Hearts Full of Joy

Savoring the Sakura

The cherry blossoms have almost come to an end, but we are savoring every moment that we can with them. The kids (and I) have wanted to take walks and take pictures every chance we get.

 

 

I was able to quickly snap photos of this beautiful elderly woman enjoying the blossoms. When I see elderly Koreans, I can't help but wonder at the difficulties and heartbreak they must have seen in their lifetimes - being conquered by the Japanese, having their country split in half and devestated by the Korean war and the evil of communism, the destruction of their cultural heritage sites, cities, and farmland, and the decades of economic devastation that followed.

The KTX towers.

 

 

 The Solbridge International Business School Campus (where Brock works) is comprised of this single tall building. I took the photo while the kids were playing on teh playground.

The view from our balcony now that leaves and blossoms are appearing. It was a hazy day, but still lovely.

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Sakura, Sakura

Sakura, Sakura

The cherry blossoms (Sakura in Japanese & Peojggot in Korean) have been the most wonderful surprise. They came earlier than expected, and are much more abundant than we expected. There are cherry trees everywhere. We don't see the huge, ancient cherry trees like we did in Japan, here they are fairly new, young trees, but they line the riverways, fill our parks and playgrounds, and make us very happy.

Sunday after church we went for a walk in the perfect weather, and enjoyed the blossoms.

cherry blossoms and plum blossoms along the river

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing the bounteous blossoms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Spring

The sweet signs of spring are here.

I took these photos on my walk yesterday ~ the first day of Spring. It was such a treat for my eyes and my spirit.

Plum blossoms ~ Ume in Japanese ~ Maehwa in Korean.

We loved the ume in Japan, letting us know that winter was coming to a close. So happy to find them here in Korea too.

Daejeon has 3 rivers or creeks that flow through it, and they are lined with rubberized walking paths on both sides. It's a lovely way to take a walk.

The magnolias are also starting to bloom! These photos were taken at our apartment complex.

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Adjustment

easter

"bunny buns" from the "friend" magazine for saturday dinner.

the "i found my easter basket" dance, saturday afternoon.

easter dress

easter morning ensemble ....i had so much fun making the dresses and tie. i used this pattern from mod kid for the dresses. it only goes up to size 7, so i adjusted the pattern for big sister. photography by tashi

 

baby kittens, 1 week old, photography by mia

easter tulip

our easter weekend was full of fun: firehouse annual pancake breakfast & egg hunt, stake preparedness fair, egg coloring, easter basket hunt in our yard, missionaries for turkey dinner on sunday,....and well.....lots of chocolate!

it's a miracle

as far as i'm aware, spring has occured regularly every year of my lifetime, and yet every year i am swept away by the wonder of it. this photo was taken in early march. the large snow fort was complete before the snow started melting. we kept putting off pruning our fruit trees, because the snow was too deep to tromp out into.

mid-march the snow started to recede, and to my utter amazement, crocus and daffodils were pushing their way up through the snow. perhaps i shouldn't have been surprised, but in the deep of winter, my imagination could not stretch far enough to imagine that anything in our yard had survived and would be alive in the spring. dramatic thoughts, i know, but it was a dramatic winter.

 

crocus - on of the most beautiful sights after an intense winter.

daffodils

and by the end of the month....

it truly is a yearly miracle. we have lived places - phoenix, tokyo - with less dramatic winters, which is nice, but then the miracle of spring is lessened...still appreciated and enjoyed, but not as dramatic. i can't get enough of spring here. i keep finding myself outside throughout the day, wandering around the  yard, watching things grow, marveling that they are alive, and breathing in the miracle of spring.

easter morn

we have blessed with a gloriously beautiful easter weekend. i love the hope, rebirth and new life that easter brings, both spiritually and in nature. easter is at once the most significant, and most overlooked day of the year.

"easter is that most sacred of days when the hearts of devout christians turn to the savior with humble gratitude."    .....richard g. scott

our daffodils in the early easter morning light

 

discovery of the easter baskets

 

a chocolate bunny just for me!

 

breakfast: chocolate cinnamon sweet rolls with cream cheese frosting, all made from scratch

hyacinths salvaged from the Temple gardens last spring with daffodils in our front garden.

still snowing

another snow day, school canceled. everyone was sent home from church in a rush yesterday, because the hills were becoming impassable. we have had so many snow days that they no longer need to be made up, we are into what they call "act of God" territory. we have only completed one or two full weeks of school since christmas vacation. these cozy days with everyone at home have become the new norm.

shiki

 

i love this fabric collection by kumiko sudo for "in the beginning" fabrics. shiki is "four seasons" in japanese. a good reminder that winter won't be eternal. i can't wait to start sewing cute summer dresses and pj's for my little girls (especially mia) from this fabric.

 

a kimono dress like this one by emaleighscupboard on etsy would be so fun in this fabric.

endless winter

we have had perpetual snow since december. it has melted twice, i believe, only to snow again the next day. we have had snow falling for 4 days at a time without stopping. not typical weather for these parts. in some ways it has been cozy and peaceful, but what has affected me the most is the complete lack of sunshine. the sun has only come out about 5 times since christmas. i'm very aware of this because i need the sun to take photos for my shop. so things pile up, awaiting photos, and then i scramble, hoping to get as many things photographed as i can before the cloud cover comes again. but i feel so energized whent eh sun does show itself that i fell as if i could accomplish anything! it's almost time to prune our fruit trees, and to be honest, i'm having difficulty believing that our trees, or anything else in our yard, could still be alive after this winter. quite dramatic feelings, but there it is.

icing

school was canceled and we were iced in without internet (gasp!) on wednesday. we have yet to complete a full week of school since christmas - snow days, stomach flu, four day holiday weekends, ice storms. i feel like my kids are school drop-outs. but we've enjoyed playing family games, especially two that we have recently discovered: ticket to ride and ligretto. i'm wanting to make the most of the time that we have left with lexi. and now we are heading into two months of musical rehearsals....so i'm glad we've had this relaxed time together, even though i'm still craving some sunlight.

 

 

notice the rows of icicles on the railing.