WOW!  I haven't blogged in over 4 years.  I guess I need to get back on that wagon!  I could never remember all that has happened in 4 years, but here goes a little of it:

-We moved from Korea to Germany.  It was a great opportunity to stay overseas.  However, our hearts are still in Korea.  While we do enjoy Germany, love the experiences and have taken advantage of walking through history, Korea has our hearts.  After almost 14 months in Germany, the kids daily ask to go back to Korea.
-Drew is growing up!!  My 7th grader has a date for homecoming.  UGH!!  My baby is gone!  He is still in LOVE with soccer.  He has struggled with his German team this year, but he hasn't given up.  He is growing into quite the responsible, fun, athletic, handsome, young man!
-Grace has taken up swimming!  She is my fish!  That girl would rather be in the water than out.  And, it has helped us in so many ways with her attitude, emotions, focus in school and teaching her to be a leader quietly!!  She is quite the compassionate, beautiful young lady!
-Caleb is the jokester still!  He has picked up soccer, slowly learning English reading and writing, and just LOVES to be outside with his brother and friends.  It has been fun to watch him become his own kid and trying at times too.  But he is a confident, funny, sweet and smart young man.
-Sweet Sarah, the ballerina/horse lover!!  Yes, those two don't seem to go together except in her mind.  ;)  She has grown up so much in the past couple of years.  My baby, is no longer a baby!  Her love for horses seems to be growing and growing and we haven't even got her working with them yet.  She checks out books from the library, wears her cowgirl boots, and has tons of My Little Ponies.  Our graceful dancer is still there along with an animal lover!!
-Mike is working hard, traveling lots and still loving the army (I think some days more than others).  While this year has been full of trials, learning experiences and humbleness, he goes to work and does a great job!  He is a leader I would (and do) follow!!
-I am still loving PWOC!  God is moving in our lives so much it is hard to keep up!!  ;)  God has put it on my heart to be not just Spiritually FIT and Emotionally FIT, but also Physically FIT.  On the way to my 39th birthday dinner in Seoul with friends, I realized that I must be FIT in all three areas to be able to do what He has called me to do (from being a mom, wife and His servant).  In the past 18 months, I have lost 50 lbs and working hard to tone this body.  I feel so much better and enjoy looking in the mirror more!  Even the kids comment on it and have caught the FIT bug!!  I continue to workout to be Spiritually and Emotionally FIT too!!

We are still as blessed as ever!  From mountain tops to the valleys, we have an awesome God that has brought us through it all.  All of who we are is to His glory!!  Hopefully I can write more.  There are so many things that I want to say that are on my heart and maybe just maybe this will be a way I can do that.  :)

Our Mailing Address

I guess I should at least post this!! One of these days I will write a new post!

MAJ Mike & Amy West
Unit 15041 Box 724
APO, AP 96258

Merry Christmas!! May the Lord send amazing blessings your way in 2011!

Confession

The very first night we spent in our apartment we were coming off a crazy day. We had been down in Seoul buying the hoopty turbo diesel mini van!! It was a long day in the sun, in a smelly car, then driving all over Uijeongbu lost. We finally get to the apartment building and it was late. We were waiting on the elevator in the parking garage. For some reason we stopped on the first floor. And, standing there was an American man!! You kinda get excited when you see an American in a Korean apartment complex (and after a day in a Korean used car parking lot)! He seemed excited to see us. He was heading out to take the food scrapes (which I was like, "Yeah, who really does that.") and said he was going to get his wife and come introduce themselves. Mind you it was after 8, kids were hyper and excited to finally be in the apartment, we were exhausted and yet we were so excited to know Americans were in the same building that we didn't care!!

In a minute, here comes Jeff and his wife, Cami! Really nice people! Our apartment had very little in it and what was in it was every where!! Cami is so sweet and starts showing me different things in the kitchen, on the electronic control panel for the doors, and then she says, "I can show you how to clean the floor drains in the bathroom, too." So, she takes me in there and starts taking the drain apart. I truly was thinking, "Yeah, like I am ever going to have to do that." I mean, isn't it just soapy water and a little hair that goes down it. Surely that will all go down. I watched her and kinda made a mental note of what to do.

Here is the confession: Cami, I am sorry for letting my thoughts get away and thinking I would never have to clean my floor drains. Tonight, I walked into my bathroom and it stunk. (Kinda smelled like Korea!) There was nothing in the toilet and I had cleaned the floors yesterday when Sarah had pee-ed before she sat on the toilet. So, it should have been clean smelling. I then realized that my drains STUNK!! Tonight, I took the time to clean all 5 floor drains. GROSS!! But, it needed to be done!

I can tell you this: When you move to a new country, everyone needs a Cami!!!!

Homesickness

So, I was sitting here feeling a little homesick. I am fine! I love being here!! I know God has called us here! But, wanted to let you know that I am human. I do get homesick. Here are the times I get homesick the most:
-When I finish talking, skyping, chatting with family.
-When the kids do something funny, exciting, frustrating, new, hiliarious in the middle of my afternoon and I can't call anyone, because they are all asleep.
-When I go to check the mail and there is a box from mom!!! (I love these boxes! How spoiled are we!!) And, then I have to wait until the next day to talk to her about all the stuff in it!
-When I go to check the mail and there is nothing in it.
-When I open my windows and it STINKS!! (OK, it is much worse than Dalhart people!)
-When I look through the house and it is soooooo empty!
-When I am skyping my aunt and she has a Route 44 coke sitting there or my mom sticks a sonic straw in my box!
-When I am cooking and could really use a gadget or utensil that I didn't pack in my whole baggage (fast shipment for those non-military people).

Now, you may think these are a lot of times! We only get mail like once a week around here. I don't open my windows often (it's too hot!)! I do skype a lot, but most days I get off and the kids have made a mess or something and I jump right into that! I get my new sofa/sectional next Tuesday and my living room will be much more full!!! (Our kitchen and bedroom stuff will be here about October 11th!) I have can cook and bake just fine for now!

I don't want you to think this is often. I just wanted to share my heart. Today, I have been a little homesick! I LOVED talking to Robin on skype and then chatting on facebook. I LOVED seeing mom, dad, Ron and Margaret!! It is just hanging up that is so hard!! But, God has never left me!! He is always here and has already provided great friends!! They even invited us to dinner!

Remember to hug your family tight when you can! Remember to call with those fun or frustrating stories! Appreciate your things, no matter if they are a lot or not! Breathe deep (unless you live in Korea or the panhandle)!! And, say a prayer because there are a lot of military families with homesick individuals!

The aquarium at COEX mall

So, we went to the COEX mall. We took a bus, several trains and a taxi on our trip. It was our first experience on the train system here. What a pleasant surprise. All I could think of NYC from my West Point days. This was so much more pleasant. I would get on holding Sarah and three people would get up to give me their seat. Several would get up for the kids too. They are smooth, CLEAN, and quiet. I think we were the loudest and even then we were quiet for us!

This is one time the girls choose to stand with their daddy! Doesn't Mike look thrilled!

The aquarium was nice! It took us not quite 2 hours to get through. They have it layed out so you just keep following the arrows and the tanks. They have fish in all kinds of tanks. A telephone booth, a toilet, a fire extinguisher, a washing machine, a fridge, you name they have fish in it. The kids loved it. There was a moving sidewalk that took you through the shark tank. It was just a lot of fun. I have to say that it was crowded. I would recommend a week day or an American holiday to go. It just makes it easier!

YEAH!! The aquarium!! (Drew looks so thrilled!)

See, they even having fish playing soccer!! Made the boys' day!

These are the little fish they use in pedicures here. The kids all jumped! I did, but left my hand in there! They do tickle and I am not sure I could handle my feet being "eaten" without just busting out laughing and wiggling!

Checking out another tank of fish and turtles! (Caleb was getting tired, note the thumb!)

That was last Saturday's outing. This weekend is taking us to the Korean War Museum. We will post pictures of that! Should be fun!!

Neighbors

I have some great American neighbors! When I say neighbors, I mean we are in the same building or group of buildings. When you live in an apartment, what's a floor or two or ten difference when there is an elevator and a really cool electronic key pad/ door camera/ playground camera/ phone to other apartments! For instance, when the toilet overflowed this morning (it was horrible!), I just called Cami on the intercom to see if she had a plunger. They do know their technology here!!!

Anyways, back to the point of the blog. So Cami offered to walk me and the kids to the local market. It is about 5 blocks away. Enought that Sarah needs her stroller on the way home! As we walked Cami taught me how to use my Korean cell phone to type in Korean words and translate them to English! Cool, but wish my iPhone worked here!!! She mentioned a good Italian restaurant (which makes me laugh) and pointed it out. Then, we get to THE corner. I say, THE corner because there is a Dunkin Donuts (just opened today), a Coldstone, a Baskin and Robbins, and two bakeries (kinda like a small Panera) all within this one block corner area. There is also a Lotteria which I believe is a knock off of McD's here. I think their menus on the wall look just like McD's. We haven't tasted, so I don't know if it taste like McD's!! What a corner!!!! The market is just down from the Dunkin Donuts! We will be trying it all soon!!

The market is small, but has plenty of options. I bought English cucumbers in a pack of six and small tomatoes that a lady was packaging and labeling while we were standing there. The cucumbers were great (we had some for lunch)! And, I found a plunger!! Oh yippee, NOT!! I had to come back and clean the bathroom that was gross. I was totally gagging for a long while. I am so grateful for Clorox Clean-up!!! I will be washing those towels AGAIN in HOT water!!! But, I have to hang them to dry as the dryer the army brought me doesn't get hot. UGH!! Thank goodness Koreans have these really nice hanging rack areas in their homes. I have a place to put the towels out to dry (or to get as dry as they can in 90% humidity)!!

All in all, the market trip was great!! What a blessing new friends/ neighbors are!!! Cami really has gone out of her way to help me transition into this new culture! And, to think she had to do this all herself when she came!! I will be paying this forward to any new American families that come this way!!

Connection

Well, now that we are officially in our apartment, albeit, with not much, we have internet and Korean TV, it would be nice to talk to family and friends. However, when I can talk, they are all sound asleep in their nice, soft, comfy beds (yes, mine is extremely hard and I don't want to go to sleep)!!! This seems to be the dilemma I am in now. I can be online, skype, hooked up the house phone with an American number, but I can't use any of it until it is time for me to go to bed (which I would gladly put off, but my body still thinks it needs sleep)!

I guess this is a good thing! It is going to give me time to read my Bible, pray, do my studies, work on PCOC and whatever else the Lord leads me to. I am so excited that I get this time with Him. I think He knows I am not a morning person and this works out well with me!! He can have my undivided attention (except when I am blogging). So, now that I have figured that out, I guess I should get to it!!

Good night!!! Oh, well, in your case, Good Morning!!! {Yawn!!}