All is quiet in our house. My son had a burst of post-candy energy, but he went down without a fight. He was exhausted from the day’s activities. He had a party at school and then trick-or-treating after dinner. He had a blast. They were gone for nearly an hour. Now, he’s asleep and I’m going to be right behind him. I am very very tired. If you’re interested, here’s a link to my other blog to see our Halloween pictures.

Link: Halloween Memories

I’m... more

I like to make people smile and for some reason people are smiling at me today. Perhaps, it’s because everyone is in such a good mood today. Today is Halloween. The day that spirits are supposed to walk the mortal world and witches fly through the air on magical broomsticks. It’s a day that encourages imagination and the belief in the impossible. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It always has been.

Okay, I’ll admit that most people are smiling at me because I’m wearing a cat-ear headband and I’ve drawn a black cat nose and whiskers on my face with eye liner. I look silly, but it’s allowed today.

Someone once said that, on Halloween, you can be anyone that you... more

Link: Part 1 Link: Part 2

As much as I’d like to think that all searches and reunions will end up with a “happily ever after” ending, I know this isn’t true. There is a story of a Korean adoptee that I once heard and I’ve been trying really hard to remember where I heard it from. I am pretty sure that I saw it on television, but it was long before... more

Link: Part 1

I love hearing reunion stories with happy endings. There have been enough stories of Korean adoptees finding their birth families that I know it is done. It’s for this reason that I would never discourage someone from searching for their birth family. Despite the message of my last post, I am not against seeking out possibilities. I am an advocate of making sure that you don’t set yourself up for disappointment.

Reunions and... more

On my other blog, I was wondering about how things could have been . Alternative realities can often be a lot more fun than the current one. In an alternative reality, you can work everything out so that it’s perfect.

I was at my cousin’s wedding this week-end and it was beautiful. What started out as a miserable day (cold and wet) turned into a clear blue sky as the church doors opened to introduce a new couple to the world. Wasn’t that nice of Mother Nature to... more

Tonight, I’m a little worried that things are going a little too smoothly. My son went to bed without a whimper so I’ve had plenty of time to pack for our trip to Ohio. We’re packing tonight because we’re leaving right after work tomorrow. All we have time to do is throw all of our things into the car and run.

It still amazes me how much stuff we take with us on a trip to see my parents. No one warned me about this part of parenthood. My husband and I used to be able to stuff all of our things into a backpack and we were good for the week-end. Now, we... more

I saw this link on the KAAN newsletter and I started thinking about Korean cooking again.

Link: Low Fat Korean Cooking

I’ve always thought it would be interesting to try and make some Korean dishes. Notice, I said interesting and not fun. It isn’t that I don’t like Korean food. Actually, I really like Korean food. It’s that I don’t like to cook.

My husband does most of the cooking. I can cook, but left up to my own devices, I’d be dialing my cell phone on the way home from work. Knowing this, my husband chooses to cook. There’s also that pesky problem of my not wanting to touch raw meat – or... more

I came across this article and I thought it was interesting. It’s asking the question, why are prospective parents turning to overseas adoption instead of looking right here in the United States. I understood the purpose of the article, but I found some of the language to be offensive. Perhaps, I’m being too sensitive.

Link: U.S. adoption agencies ask, "Why don't they look here?"

One... more

I do remember a time when my friends and I would talk and we would actually finish a sentence without interruption. Those times are long gone (pre-children). Now, when we get together, one of us is generally jumping to check on someone or someone is pulling on our sleeve to get our attention.

Anyhow, I was talking to my friend J on the phone the other day (in between interruptions) and she said that her daughter, A, said that she hated her new little sister A2. It’s bound to happen with sibling rivalry and the closeness in age. It was J’s reaction that had me thinking though. A was horrified that she had said it and immediately started saying that she didn’t mean it. J, however,... more

I really couldn’t escape from writing more about North Korea. With their nuclear test the top item on almost every newscast, it really is dominating my thoughts lately. They’ve been such an insular country since the end of the Korean War, that it is hard for me to paint a very clear picture for myself.

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to an interview with a gentleman who had spent some time in North Korea on an assignment. He had just finished a graphic novel about his experience in North Korea. What struck me about the interview was that... more