Back In the Saddle Again

No, I'm not going horseback riding...our school district has finally succumbed to some major budget cuts, so next year I will be going back to the classroom. For a short time, I thought that I was being displaced from the campus, meaning the district was going to place me at a random campus to fill a spot. Truth be told, I was nervous especially since I'm certified to teach up to 8th grade. Luckily, I will get to teach second grade at the current school I'm at, which is the grade level that I taught for 8 1/2 years before I became a CIT. I am pretty thrilled about that. I'm also happy that I will get to stay at my current campus. This year was our inaugural year, so to leave would have been pretty disappointing. Although I will miss my current position, I do look forward to having "my own class" and having the opportunity to continue to work with some pretty amazing people. :0)

P.S. This weekend I went to a friend's birthday party and her sister, who happens to be a junior in high school, talked about some peers of of hers which happen to be former second grade students of mine, YIKES! I am getting OLD, lol!

'Stuff n Things'

This past week we went to our favorite Korean restaurant, Ilsong Garden. I LOVE it! I could literally eat there every day and every meal. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but I know I could definitely eat there more than once a week. As usual I had my fav, which is bi bim bop, and then even though the ban chan are essentially the same I had to eat them, too. Of course, as tradition has it I will always try to convince Matt to eat something coated in the kimchee sauce, but he learned after visit number two which dishes to avoid, LOL! I have a friend who says that a different Korean restaurant, Kiku Garden, is better. Since we haven't been there yet, I can't say, but I really don't need an excuse to go and eat Korean food.

This week the adoption community was sad to learn that Dr. Kim Duk Whang passed away. He established Eastern Social Welfare Society. I would consider him the founding father of international adoption in Korea. He is the gentleman who helped facilitate my adoption. This wise gentleman was beloved and will be greatly missed.

One of the many ways that Dr. Kim, Duk Whang (founder and former Chairman of the Board of Eastern Social Welfare Society/ESWS) demonstrated his fatherly devotion and dedication to each child in Eastern's care was to pray a special blessing over each child prior to his/her departure to their new adoptive family.

As for adoption news...that's right, we are still waiting! I think maybe our i600a will be approved around our anniversary?!?! Once that form is approved then we are really in the running for a referral. I learned this week that you need that approved before you can move on.

One more thing...after looking at how many different topics are in this post, I'll try to post more frequently. :0)

Fingerprints...and some other Stuff

Today we went to get our fingerprints scanned. I wish there was a funny story or something to share about the experience, but we essentially went in, only had to wait about 5 minutes and then we were done. It's just one more thing that we can check off the list. It's supposed to take about a month for approval for the I600a...and I know I keep repeating this phrase, but now we are waiting, again until the next thing we can cross of our list. :0)

A Korean Culture Tidbit: Tomorrow, May 5th is Children's Day in Korea.
"Children's Day (Eorini nal) is a South Korean national holiday celebrated
on May 5. It was founded by the Korean children's writer and storyteller Bang Jung-hwan in 1923 as a way to instill in the children a sense of independence and national pride. Children's Day highlights the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect. It is also a day to honor adults that have contributed to improving the lives of children."
http://www.dodoland.com/childrenday3.php
Happy Children's Day!!!

Of course, on Sunday is Mother's Day. I wish all mothers a very Happy Mother's Day! The picture at the bottom of my post is when my mother first held me in her arms after I was escorted to America.

Happy Mother's Day!