Menu for Monday.

So here is our menu for Monday’s meals.

Breakfast: Special K and banana

Lunch : Spaghetti and broccoli

Dinner; Chicken hot dogs, broccoli florets, and Bush’s bake beans.

Drink: water

My boring life

Sorry I’ve not written in a while, but to be honest I’ve not had anything really interesting to blog about. LOL  Yesterday I went to a meeting our mobile home park was having.  It was okay although it took like 2 hours to get through.  The park voted on a proposal for a fellow to have control over  putting a bridge in the entrance of the park..  They want to take out the col-vet and raise the road a little so the fish can move freely up the river better. It sounds nice, but to give one person control over the entire project without showing any plans is not getting a vote from me.  We as a park are receiving two grants to get the project done, so we will not have to invest in paying for it, but maintenance afterwords will be our responsibility.  Any how that was one of the order of business.  The other stuff was budget and financial crap.  LOL   Over the last few days nothing really has happened in my life to really blog about.  I live a quite quiet life and not much excitement ever happens.

Why?, “Because I’m the Mom and I said so.”

I  hear this phrase used a lot and it really bothers me.This is why, and why it got me thinking about how I talk to my own children.  Joe and I are not perfect parents by any means, but we do not take talking to our children in any old fashion lightly.  We as parents are responsible for  the up bringing of our children so they can reach their potential for God one day.  If you do not prepare your child in the way he ought to be prepared, then when he has become of age to do things on his own,,he or she will not do it because they will be so used to you telling them what or what not to do. You will have made them to become insecure  and indecisive irresponsible adults. Let me explain.Parenting is like a carpenter.  If the carpenter does not have the right tools to do the job he won’t be able to do his job correctly.  It doesn’t matter how much he went to school for training, but if he does not have the right tools then he won’t be able to perform what he has been taught.  Joe and I not only need to train our children to do right, but we as parents must provide them withe  the right tools.  What are the right tools you ask?  Well the tools are the experiences your child goes through and how you as a parent handle them.  When your child ask a question just don’t cop out and say, “No, or I said so, or Because I’m the parent.” But rather, let them ask questions about the situation, let them think things through, let them come to the conclusion why or why not they did or didn’t do what they were suppose to do.  My children are always asking why.  They are not disrespectful  when they ask it either.  If they are genuinely wanting to know something, then Joe and I have done or set, I will either ask them questions to let them come to the conclusion of what they have asked, or we will explain it to them as  best as we know how if it is above their understanding.  We as adults have to answer questions for ourselves every day. but it all starts when we are children. If as children we are used to just hearing the words, No, Because I said so, or go away, you’re bothering me, then a child will become deaf to parental knowledge and the ability to make their own decisions when they are in a situation where they must make their own decision.  You are not doing your child justice by always pushing them away and acting like they are annoying. The one who is truly being annoyed, is YOU.  Yes being a mom and dad is time consuming, and even inconvenient, but when we decided to have children we knew it was going to be a huge investment with our time and life.  So instead of just telling our children WHAT to do, let them figure it out and let them be thinkers.  Yes, set the boundaries, make the rules, but when they are broken don’t just yell or say ,”You’re in trouble, or You’re getting a spanking.”,  but rather, sit down with them and talk it out and if you have to go over the rules that you have set for then, then take the time and do it.  You must start this when your child is very young, lets say as soon as they show they have independence.  yes, that means when they begin to crawl. You say, they don’t understand, but they do.  We baby our babies too much that when the time comes to get serious they have already chosen to cross the line because they know they can because we allowed them to.  Don’t let your child cross the line, let him know where it is and clearly let him know if he crosses it there will be consequences to follow.  This is why Joe and I never used the counting system, or give our children a choice when it comes to rules.  Rules are to be made and kept, not negotiated or reasoned with.  If they have a sincere question about the rule, then by all means we explain it to them in such a way they can understand, but they do not get the authority to set the standards.  When you go work for a company or business you don’t set the rules or policies, but rather you do your job to the best ability as you can.  If you have a wise employer and you have questions, then they will work with you and try their best to explain things that may not be understood to you, but you as an employee do not get to make the rules  .   Like parenting, you get the privileged  of setting rules and bounders, but you must also take the responsibility and invest in the time it takes to keep those rules and bounders.  Don’t just set them and expect your child to keep them.  You must enforce them and be consistent.  If that means taking time away from the tv, computer, or whatever else you are doing, then do it, but do it right and don’t yell, or treat them harshly.  Like the Bible says, Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.  Training doesn’t mean just teaching, but it also means to instruct, to live, and to be the example you would want your child to grow up to be. It means to listen, to watch, to demonstrate, and to answer questions. After training is done, a child will  have to face the situation of obeying or disobeying.  If you have taught him properly, yes he will disobey still, but when faced with the consequences he will know what to expect.  If he obeys he will not only feel good about making the right decision but he will know WHY he made the right decision and when temptation comes along again, he will chose right.   Some things are taught by teaching,but most is taught by how we as parents react, live, and treat our children.  So this is why Joe and I never use the phrase, “I said, so, or NO.”.  I leave you with this Bible verse,”The rod and reproof gives wisdom,  but a child left to himself bringeth his mother shame.  Don’t be a parent who just sets all the rules, but rather, take the time to enforce the  standards and rules.  Don’t be a parent who cops out and just says, “because I said so, or no.”  Be a parent who rears their child  with love , respect, and kindness to not only others but also to themselves..  I grantee you, you won’t be sorry.  I’m not, and I am glad that God has given me great principles I can use to teach not only me how to be a good parent, but my children how to be good citizens and not bring shame on themselves. nor God.  I love my children very much, but I know they are not always going to be mine to keep.  Joe and I made a promise long before ever having children that when we did we would do our best to rear them for God and for His glory.  What my children do with their lives is up to them, but like the carpenter, I want to give my children the right tools to be able to reach their full potential in their lives and for God.

By the way when my children were very young under age 3 we didn’t reason with them we set boundaries, and enforced the rules. We were consistent.  We still have rules and such  but now that the children are older and have a respect for rules and boundaries, we can talk about them like mature adults.  But sadly a lot of adults can’t  even have a mature conversation about rules and boundaries, because they were never taught to do so as a child.  Doesn’t mean they can’t learn, they just don’t have the right tools to do so at the moment.

A New Beginning.

32 years have gone and past. I just can’t believe how fast time flies by.  Literally 32 years ago today I was brought from South Korea to the United States.  From what I was told it was an 18 hour flight.  When I arrived I was wearing a  brown and green sweater and sweater pants that matched.  I also had a very bright pink sweater that I also wore.  I arrived at O-Hare International Airport in the evening..  My Mom, my oldest brother, and my grandma came to welcome me that night.  I can’t imagine how I felt or I saw for the very first time. I was only 22 month of age at the time.  If I remember correctly, my grandma held me all the way home to my new house.  My mom had to drive, so she couldn’t hold me quite then.  I can imagine though when we got home she held me tight and made me feel secure.  I do have a funny memory to share. When I got home, I was told I was very hungry, because when I saw that there was bread sitting on the table, I went to it and ate up.  LOL   I don’t  recall a lot about my life those first few months of my life, but I do know that I was loved, and that I had a special place in my parents heart, and in my extended families hearts as well.  I am so grateful to have been adopted those 32 years ago.  Thank you Mom and Dad for making me one of your own, I am well loved and cherished by those who know me and who love me.  Because of the love my parents had for me, I was able to become a Christian, marry a wonderful husband, and have a beautiful family I now call my own.  I have overcome a lot of obstacles  in my life and I have learned to love and be loved by many. Being adopted has been one of the most wonderful events in my life, besides becoming a Christian, and having a family of my own.  God has been good to me and I am most grateful for His love and kindness. So yeah, March,20th 1980 was definitely was a new beginning in my life.

Crazy Monday morning.

So this morning has been crazy.  Yeah, not bad crazy but just busy crazy.  The weather out is really nice, so the kids want to go play rather then do school work.  Plus after a busy weekend I have chores to do around the house.  You know the kind, washing dishes, cooking , cleaning, you name it, it needs to be done.  I also did some rearranging of some things in the house.  Which by the way, if you get to know me, you will soon find out I am a person who rearranges my furniture in my house on a weekly basis.  Why?  Well, I’ll be honest, I’m bored, and my mind is always thinking of new ways to put things. Better places, more practical places,  you name it, I think about it until I do ti.  That’s just me. It drives my husband crazy sometimes because I’ll move things, then he’ll want to know where something is, and I forget because I move stuff around all the time. I hate clutter, so if my house feels cluttered because if things being accumulated and such, I just have to reorganize and unclutter.   I am very obsessive about this, so yeah, things can get hectic around my place because I make a big deal out of it.   I know I’m weird, but that’s me. LOL  So anyhow, my morning has been filled with homeschooling, doing chores, and rearranging stuff around the house.  I plan to exercise and maybe take a walk later with the kids.  I have more cleaning to do, so I may not be on the computer much today   So I hope you are all having a nice Monday, and if you have a chance to enjoy the nice weather then go out and take a walk and enjoy God’s creation..

Living with Albinism.

Today I will talk on the subject of being an albino.   People around me ask, so what’s  it like to have albinism?  Some people think that albinism is a race, lol, I used to get that a lot as a child in school.  Kids would be like, are you from Albania?  I’d tell them no, that I was Korean and then they laugh at me and say , What you are from Crayon?  I guess I had a pretty strong Asian accent in elementary school.  Anyhow, so what’s it like being me.  Well to be honest I just have to be careful when I decide to go outside when it is above 68 degrees. When this happens I wear sun screen and a sun hat.  I also wear prescription sunglasses.  I do not use a walking stick nor do I have a seeing eye dog.  I have enough eye sight that I am too proud to use those things as of now.  Perhaps one day if I must I will. My eyes are very light sensitive and I have gone to great measures to protect them.  It all started as a child when my parents made sure they got me the best glasses they could find for me. They took me to low vision specialist all the time growing up.  I also wear glasses inside.  I have bifocals to help me read fine print, although now that I am older, it doesn’t seem to help too much.  I think my eyes may be getting a little worse with age.  My eye sight is corrected to 20-80 with glasses and without them it’s 20-400.  I am near sighted and I can actually see things a far off and not have them be blurry. I also have nystagmus which means my eyes move back and forth uncontrollably  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nystagmus  I also have a bit of a astigmatism.   I have very little peripheral vision and little depth perception.   I have to hold things close to read .  I am what they consider legally blind.  my eye sight can not be corrected because of the damage that has been done to the optic nerve.  It’s complicated, but hey, that’s me.

I don’t  have difficult time getting around in familiar territory but when I am in a new surrounding I get a little nervous, especially if it s outside.  I depend very much on my sense of hearing, and smell.  I know that sounds funny because I can see, but when you are visually impaired those other senses still make up for the lack of me being blind. I also color coordinate things all the time, put things in size order, and have a clutter free home.  I do not consider myself disable simply because I can do for myself and I can live independently without any assistance.  I think I may be over exaggerating a little because I have a husband who helps me out more then I know.  I can not drive, and I can not read fine print on my own. so finding a job is almost impossible.  My husband goes out of his way to make sure things are read to me out loud and holds my hand when we are walking in a parking lot, or crossing the street. My children help me too with a lot of things if I can ‘t see something.   I sometimes have to swallow my pride and ask for help and just be up front and tell people I am visually impaired.  I get embarrassed easily over my lack of eyesight, but for the most part I’m okay with it.  I am sure those who know me and have been around me know that I am visually impaired  And by the way, I do appreciate those who do know me personally don’t make a big deal of it either.  That means a lot to me.  More then you know.I do not make a big deal of being legally blind, but I don’t mind telling people the truth if they need to know or want to know on their terms.  I however,hate it when people feel sorry for me or treat me like I am disable or something

If you are wondering if I was made fun of as a child, the answer is yes.  I simply think it was because when a child see’s someone who is different they don’t know how to react to the situation.  I mean if I saw an albino for the first time, I am sure I would have lots of questions to ask.  However, when you live with a condition you sometimes put yourself in a bubble of protection and become offended by anyone who may want to sincerely know about your situation.  At least that is what I did.   I was very insecure and uncomfortable with my being an Albino until I went to collage. While I was there, I  met another lady who also had albinism. Her name was Jennifer and she became a very close friend to me. She made me realize that being an albino was not the end of the world, and that people will think what they will of you regardless if you are an albino or not.  She taught me how to be more confident and not so bitter.  I am forever grateful to her. She changed my life. In fact when I went to collage everyone thought we were sisters.  And in my eyes we were.    Now I have lots of friends who are albinos and I know that I am not the only one out there that lacks pigment in my hair,skin, and eyes.

So yeah being an albino is to me is not so abnormal.  It’s just who I am and I am grateful that my condition does not cause me physical pain.  When I was a child I allowed it to cause me emotional pain, but by the grace of God I am a changed person because of the choices I made in my life.  I know that I can be used of God no matter what type of physical condition I may be in, and to be quite honest, I am glad for how the Lord created me. So after reading this please don’t feel sorry for me, but celebrate with me that I am alive and well and that I can live a brilliant life and not have to feel sorry for myself.

Spring is finally here

ssI took a picture of the yard outside my house.  I am so excited that spring is finally here.  What is it about spring that makes everything so new and refreshed?  What does spring remind you of when you hear the word being said?  For me it reminds me of new beginnings, new life, and new goals.  I love spring simply because everything is so fresh and new and the weather is perfect for hiking,bike riding, and cook outs.  In my perfect world it would be spring all the time with 70 degree weather.  Spring up here in the Northeast is just simply one of my most favorite times of year.  Because I was abandoned as a baby I know nothing of my biological parents, so when I was adopted  the adoption agency chose my birthday for me.  I am so glad they chose a month in the spring, rather then the summer or winter. LOL   Anyhow, I hope wherever you are you are enjoying your first few nice days of spring.

My love for house plants.

So it’s me again.  I found this new game on fb called Angry birds, I love it.  How many of you have played it?  I am stuck on the mid levels but I plan to beat the game here within the next week or two.  Anyhow, I forgot to mention, I love house plants.  Every time I go to the store I just have to stop by the plant section and look at all the plants even if I don’t even buy one, I just have to look at them and admire them.  So I made a promise to myself , and I decided that I would only buy one plant a month.  That’s not too bad right?  I mean I go to the store like two times a week so can you imagine if I bought a plant every time I went there.  By the way the store that I go to is actually a grocery store.  LOL.  Anyhow, I thought you would want to know that about me too.  I just love house plants.

A little about me. Joy

Hi I can’t  believe I’m doing this.  I am so totally new at this so be patient.  I don’t even know what I am going to blog about, so just bear with me and I will make the best of it.  I suppose I shall tell you a little about myself.  I was born outside of Seoul Korea, and was abandoned at 6 months of age.  I was taken to a hospital for one year, then I went to a foster home in Korea called the Eastern Social Welfare Society ran by Dr. Kim .  Anyhow I was adopted at 22 months of age and grew up in a Christian family.  I went to Hyles Anderson Collage as a young person, met my wonderful Husband and now have two beautiful children.   I always thought my life to be interesting and unique.  Not only am I Korean but I also have a genetic disorder called Albinism.  I lack pigment in my eyes, skin, and hair.  I actually am quite lucky because I have blue eyes.  I am legally blind but I can see colors very well, and I can read fine print if I wear bifocals  I love to cook, scrapbook, make cards, spend time with my kids, and play games on facebook.  I am not sure what exactly I am going to blog about, so perhaps you can give me an idea.  I am sure I will think of something before too long.   Well that ‘s all for tonight. .   I am interested in knowing anyone out there who also might have albinism, or who is Asian and also has albinism.  I don’t know anything about my biological parents but I do have a few friends who are Asian and  also have Albinism  So if you are out there, leave a comment, and I’ll read it.