Monday's Meditations: Weeds

I am in no way shape or form a gardener. Although I'd really like to be.

My mom would try and get me to help her garden. Planting flowers, digging weeds, watering things...etc. But honestly, I really didn't enjoy it. Mainly because there were bugs involved. And not just any bugs, spiders. Spiders are the spawn of satan in an eight legged form. They are absolutely terrifying to me. 

Unfortunately weeds are a part of life. They creep in, and suffocate the life around them. They infiltrate all areas and it takes some digging, sweat, dirt, and encounters with spiders to get them out!

Lately, we've been getting rid of a lot of "weeds" in our life. We've been selling a lot of our things, and deciding what's worth bringing home and what's not. We've been eliminating  a lot of material weeds in our lives, and even thinking about when we move home...I can't wait to get rid of all the things that we absolutely do not need cluttering our lives!

Weeds have taken over our yard

Thankfully I have a ready and willing helper :)

I've felt recently that not only do I need to be getting rid of the material "weeds" in life, but also some emotional ones.  I truly believe that Satan sows these weeds into our hearts and minds just to suffocate any bit of life trying to grow and flourish. I also believe that people in our lives can also plant these weeds. It's starts with a comment or remark, and it can really take root and crush anything of worth that might have been growing. Usually I'm pretty good at keeping up with the regular weeding sessions, but I feel that I need a deep clean. That too many have sprouted up and I've really let myself get crowded.

 

I think the hardest part is actually getting through the de-weeding process. I like some of the weeds. I hold on to some of those weeds. They are my excuses, my reasons for acting certain ways, they are something for me to hide behind. But hiding behind Satan's and other people's lies are no way to live. And I've got to stop making excuses. 

It's time to roll up my sleeves and start pulling like crazy. It's time to discern what is of importance, what is truth, and what needs to get lost.

I'm ready to live life unburdened and let myself thrive.

And hopefully at the end of the experience it'll look something like this.  No, it's not perfect but that's ok. I don't expect perfection and know that all of those remaining little green specs will be taken care of by someone much more capable than me. I fully trust that God's going to get me (and Jon) through this and that he will be doing the majority of the de-weeding. 

And hopefully he'll be the one confronting all the spiders.

Monday's Meditations: We've come so far

Right about now all of the new recruits from Canadian Connection are in their orientation and about to be sent off to their new schools.

It's a little bit insane for me to think that two years ago, Jon and I were in the same position.

Two years ago we started one of the biggest adventures, we moved ourselves half way across the world, and we began life...in Korea.

I still remember that first week of orientation and our first week in our new town.

When I think of first stepping into our new apartment I was horrified. The old couple had actually cleaned, but of course the construction crew that re-did the wallpaper left it a MESS! I didn't know if we were going to make it, and quite frankly all I really wanted to do was start to cry and then grab the next plane home.

I am so thankful that we did stick it out and have managed to make a life for ourselves here. We've come a long way. Not only as a couple, but as individuals. I can see growth and change in the both of us and I'm excited to see how that transpires to life at home.

I thoroughly love looking back at some of the first pictures we took when we got here and remembering how freaked, excited, nervous, and happy I was to be in Korea land. I hope all the new recruits coming in have as amazing of a time as we have.

On the plane... that was one loooooong flight.

Enjoying the lovely Korean architecture :)

I made friends with the locals right off the bat.

Jon enjoying our first massive Korean meal!

I think the even crazier part is that we'll be leaving in less than 6 weeks. I can't get over how quickly the time has flown and while I'm really pumped for Europe and Home... I know it's going to be hard leaving a country I've called home for the past two years. I'm already starting to miss paces I know we won't be seeing again.  

But such as life, everything changing, moving forward, and trying to adapt to it all.  I'm thoroughly looking forward to where we'll be two years from now!

Monday's Meditations: The Daily Grind

Our visitors left, and the Stainbrook casa seems quite empty. After 2.5 weeks of playing tour guide we are now back to the last 6.5 weeks of our time in Korea land.

As much as I love visitors and would give up my daily routine at anytime for anyone that chose to come over and visit us, I really do enjoy our daily routine. I really started to miss our day to day happenings and all that, that entailed.

With that said, I feel like we aren't doing things that are quite "day to day." We've been looking at booking hostels for Europe, figuring out some plane tickets, and spending A LOT of time on the computer and the Wii. But that's ok, they are all things that need to get done and with school starting next Monday I'm pretty sure our daily grind will be back into business.

With all this routine stuff going on we've also picked back up our workout routine. As boring as it may be for some of you to read about it, it's one of my passions, it's my blog.. and you can quit reading this now if it's that bad. :)

Jon has decided to start up his own workout routines with running everyday and figuring out some good resistance training with the new resistance bands my mom brought over. I'm really proud of him for creating his own schedule and hopefully sticking too it :) It hasn't always been easy to motivate him, but he seems really excited about creating his own plan, so maybe that's the key...letting him create it! I'm excited for him and anxious to see how it goes!

As for me I'm back at Insanity. I started month 2 today and quite frankly I was terrified. All the reviews I read made it sound like Jon would need to resuscitate my dying body afterwards.  I knew I would need some....

Oh Korea...only you would come up with something like this.

But quite frankly I did have to keep asking myself if I was ready for the craziness that was about to ensue. I decided I was and gave it a go! It. was. HARD! But I made it through without having to be scooped off the floor. I actually did better than some of the others in the video... which always makes me feel like a champ.

Along with the Insanity I'll also be doing 2 days a week of P90X arm weightlifting, and still testing out my barefoot running skills 3 days a week! It sounds like a lot, but truly it won't be. Actually... after such a long workout hiatus I'm pretty pumped to get back into the grind. I was only able to work out 7 times in the 2.5 weeks we were vagabonding around, which is better than what I'd hoped for... but still not enough for me!

Needless to say, we are happy to be home living life at a relaxed pace, soaking up the rest of our limited time left here. 

Are you a routine person? Or do you like to change everyday? I think I'm a mix of both... I need some structure and some flexibility just to keep me on my toes!

Monday's Meditations: Adoption

After living in Korea I think Jon and I have decided we will be adopting some ridiculously cute Korean children. Beyond the fact that they are absolutely adorable, I think our trip to the orphanage with Danielle sealed the deal.

We found out that this one specific agency has over 60 babies a month coming in!!! And that's one of many! After two months these children go to a foster home and for 5 months they are trying to place these children in a domestic setting. If that doesn't happen then they are placed internationally.

One of their greatest needs at the actual agency is volunteers to hold the babies, and we were happy to oblige. (again, this a heavily loaded picture blog... but I don't think it could be any other way...)

Danielle in front of the agency. When we first arrived the banner said
"Welcome to your Mother land, Korea!"

One of the rooms at the orphanage

Sleeping so peacefully

 A fantastic way to end the trip, and a memory that I will never forget.

When I look at all these babies I realize that great need that they have! Even if it's just volunteering to hold them or play with them. These kids have so little and truthfully with a little time you can give them so much!

Monday's Meditations: Decisions

For every action, there is a reaction. For every too there is a fro. For every decision there are rewards or consequences.

What happens when you make the same decision as someone else, but with an extremely different outcome?

This past Friday, the 23rd, my dad would've celebrated his 58th birthday.

But 14 1/2 years ago to the day he lost the chance to celebrate anymore birthdays. I don't like to dwell on these types of days and they usually pass by with little notice. Or if I do notice, I really don't bring notice to it. I'm one of many who have lost a loved one. And through all of it I know how absolutely blessed I am to have had 10 short years with my dad, and know I'm even more blessed to have an amazing step-father.

Many years ago my father made a decision. A decision to leave his wife and children to live a very different lifestyle. My dad chose homosexuality. I'm not sure what his reward for this decision was, but I know the consequences have taken their toll on everyone involved.

Obviously those consequences resulted in disappointment from family members, limited time with his children, AIDS/HIV, and ultimately... death.

To say that this wasn't devastating would be a lie. But I truly think that my family is tight knit and stronger because of his decisions. We are more accepting of others. We are able to share emotion freely and able to talk about difficult things. Those are some of the rewards amongst all the struggle.

But I guess my question is what about  other men, who made the same choices and decisions, who've reaped some of the same consequences... and yet they have lived through it all.  The reason I'm even contemplating any of this, is because of an article I found on CNN.

30 years with HIV: 3 men reflect

It got me wondering why things just turn out so differently for what you think should be happening. That's not to say I'd want any of these men dead... but at the same time I couldn't help but wonder why they weren't and my dad is!

These men made similar choices to my fathers. These men have lived with AIDS/HIV for 30 years. Some of them have had numerous surgeries, been on numerous drugs and medicines. But the fact remains, they have LIVED. While my father had months... they have had years!

I guess I'm just interested in and amazed at how life paths can all seem so similar, and yet they turn out unsimilar 

What small difference in each of these men's lives added up to the result in an early death for some, and long lives for others?

Now granted, I don't know that the quality of life of some of these men is all that fantastic. But it's still hard for me to comprehend how they can live with such a horrible virus for so long, when we saw it eat my father away in just weeks.

Decisions in life can be really small and simple, and some can really change our lives and those around us. I just never really thought before how seemingly similar life decision can have such different results from those around us.

And to be honest... that's what I enjoy about life. I like that we are all different. I like that a good decision for someone else, might be a terrible one for me. It's what keeps things interesting and really makes me think about how I was created so perfectly unique. 

But it also gets me wondering to whether I put enough thought into some of my decisions. Do I really think about who I may effect? Do I think of the rewards or consequences enough?

Do you think about decisions too much or too little?

* this post isn't meant to be depressing or a "pity me" post in any way... it's more the circumstances just kind of came together and got me to thinking about this crazy thing we call life :) *

Monday's Meditation: In the Moment

If you couldn't tell I enjoy taking photos. Lot's of them. I MUST document any moment that is presenting itself. Whether it's a gathering of friends, the cute little boys next store, food, flowers, or a random bug.  Any  moment is worth that photograph.

But, I've been wondering lately whether or not though I'm actually living in that moment or just documenting it.

Last night Jon, Ian, Eoghan, and I were out for a bike ride. A storm had just passed through and the clouds were finally breaking way to a brilliant blue sky. It was around 7 at night and the lighting was just gorgeous. We were biking through tons of rice paddy fields and I could feel myself frantically wondering why in the heck I didn't have the camera with!?

I ask myself this question... a lot. And honestly I have to wonder how many times am I only focusing on my lack of camera instead taking in the scenery and just enjoying that specific moment?

As much as I love photos and really love capturing those moments that I want to remember, I'm going to commit myself to just letting the camera stay at home a little more often and living fully in the moment instead of wondering what the best lighting and angle would be.


I find myself doing this not only with photography, but life in general. I'm so looking forward to everything that's coming that I often forget to live life in the present and take in all that is around me. Jon and I have been really focusing on livin' it up the last few weeks we have here, because in all honesty who knows when we'll be back in Korea land.

That's the goal and the challenge for the rest of our time here, and life in general. I encourage you to just stop, take a look around, and relax. Fully absorb what's going on here and now. It's tough at times, and life gets ahead of us, but I think it's totally worth it in the end.

Monday's Meditation: Two Years

Today, the longest day of the year, we are celebrating two years of wedded bliss.  Where that time has gone, I don't think we'll ever know, but it's gone by fast and for 98 % of the time it's been a blast :)

We always heard "Oh the first year is the toughest, it's such a struggle" and quite frankly we really didn't feel any of that. I mean it was difficult at times, but that was more due to the fact that we were living in another country trying to figure some stuff out.

Then we heard "Well, it's the second year. The first year you're still in "honeymoon" phase... trust me/us it gets a lot more difficult once you're facing all those realities"... whelp I have to say the second year has been even better than the first. I don't know if we just adjust to things really well or what but it hasn't felt like "work" or "really hard" like we'd been hearing, and for that I'm grateful.

I know that there will be hard times to come (trust me I'm not that naive to think it'll always be peachy keen) but I know that we'll handle those hard times and by the grace of God we'll make it through those times.  We've built such an amazing foundation away from friends and family and truly have been on our own in so many aspects, it's been challenging, great, a struggle, and amazing.

I'm so thankful for these past two years and cannot WAIT for the next couple of decades :) So here's Jon and I at some of our finer moments....

Just keepin' it real....

Monday's Meditation: Vacation and Food

 So technically we aren't on summer vacation yet, buuuuuuuut we do happen to have a nice long weekend and so far it has been fantastic!

We happen to have this lovely 5-day weekend because our schools are camping. That's right, students, teachers, etc... all camping for 3 days.  Can you imagine if we did that in the states? It would be madness! But they do this at least once a year! And it's not just our small island schools either...  last year our schools of 700/800 students did the same thing! Only the Principal, Vice Principal, and the homeroom teachers go.
Can you imagine... being the homeroom teacher? In charge of 30 some students for 3 days! I would kill them... and then myself. I think for the islands it's not so bad because there are under 20 students in each class and they are extremely well behaved. Our schools from last year on the other hand... there were a bunch of issues with drinking, smoking and all that jazz. I just can't imagine parents in the U.S. being ok with that teacher to student ratio.

Anyway, because our schools are off camping, we have some days off. So we've been cookin'!


I've been having fun with a few recipes lately and figured I might as well share the joy and deliciousness.

The first one we tried was a yummy muffin tin quiche/egg bake type thing.

Yes the picture does not make them look appetizing... But I don't know if egg ever looks appealing in photos.

Makes 9 Muffins

-6 eggs, beaten (you can use egg whites, egg beaters... but we aren't that fancy in Korea)

-1/2 a pepper chopped up

-1/2 an onion chopped

-2 cloves garlic minced

-2 Tbsp. Milk

-1/3 shredded cheddar cheese

-some bacon chopped up 

(you can also chop up mushrooms, spinach...basically any veggies you want)

Mix it all together and spoon into greased muffin tins.

Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes.

ENJOY!!! with a side of cinnamon toast and orange juice :)

The second on our cooking list  of greats is some yummy stir fry!

Look at all that color!!!! Gotta love those veggies!

The stir fry is pretty self explanatory... cut up a TON of veggies. In our mix we have....

peas, zucchini, red pepper, garlic, onion, and carrots. We also tend to add in bok choy if we have it or any other veggie that sounds good.

Saute the veggies in some EVOO and then we add in the brown rice

And then comes the sauce... which is the BEST PART!

Lemon/Lime Stir Fry

-1 tsp. flour

-40ml lemon juice/lime juice or both (our usual!)

-30 ml honey

-1 Garlic clove (can you tell we like garlic???)

Mix it all together then stir it in with the rice and veggies... simple and DELISH! We also usually add in some chicken, but tonight we decided to go all veggie much to Jon's chagrin.

I love this stir fry, it's zesty, fresh and just really summery feeling...

And the last on our list of yumminess....

A favorite summertime treat... POPSICLES!!!!!

We found these fun molds at the store for about $1... best dollar spent...EVER.  So now that we had the molds, I had to figure out how to make popsicles and what I should put in them. So here is what I came up with, again really simple but I need to experiment a little bit more.

The first is some refreshing pineapple/strawberry popsicles

Just add some 

-Frozen Strawberries

-Pineapple

-Yogurt

-Little milk

Blend away!!!! Pour into the molds and freeze! I think Next time I may add a little lemon/lime and maybe some honey or sugar to give it a little something more. But considering all of the scorchingly/humid days we've been having these have been amazing!

And the next was extremely simple

Pudding Pops!

I felt like a kid again :) Sorry for the blurry photo... trying to hold the D90 and get good lighting and taking the picture all at the same time doesn't exactly produce the best photos... but man that was a dang good popsicle :)

So that's what we've been up too. Lounging about, working out, and eating lots of fun things!

What are some of your favorite new recipes? We can ALWAYS use more ideas!!!

Monday's Meditation: Teaching

As my good friend Seth put it... "Teaching= most bipolar profession on the face of the earth" and quite honestly I couldn't agree more.

This week was OUT OF CONTROL. And quite honestly this past week is the one of the first that I've felt like a "real" teacher. Now... I'm sure you're thinking, "Gee Sara, you've been teaching for 18 months... and you are just now feeling like a teacher!?"  And the answer is yes... I'm fu-hinally feeling the ultimate stressors of teaching.


And I don't like it. I knew coming into this second year that I didn't enjoy teaching, but for one more year of a great income and other added benefits it'd be worth it.  This year I've put more effort into teaching and lesson plans than I thought possible.

And this week I'd had it. I'd been doing a great lesson on famous cities around the world, gave my kids 5 weeks to study, basically gave them every question/answer to the quiz I'd be giving them, and when the game time came around to quiz them... they didn't know a dang thing! It was ridiculous. And the great part was... they were mad at me!!  My teacher sided with them, and they said they didn't want me to teach them anymore... not a problem. If they aren't going to do their job and study, then I'm sure as heck not going to put all this effort into students that don't care! Well... they ended up apologizing saying they were at fault, and that they would study for me. So I agreed.

And then the next period my first graders were fabulous telling me "Teacher Sara I love you!" It was great!.... Like I said... bipolar city... here I am!

Here's a picture of the afore mentioned turds.  They really can be a fun class, but they are babied like no other, and it's beyond frustrating!

I think other than the fact that I KNOW teaching is not for me. I am coming to the realization of what actual teachers (those that make it there full on career) go through.

Honestly... how in the world do you do it?? I feel so many emotions throughout one single day and it's stressful. It's stressful to actually care so much about the students and about them learning, to have them not care at all! And I don't even get to hold a grade over their heads... I have no way of really giving them a tangible score or grade for what they've learned in my class. 

One thing this job is teaching me though is patience. Apparently it's supposed to be a virtue, but for some reason I enjoy losing my cool and freaking out the Korean students. Seriously though, I've really been practicing my patience, and practicing my "showing love to others whether I feel like ripping their heads off or not" Because to be honest... love is the last thing I want to show to these kids sometimes.

But I'm called to love, be patient, and to give these kids a chance. Because quite honestly most of these students come from a really rough home life and I want to be someone they can trust and turn too.

I honestly feel like I'm losing my mind sometimes... how is it possible to feel so much compassion and frustration towards one group of students? Even now, I can feel myself getting stressed about it and feeling so mixed up about things.

I know God is teaching me things through this, and I know I'll be a better student next year because of it.

Until then... I'll just keep on keepin' on and praying for my sanity, because I truly feel like I'm losing it. I want the rest of my time teaching to be fun. I want my students to enjoy my classes, and I want to feel like I'm actually making some sort of an impact on their lives...in a good way. Please, please, pray for me!

So as we celebrate this memorial day weekend, give thanks to our troops and for those that have fought for our country.

But please... also give thanks to those that have fought for our education. For that one teacher who believed in you, who you could talk too, the one that really put a lot of dedication into your learning.

Chances are they don't hear your appreciation enough and honestly hearing an "I love you teacher sara" makes a world of difference:)

So Mom, Mr. Vieths, Maureen Tobin-Stanley, and many many others... thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly never appreciated you so much... until I was in your very tough and bipolar shoes :)

Monday's Meditation: Blessings

This week I've been in a bit of a funk. A "I don't want to get out of bed, or do anything" kind of funk. I didn't even know what I wanted to eat. I would just sit on the couch, hoping Jon would make the decision for me. I really dislike being in a funk... and I'm pretty sure Jon dislikes it even more.  I'm sure a lot of it is due to the fact that I finished the race, and I'm feeling some post-race blues. And the other part is due to my lack of a social life. While I'm forever grateful that Jon is here with me, I am realizing more and more how much I crave community, and being social. I miss gathering with friends, being part of something bigger than just myself. 

So the past couple days I've been a bit out of sorts, but I'm trying to not focus on the negative of the situation of living in a foreign land. But on the many blessings I have noticed because of this situation.

I am so blessed to have this time with Jon. We are able to really just have time together whenever we want and I know that'll soon be changing when we move back. I'm really trying to focus on how to make the most of this time we've been given.

I'm blessed to have such a fantastic job! The students are fun, I can teach whatever I want, most of the day I can do whatever I want, I have 3 months paid vacation, and my co-teacher is a blast. Truly, I will NEVER have this fantastic of a job again... I need to capitalize on this!

I'm blessed with beauty. All around us is the Korean country side, mountains, the yellow sea. We live in an amazing place and I'm going to be sad when we leave and I'm not surrounded by all of my favorite elements of nature.

I'm blessed with fantastic family who encourages us to do what we do. It's a HUGE blessing to be able to skype and video chat whenever we want. Technology is also a big blessing, I don't know what we'd do without it. I'm realizing how important my family really is, and how much I want to know what's going on in their lives. It's the daily little things that I really enjoy knowing.

I'm blessed with friends who call, send care packages, and are interested in what I'm doing. They are always encouraging and make me feel connected even though I'm thousands of miles away. I appreciate that so much! I don't think I realized how much I rely on them for comfort and laughter, and I miss that so much!

I'm blessed to have been able to travel around Asia. I probably would've never had the chance to do any of the traveling we've done had we not moved here. We've been able to explore Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and hopefully China this fall. If that isn't reason enough to be loving life in Korea I don't know what is.

But most of all I'm blessed to have a loving God and creator. A Father who has planned this from the very beginning and has always known my need for others. I feel that I've been taught so much throughout this whole experience. I've learned how to be on my own, and not rely on others. I've learned that flexibility is good and that things will not usually work out how you planned, but they always turn out good.

It's so easy to focus on things that get us down, or in a funk. And I can complain with the best of them. But it truly feels so much better to focus on the great things that are going on in my life and choosing to see the blessings in disguise.