Visiting Back in the States

Visiting Back in the States!

We've been in South Korea now for going on 6 months now. It was great timing for a visit back to the States! I went back a little earlier than my husband so I could spend a little extra time with my family. He could really only take 2 weeks of leave, so this was going to be a whirlwind trip as it was!

I started my adventure in Kentucky, where most of my mother's and father's families live. 

Kentucky is one of the most beautiful states! Lots of picturesque country lanes and horse farms.

I also got to eat Mexican food! I have yet to find good Mexican food in Korea.  It's one of my favorites, so I ate Mexican 3 times!  Haha it would have been more if I could have managed it ;)

My grandmother mentioned needing to make a trip to Weisenberger Mill, and I jumped at the opportunity to tag along! 

This mill has been in operation since 1865 and been run by the Weisenberger family for 6 generations! 

It's located in Midway, Ky. 

I love so many of their mixes! I particularly love their pizza crust mix. It is so delicious, has all natural ingredients and is super easy to make. All their flours and mixes are delicious! Here is their website if you desire some of your own!

Next, I headed to Fayette, AL to visit one of my best friends and her pastor husband. Somehow I managed not to get a picture with her. We enjoyed relaxing and laying out in the sun. I was determined not to "glow" (because I am so white) by the end of our trip. Our husbands enjoyed saving the world and eating brownies. As you can see, they did not conform to the suggested portion sizes!

We traveled into enemy territory to visit another set of friends, Becca and Matt ... in Tuscaloosa, AL.

(Home of the University of Alabama, arch-rivals of Auburn University grads like ourselves!)

We ate at Mugshots, which is a great burger place!

We were surrounded by so many Alabama fans...we feared for our lives ;) just kidding! But seriously, we could never live there!

Yes, as you can see, still glowing at this point ;) at least my husband does too...

Then we headed to Atlanta, GA. We are members of the International Fellowship of Christian Martial Artists and we participated in a seminar this weekend. It was so much fun to see all our friends and martial arts family! 

This seminar gives us an opportunity to learn new techniques and share knowledge.

I've been attending this seminar for years and love it, so I had to get my hubby hooked so I could keep going! Mission accomplished! He loves martial arts too!

We also get to make new friends with martial artists from around the United States.  We focus on Christian values and even have classes like: "Martial Artists in the Bible."  So many people are confused how we as Christians can be martial artists who train to fight.  God frequently called his people to fight in the Bible when most would have said to give up or walk away, just as He sometimes calls us to peace when the world says fight back. God's ways are not our ways. We cannot understand everything about Him or what He has called us to do. It is always worth the effort of learning His ways and living for Him! We cannot find fulfillment in anything unless we know our Creator and His purposes for our lives.

We always celebrate one male and one female who has demonstrated Christian character during the weekend at a banquet on Saturday evening. It was so fun to be able to visit with friends and dress up after a grueling 2 days of exercise!

We stayed with our friends (who we claim them as family), the Allens.

I love getting to claim "extra" family, including another little sister! Family is not just those you are born to. Family includes all those who come into your heart and never leave!

Hubby taking a lesson while he's in the States. He loves training wherever he goes!

Next, we headed back to Kentucky, so hubby could see my family. 

My 2 grandmothers really enjoyed the visit! We ate breakfast with my mom's mom and lunch with my dad's mom! 

We also got to see the renovations done to Versailles Baptist Church, where my parents attend!

Generations of my family have attended here and the transformation has been amazing!

They have found a way to balance traditional and contemporary elegance.

My friend got to come with us after eating burgers with us that night!

This sanctuary used to have powder blue walls and very outdated decor! You can't even imagine that now!

Another 400 miles down to Pelham to visit my brother and his kids! They joined us for dinner at Cozumel Grill...yay! more Mexican food!!

I just love the hat we brought my nephew from Korea! It's hilarious and absolutely matches his quirky demeanor!

I love these kiddos! They are so much fun!

Next leg, about 250 miles! Yes, we absolutely love driving...yeah, not really.

My little sister is doing an internship in Pensacola, FL, so we traveled down there to be with her for her birthday! 

 

She is renting a room and roughing it since she will only be there for about 3 months!

At least the house is nice ;)

While sister worked, we all went to the beach!! We ate lunch at Shrimp Basket! The best place ever!! Ok, places since it's a chain, but every single one I've been in has been amazing! They are casual, have delicious seafood and are much more affordable than so many of the pricey places at the beach!

If you ever see this sign somewhere, you must stop and eat!! It's awesome!!

Crab claws are my favorite! ...yet I don't like crab...go figure :)

That night, we at at Crabs, which was down by Pensacola Beach. It was okay. Definitley one of those pricey places! And the seafood was better at Shrimp Basket ;) but the view was great!

We enjoyed spending the evening with my parents and little sister!

She got a key lime pie since it was her birthday!

The next night, we went to McGuire's Irish Pub! It had really good food and the atmosphere was unlike any other place I've ever been!

There are dollar bills covering the entire ceiling and a lot of the walls. My sister tells me that there are at least a million dollars tacked to the walls! I hope they have good insurance!

Most of the interior looks red because of the lighting ;)

Yeah this sign really cracked me up, since most of the restaurant was drinking heavily ;)

We each enjoyed a drink or two, but the food was the best thing about this place to me.

Definitely get filet mignon if you get the chance to go there! Hubby ordered it, but I got to eat some!

This guy was playing songs from various genre and occasionally would call people out of the crowd to come kiss the stuffed moose hanging on the wall just out of sight of this picture. Yeah, super happy it wasn't my birthday or anything!

I really wonder how they convinced people to start leaving their dollars here ;)

Next, the hubby and I headed to Phenix City, AL to visit his family and friends!

We ate dinner at The Loft  in Columbusk, GA nearby. 

The dinner was delicious and the company superb! I love places that don't look the same as every other place. This place looked so unique and often has live music!

Yeah, please don't judge my hair ;) haha, after wearing a braid most of the day, it didn't want to cooperate...hubby has that problem too sometimes, can't you tell?

Then we enjoyed some fireworks for the 4th of July! 

I love the opportunity to honor the sacrifices made by those serving in the Armed Forces, both past and present, and the families that support them. Soldiers deserve our support no matter what the leaders in government decide. 

And I love my new camera! It takes amazing pictures even though I'm a novice!

Such amazing places to walk around in Columbus, GA.

Yeah, I just loved how this picture turned out ;)

Funniest story of the evening:

We were parked in a parking deck and made the mistake of pulling straight in. If you've every been to a big event and tried to leave quickly after, you know this was a big mistake. You should always back into your parking spot if you want you want someone to let you out in a reasonable amount of time. 

So we were pulled in, we had one empty parking space to our right, and the person to our left was about halfway pulled out of their parking space. 

My husband decided it would be a good idea to try a "thousand point turn" in these 2.5 parking spaces, so he'd be facing outward and be able to pull out easier.  After living in Korea, I was not that surprised by this, but our friends thought he was crazy! All those waiting watched in disbelief as he backed up and pulled forward about a thousand times to get turned around. Then the watchers hesitated, so hubby pulled right out in traffic. Driving in Korea has definitely NOT helped make my husband a more "polite" driver. 

In South Korea, driving assertively (or even aggressively) is not seen as rude, but as expected because time is money and everyone has lots to do.  My husband loves this concept ;)

The next day we visited his mom and brother at her work and enjoyed pizza for dinner. 

We have not found a great pizza place in Korea! 

Plenty of okay pizza, but no amazing pizza. We had Marco's Pizza, which has been a favorite of our since college.

Then we headed back to Birmingham for our last day in the States.

We went shopping for tennis shoes. We both favor Nike and the selection is limited at our PX (mini-walmart type store) at Camp Humphreys. In South Korea, there are no copyright laws, so they copy everything! It's more difficult to figure out what type of quality you are purchasing here. 

We don't play around with tennis shoes ;)

In Birmingham, we met up with the Smedleys, our long-time friends and neighbors while growing up.

They have 3 kids (all almost grown up, but I've known them since they were tiny). I can't believe these "sisters" of mine are all grown up! 

The youngest in the middle was always my "mini-me" in martial arts. For years, everyone at the IFCMA has assumed that various members of this family are actually blood-related to me!

We ate dinner at The Little Donkey in Homewood, AL, which was a combo of southern and Mexican type food. It was good...not quite "Mexicany" enough for me ;)

Then we went over to Steel City Pops, where I had a cantaloupe popsicle. It was so yummy!  Melon flavored treats are quite popular in Korea and I love them!  Others had pineapple, coffee, blood orange, and cherry sour cream. Some sounded very weird, but all were delicious!

Last set of friends we visited were Mandi and her boyfriend. We've been long-time friends!

She helps me learn new things about my camera all the time ;)

Check her out if you need a photographer near Birmingham!

We had so much fun being back in the States.

Many people welcomed us "home," but for us...home is where God has put us.

Right now, that's South Korea! 

We were so glad to get home and get settled back into our lives here.

Thank you everyone we saw for hosting us and making us feel loved!

If we didn't get to see you, we missed you and hopefully we will get to see you on our next trip back!