Little Cochran #3

So our little family of four will soon be bigger by one next summer 2009. I know, another end of the summer baby. . . I must be a glutton for punishment :) Oh well, we couldn't have planned it better 2003, 2006, & 2009. Please, PLEASE pray for us!!!

Our New "Little Lioness"

Hello to all family and friends! We have a new addition to the family that we would like to introduce you all too. She is a beautiful, four year old shitzu who's name is Liona. Since "Shitzu" means little lion in Chinese we picked "Liona" as her name because it means "lioness" in Italian. She is very very sweet and loves the boys. Kinda slow though 'cause she's about eight pounds overweight, maybe more, which for such a little dog means a lot! I've decided since I have to walk everyday during the week that we're going to be weight loss partners :)

It was a good week to get her. The boys are both quarantined again for the week with a bad case of pink eye. You can see it in Tobias' eyes if you look close enough. Can you imagine trying to put drops in a 2 1/2 year old little boy's eye? Yeah, thank goodness the doctor gave us ointment to put on his eyes. Tobias left for school on Monday morning and during the bus ride to school his eyes turned pink and gooey so as soon as he got to school they called me. Oh well, just made walking up hills more work this week(having two boys on the stroller instead of one).

Drew finally gets to come home this weekend, after being gone for two weeks. Thank goodness this weekend is a four day holiday with Veteran's day on Tuesday. It will definitely be nice to have him home for so long. He is being promoted this month so I am now married to a 1st Lieutenant! It's not official until the end of the month but I'm proud of him so I thought I'd share with everyone.

As for Zac and I...Zac caught pink eye from his brother (surprise) and hates the medicine (I would too if it made my vision blurry). Me, I'm the new FRG (Family Readiness Group) Leader for the 46th Transportation Company and even before my 1st meeting with the other FRGs for my area I have started something which has turned into a huge issue needing help. My co-FRG and I have been joking that when we are scheduled to be moving to a new post, commanders will be saying "Watch out, The Cochran or Sane family's will be here next week! Make sure everything is right!" It is nice to know that I can try and make a difference rather than just sitting at home complaining to myself and husband of all the things that need fixing. My husband worries I will do something to get him in trouble and I'll promise him here, where everyone can read it, I will always ask him first if something will get him in trouble :)

It's nice to have something to keep me busy though. Not that a my little boys don't do that already but it's nice to talk with other grown-ups during the week :)

Hope everyone is doing well. We miss you all very much and would love to hear from you!

My Contribution to "Indecision 2008"

This is my contribution to "Indecision 2008". The choice for the United States President seems so easy to me but the choice this time has absolutely NOTHING to do with what is best for our country. The choice this election is whether or not we'll have our first "black" president or our first woman vice president. WHO CARES??? Why is either of those factors even part of the election? WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR FAILING NATION? Who is going to keep us afloat for the next four years? I could care less if our president is white, black, yellow, or pea green. What I am worried about is my family-as a middle class family, as a military family, and as a family with two children who will need to have a supported/stable education system and parents who can afford it.

I am not one to debate. I will admit that I know very little about most things to debate anything. I just find this entire election race to be a complete joke and mockery of what really needs to be fixed in our country.

I don't want to argue or upset anyone but this is my way of saying my piece. Read it or not, that's up to you. This was emailed to me and verified on http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp.

If the polls are all right; if the media has it's way; if the disillusioned of this country get who they have paid so much for, then we will all definitely, need God's help!

Love to everyone!
Andrea

**Why I Can't Vote For Obama*
By Huntley Brown

Dear Friends,

A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him. Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads, I follow. I can't dictate the terms, He does because He is the leader.

I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In an election, there are many issues to consider, but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning - to name a few, then wrong economic concerns will soon not matter. We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, 'don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' I don't know Obama, so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama:
Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)

To beat Ted Kennedy and Hilary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.
There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100% rating.
There is a reason the homosexual community supports him.
There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. Love him.
There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court.
There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill.
There is a reason he voted 'No' on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.
There is a reason he voted 'No' on banning partial birth abortion.
There is a reason he voted 'No' on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito.
These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.

Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 6 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps. Remember this is a live baby.
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse.
F. The dead baby is then removed.

God help him.

There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.
Think about this: You can' not give a child an aspirin without parental notification, but that same child can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.

There is a reason Obama went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.
Obama tells us he has good judgment, but he sat under Jeremiah Wright's teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?
Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 'Go and make disciples of all nations.' This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you, believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?

Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a:
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System.
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.

Would you support a President who went to a church like that?
Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.

This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discover he'd been going to a racist church. The TRUE church can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandates. It does not matter if it's a white church or a black church based on racial values, it's still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like that would never get my vote.

Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book 'the goals of the black community'. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.

Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?
So what does all this mean for the nation?
In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 'Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.' Then God says 1 Samuel 1:18 ' When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.' 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said.
'We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.' 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.'

Here is what we know for sure.
God is not schizophrenic
He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the one not hearing, but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture, so I doubt it.

For all my friends who are voting for Obama; can you really look God in the face and say; Father, based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for
this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.

I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.

Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,
1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?

Blessings,
Huntley Brown
We do need to take a stand as Christians.

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Amazing Rains

So to those of you who keep checking back for anything new -- I'm so sorry I've been bad at blogging the past month. I realized after my mom said something that I was over a month behind. So here's the happenings from our life if Seoul, South Korea, for the month of August.

As the title suggests, we went through our first monsoon season here from the middle of July until the end of August. It was amazing how quickly the weather would change, how fast and hard the rain would fall, and then BAM the sun would be out and shining, little rainbows in every drop, off every puddle. . . really beautiful! There's a second or two of what the rain sounded like at the bottom of this post...

The boys, as you will see, couldn't care less how hard it was raining. We had just gotten to the hotel (where the playground is) when it started to pour buckets! The boys were out the door and soaked within 30 seconds or less. They loved it! There were only a few moms at the playgroup that day because you could tell by the sky it was going to rain. We were all huddled underneath the overhang, watching the kids splash in the puddles, run, slip, get up and do it all over again. While the boys were playing, I was waiting and watching to see when we would be able to make a mad dash to the post gate, up the hill to the subway station before it started again...We were there for two hours!!! It would rain really really hard for about 15-20 minutes and then stop for a few minutes and then, all of the sudden, be hard to see the other side of the playground! It was probably the most fun the boys have had at the playgroup. They were so wet when we finally left, the stroller seats took more than a day to dry out!

We did eventually take advantage of one of the rain rests and made it to the subway and home before it started again. Once it started that afternoon it didn't stop for three days! We all were a little cranky after being inside for that long but we do have a roof, with lots of puddles... the boys had to take baths every day that week (the roof is so dirty, that our hands are black by the time we come back inside).

Lots more the blog so I'll end this one now. Hope all is well with everyone!

Just For Justin Kosec :)

So, I was talking to my good friend Justin the other day and a guy decided to start sliding down the outside of our building...needless to say that Justin didn't believe me :) So I told him I would take the guys picture and put it on here as proof...

So now you are all my witnesses! Yes, there was a guy who threw a rope off the roof, down the building. Then, don't ask me how, he sat on a square piece of wood attached to the rope and slid down the building. I have no idea why he was doing this but we saw him do it three times! Crazy!

So this is just for you Justin :)

Korean War Memorial Museum

So as good tourists, Drew, Tobias, Zac & I went to see the Korean War Memorial Museum. It was amazing! They had actual trucks, tanks, huge guns on wheels (as Tobias calls them), and planes that were used in their many military conflicts.
The boys had the most fun on all the vehicles and guns! They were able to climb all over troop trucks, movable guns, motorbikes with sidecars attached, and look into plane cockpits. The rest of the museum was not as interesting to the boys but Drew and I liked it :) Very boring things like the changing styles of military uniforms, how soldiers used to ride on horses instead of in trucks, a scale model of a military outpost...looked more like a beautiful Asian temple to me but the sign said "outpost" so I guess they know more about it than me :)

We got to see a "Turtle" boat which looked more like a dragon to me (probably because of the huge dragon head at the front of the boat) but Drew said it was called a turtle because of the completely covered deck and spikes too! I don't know that you can see all that from the pictures but it was really cool looking.

This country has been invaded, fought for it's independence, invaded again, fought, invaded, fought, told they were under the protection of Japan, fought again...as you can see, a lot of invading and fighting. As funny as it may sound, the North and South parts of Korea, though they may be politically divided, are still close because many families have been separated. I find this relationship to be so very confusing, that this is the most I'm ever going to say about it :)

Once we were done inside we walked outside to see more huge planes, tanks, trucks, guns, bikes, more trucks...most of which the boys could climb on or actually go inside of. Zac liked the planes best...sorry there are no pictures but he was running around so fast that none of the pictures turned out focused...I'll put one in here just so you can see :)

It was a great day. Hot and humid, but fun. The stuff that is outside is free to go see so we are going to go back this week. The playgroup had a picnic there last week but we didn't go 'cause it was raining (surprise surprise).

I'm sure that if you come to visit we'll take you to the museum if you want. There is supposed to be a "Lost Scrolls" exhibit there soon and maybe a dinosaur exhibit too. The boys will love that! Love to you all!

A Day with Bugs

Sorry it's been a while since a new post. Been busy having fun :)

So the past two weeks we have hired a nanny/house keeper named Ging.

She is wonderful! The boys love her and she speaks Korean and English so she's speaking both to the boys in hopes that they'll learn some :) It's wonderful to have someone help with the cleaning since the floor alone takes over 2 hours to vacuum and clean! We have been able to go to playgroup and I actually get to talk with some other moms 'cause I don't have to run after the boys all by myself! Makes life feel a little less like I'm a single mom during the week.

We are lucky being here in Seoul. They have a wonderful transit system of buses and subways. It's very easy to take the subway to post, shopping, pretty much anywhere! At the station we get off at to go to post they have a Bugstory event going on right now. It is really cool! All sorts of live creepy crawlies to touch, amphibians to catch, monkeys to hold, and lizards too! The boys had a blast!

Tobias got to hold a snake, a monkey sat on his shoulders, & he picked up a huge horned beetle all by himself...

Zac wasn't so impressed with the lizards. Tobias was holding one and we were trying to get Zac to touch it and he wouldn't have anything to do with it! He was really funny! He did like the dwarf bunnies, the ferret, albino skunk (on a leash), and the little monkey that was jumping onto people's shoulders!

There was a huge pool with tons of really big toads inside and the kids had nets and were able to catch the toads! Very cool for little boys :)

By the time we left I had the creepy-crawlies!!! I did get to have my picture taken with the boys and bunnies and the monkey even jumped onto my shoulder! Why are monkey's so cute???

It was a great day and to think this all happened on the second level of a subway station! It's amazing how the Korean people have so much to experience in such a cramped city! Kids are their most important concern it seems and so they make it possible for the kids to have a great time no matter where!

Hope all is well with everyone!!

Our First Golf Game

Tobias has been asking for weeks to go to the mini golf course on post. On Saturday we finally made it! I didn't know how long it would keep Tobias' attention but he loved it! He was really trying to putt, although sometimes he would follow the ball with the putter...just to make sure it went the right way :) I was suprised by how many shots actually were really good! He seems to have good hand-eye coordination 'cause he made quite a few holes at or below par.

Drew and I tried to play too but with Tobias going through the course really fast, and Zac just wanting to put the ball in the waterfalls and ponds, we decided to just let them play and us watch. It was fun anyway :)

Zac tried to hit the ball a few times, and actually did pretty well for a 2yr. old. With all the waterfalls and ponds Zac was too distracted to worry about putting. It had also rained that morning so the ground was wet and Zac kept sitting down. Good thing he had on pants that were quick to dry :)

Even though I'm usually the one behind the camera, Drew did manage to get one shot of me...I'd rather be taking the pictures though!

It was a great day! We found an activity (besides roller blading) that Tobias really likes. Here are some pictures and video of our morning.

Enjoy!

The Hamster Ball

So, Drew and I bought the boys an inflatable castle last Christmas for the boys so that they would have some place to burn off some energy inside when we couldn't go out. It was not very well made and so didn't last long...had to return it two weeks later :( We've been on the hunt for something similar since then and I found it for Zac's 2nd birthday!

We bought a huge, inflatable ball that is open in the middle, with windows so you can see them rolling around inside! It's really cool! It looks just like one of those hamster balls!

So last night I blew it up (took almost an hour with an electric pump!) and the boys went to bed an hour late 'cause they were having so much fun in it! I knew it was a bad idea to put it up right before bed but they wore themselves out and went to sleep REALLY fast :)

Anyways, here are some pictures and video so you can all enjoy watching my little "hamsters".

Love to everyone!

House Warming/ 4th Of July Party

We had a house warming/4th of July BBQ at our house on saturday (06JUN08). It was a lot of fun! I marinated flank steak using my mom's wonderful recipe, and it turned out great! As a test, we had our friend, Garrett, taste test (he never eats steak without sauce) and he said it was "good". We also barbequed chicken and brats. I made cabbage & ramen noodle salad and Thai Peanut Salad. I think there was too much food 'cause I still had two salads in the fridge that didn't get taken out. It was fun though. Drew invited some of his friends for Camp Stanley, Casey, and Red Cloud. Dean was the grill man. He was happy as long as there was a cooler full of beer by him :) He's a true texan! It was nice to have people over.

We invited our new neighbors. Tricia & Josh Roberts have four kids, Grace (8), Aiden (5), Liam (3), and Ewen (3mo). Tobias and Aiden have a lot of fun together but it gets a little crazy! Liam and Zac play great side by side, and Grace is a girl so she doesn't like to play with the boys very much :) Dorothy came, she lives on the 7th floor. She brought two professional Korean basketball players, one of whom reminded me very much of Darko...only because I had to look up to look at his face. The tall one, I'm sorry I don't remember his name, but he grew up in Seattle. It's a small world, eh? We also had a professional magician. He is really amazing. His name is "J" and he was doing some incredible tricks! The kids were all sitting on the floor, mouths wide open... you could just see them thinking "How did he do that???"

It was a great first party. I'm sure we'll have more but it was good to get our apartment put together so now people can come over and not have to see thirty boxes sitting in our living room :) Unfortunately I was so busy being the hostess and designated driver that I didn't take any pictures :( I'll have to get pictures from others who were here.

We moved all our boxes into the rooms they need to be unpacked in, so now all that's left to do is unpack them!!! Lots of stuff we didn't need to send over here, but it's hard to know what's in what box when they've been in storage for a year! Thank goodness we have a lot of storage space in our apartment!

It's been really muggy here the last few days...we are all feeling a bit drained but the boys still want to play outside so it doesn't bother them as much as me. Ah, to be a kids again :) Hope all is well with everyone!

Tobias, the Thinker. . .

So the only time I can get Tobias to sit down and read with me is at night, before bed. Last night we were reading Shel Silverstein's "Where The Sidewalk Ends". We read a poem titled "Yikiyuk" and then the next page titled "Bloath". When I was done reading both Tobias looked up at me and asked, "Do you think that Bloath could eat the Yikiyuk off that poor guys toe?"

It amazes me how much Tobias actually listens ... probably because he never seems to hear what I say :) Just another moment that proves children are paying attention when we think they're not!

Just wanted to share that with everyone :)

Zachariah's Birthday Count Down

Tobias' Birthday Count Down

Zachariah's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Zac's 2nd birthday last weekend...a week late but we waited until his presents were all here. It was a quiet party with just the four of us but very nice. I made yummy chilli and we had corn on the cob. It was the first time Zac had eaten corn on the cob so it was fun to watch him try :) Tobias helped me make and decorate the cake. He likes to help but it sure does make clean-up take longer! I guess that's the fun part of baking...having little hands help make a big mess!!
Zac got a cool new Radio Flyer Scooter from YiaYia & Papou (please excuse me if those are spelled wrong) which he loves to ride around the roof. .He also got a new train book to read at night since we've been reading the same two books for over a month now. Ask Zac to pick out a book at bedtime and he always picks the train books. He got a bowling set, new mega block cars with launchers, some pj's, a few shirts, and a huge inflatable ball which the boys can climb inside of and roll around. We haven't tried it yet but I'll send video as soon as we do :)



I can't believe that he's 2 already! The people here think he's at least 3 'cause he's so much bigger than the Korean children his age. Both the boys are growing like weeds...

Hope all is well with everyone!

Our New Home

Hello to everyone! We have arrived and are adjusting to our new life here in Seoul. I have found a wonderful church community here, which has been in the Seoul area for over 100 years. The church building is beautiful, it's like an oasis in the middle of this never-sleeping city.
Drew has settled into his new job as a 2LT up at Camp Stanley, about 1 1/2 hours north of us. He is able to come home most weekends but we miss him during the week. He is learning all about how to transport people and things around. I think he feels like a dad to a lot of his soldiers, since he's older than most of them, but they seem to really like him as a leader so I think he's having a good time for the most part. We would rather he be down here and home every night but he's getting platoon leader time which is good.

Drew did a wonderful job finding us a new home here. Our apartment is huge and we even have a guest bedroom so anyone wanting to visit will have a place to sleep :) We live on the top floor here (the 13Th)with gardens on the roof and a market on street level. The roof is a great place for the boys to go roller blade, ride the scooter, run around, and meet all the people living in our building. Most of them don't speak English but it doesn't seem to matter much. Everyone is very friendly and Tobias and Zac are constantly given high 5's, hugs, kisses, being talked to in a language they don't understand...the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" is very true here. Your children have 30 million parents in this city! Yes, there are 12 million people that live in the city of Seoul and another 26 million living around the city. It's amazing how many people live in such a small country!! We have learned how to say "hello" and "thank you" in Korean but everything else "sounds Greek to me"!

Our car finally arrived last week, and after days and days of paperwork, registering, and getting my Korean drivers license we tried to drive up to Camp Stanely on Saturday. The trip should have been 1 1/2 hours, but turned into 3 hours 'cause we got lost!! The roads here are scary! Not just because all the signs are in Korean, but the drivers would put LA and NYC drivers to shame! The motorcyclists rule the roads (and sidewalks for that matter). The taxi drivers are crazy and cut you off all the time and the buses think they are NASCAR drivers! It's not as scary as I thought it would be, driving here, but it definitely took a day or two to get used to people driving so close to my car! Drew keeps telling me we need to get a GPS so that we can find our way around but I think it's kinda fun getting lost...we get to see places here that we wouldn't see if we hadn't gotten lost :) We now know where EverLand is if we ever want to go (I think it's a theme park).

Haven't done much exploring yet (except for our getting lost on the expressway) but now that we're more settled we can start taking the subway other places rather than just to post. The boys love the subway! Zac gets so excited when it arrives that people on the train are all looking out the windows wondering what all the screaming is about! The only thing Tobias doesn't like is having to take the elevator instead of the escalator when we have the stroller. Me, I like it when he's confined in a box, at least for a few minutes :) There are a lot of sports and activities for the boys to be involved in on post. Tobias wants to try Tae Kwon Do and golf. I think we'll try the martial arts first.

So lots of new stuff for us to experience, lots of new people to meet, lots of Korean to learn! Though I won't be a good or as diligent as my brother-in-law, Gregory, is at this blogging, I will try to keep this up to date with pictures and stories of our adventure here. Please keep in touch by email or phone. Love to everyone!