Saying Good-Bye...

Has it really been 9 months since we got our exchange student?! Dang, it seems like yesterday that I was in my striped green sundress, little white shoes, and carrying my Vera Bradley walking into the airport with my family to meet our (temporarily) new member of the family.

It seems like yesterday that we thought that the 'Gi' part of his name sounded like 'Jee' instead of 'Gee.'

It seems like yesterday that we couldn't find him at the airport, and we had to call him. As my dad was talking to him on the cell phone, asking where he was, I saw a tall Korean guy with luggage in a seat nearby. I was like, "Hey look! There he is!"

It seems like yesterday that I cried for about 3 days because it seemed so strange having a guy I didn't know living with us.

It seems like yesterday that I posted this photo

and posted this post. (Look how much longer my hair was then!!)


It seems like yesterday that my mom, brother, and I took Seung Gi on a little tour around our tiny town (Thomasville).

It seems like yesterday that it was close to Christmas, and his flight had to be cancelled for his trip to Korea for a few weeks because of snow.

Last night, Seung Gi packed his stuff to go back to Korea for the summer. My dad took him to the airport around 6:00 or 6:30 this morning for his flight back home.

It's kind of funny, to all 4 of us, it feels strange not having a 5th person in the house. I guess we were so used to having someone else, that it feels like something is missing.

Whenever I walk by his room, I keep expecting to see him there, but it's just the furniture. The desk is cleared off, there are no sheets on the bed, and his stuff is no longer in there.

 (Ok, it sounds like I have a crush on him or something, which OBVIOUSLY, I don't. That would be purely disgusting. Iiiiiick, ok, now I'm grossing myself out...eww).

Anyway...........

Although he will be staying with a different family, he will remain at HPCA (High Point Christian Academy) where my dad teaches.

It's kind of funny; he would sometimes get on Mom's nerves, but she posted something on facebook today  like, 'I am maybe, kind of, just a teeny bit, missing my Korean child.'

Hahaha! We are glad that it is just the 4 of us again though. =)

One Word.......Irresistible

So this lovely, warm evening, I was seriously craving something....chocolaty. Do you ever get that way? Where you are craving something that is just irresistible? That's how I was about 15 minutes ago until my taste buds went like, "WHOOOOOOOOOO!"

So what made my taste buds go like, "WHOOOOOOO!" it was Hershey's 'Perfectly Chocolate Hot Cocoa.' Oh. My. Gosh. It was heavenly. I mean, who cares if it's like 70 degrees outside...you can still have something chocolaty and warm, right?

Soooo...I thought that I would post the recipe for the 'Perfectly Chocolate Hot Cocoa.'

*Warning, it is reeeeeeeaaally easy



~Perfectly Chocolate Hot Cocoa~

1. 2 Tbsp. sugar
2. 2 Tbsp Hershey's Cocoa
3. Dash of salt
4. 1 cup milk
5. 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Then................

6. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in large mug

7. Heat milk in microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until hot.

8. Gradually add milk to cocoa mixture; stir well. Stir in vanilla

Once you've done all of the above, 'WHALA!,' you've got some seriously, uber awesome, irresistible, super yummy 'Perfectly Chocolate Hot Cocoa.'

You guys neeeeeeed to try it (that's an order!) =)

♥ Happy Blogging ♥

The Teeny bit of Photography that's in me

Two weeks ago my two friends (the sistas) came over to my house and we thought it might be fun for me to take pictures of them. Sooo, that's just what we did! I had tons of fun editing them on picnik too. I thought the pictures turned about pretty well! Definitely not as great photography as Bekah, or Abigail, or Mimi, or Hannah or....must I be so negative?! I guess it just takes a lot of practice, huh? Well, hope you all enjoyed the slide show!

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Also............ Be sure to watch American Idol tonight, because it is Idol Gives Back!

Back Home

Hey everyone - well we arrived home safely yesterday around 6:00. We had really good time in SC and I can't wait to post pics of our trip!

♥ Happy Blogging ♥

A Very Strange Evening Walk...

Hey all. Ok, we had a very strange walk this evening. Here's what happened...

So about forty five minutes ago, we were walking around the U shape in our neighborhood. As we were walking up this huge road hill, this man from a house on the corner of the street yells to my mom, "Hey! HEY! HEEEEY!" So we all trail over to say, "HEY!" to this man we have spoken to once or twice. This man starts asking us questions like "Where does your husband preach?" (he speaks to my dad occasionally and knows these things) and "Where do you go to school?" and "How old are you?" Well then, he asks us, "Do any of y'all play any instruments?" So I answer, "Yes, I play the piano." Ok people, I really should NOT have answered that question. So then he says to us, "Hey, come o'er here. Come ere." (It was my Mom, brother and me who were talking to this man). So we dumbly follow him down the driveway. Of course, by then, my eyes are about to pop out of my skull because I don't know WHAT THE HECK is going on here.

So he looks for his wife and is all like, "Margaret! Margaret? MARGARET!!!" He looks in his truck and she is nowhere. So then we see this lady come out from their house and it was his wife. She is friendly enough so we introduce ourselves and she offers us ice cream (Um...thanks...but no thanks).

Then the lady wanders off outside and the man tells us to follow him into their BASEMENT!!! Remember readers, we don't even really KNOW these folks! We have only spoken to them once or twice.

By then Mom, my brother and I are about to freak out (I am freaking out, just not letting it show) and all I can think of is, "OH MY GOSH! I hope he doesn't attack us!" I was freaking out people, FREAKING OUT! So we look at his fancy instruments, pianos, TV and movie posters. Then he shows us this little room in his basement where he does some recording. Trust me, we did NOT even THINK about going in by then. When he showed us this, that was it for me; so I just politely said to everyone, "I really have to go because I need to get ready for bed." So then, we leave. Phew!

After we make it out onto the road again, Mom keeps telling us how dumb she was to even let us go in. We all didn't know what to say when he invited us in. They were nice and all...but in a very strange manner.

~A.G.~ :D :O :)

Sorry...

Hi everyone! So sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have had an extremely busy two weeks of school and I just haven't really had time to post. Not only am I busy with school, but with the extra things that go on throughout the week. Here is my weekly schedule...

Monday: I do a little school in the morning, then I babysit around 9:00 until noon.

Tuesday: I wake up at 7:00am, get ready, and then go to the home school group I am apart of. After about 6 and a half hours of class, I go back home.

Wednesday: Mainly a school day.

Thursday: Mainly a school day

Friday: Art class, school, and sometimes some extra things to do.

So as you can tell, I am usually pretty busy during the week. I probably won't be posting much during the school year, but I will try my best to post at least once to twice a week.

Oh, and does anyone have any suggestions for pulled shoulder muscles?...*cough cough*

~A.G.~ :D :O :)

Bran Muffins

Hello friends! Sorry I haven't been posting lately, I have just been very busy with school lately and haven't really had much time to post. So, since I can post right now, I am going to post a very yummy, easy to make, and healthy a good for breakfast recipe that all of us three of us in the Smith house like to eat sometimes, called Bran Muffins. Here is the recipe for them...

(Be sure to get a large mixing bowl to mix everything up in)

1) 15 oz of Bran Flakes (or Raisin Bran)

2) 3 cups of sugar

3) 5 cups of plain flour

4) 5 tsp of baking soda

5) 2 tsp of salt

6) 4 eggs (beaten)

7) 1 qt of buttermilk

8) 1 cup of vegetable oil

After you mix up all of the ingredients, stick it in your refrigerator and let it get cold overnight. The next day, when you're ready to have a muffin, turn your oven on Bake 400 degrees, fill up a 2/3 cup with the batter, put them in a muffin pan, stick them in the oven for 15 minutes (or longer if they aren't done), and then...ENJOY! (Great with either butter, jelly, or cream cheese inside).

~A.G.~ :D :O :)

More info...

Hi everyone! Sorry the post yesterday was so short.

Well, we picked up Seung Gi at the airport yesterday around 3:00. Turns out his sister gave us the wrong time that his jet would be coming in, so he had to wait about 30 minutes for us to get there.

(I don't remember if I mentioned earlier, but he is 16 years old, and will be in the 10th grade).

It was funny because he had never seen street lights hanging up, because when he was in Canada (as an exchange student there), they were on poles because if they weren't, the wind could blow them down. This is also his very first time in the USA.

When we all got home, he unpacked his things, we showed him the backyard a little, and then a little before 6:00pm, he went to sleep and didn't wake up until this morning around 11:00 (except for last night when he woke up to take a shower around 8:00). Oh the joy of jet lag. Drake (my brother), showed Seung Gi our garden, and then we showed/watched our chicks for about ten minutes.

Well, we are getting ready to go to Wal-Mart, so I better get off the computer. Here is a pic of us at the airport. It is a bit blurry though.

Bet ya can't guess which one is Seung Gi..........;0)


~A.G.~ :D :O :)

Life at the Smith House

Wow! Time sure does fly by. It seems like yesterday we only had four weeks of church left; and today was our last day.

As a bunch of you know, my dad has finished up at our church (he preached there) and he is going back to teaching at a christian academy high school in August. We didn't decide to leave Antioch (our church) because we were mad at anybody or because we were 'excused' from the church. Here's how it ALL started out.......


Back in May, my dad got a call from the principal of HPCA to see if we wanted to have an exchange student to come and live with us. He told us that he was from South Korea, that his name was Sung-ji (if that's how you spell it), that he was currently up in Canada, and that he wanted to come down to America because #1 it was too cold in Canada for him and #2 his sisters lived in New York and he wanted to be closer to them (close as in what, 15 hours away!!!). At first, Mom and daddy decided on no; but then they started thinking about it and decided on yes.

It was kind of funny; because back in either January or February, Mom and Daddy went through an adoption/fostering class because we wanted to adopt a baby. We also did NOT want a teenager to live with us either. That was like an OUT for us. So getting a baby kinda turned into getting a teenager from South Korea (I forgot to mention, but Sung-ji is 16).

Before the idea of getting Sung-ji, my dad had always really missed teaching. He also heard word that when some students at HPCA were interviewed, they brought my dad's name up a lot and talked about him being a good influence on them.

Sure enough, the principal had a spot open for my dad; so he brought it up to board and he got the job!

Daddy will start back teaching in early August (I'm pretty sure) and we will be getting Sung-ji August 11th. It will be quite an experience having not only another teen in the house....but another boy in the house. Who knows how it will turn out...maybe it will be pretty cool and fun....maybe we will have a countdown chain waiting for him to leave...;).

Hopefully you can see the actual 'reason' my dad decided to finish up at Antioch. It was all on a good condition. The deacons weren't mad about any of it when my dad told them about him going back to teaching; they completely understood.

I really should have posted this in 'parts' sooner than this; but I just haven't thought about the actual 'posting and writing' part until today.

~A.G.~ :D :O :)