Christmas Vacation!!

It was so much fun! We got back yesterday. We went from 80' to 50' in less than 7 hours. Boo!! (At least it isn't snowing here like it is supposed to in KY...) We took lots of pics on the cruise. I will post later. Right now, it is time to blog on my latest blog,

http://theroshowhomeschool.blogspot.com/

We are busy, busy, busy getting ready to start school. I am seriously excited.

Link to our new blog!!

There are exciting changes at our house. To find out more, click here...

Also- I will be documenting our daily life over at the new link. I will only update this blog with big events... birthdays, vacations, etc. If you are interested in finding out more, leave a comment with your email. I am more than happy to chat!!

A Civil War Christmas

Having moved to the South this year, I found an appropriate Christmas program offered through the parks department. It was at a historical farm from the Civil War Era. There were lots of buildings to visit and many actors re-inacting the Civil War times. The kids were able to do a craft from that era which was to make ornaments out of burrs that fall from the trees (gumdrop trees), and stringing popcorn and dried cranberries on a thread to hang on the Christmas tree. They also had hot chocolate and made dinner outdoors in the "kitchen" which consisted of cooking with a dutch oven over hot coals.

This was a blacksmith showing us how to make a decorative poker for the fire.

All the kids got a turn at the spinning wheel to see how it worked.

They had a "Father Christmas" figure there. Jenna only wanted to see him because he handed out candy canes. The kids thought it was funny that "Santa" was Korean!!

Only happy about the candy cane.

Hey.., I want a candy cane too!!

"Mom, this guy is creepy..."

My little Union soldiers.

This is what happens when you have an odd number of children.

The kids were running through the prarie. This experience made me want to own lots of land...

This would make a really cute Christmas card. (Nah, that takes A LOT of effort...)

Someone caught their daddy in the outhouse... (Just playing around.)

More running in the prairies. They did this for a LONG time.

So, we were the only people there that didn't homeschool. Some took this historical Christmas thing to extremes.

LOVE this pic of Jenna. I don't know why, but it captures her very essence.

What a cute little stinker!

The family farmhouse. It was done up with period furniture and was really fun to see.

The Yankees decided to invade on enemy turf...

"Go Home, Yankees!!"

Ooh... almost got 'em.

Look at those dead soldiers in the field!

Of course the Confederates won... we DO live in Georgia! Here are my cute rebels!

Three rebels ready to attack...

The "Ro Rebels" are coming for ya!!

Welcome to Our Georgia Home

Since we moved in July, we have only had one set of friends from out of town visit us in our new home. Rob's parents and my parents came down to visit during the first two weeks after we moved. So- since that is not the majority of my readers, (if I still have readers anymore... Are you there? If so PLEASE REPLY so I know this isn't all just for naught...) I thought I would show you around our home as it is decorated for Christmas. We still have our pre-lit colorful tree, (which will hopefully be replaced next year with a beautiful white-light tree!!) and our wonderful creche from my mother-in-law which I collected through the years. While I still love seeing ornaments from our first year of marriage, it is nice to add new ornaments as well. This year we added picture-frame ornaments with pics of Addi, Jenna, Tae, and Rob and I together. They are so much fun!! I wish I had a tree of just picture-frame ornaments with pics of all our friends and family to hang on our tree. That would be super cute... Maybe I will hit Hobby Lobby after Christmas for some deeply discounted pic-frame ornaments!! Enjoy the pictures below. It doesn't seem like much, but believe it or not, it took all of three days to decorate around here. Much different than when we lived in the condo! I really love driving down the street staring at our beautiful Christmas lights though. It truly puts me in the Christmas Spirit. Hope your family has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with blessings and challenges that will make you a stronger person, better friend, closer family,and reliant on the Lord to lift you up and pour blessings upon you!

Our Christmas Tree... all lit up!

Our wonderful Nativity given to me by my mother-in-law!

Cozy up to the fire in a Christmas blanket! Doesn't everything look better with a bow?

Our deer that Addi deems her "Best Christmas Friend." (I didn't say she wasn't a little bizarre...)

Another mini tree. Love these. They are great to take on vacation with us since we travel during Christmas!

This is a creche that Rob made when he was a little boy. My kids LOVE to play with this. Also- a pic of Jenna as a baby in a Santa hat. So sweet!

My stairs... don't mind the mess ON the stairs. "KIDS!!!"

Banister... This is what I see when I walk in the front door. Aahhh.

Our upstairs loft... This is lit up and GORGEOUS from the street... (There is a large window on the other side of the foyer which allows us to see this from the street.)

Who thinks ONE mini Christmas tree is enough? Not me...

My sweet Carolers that I collect. My mom gives them to me at Christmas. I simply adore them. Definitely a family heirloom...

Our foyer table complete with our angel and our Santa. Have the kids been naughty or nice? Hmmmm.... This could be a WHOLE other post... :)

Love my balcony view from the family room. All lit up at night, this is pure heaven.

My gorgeous fireplace. The picture above is the Nativity picture I bought at Hobby Lobby last year. It is my favorite Christmas picture I have ever seen. "The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Jag-eun namu

"Jag-eun-namu" in Korean means "little trees." This year for Christmas, I decided to get the kids their own individual tree to go in their bedrooms. They were allowed to decorate their tree with ornaments they had made that had seen better days along with some little ornaments we found at the craft store. This was such a fun tradition. It kept their interest and they love having their own piece of Christmas next to their beds to look at every night.



The kids each made a tree-topper out of construction paper. I was really impressed with Jenna's origami star. She just whipped it up and placed it atop her tree.

Our trip to KY

We recently went to Kentucky to visit my family. When we were there, we saw a few friends. I didn't take pictures of everyone we visited, but we were able to snap a few. Here is Addison and Jenna with their long lost sister... I mean friend, Lisa. She looks like she fits right into our family. I had a grand old time catching up with my buddy, Shoko as well. Taesun was having a blast hanging out with his buddy, Sammy. (Again... I think they look like they could be related!!)
We also went to Florence Mall to meet up with Taesun's best friend from preschool, Jack. Tae and Jack were in preschool together for 2 1/2 years!! They became best buds and played together non-stop in Ms. Shannon's class, Ms. Katie's class, and Ms. Amy's class. Jack doesn't really come from a great home. His mom is not in his life. He just moved back in with his dad. They live in a trailor in the boonedocks close to Rabbit Hash and Jack doesn't have a whole lot of love at home. Jack is a sweet boy who is lucky to have a grandpa who is very active in his life. Jack's papaw is amazing. He picked up Jack from Kindergarten and drove him to the mall so he could play with Taesun. The boys acted like they hadn't spent any time apart. I am so glad Taesun and Jack have each other.

Pre-Thanksgiving Feast

So yesterday when Taesun starting feeling sick, I knew that I would be home all day with the little man. Plus-I had an appointment to get some water damaged wall fixed in our home. Of course the window of time was several hours. Because of all of this, I thought it would be fun to make a Thanksgiving Feast for our family's dinner tonight. I roasted a turkey, made green bean casserole, homemade mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing, and of course, jello with mandarin oranges. Yummy! I was so excited to show Rob that I not only took Tae to the doctor and the pharmacy today and took care of a sick child, but also made a wonderful turkey dinner. Guess what?! Dinner was had by the kids and I. Rob got stuck in an office and wasn't able to make it home on time. Since the girls have soccer practice tonight, we had to start eating without him. I was super bummed!! No mom makes a fancy dinner for the kids. If that was the case- when the hubby is gone, the mom and kids wouldn't eat mac-n-cheese or hot dogs or Spaghettio's. Instead of getting me in the mood for Thanksgiving, it just created a massive clean up chore for me and a bad attitude about making dinner for the family for the remainder of the week. I think we will just stick with the actual Thanksgiving dinner for years to come. At least I am not making the turkey this year. We will be hanging with Rob's cousin, Keri and her husband, Josh and their three girls at their house. Should be fun!!

Amicalola Falls

There was a state park closeby that had a 400 foot waterfall. It was a serious hike to get up to the top, but they also had a driving path that took you up. Whew. As we started hiking up, Taesun said his leg was hurting and began to limp. Without Rob there, I knew that I couldn't carry Taesun downhill very far, so we decided to drive up instead. It was a beautiful hike, (what little we did...) and gorgeous at the top. Here are some photos for all my friends who are not in Georgia to see...

Top of the falls. The tree line at the top of the photo is where the water drops off. Very impressive.

Jenna thinking about her every movement while crossing the creek.

Taesun always climbing...

Cute little boy... ,minus the hood.

Taesun loved the creek!

This was a lake at the bottom of the falls seperate from the falls. I love the reflection in this photo.

Addison- beautiful as always.

Love this pic... creek at the top of falls.

Here's the clan... Jenna, Kayla, Patrick, Brett, Addison, and Taesun

Kayla and Jenna.. Kayla could seriously pass for my daughter...

Somebody's monkeying around...

This pic makes Jenna look so old, I think...

Friends on a log...

Jenna's ice cream face. We have a pic of me as a kid eating a brownie. Thought I would follow tradition.

Taesun found a rock that was shaped like a heart. What a clever boy.

Big rock. Kids are drawn to it, obviously.

Whoops! A double..

Friendship rock... with Jenna and Kayla

Another cool pic of the creek.

So serene. I could spend a whole day there!

Aah!

Love this fall foliage. It is sparce here in Georgia right now.

All my trees at the house are green still. This was nice to see.

Beautiful colors... Love the fall!!!

Remember all those photos of kids walking across a fence? Whoops.

Jenna being all cute..

Creek

Still climbing...

Addison found a pretty leaf.

She wishes her friend could come to the falls and pumpkin patch, but it wasn't in the works. Maybe next year. Thanks for being my partner this day, Addi!!