This has been a long weekend! It started off on Friday when I went to Christian's for a pajama party. We watched a movie and I baked brownies and had a grand ole' time. It ended at 11 and I went home. When I got home I decided I wasn't tired yet and I was in the mood to go running, which doesn't happen all that often so I decided to take advantage of the mood. I wanted to find the entrance to the park from my side of the river. I had an idea of where it was, but wasn't completely sure. So I jogged to where I used to live when I first came to Korea. The apartment I not so affectionately refer to as 'The Shoebox'. Eventually I found the park which was more of a bike path and some exercise equipment than an actual park, so we use the term loosely in this situation. After wandering around a bit I decided to use the exercise equipment. Most of it looked and felt like it was pretty pointless, that it didn't really work out anything, it just makes you feel better as if you are actually doing yourself some good. Well as I learned today, I was wrong, it does in fact work your muscles, and I felt it. Saturday morning I woke up early, as I do every Saturday, and headed off to see my kids at the Orphanage. We went to the park and the zoo, and for about 5 minutes we lost one little girl. It was so scary. We had been looking at the monkeys and then we walked a few hundred feet around the corner to buy them tickets to ride the miniature ponies and when we turned around, she was gone. We had 5 kids and three adults, I don't know how we lost her, but Christian went one way and I went another and Kelly stayed with the other 4. It didn't take long before I started crying and getting worried. Korea is generally a safe place, but it was my responsibility to take care of her and I didn't. We were only without her for like 2 minutes after we noticed she was gone, Christian found her still at the monkeys and she was crying. He quickly scooped her up and brought her to me. She was still crying but otherwise fine. After a few minutes of me holding on to her she was okay and back to playing with the other kids. I hated that feeling. We saw a few other animals and then headed to the playground. Between me pushing the kids on the swings I decided to take a seat on a nearby bench. Kelly and I were having a conversation about poop of all things, and as I crossed my legs a bird decided it had to poop. Well it landed right on my leg and I immediately busted out laughing. The fact that we had just been discussing it made it even more funny, but really gross at the same time. Christian and Kelly and I laughed until it hurt, and cleaned up the mess with disgust. After a long day at the park we went back to the orphanage. I wanted to go to Insadong to go shopping and Christian wanted to take one of the boys home with him for the night. I decided that would be fun too, so I brought Seong Hyun home with me. She is a fiesty 4 year old. She reminds me of me when I was little. She will test her limits and push your buttons, but is so carefree and fun loving. We went to Insadong and to McDonalds for dinner. The kids got a happy meal and a toy and we sat there and just enjoyed time with them. As we were finishing up a Korean woman approached our table and asked if she could interrupt our conversation. We politely turned our attention toward her and she proceed to explain that she works for a radio station in Seoul that is new and plays English music. She asked me if I would be willing to answer a few questions about music I like and that it would be aired on Friday night. I was like, um... Christian will. After some discussion we agreed that all three of us, Christian, Kelly, and I would do her this favor. She was thrilled. So she got her digital recorder out and microphone and asked us what our top three favorite songs were and what they meant. It took us a while to think, but we skimmed through our iPods and came up with a list. She was so appreciative and greatful. She gave me her e-mail and phone number and said if ever I need anything while living in Seoul, please don't hesitate to call her. So nice! After dinner Christian, Sun Guk, and Kelly went home, and Seong Hyun and I went back to my place. She walked in and was like, 'wow', except in Korean, and I gave her a little tour and she jumped on my bed a little and we ate a brownie and began watching Dora the Explorer. After a couple episodes I turned it off and we said our prayers and laid down. Well that didn't last long. It was only 9pm and neither one of us was very tired, so we got up and I was about to check my e-mail, and she was watching some Korean cartoon on TV. Then Christian called on Skype. He said that Sun Guk was bored and wanted a friend. So we let them talk on skype where they could see each other, they loved it. Then we agreed that Seong Hyun and I would come over there for a slumber party. We get there and the girls were gonna be on the bed and the boys were gonna be on the floor. It started off that way but didn't last long. I was hot on the bed, and Christian was cold on the floor, so we switched. The kids were tossing and turning and the floor was so hard I wasn't doing very much sleeping. Then Seong Hyun woke up and sat up and started crying. I guess she wasn't sure where she was and she saw Christian next to her. He told her it was ok and that I was right there. She came down to the floor and I held her for a little while then laid her down next to me and she went back to sleep. Well between the two kids on either side of me, the cold floor, the hard floor, and having no pillow, I got probably a grand total of 3 hours of sleep last night. The next morning the kids were up and at 'em at 7am. Christian, having gotten more sleep than I got them fed and showered, while I tried to get another hour in, but it wasn't very successful. We planned to go to a different park and ride the skylift across the park and the zoo. It was quite cold, but we dressed them warmly in my scarf and hat and gloves, they looked precious. Well we get there and long story short we get to the top and had only bought a one way pass up thinking we could ride the tram back down. Well the tram didn't go through the zoo which is where the skylift ended, so we had to walk 1,200m through the zoo to where the tram was. The kids were tired and so were we, and all they could say was Choua, which means it's cold. So I carried Seong Hyun on my shoulders and then we got to the exit, fed them and headed back to the orphanage. It took about an hour to get back to the orphanage, and we didn't get back until around 4. It was so much fun having the kids for the day, but so exhausting. I don't know if parenthood is like that every day but if it is, parents are superheroes. I could barely make it up the stairs out of the subway by the time I got home. But when we dropped the kids off, I could see how much they enjoyed the time they spent away from the orphanage and with someone that cares about them. So all in all, it was worth it.

Pray for me as I'm still adjusting to Korean life. This past week was a bit lonely. I had some awesome time with the Lord, but missed being around people too. When I lived in the States, I was social every night of the week, and now living in such a huge city and getting off work so late, it doesn't really allow for that, and so the the adjustment is sometimes hard. Also pray that Christmas will be a joyful time. I'm not yet sure how I will be emotionally for Christmas. I anticipate I will be fine and enjoy time with friends, but I know I will miss home at the same time.