He will be a teenager soon.

He might go through a time where he won’t want to decorate the tree with his family.

He might stop singing Christmas music with us one day.

He might not be the first one to put on his Christmas jammies, shove a blanket under the belly and run around the house pretending he is Santa much longer.

He might not be totally delighted in the moment of hanging his first ornament.

But maybe he will.

Maybe this beautiful, nearly tweenager boy will hold onto his child-like joy of Christmas for all his years.

Even if he loses it for a time, I will have this face.  I will have those freckles and that santa hat he chose to wear and that sparkle in his eyes.  There will still be this moment.

This is documenting December.  These are the moments I want never to forget.

The second Sunday of Advent.  Because we missed the first one, we squeezed two in one for the day.  This year, we are reading an Advent story called Tabitha’s Travels and the kids BEG me to read extra each day.  And while this photo looks all serene and lovely, please know that we had our fair share of scoldings and fights (“but that is MY candle!”) leading up to it.  I may have almost sent them all to bed and given up at one point too!

But what is Advent if it is not refocusing our hearts and minds on the reason for the season.  We may have had moments of frustration but God and his redeeming grace brought it all back.  So when I laid the kids down for bed that night and they talked about how much they love our Advent nights, I was so thankful for the moments shared, both good and trying.

I hope they look back on photos like this and know that our story has sweet and sour in it.  And that most of all, there is always forgiveness and there is always grace.

Have a blessed Advent Sunday friends!

[sing the song] On the second day of December, some dirty rotten scoundrel gave to meeeeee, a stomach virus. [stop singing the song]  That’s it.  It doesn’t rhyme and I hate being sick.  So while I lay in bed, sleeping yesterday and today away, my beautiful and able children made crafts, drank who knows how much hot cocoa, and watched as many Christmas movies as their eyeballs could handle.  I just keep telling myself “At least they only used the Elmers!” or “I am so thankful they let me rest even if it did mean they ate a whole bag of marshmallows!” through gritted teeth.

Seriously, I am so thankful for rest and independent, responsible children, even at the cost of glitter glue everywhere.  And we got our very first Christmas card of the year!  Such a thrill to have a hand written letter from our German Oma Uschie as the opener of the season!

Hoping to feel better tomorrow!  I better because there are no more wooden popsicles, playdoh or pipe cleaners left and who knows what kind of “craft supplies” the kids will come up with then!

Free Advent Candle Coloring page found here.

Every year, I purpose my time to document the happenings of December.  Christmas is, to me, the most meaningful holiday of the year and cultivating purpose and tradition with my kids is high on my list.  Plus…there is just so much fun stuff going on!

So every year, I make time to take normal, everyday, seemingly boring photos and/or photos that challenge me or push me as a photographer.  While this might seem like I am doing it all for show, I really am not.  These photos are our life and every December, since 2009, we have a beautiful story to look back on how our family has grown over the years.  We have proof of failed attempts, we have images of items lost in moves we wish we still had, we hold books of cultural idioms
not currently celebrated and we have the growth of our own traditions passed on through time.

There are tears, giggles, crooked trees, thrift store decorations, deployments, ugly sweaters, angelic faces and whiny fits all smashed into the pages of our story and every December, I am thankful I took the time.

So this year, I am taking a bit more time to share it with you.  Some photos might make you wonder why I took the time to blog them and others might make you smile.  Either way, it’s our story and it means something to us.  I bet your story is just as amazing!

If I am being really honest, this year I am having a hard time put my Christmas feelings to real life.  I have all the excitement bundled up in me but this is the second Christmas in Korea where I feel very far from my family and very lonely.  I do not mean to throw a pity party and I don’t want sympathy.  I am just being real.  Maybe I am ruined from the amazing Christmas’ we were able to celebrate in Germany or maybe I just miss my people on the other side of the ocean.  But this year, I really have to make an effort to get into the swing of things and make time for the wonder.  It is always worth it when I do but this year…it’s just a bit more of an oomph to get me going.

Dec 1st meant getting all the goodies out of storage.  It meant surveying what we have to decorate with and where it will go this year.  It means finding hidden gems and even some new items we forgot we had purchased on the clearance rack in early January!  The first day of the month is opening up the doors to deck the halls!  Let the wild rumpus begin!

Do you document everyday life?  Do you want to start this year?  This life is pretty darn amazing, even in the smallest details, and taking time to tell your story truly helps you see how beautiful it all is!

When she first contacted me, I had my mind made up that I would not be taking clients here.  I had my reasons and they were sound BUT…there are just so many beautiful people, untold stories and amazing places to see here that I could not NOT photograph them.  It had been a bit of time since sent her initial inquiry so when I wrote her back to let her know I changed my mind, it was the thrill of thrills that she still wanted lil ol me to photograph her beautiful family!

Being my first family in my area and my first family in a LONG time, I was SO nervous.  It’s been a week and I STILL feel the butterflies!  Of course, photography is a part of my everyday life but this family I had only ever spoken with online and I didn’t know anything about them, so showing up to the park felt a little bit like I might be murdered or tricked on a hidden camera show.  Good news…I am still alive and if there were hidden cameras…I am sure I made a fool of myself with these precious kids!

Fall in South Korea is gorgeous but these little munchkins just brought it all to life!  We ran, we played hide-n-seek and we ran some more!  Who says photography isn’t a good work out?!

Could they be ANY cuter?!

Not only was I not stolen or embarrassed on television, but I REALLY enjoyed these amazing people.  Mama was so graceful and kind, Dad was such a good sport with all my silly requests and we just had good ol fun playing with the kids all over the park!  These are the kind of clients I love.  You know the kind, right?!  The ones you really want to hang out and be friends with even after the session is over!

My favorite part?  They pulled out a very special set of Hanbok (traditional Korean dress), that were given to their kids as a gift, for the last moments of our fading fall light.  These beautiful outfits were too amazing not to show off and I think little miss was feeling pretty special in her dress!  I also LOVE how big brother made sure to hold her hand and lead her around, so protective yet loving!

So very thankful for this family and the time we shared!  The giggles, the games of tag and the amazing outfit choices (go Mama!) made this first session in Seoul one I will never forget!  Plus, I am really looking forward to our follow up Octonauts and Paw Patrol playdate extraordinaire!  😉

Thank you for your mad google search skills, for your flattering messages and for trusting me with your family session!  I am so honored to have the time with you and so thankful to have met you!  And thanks for not laughing at my terrible Korean pronunciations!

This beautiful family will be growing by two feet in just a short time!  It was such an honor to photograph her incredibly special shower!  Being overseas and away from your family can be so very hard at times.  Times when you could really use a hug from familiar arms or moments when emailing someone good news just won’t do.  But Morgan is so very loved by very dear friends here and I loved watching how they worked so hard to bring together her real family with her military family!

Isn’t she just stunning!

Such well thought out gifts for the mama-of-three!

The big surprise was the videos arranged with all her family back in the states, wishing her well and reminding her of their love.  Tears all around as she watched siblings, aunts, uncles, PawPaws and best friends on a screen, sharing their joy over the new baby and expressing their wishes to be by her side despite the distance.  It was an AMAZING gift that I can imagine she will forever cherish!

The waterfall broke when I saw her precious son, comforting her as her tears fell, in such an act of love.

Only a little longer to go Morgan!  You are so insanely beautiful and I can’t wait to be there when your sweet baby girl is born!  Happy Baby Shower and thank you so much for the honor of standing with your people to celebrate you and that blessed baby!!

I said I wasn’t going to take any sessions in Korea.  I said I wouldn’t have time.  I said that I would be traveling too much and I wanted to focus on my own photos.  I said this wasn’t the season of life for me to be working.

But these people were a good reason to break my rules.  I heart these people.  Big times!  We met at a little Italian restaurant in Germany (that sounds so romantical, right?!) and I was lucky enough to be the one they asked to photograph sweet baby Owen in his little, squishy newborness!  And now, we both live on the Asian side of the globe and I could NOT turn down a request for family photos!  Especially because now they are plus one adorable baby girl!

Owen has gotten SO big and even more handsome than before!

What castles are to Germany, temples are to Korea as far as photo shoots go!  It was only fitting that we put a little taste of their new surroundings in their family photos…

Meet baby Della!  The newest member of the family who also happens to have the drooliest, cheekiest, tongue-sticky-outiest, most adorable smile you ever did see!

GAH?!  The colors?  That couple?!  The perfection of it all?!!

On top of the fun family photos, we HAD to do a shoot to commemorate a very special squadron that this family belongs to here in Korea.  I am not gonna lie…pretty jealous of all the special traditions and rituals they seem to have with their fellow squadron aviators!  Matching suits, call signs for the whole family, PARTY UNIFORMS and custom made patches TO MATCH THEIR CALL SIGNS?!  The coolest ever!

It was such an honor to break my rules for this amazing family!  I love them dearly and have enjoyed photographing them as life moves swiftly along.

Oh…and Emily is starting her own photography business in Osan, South Korea (and where ever the military takes her afterward) so you should really check her out, especially if you are a local!  Start with her facebook page and then check out her website!  She is just getting on her feet but rocking it all and I couldn’t be more proud of her!!

Thank you Smith Family.  Your friendship through the years and spanning the continents has meant so much to me!  The fact that you let me hold and kiss and love on your precious babies is such a gift and both of you are just amazing human beans!!  Thank you for your friendship and for giving the weird girl at the table next to you a chance!

It was a quiet little Easter over here in the land of the morning calm.  Papa was traveling so it was just us for the first half of the day but oh what a blessed day it was!  We somehow managed to get up and out to the sunrise service at our church without me screaming at anyone and all the feet had shoes on them.  That…is an Easter miracle!

The message was awesome, we were able to spend time with friends, and I could listen to my kids quietly singing the sweet hymns of Jesus all day long.  There is a large stained glass on one side of the church and because we roll five deep (and let’s be honest…we weren’t exactly on time) we had to sit in a new-to-us section.  As the sun rose, it lined up perfectly with the sun on the stained glass and the whole church was blanketed in golden rays.  My 7 year old leaned over and whispered “I think God did that on purpose because today his son rose!  Get it?!  SONrise?!” and I could barely keep the tears from falling.

In the afternoon lull and quiet, we decided to keep our hands busy lest we all fall asleep on the couch watching movies.  I totally voted for the nap thing but the kids weren’t having it so…we crafted instead!

For once in my life, I was prepared for Easter and had ordered our super fun, Martha Stewart-esque marbling kit way back in February.  But I guess that is as far as I go on the prepared scale because it wasn’t until THE DAY OF EASTER that I pulled out the kit to try it.  I will take credit for staying up until 2 am blowing out the guts of the eggs so we could color them the next day (did I mention we we to the sunrise service?) so we were ready in that department.

But I love how even at midnight, as I am painstakingly exercising my cheeks and making a mess to get these darn chicken homes ready to be painted, I was reminded that everything points to the God’s love.  This sweet, little accidental heart stopped me in my tracks and brought forth whispers of thanksgiving, that this holiday isn’t just about the eggs.  That I can use these little blank food items to teach my kids about God’s renewing love for us and how he can take us and make us new again.

Thank you, YouTube, for video tutorials on how to marble paint eggs if you have marble paint that doesn’t work.  I found this video using nail polish and immediately cleared my bathroom cabinet of all the nail paint we had so we could get to work!

First let me say, you will ruin whatever bowl/dish you plan to use, so find something you can throw away.  The video suggests hand rolling the eggs through the paint but that was a mess!  So instead, I suggest you stay up way past your bedtime, meticulously poking tiny holes in the both ends of 24 eggs.  Because obviously, hours of work is better than a little paint on your finger tips?

Regardless…this was our set up.  Before you judge me for using REALLY expensive nail polish to do a kids craft, hear me out.

1.  I really don’t know why I have all these nail polishes because I never paint my nails.  I like to believe I will paint my nails all these pretty colors or that I will have these insane fun nail polish parties with my daughter and her friends.  But instead, the just all hang out in my bathroom, unloved. This way, at least they are being used?
2. Since the eggs are gutted and we aren’t cracking them open for any reason besides an accident, we can potentially keep these beauties to use again.
3. I am kinda an over-achiever when it comes to craft projects.  Sorry.

As for how we tweaked it, I didn’t pour as much in the bowl as the video did, but instead dropped it in and swirled it a bit before pushing the eggs through.  And since our eggs were empty, we had to use the skewers to push the eggs in to the water since they tend to want to float back up.

We are IN LOVE with how they came out!  Each one is different and beautiful, even when the paint got goopy in spots or didn’t stick in others.  Sometimes we dropped the eggs in and the double dip gave it a look we didn’t like but overall, it was our very favorite way to color eggs to date.

We dried the eggs two different ways using a 9×13 baking dish and a mason jar.  The paint takes a good while to dry so you have to be patient and wait.  That is hard when they are SO cute!

I feel like you need to know the mistakes we made so you don’t repeat them:

• We learned the really glittery paint sank to the bottoms and wasn’t usable.  But the sparkly paint with small glitter flecks did work and made REALLY cool results!
• We also learned that the paint dries quickly and gets goopy if you wait too long.  Have your eggs ready to dip on the skewer for as soon as you pour the paint on the surface of the water.
• Between each dip, you have to take a piece of scrap paper and clear off all the excess paint off the top of the water, otherwise your colors get all mixed up and it makes you sad.
• Lastly, for the love of all things holy, don’t let your kids pour the paint on the water.  Can you just trust me on this one?!

Of course, we had to make Seahawks eggs!

After Papa got home, we did an egg hunt!  But not for the candy filled eggs or even the ones we slaved over to paint.  This year we hid the eggs from the Resurrection Egg set for our kids to find.  It was so fun to have them open the eggs and go over the story of Christ’s resurrection.  Each egg is filled with a tiny object that represents a part of the story of Jesus’s death and his rising.  For example, one egg had a rock in it to represent the stone sealing the tomb while another egg had three nails in the shape of a cross to represent his piercings.

It is a really cool set to give the kids tangible, visual examples for them to hold on to as we re-read through the Jesus story.  Plus they had fun finding them and I didn’t have to hide in the closet to eat their candy when they weren’t looking.

Praying you all had a blessed Easter Sunday, surrounded by people you love and feeling the reminders of God’s love for us.  He is Risen!!

It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 

1 Peter 1:2

A friend called early one morning, to see if we wanted to join him for a quick run to the local fish market.  He is an amazing chef and always serving up the best seafood dishes so we had to go and meet his dealer, maybe try a little for ourselves.  Of course, I went for the fresh fishes but more so for the experience and adventure of it.  Wanna join me for what was a hour plus jaunt through the many aisles of the Noryangjin Fish Market?  WARNING:  I am sharing a lot of pictures.  You are welcome.

It kinda felt like a visit to the aquarium.  Except that if you wanted to eat any of the exhibits…you could.  PETA would absolutely HATE this place.

One of the very first booths we stopped at, a woman yelled at me what I assume was “NO PICTURES”!  I was feeling pretty down about it and also a little scared to point my camera at anyone…but then this guy came to life ON HIS VERY OWN and my faith in humanity of the fish market was restored!

So you can literally buy any type of fish or ocean dwelling creature in this market.  I think.  It really seemed like it, at least.

And if you are the type that makes decisions based on the online reviews you read, ignore the google reviews on this place.  All those bozoes that left 1 star reviews (I read all of them) clearly didn’t make it past the very first row of vendors.  Yes, the main row of vendors seemed to be the most expensive but again, this is an adventure to be had!  Wander the aisles, see the selection and find the price you want for the item you crave.  We were specifically looking for fresh salmon and a sushimi platter, which we found, but it did take a few rows to find for the price we wanted to pay.

The cool thing is, you can choose your seafood and either have someone at the market cook it for you ON THE SPOT or you can take it to certain restaurants and have them cook it for you.  No.  Did you hear me?  You can shop for your own seafood and then have a chef prepare it for you.  WHAT?!  Call me simple but that just blows my mind!!

I did not know what half of these things were.  I did not wish to ever eat most of these things.  But I did not tire of looking at all the options, that is for sure!

She sat there trimming off all the [somethings] of these muscles.  She didn’t look up once, she wasn’t listening to music and she didn’t seem to be on drugs…she just worked hard on the task at hand, moving each shellfish from the waiting pile to the completed pile.  It was like staring at a lava lamp….I couldn’t look away!

Live octopus for purchase.

Wait…just kidding.  Sorry little guys…

Some of it was just downright gross.  And uncertain.  And gross.

He sat there rolling rice balls.  Not sure if they were his lunch or if they were for sale but he sat RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the walkway.  Can you guess that the people and culture here are just fascinating to me?

This woman was picking up live octopus, ripping there legs off with her bare mouth in broad day light and then organizing the parts accordingly.  It made me want to gag but I could hardly look away.

Negotiating is totally acceptable.

You can ask for the EXACT cut of fish that you want.  And then watch them cut it, very precisely out of the (sometimes live) fish.  Amazing.

Live crab, dead crab…crab that are trying to escape the tank or giving you the evil eye.

The squid are still covered in ink.  Again…am I the only one TOTALLY enthralled by this?!

Seriously the biggest lobster I have ever seen.  It was the size of my thigh and I am terrified of how much it might have cost!

Fresh scallops look a lot like a spine.

It always feels like…somebodies watchin me.

A few of the vendors wanted to show off!  She spent a quick second cracking open the shell and saying things I couldn’t understand, only to hold up this little guy and yell “TURKEY!” in plain English over and over!  I love Korea!!

Cutting fish is an art.  He hooked this sucker right out of the tank, filleted it up and arranged it on the plate before I could say “NEMO”!

Welcome to the gun show!

Just outside the fish market were a few vendors selling things to go along with the main dish.  I know it is just a fish market…but I am so in love with Seoul.  I want to eat all the food and talk to all the people and hug all the little old ladies saying things I don’t understand.  If you live here, if you are visiting, or if you just want to see an edible aquarium…come to the fish market.

One of the main reasons we homeschool is to promote the love of learning.  But…

It is hard to love learning when you feel stupid.

When your younger brother can read things faster than you or words bigger than you, or when your friend of the same age tells you they are working on 9th grade math or when your mom sighs heavily because you still can’t remember what the letters w-h-o say together or even what order they are supposed to be in…you feel awful and want to quit.

She has written four stories so far.  In less than 24 hours.  She is smiling and laughing and excited for us to read her tall tales.  She wants me to tell her more about Anne Rice and how she handled her dyslexia to become one of the most best selling author of all the universe*.  She is excited to try new math and play school with her brothers.  She feels confident, so feels better able to handle something new or hard.  She feels good about her accomplishments so she feels good about her future in learning.

And I feel like I can hear her.  I can read her stories clearly and they are so beautiful.  I can see her heart and her giant vocabulary and her experiences all over the papers she prints out, without wanting to feel like I need to point out her accidental mistakes.  She will continue to work on spelling and handwriting and putting words to paper but for this moment at the computer, with a robot typing out her voice, she is free to fly.

The white plastic binder is slowly filling with printed adventures of princesses, tigers and cherry blossoms that play a part in the history of Valentines Day.   I can only imagine them being complied and bound together between hard covers someday.

There are so many other things I am learning about dyslexia and my daughter and how we can work best together and through it all.  But today, Google Docs Voice Recognition for the win.  Dyslexics UNTIE!!!  I mean…UNITE!!

*This might not be a fact but it sounded good.  Anne Rice didn’t pay me…but I won’t turn her down.  😉