Pumpkin Patch

We went to Tanaka Farms with our church's children's ministry group today.  Thanks to the staff and to the Tadokoros for organizing this fun and memorable trip!

Funny face picture with the kids


Walking along the patch with Daddy


Pumpkins are cool!


Enjoying the wagon ride


Petting the animals (while Mommy is paranoid about all the animal germs)


Sitting on giant pumpkins


Playing games


Enjoying refreshments


Picking our own pumpkins


Striking a pose in the patch


It was lots of fun and we all enjoyed it.  Looking forward to carving!

This picture is unrelated, but I thought I'd share what Marcus looks like when he's annoyed with Mommy.  We tell him "I love you" a million and nine times a day and ask him to either say it or sign it back.  This is the million and ninth time I asked him to say it yesterday and here's how he responded:



Hey, I'll take it.  Even if he's annoyed.

Pictures of the Day

Marcus had a PT session this morning and he did some standing against a wall.  What happened to our baby boy?  Take a look at our champ now.  Isn't he a stud? (Excuse the following 1 million pictures...I just can't get enough of this stuff! )










And here's my ultimate favorite: our big boy with his big sis.

Visit from Grandparents

My parents came to visit last week, since my sister had her baby...sweet Norah.


Of course, they fell in love with her right away.



I can't believe my parents have 3 grandkids now.


This visit was particularly special because we hadn't seen them for a year and a half.  The last time they came, Audrey was 2.5 yrs old and Marcus was only 9 months old.  I was so excited for my parents to see the kids again.  This time, they came to play with a 4 year-old little lady and a 2 year-old little monkey.


Marcus bonded so quickly with Grandpa.


And they both had a blast hanging out with Grandma at Disneyland.



They also got to sit in on one of Marcus' PT sessions.  Seeing how far Marcus has come since they last saw him really encouraged them.  And that encouraged me tremendously.  I really feel that it's through our parents' faithful prayers that our kids are so blessed.


It was special watching the kids interact with my parents.


And spending time with my sister and mom together made me think of years ago, when we both depended on her for everything.


It was real hard saying good-bye to my mom.  Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm a mom now and that I'm living my own life independent from her.  When I said good-bye, I remembered how I felt when I was young.  That if ever I had a problem or fear, everything would be okay because Mom and Dad would be there to take care of it all.  They could deal with it for me and assure me that everything would be okay.  So this time, it was hard to leave my mom because it was a stark reminder that I wasn't a kid anymore and that they weren't there to shield me from my fears and trials.

Right now, there are definitely fears and difficulties in my life that I wish I could hand over to my parents to take care of.  But one of the biggest undeserved blessings the Lord has given me is my parents' and Mike's parents' faith and love for the Lord.  Although they aren't always here to hold our hands, they are fervently praying for us and for our kids, and that is one of the biggest encouragements in the face of our trials.

So I'm accepting the fact that I'm a "big girl" now, living the "real life" no longer as my Mom and Dad's little girl.  But the greatest thing my parents have passed down to me is the example of calling on my Heavenly Father to take care of me and assure me that everything will be okay as long as I am in His hands.

School Boy

Marcus started pre-school at the Blind Children's Learning Center this week.  Twice a week from morning until after lunch, he'll be away from me.  Even though he's only 2, we thought it would be a good idea to send him so that he can learn from other peers and gain some independence from Mommy, whom he depends on SO much for everything, even though he can do a lot by himself.  He has been doing really well, by God's grace, and so far, it's working out!

The first day was kind of hard on the little guy though.  I left the room without him knowing, but after some time, I heard his cry in the halls and my heart shattered into a bazillion pieces.  It also didn't help to hear Audrey say in the car with the saddest voice ever, "Mommy, I miss Marcus."

When I went to pick him up, he threw his arms around my neck over and over again and smothered me with kisses.  Then, he wouldn't let me go.  It was the sweetest thing!  But he had a great first day and he's already made a bond with the teachers and volunteers.  They said that he did the motions to "If you're happy and you know it" and showed off his knowledge of the alphabet.

Today, when I picked him up, this is what happened:

Me: (Opening the door with the biggest smile and highest pitched voice)  Marcus, it's me, Mommy!!!!!!
Marcus: (Turning to see me) Oh, hey mom.  (Turning back to face his OT)  So yeah, Miss Joan, I think it would be great if I put the ball over here...

Uh, I think he's adjusted.

His OT said that when she saw him in class, he was playing with a little girl and they were babbling with each other as if they were having a full on conversation.  So cute.  I'm so thankful.

Another HUGE reason why we thought putting him in school would be great is so that I can spend some alone time with Audrey.  It's kind of like redeeming the time I feel she's had to give away during the 6+ hours of therapy per week we've had with Marcus.  Today, she said, "Mom, I like spending time with you."  My heart melted and I was so thankful for this special time with her.

Say What?

We're so thankful that Marcus continues to learn new signs and new words all the time.  He knows how to say a handful of words and although his pronunciation is off and pretty much everything sounds like a version of "ba" or "da" or "na" or "wa" or "oh", we are able to distinguish what he is trying to say.  He even said his version of "I love you" on the phone today to his auntie and grandma.

Yesterday, while doing the dishes, I was thinking, "It would be SO great if Audrey and Marcus could do a little routine for our church's talent show one day!"  And then I thought to myself, "What?!  Forget that.  It would be even SWEETER if both of my children could share their testimonies of God's amazing grace in their lives in front of the church one day."  If that ever does happen, I think I will be crying for 90 hours straight.  Even daydreaming about that makes my eyes perspire.

Anyhow, with the little that Marcus does vocalize, it's funny because we know exactly what he wants and is asking for.  And for some strange reason, Audrey can understand even better than Mike and I can.  Either that, or Marcus does indeed know how to talk more and only uses it with Audrey.

Yesterday, they were fighting in the car over a toy:

A:  Marcus, I'm playing with it.
M: (grunting and pointing)
A:  Marcus, I said I'm playing with it!
M: (elevated grunting and pointing)
A:  Stop it!
A: (talking to me)  Mom, tell Marcus to stop saying that!
Me: What did he say, Audrey?
A:  He said "Mine".  He's not supposed to say that!  That's not nice.
Me:  He did?
A:  Marcus, don't say "Mine!"  That's not nice!

And my favorite:

A:  Mommy, Marcus lied to me today.

How Marcus could "lie" to Audrey is a mystery to me, but I guess I'll take her word for it?

New List

Before heading off to Trader Joe's this morning, I dictated to Auj our list for the day.  Here's what she jotted down.  100 points to whoever guesses it right first.  Hint:  she wrote all her S's as 3's.

1. TMEDO
2. BET
3. JEKN
4. 3ALRWE
5. BER (this one's hard...and NO, it's not beer!)
6. 3TBRE
7. TE
8. POT3O (another hard one)
9. 3OT
10. MUT (REALLY hard..I think she gave up on this one)

She's still doing some internet doodling (remember AUDREYLEE.COM?)
She scribbled the following the other day:

ABC...WWW.COM
123...WWW.COM

I don't know what's with the URLs!

Interesting Things

A few interesting things that have happened or that I've discovered recently:

1.  Audrey asking me after I've yawned:  "You tired, babe?"

2. Audrey asking me, "Hey Unni ("older sister" in Korean)!  Can I call you Unni?"

3. Audrey:  "F makes the sound "f f f f f f"  like "pho".

4. Realizing that everyone in my family dances way better than me.  My kids have inherited Mike's natural rhythm.  See Mike's Facebook for clips of Audrey dancing - OR - come over during dinner and watch my children dance live. (Some families memorize scripture during dinner...we perfect dance moves.)  Even Marcus has a mean pelvic thrust.

Maybe they dance better than me because they study clips of the Jabbawockeez on You Tube together.


Oh.  Dad, look at that move.  Let's try that one.


5. Seeing Marcus distinguish between a trapezoid, a pentagon, a hexagon, and an octagon and place them in the appropriate spaces.  Pretty amazing for a boy with a vision impairment and fine motor challenges, eh?

6. Discovering that Marcus loves to soak up new things. One thing we've noticed is that he LOVES to learn.  He recently learned his colors and right now, he's hooked on "Super Why" and "Letter/Reading Factory".  At times, we'll write down some vowels and he'll sound them out.  I have a weird feeling that he already knows how to read, but just can't tell us yet.  He also has a crazy memory.  I used to read 1 Peter to him real frequently and it ended up being a favorite of his.  After almost a year of not reading it to him, I came back to it recently and he remembered it by making the same smiley face he used to.

7. A little more serious...but I've discovered how easily I get discouraged/depressed and yet how lavishly the Lord sends encouragement and blessing.  (sigh)  I hope to expound on this another time.

8. Accepting the fact that it takes 900 tries to get a good pic of the kids together.

Take 1 - Itchy nose


Take 2 - Let's tickle her


Take 3 - The tickling is working


Take 4 - I'm a rascal and she is too


Take 5 - Just weird


Take 6 - Even weirder


Take 7 - I can tickle without even trying


Take 8 - I can't contain myself when she hugs me like that


Take 900 - I guess this one will do