Zion National Park

 

We got there. We walked around. We dug it.

Ven. Vedi. Vici.

You know. 

Greetings from Base Camp

We're in Utah. Surprise! The kids and I returned to the states in early January after Asher became ill in Korea. He was immediately diagnosed with Lyme disease (say what?!) and is responding extraordinarily well to treatment--a triple-antibiotic cocktail and a daily dose of hefty vitamins and probiotics. Nate will be in Seoul another few months, but flew in this week to join us for some much needed family R&R.

A friend tipped us off to vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) and we found a great little condo in Duck Creek, a couple-cabins town tucked away deep in the high desert. After only a  few days of red rock dust and Nate by my side, I feel good as new. So great, in fact, I thought I'd take a minute to rejuvenate the ol' blog. "[We're] not dead yet!"

We'd planned to visit nearby Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks--where weather was predicted to be hot and sunny. We neglected to check temps in Duck Creek itself however, and packed only t-shirts and warm-weather hiking gear. Imagine our surprise when we pulled up to the condo and found the place covered in nearly three feet of snow!

Luckily, we came loaded with plenty of firewood and S'mores supplies. The advertised fire pit is buried in ice, but Nate got a roaring fire going in the driveway and our "winter camping" adventure turned into an unexpected bonus!

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Everything,

Nate, Erin, Jensie, Asher, & Frances

This One is Six

Celebrating at school with her best friend Chanel. Thanks for the party goods Grandi!

One gets all the weird stuff, the other has a flair for the dramatic, but this one, well, we never worry about this one. This birthday girl is sweeter than sugar. She is independent and quiet and self-assured and always happy. A friend told me, "I need a Frankie in my life." Everyone without a Frances Amelia is really missing out.

Frankie likes to chop veggies and surprise salad is her breakfast-in-bed specialty. A real serial artist, Little Miss cranks out hundreds of drawings a day--most of them identical. She has recently started stapling them together and sells her "books" on our street corner. I think I am her only customer thus far. She took a bundle of her books to school and read them to the class for show and tell. When the teacher asked why she'd written so many books she replied, "To make money of course!"

She is a laundry pro. She enjoys it so much she tried to talk her friends into doing "all the laundry in the house" when they came to play.

She is generally agreeable and very obedient. We only ever argue about her hair. That mop is tangled, wild and out of control. I say we should wash and comb it now and then. She disagrees! But I can't get enough of those yellow curls--they get bouncier every year.

The first time I wised up and sent her to bed with "product" in her hair. She's using Curly Q's. Great stuff for kids.

Little Miss for Levi's. She's thought it was so fun to model with Jensie.

And now for the birthday quiz I mean to ask every year but always forget about...

1. What is your favorite color? Pink and purple and blue and yellow.

2. What is your favorite toy? My doggy named "Snowy"
3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon!
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Last Unicorn
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza
6. What is your favorite outfit? Skirt and a shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Mouse Trap
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
9. What is your favorite animal? Hedgehogs
10. What is your favorite song? I am a Child of God
11. What is your favorite book? Pink Priscilla (Priscilla and the Pink Planet)
12. Who is your best friend? Ellena and Chanel and Maggie
13. What is your favorite cereal? The flake ones
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride my bike
15. What is your favorite drink? Ice-cream with soda
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My money
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Ice-cream cake with the flower that explodes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor

My Brown Eyed Girl (These Days)

This is probably the fourth time I've used that title on this blog. I just can't get enough of those chocolate lookers. When Jensie was an infant I brought her to UVSC to show her off to my favorite professor. He took one look at those eyes and said, "Boy, she'll break a lot of hearts with those brown beauties!" I'm afraid he was probably right. Sometimes I just can't believe what a gorgeous girl she's growing into. What really gets me though is how passionate and capable she's become. Sure she's pretty, but you should hear what she's got going on right now.

Miss J. for Levi's- at one of her last photo shoots. Jensie traded in her modeling career for a cute pixie cut.

Jensie is remarkably talented and so helpful around the house. The other day I was in the kitchen making dinner and Jensie walked in and started doing the dishes without being asked! Then she brought up something she'd seen in the news--suffering in North Korea--and we had a great discussion about politics, our own abundance and blessings, and ways to help others. It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had as a parent--such a neat glimpse of the woman Jensie will be someday. I have decided I can't wait for my kids to be teenagers. To have them express opinions in a mature and thoughtful way? Man.

Jensie's grown a lot this year and has really started to shine at school. She is the editor of the lower school newspaper (Dwight School is PK-12) and was thrilled to report that she beat out of a couple of older candidates because the faculty adviser felt she had the "best attitude for the job."

Left: "I can effect social change" self-portrait. The art teacher said they didn't have to draw accessories so Jensie omitted her glasses. She can't wait 'til she's old enough for contacts. Right: Jensie has been lucky to have Ms. Kremer teach her for two years in a row. That woman is a godsend. She knows just how to motivate our sweet and sour firstborn.

Fifth graders for change! Why talk about it when you can do it? Jensie asked parents to sign a petition against racist practices in Australia. Others encouraged boycotts and one classmate wrote to China's prime minister and president with ideas about improving their air quality.

 Last week, Nate and I were proud to attend her first "persuasive essay" presentation. Research on her topic, Racism in Australia, was completely self-driven. Without any help from her teacher or us, Jensie's speech was thoughtful, detailed, and articulate. The delivery was spot on and she closed by inviting the audience to "Have a nice racism-free day." Thanks, Jense, don't mind if we do.

Goodness the pre-tweens are fun. Jensie's still pragmatic about clothes and hair, but adores makeup and changes her nail polish nightly. She loved her Halloween eyeliner so much she now wants to be "goth." I'd worry, but last year one of my young women at church told me, "Goth is a fashion, emo is a state of mind." So that's cool. Jensie can wear dark makeup as long as her personality isn't dark to match. Not that there's much fear of that. While her ideas get bigger and better, she gets sweeter and sillier. The last time she brought home a scholastic book order she circled every book with the word "romance" in the description. She and her girlfriends giggle over Google chat when their homework is done, and Jensie says she'd like to meet her someday boyfriend while she's working at a cafe.

"Wouldn't that, like, be just, like, so romantic, mom?"

Yeah, Jense. Totally. Or as you say, totes.

Halloween '13

It's about time I started documenting this stuff again, right? 

Costumes this year were pretty low key. We waited 'til the night before to even think about them, so had to pull things from our usual wardrobes and the dress-up pile. Jensie was Thalia, Zeus' punk daughter, from the Percy Jackson books. We found an old jammie shirt and spiced it up with a bleach pen (thanks Design Mom)--orange "Camp Half-Blood" shirts are a big part of the P. J. series. Jensie did all of the work herself and it turned out so well. I'll have her model it again sometime because these are the only pictures I took all day.

I dashed Asher's dreams of being his favorite "Club Penguin" penguin and Frankie wanted to be a ghost. They were both disappointed when I insisted we work with what we had, but were pleased with the end results. Asher went as a skeleton pirate--the closest we could get to his second choice, Skeleton Barbosa from The Pirates of the Caribbean--and Frankie was Alice in Wonderland as "Mary Ann." She looked pretty darn cute in that little house, but the straps broke five seconds into the school costume parade. After that she was just plain Alice.


Some expat friends from school joined us for trunk-or-treating and sloppy joes. Their kids took home about 3/4 of all the candy, but my kids were so thrilled I didn't make them throw theirs all away outright that the night was a total win for everyone.

Reader Beware...

When I was seven, I watched the film adaptation of "The Yellow Wallpaper"-- a short story about a woman whose husband locks her in the attic of their summer home to keep her from her own big ideas. (Read it here... if you dare).

The woman goes mad and begins to see the eyes of someone trapped behind the wallpaper. Eventually, to free that person she tears the paper from the walls in harsh noisy shreds. The last scene leaves her crawling on all fours around and around the tattered room. Only, pan out to include her thoughts and she's crawling through the dead leaves of a forest floor, that attic hell already a memory off in the distance.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" haunted me for years. I spent the rest of my childhood sharing a bed with my sister(s) because I was too afraid to sleep alone.  

Fast forward to February 26, 2013. The following is an excerpt from my journal--I've been saving it for a spooky occasion.

Jensie was delirious tonight. She shouted my name again and again until I ran to her bed to comfort her.

She began sobbing, "It's itchy. I have to get her. I have to peel her skin off, it itches so bad. Over there, she itches. Look at the wall! Its skin is peeling. She itches so bad, I have to help her. I want to get up to help her."

Creepiest moment of my life.

Happy Halloween!

Bell's Palsy

So, there's one kid in every family who gets all the weird stuff: glasses, braces, cavities, lyme disease... In our family, Asher's that guy.

When he woke up this morning, half his face was "out."

I didn't notice until this afternoon and then I had to take a video and text it to Nate. "Is Asher's face weird or is this just in my head?"

 

 

Weird. Definitely weird. The entire left half of his face is paralyzed and the nice ER doc diagnosed him with Bell's Palsy. It should resolve itself in a couple of weeks so no biggie. Treatment includes some sort of steroid that greatly decreases the likelihood of permanent nerve damage (inflamed Cranial Nerve #7, I think they called it). For now, his left eye is our only concern. Because he can't blink it's already quite dry and beginning to hurt. We need to help him "blink" manually and apply ointment and drops several times a day. He also has to sleep with a patch but I think he's secretly thrilled about it.

 
Other than that we're all getting a kick out of watching him try to drink anything and his frowny face is my new fave.

Overheard: Probably Delicious

While walking past a sale display of "back to school" snacks at the commissary...

Frankie: Ooooh, Cheez-Its! Oh, they're so good!...

              I think....
             
              I don't know...

              I've never had them.

Guess I'm Doin' Something Right

Asher: Mom, you are 100 percent torture, zero percent fun.

The Master Plan

We're buying a farm! Not now, but soon...ish. Sometimes it's so thrilling we can't think of anything else to talk about and sometimes it's so scary we get sick and can't sleep a bit. It's like, homesteading, hurray! Then, starving off the land, agghhh! Since neither of us is too keen on subsistence farming right off the bat (what with three kids and a mortgage) we're doing everything we can to make the transition as smooth as possible. The master plan goes something like this:

Nate incurred two additional years of active duty service when he transferred his GI Bill (free college for soldiers) to me, so he will leave the Army in 2016. In the meantime he spends several hours a night reading farm blogs, books, and magazines and writing letters to successful farmers across the South. Add that to Nate's experience growing up on his grandparents' small farm and participating in 4-H and FFA and we've got a pretty good idea of what we need to get started. I know what you're thinking, reading isn't the same as doing, and you've certainly got a point. Nate mentions fencing or rocket stove blueprints from time to time, but I really hadn't understood how extensive his research has been until last night.

We invited an elderly missionary couple from our church to come over and tell us about their farm in Canada. They gave us some great "insider tips," and then Nate laid out all of his plans--everything from orchards to trenches--and by the end of the night, our guests had both pulled out pencils and were taking notes! We are in good hands, I tell ya. It was amazing to hear Nate talk about so many things I've never even considered. We'll dig a well this way... and breed these native birds... I had to laugh when Nate said, "When it comes to the farm, Erin and I are almost talking about two different things." I'm afraid it's true. My imagination doesn't stretch beyond about a two acre radius of the some-day house. In fact, I rarely even think out of the kitchen. Oh the goodies I will can! (Or "put up" as they say in Dixie). If you thought my house plans were extravagant, you should see the list of fruits and veggies I expect Nate to supply me with!

When we decided one of us ought to farm full time, Nate practically won out on brute strength alone. But I'll still do my part. Last year I went back to school to learn some "marketable" skills. I finally earned that pesky Bachelor's degree and will apply to grad school this winter.  I've just gotta make it through the GRE and I'll be practically home free. Just thinking about that awful test makes me ill. They changed it this year and I heard it got harder. Boo.

Eventually I'd love to find a way to work with military families in my own private practice. There are some great "Arms to Farms" organizations in the states that teach soldiers to farm and I'd love to offer work therapy and counseling on our land. At about the same time Nate leaves the Army, I'll wrap up a Master's degree in social work or psychiatric nursing. Which program I end up in really comes down to whatever school accepts me, though I've got my heart set on Vanderbilt. Pray for me. I've got all my eggs one tiny Nashville basket, so please bless I get in!

The kids are doing what they can to prep too. We've been pinching pennies and they often remind each other that no, mom can't buy any treats because we're saving for a farm. This year we're switching from presents to experiences for birthdays and Christmas. In lieu of gifts, Jensie has asked for a trip to the Kitty Cafe next week. Apparently you pay to sit and drink cocoa surrounded by house cats that climb on your table and rub up against your legs. *GAG* Seoul's also home to a couple of Puppy Cafes and a Sheep Cafe, in case you were wondering. I'm counting on it to be a very Korean experience.

This oughta give you some indication of Jensie's farm goals. That girl is so good with animals! I secretly hope she grows up to a a veterinarian/writer. The next Alf Wright perhaps? She will be one of the lucky few--a girl with a horse. We're so confident in Jensie's ability to care for a big hairy creature that "thoroughbred" (her choice) is near the top of our list of "First Year Must Haves." She is also dying to milk a little Dexter cow and raise her own meat rabbits.

Asher, on the other hand, is not so sure about all of this. His one true passion seems to be computer games. We're hoping to put that to good use too though. Right now he's taking some kids' coding classes online and I figure we'll just leave him in charge of the family website.

Frankie's needs are simple. She wants to help weed the garden, eat honey, and get a "weiner cat." Oh yes, and buy a baby. We feel almost as passionate about foster parenting and adoption as we do about farming. I probably suggested once that we are not only saving money for the farm but so that we can afford to take care of more children someday, and now Frankie makes the whole thing feel very black market.  

We'll be walking through the grocery store and she'll say "Hey mom, can we buy these chips?" When the answer is no she leans in conspiratorially and says in a loud fake whisper "Oh yeah, because you want to buy a baby, right mom?"

The other day she complained that "[her] life is just too boring without an adopted baby" so I think she'll be a big help when we finally manage to buy ourselves one.

Going Gluten Free? Start Here.

My youngest kids both have Celiac Disease (CD). At two and a half, Asher was a mere 17 pounds. "Failure to thrive" is one of the primary symptoms of CD in children. Because it's also a sign of a million other frightening conditions, kids aren't usually given an official diagnosis of CD until a plethora of tests have been completed. These tests are time consuming and expensive. Not to mention, terrifying. Asher squirmed through not one, but two "sweat tests"--the gold standard for diagnosing Cystic Fibrosis. When those came back negative, our doctor recommended we see a pediatric gastroenterologist, as his next "best guess" was Type-1 Diabetes or "something like Crohn's." Google is a useful tool no doubt, but I practically worried myself into an ulcer reading up on one disease after another while waiting on our referral to the specialist.

Frankie was diagnosed surgically, after undergoing full anesthesia at age two--a stressor in its own right.  Celiac Disease is an auto-immune disorder of the small intestine. Gluten (a stretchy protein found in wheat, barley, spelt, and rye) blunts the intestinal villi that move food through our bodies and absorb vitamins and nutrients. As long as no gluten is consumed, a person with "Celiacs" can live a healthy life and absorb nutrients correctly. However, even the slightest bit of gluten exposure can trigger a weeks-long immune reaction and repeated ingestion can cause infertility, cancer, and even death. Once you go "gluten free," there's no turning back. Overall, having been forced to consider the treatment and consequences of so many potential diseases, I'm grateful that this is the hand we've been dealt. I'd imagine most parents, like me, are relieved to find out they're only dealing with dietary restrictions, when moments before receiving test results death seemed on the line.

None of this makes the transition to a gluten-free lifestyle easier though. Sure, there are thousands of blogs, magazines, and cookbooks dedicated to gluten-free cooking, but how do you know which are worth reading? Where do you start? It seems easy enough 'til your first post-gluten trip to the grocery store. Gluten is everywhere! Did you know the number one ingredient of most soy sauce is wheat? That doesn't even make sense. And why isn't lunch meat just meat? Now add to the fact that you're giving up bread for-ev-er the realization that your child will never eat school lunch, never eat cake at a friend's birthday party, and will almost certainly get sick any time you eat out. Suddenly, despite the initial relief of your kid's diagnosis, Celiac Disease is totally overwhelming.

Take heart! In no time you'll be used to reading labels, packing lunches, and will learn to always have a stash of GF cupcakes in the freezer for last-minute invitations to your neighbor's picnic. Until then, here are some tips to get you started:

FORGET ABOUT BREAD! Seriously. Give it up. Take a full year off before you begin searching for the perfect substitute. Why? Because nothing tastes like wheat and you are going to be disappointed with the alternatives. After you've gone a good long while without the "real thing" though, you'll be able to appreciate that even though rice flour/potato starch/tapioca bread doesn't taste the same, it still tastes good. Taste-testing GF bread right off the bat is a total buzz kill.

Commit your whole family to eating GF foods. You will wear yourself ragged trying to keep up with two menus, not to mention the fear of cross-contamination. This is going to make things harder at first but you've got to remember a couple of things. As a family, you're a team! For the rest of their lives your kids are going to be the "odd man out" when it comes to communal dining experiences. Home should not be another place where they can't have what everyone else is having. There may be a few exceptions, but generally, if you're kid(s) can't eat it, don't buy it. When you are craving bagels or just really want some cookie dough ice cream, hire a babysitter and indulge on date night. Then wash your hands well and call it a day.

Look no further than your Asian market or the local taco stand for kid-friendly meal options. Indian, Thai, Korean, and Japanese foods are all inherently gluten (dairy, peanut, and most other allergens) free. Mexican food is a lifesaver! Who doesn't love tacos? Every grocery store in the states carries gluten-free corn tortillas and chicken, ground beef, and shredded pork are all easy to use in leftovers. Do tacos one night and loaded baked potatoes the next! Most kids with CD are also lactose intolerant, which means they can't drink milk but yogurt and butter are still okay. Plain yogurt makes a great sub for sour cream and nothing seals the deal like real butter, right?
 
Because my kids have additional sensitivities to soy, I often joke that we're "Paleo" by default. Even if you choose not to adopt a Paleo lifestyle, Paleo blogs and cookbooks are helpful because they're guaranteed to be gluten and dairy free! We use almond or sunflower butter in place of peanut butter and still enjoy classics like "ants on a log" or PB & B--peanut butter and bananas. Wait, make that AB & B.

My favorite easy Paleo cookbooks are 'Primal Blueprint' by Mark Sisson and 'Practical Paleo' by Diane Sanfilippo. Both authors also have terrific websites, check them out here: Mark's Daily Apple and Diane's Balanced Bites. I also recommend everyone read 'Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Foods' for a better understanding of why gluten can be so problematic and how to heal several gut and auto-immune disorders through diet

As a general rule I hate gluten-free specialty blogs and websites because what they lack in wheat they make up for in sugar. When first starting out, it's easy to get scammed into buying stuff just because your kids can still technically eat it. Oh, Fruity Pebbles are GF? I'll take 10 boxes. GF Pillsbury? Score! Except, not really. Junk is still junk, cookies are still cookies, and it's important that kids eat wholesome healthful foods.

That being said, kids should definitely get to indulge now and then and there are lots of ways to make special treats at home. I love the Paleo Parents blog and their new cookbook 'Eat Like a Dinosaur.' In addition to recipes, the book includes an illustrated story about a sick little boy who starts to feel better after eating "like a dinosaur" (meat, fruits, and veggies). It's pretty cheesy but all of my kids love it. They often ask me to read it at bedtime. As an added bonus, most of the directions include steps for small helpers so the whole family can cook together. Best of all, you can try some of their recipes before ever spending a dime. We love their mini egg pizzas!

I mentioned earlier how annoying it is that even foods that don't need gluten are still made with it. Oats ought to be safe, but Quaker manufacturers all of their cereals in the same place, making even their oatmeal totally off limits. Bob's Red Mill brand is great for certified GF products and you can save money by buying in bulk and subscribing to Amazon's auto-shipping program. Rudy's, Udi's, Annie's Homegrown, Amy's, and Kinnikinnick are other great GF brands.

Remember, you'll need to change more than just your diet to keep your kids healthy. Lotion, shampoo, and even residual laundry soap can all be absorbed through the skin and so must also be gluten free. We use baking soda to wash our hair (just sprinkle and massage scalp) and we rinse with organic apple cider vinegar. Nothing harmful there! If you're not ready to be that hippie though, there are lots of great store-bought allergen-free products. We've had good luck with California Baby and you can buy their stuff in bulk at Costco or from Soap.com. If you're looking for less expensive options I think Dove products are safe as well. But you don't have to take my word for it. If you're even unsure of anything, call the 800 number on the back of the product, or you know, just Google it.

Dr. Bronner's pure Castile soap is the best option in my opinion because it can be used for everything- dishes, hand soap, shampoo, etc. and is even gentle enough for babies or kids with eczema (another common side effect of CD). We even use it to brush our teeth! It's slightly more expensive than most commercial soaps, but you can stretch your dollar by diluting it a bit. It's so effective that even watered down it still works well.

I make our laundry detergent because it's easy and works well. Trust me, I wouldn't do it if it was a pain and didn't save a lot of money. Wellness Mama and Mommypotamus are great for healthy DIYs. Use a double scoop of this recipe plus 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide on loads with lots of stains and let them soak a while before running your wash cycle.

In the kitchen, toss old Teflon pans and donate your used cast-iron skillet to Goodwill. Porous pots and pans are likely gluten contaminates.  Replace them with new-and-improved post-gluten cast iron and ditch the Teflon for good! If you're not accustomed to cooking with cast iron don't worry too much about the suggested "seasoning." Just use a paper towel or dish rag to wipe down the inside with some olive oil or lard and start cooking. If you keep it well oiled and use it often, it'll season itself in no time.

Because CD is an auto-immune disorder, you might not see improvement overnight. It takes time for the gut to heal, especially if you've been life-long gluten eaters. Daily doses of high-quality probiotics like BioKult, fermented Cod Liver Oil, and plain ol' raw honey can all help aid in a speedy recovery. 

Last, give yourself time to feel sad and pissed that things won't ever be "normal" again. Everyone feels that way. Your options are limited and sometimes I still cry at the grocery store. There are CD support groups for parents everywhere. Attend a meeting or two if you feel like you need it. And remember, it's just food. Hooray!

****

I often have friend (of friends of friends) ask about how to deal with other dietary restrictions and allergies as well. Most everything I've recommended is gluten, dairy, soy, and peanut free. If your kids suffer from seasonal or environmental allergies, in addition to great food, it might be wise to invest in a decent vacuum cleaner. Our Dyson "Animal" was worth every penny.

A New Favorite Photo

We are in Benicia, California and spent the afternoon playing in the mud "down by the bay." It's beautiful here, but we're just passing through. We've been visiting family and friends in Utah for a couple of weeks and are on our way back to Seoul. I haven't blogged in a long while, but I don't want to let this little space go for good.

Things have been busy. Good busy. I'm almost done with my bachelors degree and just ordered my first GRE prep book. I am scared to death, but I know I can do it (wish me luck anyway). I probably won't have time to blog more often than I have been, which is what, every six months?, but I promise to check in now and then. Speaking of checking in, these days I have a million alarms set on my phone and live by lists. Some to-dos but mostly goals. Here's what April looks like so far:

- Whole30 with Nate
- strict paleo kids: took me forever to get the hang of this. Cutting out cheese/yogurt seemed harder than sugar, gluten, and soy combined. But we finally nailed it and we need some serious vacation detox.
- start up "Three Mile Rule" again: I totally chickened out in the winter (Hello, our next door neighbor is Siberia!), but TMR basically means we'll walk/run/bike/jump-rope to any place within 3 miles of our house instead of taking a car or bus.
- go to bed by 9 pm every night: hey, a girl can dream
- 2 hrs GRE prep daily
- spring cleaning
- FHE every Tuesday
- send Thank You notes/cards
- practice push-ups daily: I meant to be able to do 17 "man push-ups" by my birthday last month (enough to pass an Army PT test), but I can still only do three. Oops
- Schedule acupuncture appointment

What are y'all up to these days?

Happy Christmas, 2012

A copy of the our Christmas letter (only you're luckier than the folks on my mailing list because I just thought to edit for typos).  Enjoy.

Dear ones all,

I’m writing this on Christmas morning. Seems fitting doesn't it? Is it weird to write a Christmas letter solely about food? As Nate prepares a breakfast feast of black eyed peas and freshly steamed taro root—the kids are thrilled, ahem—I realize this year’s highs and lows were mostly just  a series of culinary triumphs and catastrophes. When given a choice between the “good news and the bad,” Nate always wants the bad news first. I suppose that means I must confess that all our attempts at indoor gardening failed miserably. The last of our broad-spectrum fluorescent lighting sits in a jumble of boxes and wires at the front door, waiting to be carted off to the thrift store. We planted arugula and other various greens, pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes and more without so much as a single sprout for our efforts. Frankie, on the other hand, grew a sunflower in her room in a paper cup. Go figure. 

Fortunately, we found salvation in a counter-top dehydrator and a Korean “beef and leaf” restaurant down the street we call “The Wooden Door Place.” (Betcha can’t guess why). We’re pleased to report that with just our tiny kitchen dryer we’ve fueled a near-constant demand for dried pineapples, mangoes, strawberries, apples, jerky, cinnamon-chili walnuts, bananas, apples, and plums.

As for The Wooden Door Place, we eat there so frequently we know the names of the owner’s children who are away for college and have memorized the menu. We recommend two orders of pork and a bowl of kimchi chiggae, though Asher makes special requests for the back fat and entrails. During our last visit, the hostess politely interrupted our meal to present me with a large new bottle of hand creme. A man dining across from us explained in broken English that she’d given me a gift because “[I am] very beautiful.” Fantastic!

Indeed, Koreans everywhere reward us for our good looks (wink, wink). At any given moment our children might be whisked away for photos with complete strangers. In return for their “peace signs” and ear-to-ear grins, the kids are showered with sweet treats and pocket-sized Hello Kitty notebooks. Candy-stuffed purses must be a rite of passage for all Korean women—I’ll bet a girl only gets her first $1,000 dollar handbag on the condition that she keep it brimming with goodies for small foreign children. It’s about the best strategy for “winning hearts and minds” I’ve ever seen—US Army take note!  Life in Korea is as fun and interesting as we’d hoped it would be.

Aside from copious amounts of pork and sugar, we’ve had our share of the strange and unidentifiable. Korea's soups are nearly as good as its infamous barbecue, but you’re sure to find a random squid tentacle or seafood something swimming through your dish. You know, we really should be used to it by now, but they get us every time. “Oh, a baby octopus in my chicken noodle soup. Of course!”

                When we’re not eating our way through Seoul, we keep busy with the usual day-to-day school, work, and chores. Natalie graduated from Seoul American High School in May, and went out with a bang! Her cheer squad took first place at Korean Nationals and KAYAK (the equivalent of “state” where they beat out all other military high schools in Korea and Japan), she earned a 4.2 GPA (how is that even possible?), played starting Center for the school’s Varsity soccer team, and was voted “Best Dressed.” My parents and grandparents flew in for graduation and we took a trip to Pusan, Korea’s gorgeous southern coast to celebrate. We were simultaneously crazy proud and devastated when she moved away for college, but are thrilled to have her “home” for Christmas! Aunt Nat breezed through her first semester at the University of Utah (math, biology, science, and French) and is majoring in International Relations and Business.

                In June, Nate moved to a new office—all the way across post—and now works as a medical plans officer for the command surgeon. The new job requires that he hang out at fancy dinners with Korean Army officers and attend conferences in Hawaii a couple times a year (I’m not bitter at all). This year he ran in two half marathons, and even organized one of them himself! Namsan Park, home of Seoul Tower, is his “happy place.” He runs to the top of the mountain and back every Sunday evening.  Nate’s parents, Kent and Andi, came to visit in October. We loved being with them to celebrate Kent’s 60^th birthday and show them our favorite Seoul sites. Because I’ve been in school full-time (more on that in a minute) Nate’s taken on most of the housework and cooking. There is nothing better than coming home from the library to find something warm and delicious waiting on the stove. Here’s the recipe for his latest masterpiece, “Ginger Cranberry Pork Chops,” because, believe me, this is one you’ll want to try at home. I dream about it.

2 lbs. Pork Chops, de-boned and cut in 1/2 in cubes

1 large onion

1 cup ginger infused apple cider vinegar (peel and roughly chop several inches of ginger root, pickle in organic ACV for about a week)

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 cup crushed fresh cranberries

Simmer for an hour. Eat.

You’re welcome!

                As previously mentioned, I went back to school in January.  I’ll graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and plan to pursue an MSW.  I’d like to dive right into grad school, but long-distance education may prove a bit tricky.  It’s possible I’ll work for a while here and finish my studies when we return to the states. For the past year and a half I served as Young Women President (youth leader for 12- to 18-year-old girls) at church. Our weekly meetings were often held at our house and Jensie was in heaven—all those cool teenage girls! In June I went to Girls’ Camp with them for a week at a religious retreat center here in Seoul. Each leader was assigned to run one “certification” (first aid, fire starting how-tos, that sort of thing) and I was in charge of the five-mile hike. Nate helped me plan a route along Namsan’s steepest trails that ended up being closer to eight miles than five. Oops. The girls complained the whole time! Haha, it's good for them. 

 Despite having very little free time, Nate and I still squeeze in a date every week. My “fitness dates only” rule, where we’d walk or ride bikes to a restaurant instead of taking a taxi or bus, lasted all of one date. I decided to spice things up by hauling Nate through rush-hour traffic on the back of my cargo bike and nearly killed us both…several times.   Memorable as that night was, our favorite date of 2012 was catching the new Les Miserables movie last week. Friends, you must see it. It was amazing!

Our whole family’s caught up in the Broadway craze. Jensie’s moved from Les Mis to Jekyll and Hyde and plans to audition for her school’s spring concert with a frightening rendition of “Confrontation.” I’ve pulled out the Show Boat and Seven Brides DVDs and Nate can’t stop belting “Bring Him Home.” 

Asher on the other hand, is a dancer at heart, and just started a K-Pop dance class after school. Though he aspires to someday be a plumber/doctor/adventurer, the boy can’t help but move to a beat. Much to the delight of passers-by, he often entertains himself on the subway and while standing in line with impromptu dance parties. He charmed crowds of anxious travelers at the airport last week with a well-executed “Gangnam Style” routine while we waited for Natalie's flight to arrive. 

As the family's most fluent Hangeul speaker, Asher's occasionally able to interpret for us. He enjoys listening in on other people’s phone calls and reporting the surrounding Korean gossip.

All of the kids are doing well in school, though Frankie and Asher still insist they want to go back to Korean school (click here if you don’t already know that story). I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. I, however, am thrilled to have them at Dwight International. The entire staff knows each of our kids by name and the kids get lots of love and attention there. 

Asher’s first grade class wowed me with a recent poetry presentation that included interpretive dance, power point presentations, oil paintings, and “heroic” xylophone music.   He is known throughout the school as the boy who won’t stop talking; his music teacher fondly dubbed him “The Man of 1,000 Facts.” This year he learned to read and then surprised us all by loving it so much he now reads well above grade level. His favorite books are the Captain Underpants and Diaper Baby series, but he sleeps with a copy of the latest Star Wars comic tucked under his pillow.

Jensie recently starred in the lower-school play “A Frog Too Far,” and stole the show as an immensely expressive mime. She was proud of her winter report cards that showed she excels in reading and writing, but “socializes frequently and talks too much in class.” She is her mother’s daughter. She's growing filthy rich with that pretty face of hers. She’s had several modeling jobs this year and it’s fun to stumble upon larger-than-life ads of Jens at the mall or on the websites of Korea’s trendiest children’s boutiques. I bought my first-ever laptop this year on Black Friday. That same morning, Jensie used some modeling money to buy herself an iPad. 

Though generally sassy, we’ve recently seen the emergence of Miss J’s oh-so-sweet side. We’re forcing her to be as strictly gluten-free as her siblings and we’ve seen a huge improvement in behavior, emotional control, and focus at school. But, what she lacks in wheat, she makes up for in sugar! I promised weekly homemade goodies in exchange for compliance. So far, so good. She is still a bit behind in math, but we’re determined to help her memorize those blasted multiplication tables over the Christmas break so she’ll be right on track when she returns to school in January.

Sweet-and-sour Frances just turned five and truly acts her age--singing at the top of her lungs one minute, stomping her feet and wailing the next. She still refuses to sleep in a bed, preferring the cool hard linoleum floor to her pink bottom bunk. According to Jensie, Frankie’s the “cutest girl at school” and loves her Pre-K teacher, Miss Emily.  Frankie loves to help cook and is learning how to “crack an egg.” She asks to practice several times a day so most of our pancakes and breakfasts these days are extra fluffy and topped with merengue. Little Miss loves tiny toys—Polly Pockets, Calico Critters—and princesses. Not one to be outdone by her siblings, she likes to practice reading and often asks for “homework.” She writes her name quite well. Though I’ve only read it to her once, her favorite book is Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. It’s a few hundred pages long and Frankie claims to have read it three times. That plump paperback is often tucked under her arm, so who knows? She taught herself to walk, talk, and swim, maybe she reads on a 5^th grade level now and I just haven’t noticed yet—my sneaky little prodigy.

Well my friends, this is surely the world’s longest Christmas letter and it’s time for me to wrap things up. Jensie received several new board games this morning and I promised to play with her. We hope this finds you happy and well. God bless you. Come see us in 2013. We’ll eat your surprise octopus for you and feed you lots of waffles!

Love,

Erin and all her Biglers- Nate, Jensie, Asher, and Frances

Queen Jensie of Whispering Willows

November 8, 2011- Class presentation on governments