안녕하세요

In case the title didn't give it away (which says "hello"), I'm learning to read and write in Hangul, the Korean alphabet. It's been a lot of fun (I'm a nerd) learning the basics of a new language. I don't have any lofty plans of becoming a fluent Korean speaker. However, I do plan on making Easton's transition into our home as easy as possible for him by learning his native tongue. He will likely be around two years old when he comes home, so he will definitely be speaking by then. More than his ability to speak though, will be his ability to undersatnd what is being said. All my children can understand what I'm saying much quicker than they can verbalize it back to me. So, I think it will be so helpful to be able to talk to Easton (at least in simple phrases) while he learns English.

During the kids' nap time, I bust out my notebook, pen, and a start practicing my writing and pronunciation. There are some letters in the Korean alphabet with no English equivalent, so I'm pretty sure I look and sound ridiculous as I'm contorting my mouth into various positions trying my darndest to make a sound I've never made before. But honestly, I love every second of it.

While Easton is my son, there's so little I can do to actually feel like his mommy (엄마) right now. He's thousands of miles away! I can pray for him, send an occasional care package, and soak up as much knowledge about all things Korean. So, in a strange way, learning Korean helps me to bond with him.

I've also been trying to get the kids involved. I've taught the older two to say hello and checked out a few books from the library about South Korea. They took it upon themselves to complete a craft from one of the books--they made Korean fans.

The other day I got out our globe and the kids and I were looking at Afghanistan, South Korea, and Kansas on it. Turns out the three locations our family is in right now make an almost perfect triangle. It's crazy to think how spread out we are right now. I am so excited for the day all SIX of us will be together on the same continent, in the same country, in the same state, in the same city, in the same HOME.