Sophie...So Social

Sophaleanie is a big fan of the dog park.

Sophie and her Army buddy, Ranger
Sophie and her sweet friend - Button

I have not been able to stop thinking about the Kim family this week. Tearfully, I refreshed my browser for updates, any news. I can't help but be in disbelief that there wasn't a hollywood ending to this story. Partly, just out of human compassion for the tragedy that has transpired, partly because in a way I feel so much sympathy for Kati Kim - they were just like us...Korean husband/White girl wife. Their halfy kids are adorable, they liked traveling - eating out - music - they were just on a road trip to see friends. They clearly adored each other and it is so sad to think of the road ahead for Kati Kim and her girls. I have definately hugged my husband a little tighter this week and thanked God even more for our precious little baby growing inside of me.

This week in America there's been a parent in this country who microwaved their three month old to death, a wife who shot her husband for giving her a luke warm beer during a power outage, and then this noble man who died trying to save the lives of his precious family.
It really is a tragedy.

This blogger has summed it up better than anyone else this week:
http://sweetjuniper.blogspot.com/2006/12/elegy-for-father.html

HERO.

What a devastating turn of events today. So many people worked so diligently - risking their lives, to find James Kim. There was so much hope . My heart is broken for his wife Kati and their daughters. He made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of his young family.

They are in our thoughts and prayers.

Website: www.jamesandkati.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!

Today is Sophie's 2nd Birthday! What a love our little dog is. She's been quite the adventurer this year...road trips, her first camping trip, fishing in 11 Mile Canyon and even jumping out of the jeep - while it was moving. Despite some serious vet time after her leap from the jeep - she's good as new now. In her short life she's lived in New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado and Texas - we think she likes Texas best! Happy Birthday little dog!

A YARD AT LAST!

The landscape guys did our yard yesterday - no more mud! The inside is going pretty quickly now too. So Exciting!!!

HALF WAY DAY!

Today is 20 weeks - we only have 20 (or so) more to go until we meet our little man!

More Progress

Our house is looking even more like a house!

We have a closing date at last...on January 12th we will be the newest residents of Vintage Place - How exciting! They started painting today - so that means I can't go back into the house until next weekend.

What's In A Name?

鄭 義 龍

CHUNG EUI YONG

Well, our little man doesn't have an "American" name yet, but he has been honored with his Korean name already. Here is a neat little lesson in Korean culture...

Min's father's family has a record of all the men in the 32 previous generations. That makes our son 33rd generation and that is almost 1000 years! (I can go back - maybe...5 generations)

Traditionally, the paternal grandfather selects his son's children's names - so, in keeping with tradition, Min's dad has chosen his first grandson's name.

Korean names are based on corresponding Chinese characters for their meanings - so those are Chinese - not Korean characters above. The first character is the symbol for Chung. The second character, Eui, means "righteous." The Chinese character for Yong means "dragon" (but Dragon is the symbol for "King" in Korean culture). So his name means "Righteous King" - that's a big name to grow into, but we like it!

Apparently, a man came to Min's dad in a dream and told him this would be a good name...he didn't understand the meaning of the dream until we told him last week about his grandson! Dreams are a big deal in Korean culture and you can "buy" someone's good fortune dream from them. Dreaming about a snake on your roof means a boy is on the way. Go figure...

Now we need to come up with an American name for Eui Yong.....

Race For The Cure

Over the weekend Min ran in Austin's Race for the Cure along with 25,000 other folks. I couldn't manage it this year - but my sweet husband ran with a celebration sign for my mom. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and has been cancer free for two and a half years! Hurray!!!

Making Progress...

The house is looking more like a house now - we have a driveway, a garage door, WALLS!!!. Above is a shot of our future kitchen. It may not look like much now - but when it's done it will be my dream kitchen. Stay tuned...

The Schnauzer

AKA - Sophie Doodle, Sophalenie, Little Dog

Our little Sophie. She is in for the shock of her little puppy life in April when the baby will steal her thunder. Soph is used to being our baby and is more than a little spoiled. But - she is a love and a super smart dog. However, she does have a slight personality disorder - she's convinced she's a Rottweiler! But - I have to say, she is a great watch dog...she takes care of her people!

It's A Boy!

We went to my 16 week OB appointment yesterday and found out we have a little boy on the way! Dr. Seeker - our fantastic OB - is 100% sure it is a boy. Six more months and we'll get to meet our little man.

Our Other Big Project

After 8 moves in 6 years of marriage we are 2 months away from moving into our dream house. I love everything about this house, but most of all, the front porch. When Min and I were dating we would take walks and talk about what kind of house we would live in someday. We both agreed on a white house, with a big front porch and a red door - and that's exactly what we're going to have. We can hardly wait to move in! We've met several of our future neighbors and they seem great. The two things that attracted us to the neighborhood was the idea of being able to walk to Starbucks and how welcoming the neighbors were to us!

A Little Chung Is On The Way

Our little person! Our first photo is of the baby at just three days old! We don't know which one of the eight celled Chungs is our little person, but I think it is amazing to be able to see life at such an early stage. I just love looking at these picture because I can't believe after all we've gone through there is a precious little person growing inside of me!

I survived my first trimester with no morning sickness - what a blessing! I'm hoping that was a tradeoff for all the needles I endured during my first 6 weeks. Min and I are so excited about the baby - 15 weeks down and 25 to go.