becaue I didn't have the pictures until today. When Henry came home, we still had a regular film camera. I have been working on getting my negatives put on CD, but didn't get his done until now....thus, the delay. Henry was very excited and brought cookies to school. His teacher said that he told his class that this was the day he came off the airplane to be with his family. One little girl said, "I didn't come off an airplane. I came out of my moms tummy.' Which then led to a big discussion on families. Yes, Henry knows that he wasn't born to an airplane, but actually grew in his Korean moms' tummy and she gave birth to him at a hospital in Korea. As is the tradition in our family, he got to choose where to eat supper. His favorite is the Sky Dragon restaurant. And, then we went home for a movie, popcorn, and nonalcoholic champagne (Henry's choice).



I added some pictures that we took that day. His plane was scheduled to land at 11:15 and we got there an hour early as was requested. His plane landed close to on time, but it took them a long time to go through customs. The Northwest Flight Aides would come back and forth between us and Henry and his escort keeping us updates. We were told, 'Oh, he's so happy and smiley.' We finally got to see him at about 1 p.m. He was very interested in seeing everything. My parents were with so we all had to pass him around to greet the little guy....only he wasn't so little then. He was about 17 pounds at 6 1/2 months! Getting cozy with dad at the airport. This is one of my favorite pictures. I played around with it a little on photoshop, but would like to try some more.
He fell asleep when I was holding him. Wow!! What a way to melt your mom's heart!! He pretty much slept for the next few hours. He hadn't really slept much on the airplane, per his escort, so he was pretty exhausted.
On our way home. (I see that I needed to slide his plastic seatbelt securer thingy up a little more....oops). We drove for a little while, and then I said.... 'Travis. We have a real live baby back here. And, we're supposed to take care of him!' It is interesting to drive to the airport, be given a small baby, and take him home to raise. We have been looking at some pictures of the boys when they were little and I can't get over how chubby they were. Henry's face was just so round, and so was Charles'.



All in all the week was quiet which was good. We needed the time to unpack, resettle, and let everyone recover. Charles has been sick since Christmas Eve. We believe it started with a cold that worsened his asthma. Of course then, everything makes his asthma worse. So, we just finished 5 days of prednisone. Thank heavens its finished because it made him almost bipolar...manic-hmmm....not depressive, just naughty. He would be so wild that all we could do was just watch him. And, he would be laughing and then mad the next instant. Happy and irritable. Last night at supper, he had a coughing spell and then asked me if he was going to be sick forever. He seemed more like his old self today. Still coughing, but in much better spirits. His pediatrician listened to him on Thursday when Min had his 15 month well child check, and said he was fine. Min is fine too. He is ALWAYS moving.At the store, he wants to only walk. Of course, it usually isn't where I want or need to go. He has some new words....'chase,' his favorite game...he loves it when you chase him; 'spit,' and yes he knows how to spit; and, 'George,' from Curious George. The boys will ask him questions and he answers 'yes,' or 'no.' Henry asked him the other day, 'Am I a genius? ' Min, 'No.' Henry, 'Am I funny?' Min, 'Yes.' Of course, it gets to be quite a game because then CHarles joins in with questions, and we all laugh when Min answers. Then HE has to laugh. Still only 4 teeth and drooling like mad.

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth....

I can't hardly remember what has happened since the last time I updated..... The boys were busy with with program practice for the Sunday School Christmas program. The kids did a great job putting on a musical. Since they had to be there for all the services, I got to watch it 3 times. I pretty much knew the songs myself : )

We lost our dear Pongy-boy on the 12th. We brought him home at just 5 1/2 weeks old. He was so tiny!! Pongy was a good dog to us. He hated having his paws touched, had chronic ear infections, and wasn't particularly fond of strangers. In his good days, he LOVED to run and made a great running companion. However, his passion was to go with Travis for bike rides. He's always loved food....even most vegetables. He was a vigilant protector of his family and home, and would bark if he heard someone walking a block away. We sure will miss him.

We left for ND on Thursday, the 20th, to be with our families for Christmas. We stayed at a hotel on Thursday since the drive is about 11 hours, and then drove the rest of the way on Friday. The boys had a great time swimming. Min realized that there are great benefits to be the 3rd child. We let him eat chicken nuggets and french fries for supper (something Henry would have NEVER gotten to do at 14 months...and likely not Charles either). And, then he managed to raid the bag of Cheeto's and tried to horde as many as he could. As you can see, it is doubtful that he could have held on to too many more. We got to my parents on Friday afternoon and were so glad to be done travelling (Trav's parents live in the same town). Charles had been asking my dad for weeks if they could build a birdhouse (my dad does a lot of woodworking). This is a picture of them in my dad's workshop finishing the bird house. Charles is helping my dad drill the screws to hold on the roof. It is a very nice birdhouse that is shaped like a barn. Charles has been wanting a barn in our yard for the past few months. He decided to paint it blue with a white roof.
Christmas Eve was spent at my parents. Our whole family (my sister, brothers and all their family) was together. This is a picture of all the cousins. Only my great nephew, Noah, is missing. He's 3.
In order, Min 1 yr, Jacey 17, Tianna 4, Trista 2, Lane 11, Henry 6, Clay 19, Charles 4. This was the only picture I had where Min wasn't screaming...he's not very pleased, but at least you can see more than his open mouth. It was a crazy night, especially when it was time to open the presents. I don't know that I've ever seen paper fly so fast but what can I expect when you have 5 kids 6 and under.
Trista and Min were having a lot of fun playing with a bag of scarves. Only a 1 and 2 year old can find such great fun in scarves. They are only a year apart in age.

My brother, Lance, and Henry. Henry got a guitar for Christmas and was serenading Lance with a very long, ad lib song. Lance laughed and said it was longer than the 'Flight of the Bumblebees.'
Charles is playing back-up to Henry.

On Christmas morning, we went to Travis' mom and dad's for Christmas there. This is a picture of the boys with their cousins. Georgia 9, and Ella 7. Min and Charles were not at all liking to have their picture taken.
The rest of the week was fairly quiet and the boys got some much needed rest. They were all sick while we were there, and with the excitement of Christmas they didn't get enough sleep. We left for home on Thursday, stopped again for the night, and got back to Rochester on Friday afternoon. We were all glad to be home. We spent today just doing things around the house. Min found these glasses and actually WANTS to wear them. He has brought them to us many times to help put them on.
Tonight, Charles started yelling, "Mom! Dad!! Come quick! Min's in big trouble!" We couldn't imagine what must be going on as we ran into the family room. There was our dear Min, smiling at us with his face and hands covered in soot. He had found the fireplace tools.
He's so proud of himself that he's clapping.

Lots of pictures!!

Life has been a little crazy since getting back from ND. It took a few days just to get settled back into a routine, and then to prepare for Christmas. It seems to take a little longer with the boys since they are always so helpful and Min is turning into such a busy boy that you can't get much done before he needs to be rescued. He's always liked to sit at the piano and 'play.' But, not he's
learned that actually crawling onto the piano is so much better. Now, he would climb up to the very top if I let him. He zooms up the stairs with no trouble, but still isn't much interested in coming down. Thank goodness!! We have just one step into our family room and he stands at the top of that and yells 'bow' (down) until we come to get him. Interesting, since he knows how to get down off the couch.
We did get the Christmas tree up and decorated....FINALLY!! We had it up and I went to string the lights (which worked perfectly BEFORE I put them on the tree), strung them and then had to take them down and restring them with new lights. UGH!! Then the boys helped me decorate as you can see above. If you look carefully, you can see that most of the ornaments are toward the middle of the tree. I gave the boys directions as to whether an ornament could go toward the bottom (meaning it was safe for Min to take off the tree), or at the top. So far we've done okay with no broken ornaments.
Min found some glitter in the box. Thankfully, the cap stayed on until I could rescue it.

This is the newest stunt of our little mountain goat. I had left a box of wet wipes next to the toy box and he used it to climb on top of the box and stand up to look out the window. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw him standing up there!!
Henry had his first tae kwon do tournament on Saturday. It was here in town at a local school. Henry did great!! There were three competitions--board-breaking, form, and sparring. The competitors were grouped according to belt color and general age.

Henry got a silver medal in form and board-breaking, and a bronze medal in sparring. He looks pretty serious but he was very proud.

Charles and Min with some much needed play time in the school lobby.
This picture is for Gramma Marsha so that she can see how well her grandson is protected. This picture doesn't show the mouth guard, shin protectors, or 'nut cup' that he's wearing. Henry was pretty proud of that protector, apparently, since we heard him tell 3 other students (girls) from his TKD class that he had one.
Henry with his 3 medals.

We went to the TKD school Christmas party afterwards which was a lot of fun. Great food, music, games, and goody bags for the kids meant everyone had a lot of fun. Min entertained a few with his dancing.

Not very creative today so....no title!

Just stuck on a couple pictures taken on a really nice day this fall. I've not had time to download any recent ones. The past three weeks have been simply unbelieveable, and is the major reason I haven't updated for awhile. Hmmmm.... let me see if I can even remember....

I had my yearly appointment with my hematologist. I always look forward to it. Partly, because we really my doctor, and he gave me quite a bit of advice on raising 3 boys. Thanks!!! Also, since I've never really been quite normal since my transplant ( especially on paper : ) ) it is a good reminder for me to really live every day and not worry about the details.

Then, Travis went out of town and left me with the boys for 6 days. He returned home the Tuesday before last, and we were so very glad to see him. The next day we found out the my sister-in-laws two nephews had been in a serious car accident leaving one dead and the other in very critical condition. This particular family lived in a nearby town and we had known them through my sister-in-law. Her nephew is now in Rochester for surgery and trauma care.

My parents came for a visit on the Thursday before Thanksgiving. The boys had a great time and talked Grampa into taking them to the grocery store. This is a tradition for them and they always come home with special treats. They told me before Mom and Dad got here....'Grampa really likes kids, and Gramma really likes kisses.' My parents visit got cut short when they were called in the middle of Friday night (early Saturday morning) that my dad's brother passed away. They left for home that morning so they could help with funeral plans. My uncle and his wife had moved to Colorado a few years ago, but the funeral would be in our home town where my uncle had grown up. My cousins and aunt arrived at my parents on Sunday and Monday. Andrew and I flew to ND on Tuesday morning for the funeral. Of course, all funerals are sad but this one included a lot of laughter as well. My cousins asked people in the congregation to share memories and stories. My uncle always managed to get into some crazy scrapes which, of course, leads to some really great stories. Uncle Allie was like a second dad to us. He and my dad were close in age and they lived near each other until their move to Colorado. My cousins were close in age to us and we spent quite a lot of time together. They were more like brothers. I even have a twin cousin!! They were all boys which is probably why having 3 boys has never really seemed so scary to me. I was well schooled on 'cops and robbers,' sword-fighting, and could make roads in the garden for matchbox cars with the best of them. My 'twin' and I had the most fun riding the ponies through the woods and playing cowboys and Indians. Not so appropriate these days, but quite acceptable when I was 8. Andrew and I got to stay for Thanksgiving dinner which my sister had at her house. And we flew home on Friday.

Andrew is having a horrible time resettling into a regular routine and is needing a lot of comfort at night. It doesn't help that he's getting another tooth. He picked up a few new words while we were gone which include the oh-so-approrpiate words for a baby; pop and chip. Thankfully, he's also saying 'wa-wa' and 'eat.' We're not sure what happened with him since he's seldom read to. It must be the brothers who never stop talking. He's also loving to play 'chase' with the big brothers. This has the brothers crawling around pretending to chase Andrew while he tries to 'run' away. Yes, he is trying to run....and jump which usually ends in him sitting. He'll be 14 months old on Friday. We had a nice visit with my great-uncle and his wife this evening. She is here for diagnostic tests and treatment. Now it is time to return to the real world and start preparing for the holidays.

And update for Dad!!

So far...all has gone well with my by being home alone with all 3 boys. They spent part of yesterday at Ja Neal's which was a godsend because I got some housework and laundry done. Friends with kids the same age as Henry and Charles came last night for pizza and movie so the boys were so tired they absolutely crashed at bedtime. This morning we went out for breakfast which was a request of Henry's before Travis even left. They were very good at the restaurant and then Henry had his tae kwon do test this afternoon. He did great!! He broke his board on the first try with a step-behind-sidekick. Andrew got to see his very best friend, and Charles crawled back and forth under the chairs pretending he was a train going through a tunnel. At least he wasn't disrupting anyone. We're having a quiet night tonight with spaghetti and playing. Henry is busy drawing right now and CHarles is playing with the Little People. Andrew is sleeping. Tomorrow is church and then I don't know what else. Henry this afternoon dressed up at Spiderman
At the test this afternoon.
Charles making a scary face
Last week, Andrew helped Dad install the baby gate at the bottom of the steps.

THis is Henry's form, tae guk il jong.

Happy belated Halloween!!

I have become terribly slow about updating the blog and adding pictures.... oh,well. Here, finally, are the Halloween pictures. The boys were so wild that day that we barely got them to eat supper. Travis headed to the store to buy some extra candy (you never know if you'll have a lot of kids and run out. Even if you don't have many trick-or-treaters the candy never really goes to waste now does it?) Charles had had a Halloween program with his preschool at the Charter House on Monday. That is always a lot of fun and the kids did a very nice job. Charles even held the microphone and told his name and age. When the lady asked who he was dressed up as, he said, 'Just Charles.' Henry had a Fall Festival parade (apparently, they can't really say they'll have a Halloween parade at schools anymore either) but he brought his costume and the rest of the classes dressed up and they had a parade around the school. He was so excited it was like trying to talk to an empty bucket. Just imagine....18 kids all putting on Halloween costumes with the excitement that can only be shown by 5 and 6 year olds on Halloween. It was incredible! We FINALLY got our pumpkins carved the day before Halloween....after the boys went to bed. I tried to do it while they were still up, but it is awfully hard to cut a face into a pumpkin with a sharp knife and three faces within inches of the pumpkin. And, let me ask....who ever got the idea to hollow out a pumpkin and cut a face into it?

Andrew as Tigger, Henry as a Clone Warrior (from Star Wars), and Charles aka Buzz Lightyear.
Here is my little Clone Warrior!!! Who couldn't be proud of their 6 year old, machine gun toting son?
Here is Just Charles. He managed to make it to quite a few houses before I had to carry him home.
And, Tigger!! All the boys have been Tigger for their first Halloween. We certainly couldn't break the family tradition this year.

Henry didn't have school on Friday and went to Ja Neal's with Charles. He has been wanting to go so he could play with his friend, Mikka. She's in kindergarten, too, but goes in the afternoon. They had a great time. Min and I spent awhile in the social security office applying for his social security card, and at the Credit Union opening up a savings account. Now, we just have to get him a passport and we should be set. On Saturday, we went to the Park Institutes open house and demonstration which was a lot of fun. Henry, actually all of us, enjoyed seeing what the instructors can do, along with the older kids. Of course, this meant that Henry spent the rest of the afternoon trying to break boards with punches, kicks, and yes....even with his head...though only one time... along with about 20-30 runs through his form. Thankfully, we talked him out of trying to break a glass bottle. We managed to get quite a bit of wood cut for the fireplace. And, the boys started practicing for the Christmas program at Sunday school. Life is going to be VERY busy from now through Christmas. Travis leaves early Thursday morning to travel back to ND for hunting. He won't be back until the following Tuesday. I will be home with the boys. If anyone feels inclined to pray for my sanity during these 5 days, I'm sure the boys, and I, would very grateful : )