January is almost over...?

Well, now that we are recovered from the holidays and onto other exciting things, I decided to come back to my blog and update.  I feel like since Christmas alone, so much has happened.  Kids went back to school January 3rd, and that was a blessing in itself.  I have also started nannying for one of Maddie's friends' mom.  Andrea, the mom, just had a baby boy and he is adorable.  Anyways, to make a long story short, the Child care center here on Osan, has a waiting list till who knows when, due to how many families are now living here.  The CDC can only hold so much so they are in the works of preparing one for more kids.  In the mean time, I am watching him M-F and it's been nice.  His name is Anthony and he is growing so fast, and I am so happy to be a part of it.  Even if it's for only a lil while longer.  So this is one new thing that has changed.  (Yes, I was subbing, but they have hired a lot more subs and those of us that have been subbing have been put on the back burner.)  So, I decided to help another family out, as well as pay off some bills before leaving here.  Win-win situation if you ask me, plus, I get my baby fix =).

Second new surprise, Tim has been chosen for a Brigade CSM position at Ft. Sill, OK, so we are no longer going to NC! This has been a little saddening, yet we are so very proud of Tim's accomplishments that have got him this far.  We never even expected this.  It was a beautiful surprise.  Sure, I am a little freaked about heading to Lawton, OK, where there is basically nothing, and tornadoes...  But, I believe the good Lord has bigger plans for us there.  Why else would He change us from the beautiful NC, to the Midwest right?  I have to believe that there are plans for us there.  Not to mention, that when we got the news, a verse from Jeremiah came to mind that day:

Plus, this is the season for basketball here, and Mason is playing again.  He has improved so much and we love going to support him and the team, and cheer them on.  It's so good having a child who loves to play anything and everything, and be amazing at all of it.  We are truly blessed.  Madison loves to come cheer her brother on too, but she really isn't into sports.  She'd rather find one of her friends and chitchat with her. Lol.  That's ok.  She is too girly for basketball, although she tries to make shots too, but needs to grow some more height before making it in I think...

Other than this, not a whole lot new.  Just trying to mentally and physically prepare for what lies ahead, with all the moving, pets, etc.  Ugh that is the worst part of military moves, but what can you do right?  Can't stay here in Korea much longer.  May couldn't come any sooner.  Oh by the way, this part is for Deborah~look sweetie!  Your plant is still alive and BEAUTIFUL!!!  Sad that I can't bring home with me now, that I kept it alive. =(

Oh yes, and one more thing.  We hope and pray that this blog finds everyone in good health and happiness.  We love and miss you all so much!  Pretty soon everyone, pretty soon.  We will be USA bound! =D

'Tis the Season...

Another Christmas has come and gone.  For Christmas Eve, we all get to open one gift, and it's ALWAYS new jammies...  Then we crouch together and get a family pic of us, in them.  We then make cookies for Santa, and set everything out that night.  The following morning, We were awakened at 0515 by Maddie, asking us if we were ready..  Haha, Tim was like-"Nope, and you need to try and sleep a little longer."  So, once 0530 came around, Maddie tried again, and then there was Mason as well.  "We're up!!"  We crawled out of bed, barely, and made it down the hall to the living room.  The kids squealed with glee as they seen the goodies that Santa had left them. What was the Big man thinking?? Santa and I were going to have to have a talk, that was for sure...  Every year, we say, "not that much", and well-every year we get worse and worse!

Needless to say, we were all very happy and excited to open presents and see what kind of surprises were under the tree.  Santa brought us ALL some wonderful surprises.  Video games, Nerf guns, shoes, Monster High Dolls, books, (of course the unmentionables-socks, and underwear), Snuggies, DVD's, golf push cart, a new putter, smelly stuff, and a whole lot more..  Tim and I were so excited for just the kids and to watch their faces in amazement!  Brought tears to our eyes.  Not to mention, the two awesome gifts I received.  My new Nikon camera, for the photographer I hope to become, and my homemade gift from Madison.  I was balling all over the place.  (I will include the pic and you can see why) This is our LAST Christmas here in South Korea, and we are only getting more and more excited to see what next Christmas holds.  Walmart-here I come! Lol. So, once the New Year arrives, and all the decorations come down and get put back into storage, we will not be seeing them again till our next home, at Fort Bragg NC.

My homemade gift from Maddie <3

We also had a great Christmas dinner, with some of Tim's co-workers again.  It's sad that they were alone without their families here, for the holidays, but we were glad to have them share this time with us.   Roast Beef, ham, and all the goodies that go with it, gave these men a little "home-away-from-home." It was a blessing to just be able to spend time with everyone and share in the Christmas spirit.  It's not the same without our families back in the states, but it's a pretty nice runner-up here overseas.  We hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas back in the states too!

Then, of course, I just had to play with my new toy-my Nikon..  So here are a few shots from that too.

And last but not least, my funny shot of Stormy to end this blog update.  Happy Holidays everyone, from us Hockenberry's.   XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...sorta =)

Well, it’s that time of year.   The holidays have crept in and have taken over us all.  It’s like we have been “zombie-fied” as Mason would say.  The weather here is acting strange.  There are some days when you would think that it was going to snow at that precise moment, and then there are others when you swear it’s time to go for a swim.  Either global warming is acting up, or this year is going to be a very warm winter with NO SNOW..  It isn’t the same if there isn’t snow to play in, and to make a mess in the house with.  How can anyone celebrate Christmas without the cold stuff?  This time last year, we already had several inches on the ground.  =(

We celebrated Thanksgiving with some of Tim’s soldiers that came here with no families.  It was nice spending time with people.  We had a 22 lb turkey and a 10 lb ham.  We also had all the trimmings that go with Thanksgiving.  This year, I made both pumpkin and sweet potatoe pies, from scratch.  Well, from  canned pumpkin and yams.  Lol.  It definitely wasn’t Sara Lee’s frozen pies, but it was actually pretty good.  Surprising huh?  Everyone seemed to like them and nobody got sick, so that was a plus.  We had so many leftovers, that for that following week, we ate so much turkey and ham, that we don’t want to see anymore for the rest of the year.  For Christmas we are going to make Roast Beef.  NO MORE TURKEY!! 

As soon as everyone left for Thanksgiving, I ran down to storage and grabbed all the decorations.  Tim made me wait this year till I could begin Christmas decorating.  I was so anxious to begin decorating.  I feel that once the decorations go up, the time goes by faster, and with us leaving here in May—I couldn’t wait any longer.  However, I was more frustrated this time decorating, then ever…  Somehow, while sitting in storage, all my Christmas lights decided to stop working!! Or, half the strands worked, while the other half didn’t.  By this time, it was after 8, and the BX was closed.  As I sat there and stared at my naked tree, I just looked at it and felt horrible.  I had to wait till morning to run and buy some lights and then we could finish it.  So tell me again, why am I so impatient?

Needless to say, the tree is up and so are all the decorations.  Feels like Christmas in the house, although we aren’t getting any white stuff soon.  This month is already a busy one.  Between Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, having to sub at the school, birthday parties, (Tim’s and all the kids’ friends), wrapping gifts, mailing gifts, and now a Army ball to attend this Friday-I am done!  Can December hurry up and end already and lets get onto 2012! Once it reaches January 1^st, we will only have 4+ months to go, till we are back in the good ole USA.  I am so happy that I can barely contain myself, lol.  It’s been too long, I need to go to rehab from all the withdrawls I am having. 

And even though leaving here will be bittersweet, I CANT WAIT TILL WE COME HOME!

 Hope this season is filled with love, joy, and happiness for all of you!  See you soon!

Hiking with the Hockenberry's

Today we decided to take a hike.  Literally.  Just got in the car, and drove to a place that Tim and his soldiers know all too well--Madison Hill, or Madison Mountain.  This is no ordinary mountain or hill, whatever you wanna call it.  This is ONLY an uphill trek.  And might I add, a trazillion steps.  Wow.  Tim usually takes his soldiers up there for PT, with all their gear on.  Today, we only had our clothes on, and cameras in hand.  Now, from beginning where we parked, it doesn't seem that bad at all.   We were talking the whole way and Tim kept saying that one of the kids was going to "tap out" because they were going to be too tired or blah blah.  Well, Mason did his fair share of complaining.  He was ready to stop before we even hit the middle marker.  Tim and Maddie were walking pretty much in step to one another, side by side.  Me, well, I didn't complain once, and I tried to keep Mason motivated, while taking lots of pics. It was a struggle there for a while, but he gained some spark and was able to carry on.  We made it to the top of this thing, and what a great feeling this was.  I was worried that we weren't going to finish it, but we did and what an accomplishment it was for me and the kids.  Like I said, Tim has done this several times, so he knew what to expect already.  We had no idea how uphill he had meant, and the stairs was a nice touch too!

The beginning up Madison Hill

Stairs, stairs, and MORE stairs...

WE MADE IT!!!!!

While up there, there were Koreans paragliding off one of the edges.  Now, for me, that was crazy.   For the kids and Tim, they thought it was the coolest thing.  Tim loves being able to jump out of C130's and Chinooks, with a parachute of course.  So, how much of a difference is off a cliff?  Ugh.  I was a nervous wreck the whole time, but the kids liked watching.  (None of us para glided, it was just the Koreans.)  It was a nice little surprise to see something like that, close up and personal.  It was like watching one of those "crazy" shows live...

When we made it back down, we had to run most the way, that's how steep it was...  But making it a family affair was the best thing about it.  The kids were so proud of themselves and we all had fun just being with each other in the nature of this beautiful country.  Time is slowly creeping up on our getting out of here, so we are going to try our HARDEST to do things like this on the weekends.  We are under 197 days left here on the peninsula now, so better late then never.  Hope you all enjoyed this lil piece of us and the pics too.  Love and miss you all!

6-52 Turkey Bowl, 2011

Well, another Turkey Bowl has come and gone.  This year it was so much warmer.  Last year, we had brought blankets and coats and hats, gloves:  this time, it was warm, probably in the 60's?  Weather here has been weird lately, so it's hard to tell what is going on. 

Tim's unit took home the trophy for the Senior Enlisted team, as well as the Powder Puff girls.  This is a  big thing with the Army, when they compete verses other Army units.  I am not sure if the AF does this, but every year, during November, we all head over to the football field, and enjoy watching the game.  It's about the ONLY football game I can stand, that is, until Mason decided to play.  Osan doesn't offer football here so he hasn't had a chance to play, but Basketball is starting up in January again, and he will be there.  =)

Well, this is just a quick note to get some recent pics up and let everyone know that we are all doing fine here and counting down the days to come back to the US.  Oh, what a beautiful day that will be!!  Love and Hugs to All~

It's been a while.....

I know, I know...  It's been almost 2 months since my last blog update, but things here have been busy busy.  Which, I am not complaining because it's only making our time here fly by so much faster!!!!  We are under the 7 month mark, and I am so excited to start our next journey.  In case many do not know, we are getting stationed over at Fort Bragg, North Carolina again, and we couldn't be happier about this move!  Being there a few times before, we are pretty familiar with the surroundings and we absolutely love it there.  Ugh, only 6+ months to go.....  hehe.

Fall is here.  And the leaves are full of beautiful colors.  Of course I have no pics of them yet, but just wanted to share that.  And it's colder.  In the mornings it's probably in the 30's and nights too.  During the day 50's and 60's.  LOVING this weather.   

Ok, so since my last blog about Mason's 10th birthday, things have been moving steadily.  School for the kids has been great!  I probably shouldn't say this because I may jinx it but there hasn't been any absences either..  They have been in school constant this first quarter.  Yay.  Usually when school begins, and all the kids get together, sicknesses cling to mine like magnets.  Last year, I do recall that they missed quite a few days in the beginning of the year.  I am just so thrilled that are healthy and in class everyday.  =)

Tim had to go home on ER leave from October 2nd till the 20th.  His grandmother had to have an emergency surgery and there were some complications.  So, off to Massachusetts he went, and the kids and I stayed behind, (due to school).  So, things were hectic here while he was away, but we survived.  Thank God that Nan grew stronger and was able to make it back to her home where she now is happier rather then in that rehab center she had to be in..  Lol.  Prayers work wonders!

I had subbed several days at the elementary and middle school during that time Tim was back in Mass.  I even had to sub for Mason's 5th grade class, and it was so funny!  He kept begging me NOT to embarrass him and then he tried to be the teacher in front of all his classmates.. Yeah, right.  Then, I subbed several days for my favorite Kindergarten teacher, and loved every minute of it.  Kindergarten is my favorite to sub for.  However, after spending that one week with them, and 90% of the class had snots and coughs, I ended up really sick.  Yes, sick and without a husband to take care of me.  It was a mess too.  I had NO voice for three whole days, and the coughing just wouldn't stop.  I swore a lung was going to come up one of those times.  Luckily it didn't.  After many, many packs of Theraflu, and about a week total or illness, I was better.  Just in time for Tim to arrive back home.  Go figure.  Isn't it amazing how when the spouses are gone, things at home go haywire?  Joy!

The kids recently had a Halloween festival at the school and well, even though it was a BUST, they got dressed up and we all went.  I took a few pics of them that night, and so I am posting below.  I hope everyone is enjoying the Fall season no matter where you are in this world.  This Halloween, we are all splitting up doing things a lil different this year.  Mason, now 10 and Mr. Coolness, wants to go to a Halloween party at the Youth Center, and possibly TOT with his buddies...  Maddie and I will be going to the Fall Festivities at the chapel.  I am really looking forward to this because my faith has grown so much, and even though I don't have an issue with TOT and costumes, I enjoy being around other families with stronger faith then mine.  I have come a long way since 2006, when I came to Christ, and my walk with Him here in Korea has been a struggle at times, but He brought me here for a reason and I am finally understanding what I am supposed to be doing as a wife, mother, and believer.  So, yay for me!

Tim will be the lucky one handing out candy at our house =)

Hope this blog finds all well.  Us Hockenberry's are doing great!

Mason's 10!!!

Well we survived another year, another birthday, and another birthday party!  Whew, boys boys boys..  Mason turned 10 on September 14th, but since it was a weekday, we didn't have anything big--just dinner and presents, oh and a cookie cake made by yours truly!  He is one strange boy, he doesn't like cake, cupcakes, or anything of this sort-but I KNOW he LOVES homemade cookies.  What better way to make a 'cake' then a HUGE cookie!  Turned out to be a huge hit in my household.  I needed something to put ten candles on, and this one was definitely a winner.  Prior to cookie cake eating, we had dinner at Mason's favorite restaurant here, called Rio's.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse, where they come to your table with tons and tons of freshly cooked steaks and such.  However, this time, Mason didn't eat as much as normal?  Maybe he is finally getting sick of this overpriced place?  Ya think?

Then on Sunday, we did a bowling party.  I usually do them here at the house, but I thought I wouldn't want to clean up after 10 boys again like last year.  So, we did it at the bowling alley here on base.  And it's actually a decent place to host parties for kids.  They supply decorations, food, and 2 hours bowling.  I thought I was throwing another party here at the house a few months ago, so I purchased our own decorations, Red Sox theme.  I just used them at the alley and made it sort of a Red Sox Bowling party. =)  Got to improvise.   A few boys showed up this time, not as many as expected, and they seemed to have a good time.  Guess that is all that matters.  We also had a friend who makes cakes, make Mason his.  Yes, a Red Sox one.  Lol.  It came out pretty good.  Although Mason didn't eat any.  Go figure.  Everyone else did.  Hehe.  Tim and I even played some "Hoops" and it became sort of a competition between Mason, Tim and I.  I beat them once...  Go Mama!

Well, here are some pics that I took from his party.

 Just a heads up...  If you are going to play ten rounds of Hoops, be prepared for a very sore shoulder and arm. =(