Annyeonghaseyo!!!

Annyeonghaseyo!!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Corin the Entertainer

Corin is typically reserved in large crowds, but not so much this weekend. He was definitely the center of attention and got the most laughs too!

Shortly after sitting down with our piled plates of Thanksgiving goodness, we were treated to the serenading musical arrangements of Corin Spencer Lett. Apparently he felt comfortable enough to sing in front of everyone... even though I can't bribe him into singing for Grandmas and Grandpas on Skype... I even offer up candy! Anyways, Corin began singing the itsy bitsy spider and mid-way through pauses to request "everyone, sing wif me!" So, soon my livingroom was filled with adults singing the itsy bitsy spider while giggling at my adorable child. Yes, I was prideful at that moment... I will not deny it!

After the song was finished, Corin made his way through his typical playlist. Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves me, My God is so Big, Father Abraham and a few others were the main source of entertainment as Corin begged the crowd to join in mid-song! It was so stinking cute. One of the gals was in tears she was laughing so hard. It was great. I love Corin. He makes my heart Happy! :) Thanks be to God for a son tha makes my heart smile!

Amen.
LL

Thanksgiving Abroad

Well, we survived our first BIG Holiday abroad. Sure, birthdays were slightly blah without family around, but Thanksgiving... I mean come on.
Well, to lessen the blow of "celebrating" the holiday without the warm oven lovin of our friends and family back home, we decided to invite several of our friends we've made here in Korea. It was a great feast! Taylor and I provided homemade chicken and noodles, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread, and fried apple pie. The rest was provided by the guests! And boy did we have a bounty of food, even the single guys impressed with their homemade sides!
I was thankful that I had started preparations a week and a half in advance, making a different freezable portion of the meal each day or so leading up to the weekend of. It was a busy couple of weeks, but saved me the stress and agrivation of cooking all day the day of. So Saturday we started the day with steamed cinnamon rolls and caramel coffee sauce... Um, yah, not a low calorie Thanksgiving! haha! It was a great morning of relaxing and enjoying the company of those who came out early, the night before! We slowly made our way to one of the local towns to get last minute ingredients and then snacked our way to Thanksgiving dinner, which we had around 2:30 after most everyone had arrived! It was SOOOO yummy, and heart-warming to see such a great group of foreigners fill our house to make it feel homey for the Holidays! So good in fact, that we plan to have a New years bash as well! :) The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to roll ourselves from one place to the next while playing games, laughing, snacking on leftovers that we shouldn't have, and anticipating dessert! As the sun began to set, the smell of Fried pie crust filled the house and soon, the yummy pie filled our bellies. At this point, our home was now filled with the sounds of people grunting as they did... well... just about anything! haha! Oh the Thanksgiving grunts! That is when you know you have eaten well!
Soon friends were packing up and heading out. A few stayed behind for a mini sleep over at the Lett house and it did not take long before everyone was passed out after a long day of eating, laughing with and at Corin as he entertained us with his musical skills and screaming, and more eating. Life is good. God is GREAT! WE feel so blessed to have been able to host the meal in a house and with the resourses HE provided to us! Not to mention the friends He so lovingly brought into our lives! SO Blessed.

Now to backtrack just a tad... I will expand upon the Corin remarks.
Friday night a few of our guests came out early. (I say early as in they came Friday instead of Saturday, not that they came out early in the day... in fact, no one arrived before 8:30pm that night.) The first set of friends got here around 8:30 and we were able to pick them up from the bus station. Corin was super excited as he had been anticipating the arrival of friends all day! So... we let him stay up past his bedtime to greet them from the backseat of the Accent! :) After 30 minutes of playing and "catching" up with the Boys, Corin was in need of sleep and I was not sure he'd make it to the next arrival, which was set for a little past 9:30. So off to bed he went. Well, after our next set of friends arrived, we sat up and talked for hours before deciding to go to sleep. We typically let Corin fall asleep on our bed when we go to Hotels and then move him to a pallet on the floor and take over the bed ourselves... so we decided to do the same his evening for the sake of one of our friends who would have otherwise had to sleep on the floor. So, Taylor moved Corin to a badded warm part of the floor and Liz took over the littel twin bed. No problems.... until the next morning. 5:15am rolled around far too soon for us all as we heard the blood curdling scream of Corin and then the sound of him racing out of his room and into ours. As Liz recapped the story for us over coffe later that morning, we were enlightened as to the details.

5:15am
Corin wakes up. Walks to his bed. Pulls blanket back to find Miss Ewizabef. Miss Ewizabef says hi. Corin says hi. Corin asks Miss Ewizabef what she is doing. Miss Ewizabef replies, "I am sleeping, would you like to lay down with me?" Corin replies, "Yes I would." Corin lies down on floor next to the bed and goes quiet. Miss Ewizabef assumes he is asleep. Corin bolts up to sitting position, cranks head around to get a good hard look at Miss Ewizabeth. Corin widens eyes. Corin screams. Miss Ewizabef sits up in shock. Not able to form words before Corin bolts for the door, she watched as he races out of the room, closing the door behind him.
5:20ish am
Corin enters parents' bedroom. Tears rolling down his cheeks, he pulls daddy's side of the covers back, climbs into bed and immediately falls asleep.
7:20am
Corin approaches his bedroom door. Opens and walks in. Says hello to Miss Ewizabef as if nothing ever happened.

The end.

LL

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Autumn Outings







Fall is in full swing here on the penninsula of Korea. The colors are peaking and the weather is mighty chilly. The winter coast have been brought out once or twice already and the floor heaters are definitly earning thier keep! As the holidays approach, I am stocking the freezer with various forms of quick breads, ready to pull out and take or serve at a moments notice. Chili has become a staple meal in our menu, and hot teas are my comfort drink of choice. Apples are finally a reasonable price as they round out the season here and I am full up on persimmons! We have been gifted two bags of the bright orange fruit so far, and in less than a week's time frame. I am trying out various recipes that use up the unique fruit. It looks like a tomato, is crisp like an apple, and has a suttle sweet flavor. Koreans do not eat the skin, but we have been, and we are still alive, so I guess it is just a preference thing. So far, persimmon bread and smoothies have been the faves... of course they are good cut up raw too.

The past ten days we have had another house guest. This time it was one of Taylor's buddies from Dallas, who was eager to try any and all food and partake in the experiences. The first weekend, much like with mom and dad, we spent time in Busan just taking in the sites. We hit up an ocean front temple, took in the sites of Gwangalli beach and Gwangan Bridge, ate lots of food, and of course... introduced Tommy to the Korean love motels. During the week, he would go off on mini day trips and come back for food at a local diner. The most interesting meal would hands down have to be... FOR THOSE WITH WEAK STOMACHS PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYES AND BEGIN READING AT THE NEXT PARAGRAPH BREAK... like I was saying, most interesting meal was hands down dog soup. That's right. We ate dog meat. And you know what, it was tasty. It was similar to eating a roast, only with a slightly more chewy texture. Not rubbery though, just chewier, and it had a bit of a gamey taste. I would liken it to rabbit, only a more beefy flavor. Anyways, it was good. Corin enjoyed it too, other than the fact that the broth it was cooked in was pretty spicy. The funny part about eating the soup was that the restaurant owner had a pet dog tied up out back and it was whimpering and whining throughout the meal. Corin tried talking to the dog out the window as we sat at the table "chow"ing down on his friend. It was a rather hilarious situation. Of course went through a short phase of making jokes about how different dogs looked like they would make for good or bad meals based on appearances. So... now Taylor and I can say we have eaten dog. Of course Taylor then did a little info digging and found out the city just 10 minutes north of us is recorded to be one of the first places to consume dog meat in Korea. Go figure... we live in the redneck part of Korea. ;)

All in all, we have had a pretty fun time so far this Fall. I am eager to hit the last few places on my travel to do list before heading home in February. Since there are really only about two more cities, it should be fairly easy. :) Taylor got a Korean made, acoustic guitar and continues to improve his skills. Corin sings away the day, he has a pretty good voice too! I have been baking and attempting to decorate the home. All in all the Letts are doing well. No major sickness thus far other than the KFC scare the other night. Taylor and COrin had a "snack" at the KFC in Changwon when we "went into the city" one night last week and ended up with some minor stomach issues. Corin woke up in at 12:30 at night, screaming and clenching his stomach and back. It concerned us just a little bit, so we gave it a few minutes to see if he was just having a nightmare and after the screaming worsened and we had been able to get him talking, we bundled up for a quick trip to the E.R. Corin, still screaming was hunched over in my lap and I was trying my best to comfort him as well as trying to message his belly... I was convinced he had some BAD GAS.... while Taylor drove quickly, but safely to the loacl hospital. We got there. No lights on. Hmmm. I got out, ran to the door. Locked. Hmmm. I ran back to the car and we tried calling Taylor's co-teacher... at what was now 1am... with no luck. So, we turned around and were headed home. We decided to just call 119 which is ,as you might have guessed, 911 in the States. Just as Taylor was about to press the dial button, Corin let one rip and immediately fell asleep in my arms. Taylor and I had been praying and we left Tommy at home who was in prayer. God answered our prayers. And just in time too. So, we pulled up, took Corin in and Taylor laid down with him for a couple hours to make sure he was okay. The next day was a stinky day in the Lett house as the KFC worked it's wonder on the boys. I think we will be avoiding Mr. Sanders for a while. :) On that note, I will sign off!
LL