Another day well spent!

Today was a day well spent with my nephew "D".  I haven't really done much one on one with any of the children that my mom currently watches but today I saw my nephew playing yet another video game and thought to myself, "He really needs to get outside and play".  So I went and grabbed some baseballs and a couple of gloves and said, "Hey 'D' wanna go play catch"  His face lit up and he said, "Can I finish this last game first?"  Of course I wasn't complaining.  At least he didn't say, "NO"
I remember when I was younger and video games weren't that popular yet.  My friends and I spent the whole day outside playing games.  We had great imaginations.  We played kickball, stickball, baseball, soccer, street hockey.  That was the good life!  Still to this day I don't understand how anyone can sit inside in front of a computer/tv screen and play a game.  The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, it's beautiful outside.  Go do something!!
I spent about an hour outside with him.  First we tossed the ball back and fourth, then he went and got a bat and I tossed the balls and he pretended that he always hit a homerun.  Good times!!   Of course, he got tired after a while and I was a little sad when he said he wanted to go back inside :(
But I look at my hour I spent with my nephew and think, "I did something really nice for him."  I hope that in the future i'm more of the type of person who will take my children outside rather than let them sit inside on the computer!  I hope that my nephew looks back on this day and smiles and thinks of how much I love him!!!

Home Sweet Home

After spending 2.5 years in South Korea, I finally got time to go home!  When I first got my ticket home I was nervous and excited all at once.  Nervous because people can change a lot in 2.5 years.  I for one know that I am not the same person I was when I first went to South Korea.  Excited because I hadn't seen my family in 2.5 years and I missed my beautiful home.

When I went over to South Korea I was coming from just spending four years at a Christian University and spending one year working with kids at the Boys and Girls Club of America.  Both of which teach you that you are always being watched by the people around you.  You are always to be on your best behavior.  Basically I felt as though I hadn't had the chance to make bad decisions because I was living in fear of who would see those bad decision and what that would mean for my job and future.  So every decision I made in those five years was based on what I was told was right and wrong and not what I believed was right and wrong.  So, here I was getting ready to travel back to America, back to my parents house to stay for a month and a half, and I had learned who I truly was while living by myself in South Korea.  I like to drink!  Now I don't mean the get drunk and black out and not remember what you did the night before kind of drinking, I mean the get together with friends and have a few drinks while chatting or complaining about our jobs or talking about what we read in the Bible that day kind of drinking!  My parents don't know that this side of me exist.  I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I don't post pictures of me at bars or clubs on facebook.  So I was nervous to be going home, nervous of what my parents would think of my new found identity.
I was excited because I loved living in the country.  There is so much beauty to see in the country.  I miss the

stars and the clean air.  I missed being able to walk around in my pj's if I wanted.  I missed not having to look perfect when I walked out my door.  I missed having a big house to walk around in.  I missed the view. So I was looking forward to going home.  I was looking forward to seeing the animals and smelling the hay!
My parents house is beautiful.  But being in the country means you are far away from the town.  Even farther away from the city.  And since I don't

have insurance I can't drive here in America :(  So i'm here at home and as wonderful as it is, it's also extremely boring.  Although I live on a farm, the farm appeal has been lost since i'm no longer a kid.  We have all these land and all these animals.  But after living in the city and being able to walk to places when I get bored.  Living on the farm is quite boring.  Beautiful but boring!  I have read so many books while being home.  My favorite of which just happens to be the Bible!

The first book I finished was called The Help.  I've been wanting to read this for some time now.  It's a book written from the view point of black maids after the civil war.  How they were treated.  I heard there was a movie made about the book.  But books are always better!  I liked reading the book.  I enjoyed reading about the four different people and their view points.  If you enjoy reading about struggles and how people have overcome them.  This is a good book for you!
The next book I read was called Fallen.  It's much like the Twilight books.  Except it's written about a fallen angel who keeps falling in love with the same human girl.  But each time they fall in love, she is killed.  This pattern repeats itself every 16 years.  If you enjoy love stories you should try reading this series.

The current book i'm reading is called, It Starts With Food.  This book i'm the most excited about.  Although I enjoy fiction books, I also enjoy reading about how to stay healthy.  I feel even more focused on learning about being healthy because of my current job.  I want to be a good role model for my students.  I want to teach them good habits.  So i'm reading about eating healthy.  I know what you are thinking, Oh not another book about eating healthy.  But this book doesn't just tell you how to eat healthy but why you should eat healthy.  It back up it's statements with research and with personal experience from over thousand of people who can testify that this way of eating is good for your overall health.  It doesn't tell you that it's a diet, because it isn't a diet, it's a way of eating.
Of course i've been reading my Bible and studying Korean!!
I've also had lots of time to spend with my mom.  I always learn so much from her.  She is such a super person. She does foster care!  The three kids we have now have some major issues.  Sometimes I watch my mom and how she treats them and I take notes on what I think I could use for when I return to the dorm.