Chip and I are asking for your prayers. While the two of us can handle what some people may think of us, we are having a difficult time when our situation impacts the kids. We were not the only family that came here from Fort Leavenworth. What we recently found out was that there were rumors passed back in Kansas that have followed us here. It is one thing to talk to people about the truth of our situation. It is incredibly difficult to understand people who make assumptions or believe incorrect rumors and are unwilling to hear our side before making the decision to keep their children away from ours. I keep thinking that they are making "Mama Bear" type of decisions and simply don't wish to be told otherwise. Chris, who has a hard time interacting with others, had made his first friend in the Christian pre-school. That is now in serious jeopardy. I have the feeling that we have to start trying to talk to people before we feel we are ready, just to to get a jump on the rumors. It is also difficult when the people involved are Christian. It is hard not to become judgmental ourselves. All we can do is pray...Thank you for all your love, prayers, and support. We love you all. Mona

General update...Teri's tooth trauma is now over. She went to the dentist on Monday last week and they brought her back Thursday to fix her up. You can only tell something happen if you look really close. We had Nate in, as well, and were told we can start the process to get Nate in braces. That will be another adventure. We had Joe in for his 18-month appointment. He has only gained 2 pounds in 6 months, but grew from the 75% to the 95% in height. It looks like he will take after Nate more than Chris. The doctor also told us that he believes that Joe has a hernia. Chip noticed some bulging in his lower left abdomen area, and asked about it. We are now waiting on a call from the surgeon's office for an appointment. Joe isn't in any discomfort; he plays around like usual. Of course, now that I type that, I wonder if his funny walk is due to that...Joe did his stint as a child model. They liked him so much, they asked for a second shooting. Chip says the pictures should come out really well, so we will pass the link when we get it. Otherwise, things are becoming routine. We have a Filipino woman who comes in and helps Chip out twice a week. I have joined the church choir. A friend of mine who sang with me in Kansas is also here. We are still trying to settle. The house is about 90% complete. It is that last 10% that is taking forever. Hope all is well back in "the States!" Love, Mona

Why do traumas always happen on Friday evenings, when doctors' offices are closed? Last year, Nate broke his arm on a Friday evening. Yesterday, Teri came face first with a scooter and has a significant chunk missing from her front, right tooth. Imagine the old scenario of stepping on a spade and getting smacked in the head with the handle. From what I can tell from Teri's description, that is about what happened. Of course, it was an adult tooth - not like when Nate collided with a friend on a trampoline three years ago and knocked out a baby tooth. Thankfully, there was no blood and the tooth itself is not loose. After hearing from the emergency room that the on-call dentist only sees major trauma patients on the weekend, we decided to call for an appointment on Monday. Once Teri calmed down and heard the stories from Chip, me, and some friends here, about our chipped teeth, she realized the world was not coming to an end.
We have not received a catalog with all of Nate's pictures, but we were given a website. If you type in www.lieobe.co.kr, you will come to a clothing for teens website. Nate is on a couple of the initial images and the rest are under the collection option. He is not the only model in the family. Joey had his day under the lights. Chip said he did really well, which amazes me given how he does not like strangers much these days.
Life has been "normal" these past couple of weeks. The kids are in school, Sunday school started last week. Although I am pulling some later hours than I hoped, it is still better than last year. The kids recently had physicals. Both Nate and Chris are in the 95% range on height. Teri is at 50%. Chris is already talking about how soon he will catch her! They are pretty healthy kids. We need to get Joe to a well-baby appointment. Unfortunately, they are only scheduled during the 1:00-2:40 time period. Haven't these folks heard about nap time? Chip is going to attempt to make them see sense; I don't have much hope, though. The only other thing we are dealing with are mosquitos. We seem to have a minor infestation here. Although we have had the inside and out sprayed, they still keep coming. The majority are in Chris and Joey's room. We are using some internal spray thingy that will hopefully work until the equipment we ordered arrives. It is awful to look at Chris and Joey - they are covered in red dots.
We hope all are doing well. God bless! Mona

"American Idols"

My work adventure is finally over, and I am back with the family. We are in the midst of Labor Day weekend, and decided to take advantage of a holiday where the locals don't travel. This time, we choose to leave our zoo and go to the one in Seoul. Although we had a slight rain delay, things cleared up quickly and we had a lovely time. Whether it was due to being a Monday or to the weather, there were no crowds to fight. We were able to see lions, and tigers, and bears...and I 'm not going to finish that, as I am sure you did! We were also able to see neighboring elephants reach across their enclosures and greet each other by entwining their trunks. The camel did not want Chip to take its picture, while the rhino stared straight at him, like he was on a Clint Eastwood wave length. This is a picture of our monkeys looking at Seoul's! The kids got a big kick out of the monkeys' animated play. There was even a correographed pink flamingo number. I cannot imagine what the trainer had to do, but those birds did a 20 minute routine. We tried to have lunch there and were reminded about how the Korean food is definitely spicier than ours. I thought the chicken filets would be safe for the kids, but they were quite spicy. I guess it helped with our water intake! The ice cream was quite good, though. I am constantly amazed at how fit the average Korean is. The zoo was large and on the side of a mountain. We only saw about two-thirds this time around. As it was quite inexpensive and easy to get to, I foresee another trip.

As you can see we have purchased a digital camera. I am usually the one who takes pictures, but Chip read up on this and is definitely more comfortable with it. It has an option to take motion pictures, as well. This should help us out, as we tend to forget about our old video camera. Apparently, getting film developed is expensive here. Although I love my pictures, we may have to start buying photo paper and doing it ourselves. Our zoo is slowly becoming more organized. There are fewer boxes sitting around. This is both good and bad. The good is that there are less; the bad is that we are getting to the point where I don't know what to do with what is left. Hope all is well! Love, Mona