China Tour

Being stationed in South Korea has it's advantages. ...one of those advantages is that we are much closer to The Great Wall of China than we would be if we were in the states.  Once we had orders for Korea, we began to brainstorm of the things we would want to do during our tour here.  At the top of the list of things to see and do was to see one of the Great Wonders of the World.Well that dream is getting closer to being a reality. Our trip is all planned and I am getting excited for the date to get here.  Our family and my parents will be going to China for five days and four nights.  We will fly from Seoul, Korea to Beijing China. 
We have arranged a private tour to many of the great attractions of the city. 
Day 1 - Dinner and an Acrobatic Show
Day 2 -  Great Wall, Ming Tombs
Day 3 –  Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven

Day 4 –  Summer Palace, Silk Market,

Day 5 – Free Day
I am hoping that the next month goes by quickly and we have a great time on our vacation.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures of our trip to post next month.

Happy Birthday!

The other day I tried to post but something about cookies not being enabled, it would not let me proceed.  On Thursday we celebrated Victoria's 6th Birthday.  I can't believe she is growing up so fast.  When she was five, she was still such a little girl but now that she is six, it seems that she is becoming a big girl.  Since my husband was away for work on her birthday, we are celebrating over the weekend.

Victoria is my 3rd daughter.  She is full of wit and humor.  She gets things that I never would have imagined a five year old six year old would get.  She brings a smile to my face and makes me laugh almost every day.  I love her so much and I am thankful that God has blessed our family with her.

Victoria...Happy 6th Birthday!!!

The Search is On

I am on a quest.  I am in search of a good recipe.  Not just any recipe, but a recipe that will be used as a staple in our home.  A bread recipe.  And it has to be a whole wheat bread recipe.

I had borrowed one from a friend and currently this is the one that I make each week.  It is a solid recipe and for the first day or so, it tastes good.  But I am looking for one that will last a little longer and still taste delicious.


Let me share my it with you.

3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup honey
4 tsp. salt
5 cups warm water
3 Tbsp. yeast
14-15 cups flour

Stir the first 5 ingredients together along with half of the flour. Then add the remaining cups of flour. The dough will probably get hard to stir. Put flour on your hands and start kneading the dough. You will have to add more flour to your hands and bread as you knead. After 6-8 minutes, or until the bread is no longer sticky, stop kneading and set it aside. (we usually cover the bowl with a towel to help it rise faster.) Once it has reached twice its height, divide it into five parts before placing them in buttered loaf pans. It bakes at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
I usually cut this recipe in thirds since we usually don't go through 5 loaves that fast.  I have also cheated and use my bread machine to do the mixing and kneading.  I normally use Hard White but have also mixed Hard White and Hard Red for this recipe.

Do you make your own bread?  What is your favorite recipe?  Do you knead your dough by hand or in a mixer/bread maker?

Around Korea Photos

One Happy Child

Last Monday, Katelyn went to meet her friends at the school bus.  She walked her one friend home and then went over to the other friends house.  When she came home, she realized that her itouch was missing.  We searched the house.  We searched the path the she walked.  We went to the guardshack at both our apartment complex and the neighboring one.  No itouch.

I felt so bad for her.  She had saved all of her birthday money and then some to purchase this it all by herself.  She cried and cried.  We talked about the lessons one might learn and she told me that she did not want to learn any lessons.  I encouraged her to pray. 

A few days later, she told me that maybe she was suppose to learn something from this.  She was encouraged.  She decided that she would begin saving money toward a new itouch.  Her piggy bank already had $10.00 in it and she was determined.  She even found $5.00 while on a ski trip with her TaeKwonDo class.

Last night I received a call on my cell phone.  The caller asked if I spoke Korean.  I said no and the converstation was over.  A little while later the same number appeared on caller id.  The gentleman asked again if I spoke Korean.  I said no.  He told me that he didn't speak English.  Then he said itouch.  Could this really be happening?

I said yes, lost itouch.  I attempted to ask him where he lives and told him where I lived.  We live in the same apartment building.  He said...I bring tomorrow.  I did not want Katelyn to get her hopes up, so I did not tell her.  Since I was out for the evening, I called my husband and informed him of the phone call. 

When I got home for the evening, Katelyn ran up to me...her face was beaming.  She told me that a neighbor's wife found the itouch at the bus stop.  The found my phone number in the itouch and that is why they called.

I was encouraged for Katelyn.  God does answer prayers.  Even the little ones.

Quail Eggs

While I am not very adventurous, my kids make up where I lack.  A friend of mine told me about quail eggs and when we went to the Korean grocery store the other day, I decided to pick some up.  They are small, speckled eggs that the kids thought were so cute.  We decided to boil them and try them that way.  The shell is a bit soft but they boiled up well and the girls loved them. They tasted just like a chicken eggs...just much smaller.

Dongdaemun - Shoppers Heaven

Dongdaemun is Korea's largest retail and wholesale shopping district. It is comprised of 26 shopping malls, 30,000 specialty shops and 50,000 manufacturers.  Located within 10 city blocks, this area is home to silks and fabric, clothing, shoes, sporting goods, plumbing and electrical supplies, office supplies and much more.

Fabric building

The Market stays open from 10:30AM to 5:00 AM, with some stores staying open 24 hours a day.  Typically, you will find retail shopping during the day and wholesale shopping taking place during the middle of the night.

Dongdaemun means "Great East Gate".  It was named this because it was a major eastern gate of the wall of Seoul during the Josean Dynasty (1392 - 1897).

My first time in Dongdaemun, I went with friends to "check it out".  I must say, I was overwhelmed and we only went into three different buildings and did not hit every floor, let alone every story in those buildings.   From the picture above, you can see that the stores appear to go on forever.  In the older buildings, which are usually 2 or 3 stories, little shops are crammed in next to each other and the main walkways are usually very narrow and even crowded with merchandise waiting to be put out for sale.

The newer buildings are high-rises and are similar to a department stores though they consist of individually run stores.  They have wider walk ways and better lighting than the older buildings. 

If you ever come to Korea, you need to check out Dongdaemun.