A Big Change

Well since the last time I posted Elijah has started school...this week is his first full week!

This is him the first day getting on the bus! He was so excited he ran all the way to the bus! He got on sat down and then waved good-bye and blew me a kiss. It was a tougher day for Mommy than for him. He loves his new teacher Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Julie. He has had to go back to napping as there is a mandatory hour rest time in their day. We just run around on the playground for an hour every afternoon to make up for it.

As for Tammy she is now all alone at home and loves it. On the first day that Elijah went to school I asked her, "What are we gonna do now that Bubby is gone?" Her response was, "You are gonna work out and I am gonna do the laundry!" Needless to say we haven't had a chance to workout yet but she does help with the laundry...she gets the clothes out of the dryer for me and yesterday she discovered that she can match socks!

We have also finally moved to our bigger apartment...Praise the Lord! The day that we came to sign for our new house was the first time that I had seen how big it was and I am glad because I would have been miserable in our old house! The floor plan is awesome, we have lots of open space to breath! No more tripping over each other and the toys! The kids have no more bunk beds and a toy room!! No more toys in the living room!! I have posted lots of pictures of the apartment on Facebook so everyone can check it out! Now we have lots of wall space so everyone please send us some pictures so that we can hang them up on our walls!

We talk about EVERYONE back home daily!! We are making new friends here but will NEVER forget those back home in the states! I hope that this post finds all of you well and know that you are in our prayers daily!

Love and miss you all-Stephanie

Been a long while...

Well it was a long, yet short summer for the Utter clan!! We had a great summer and are very much looking forward to falls arrival so that the temperatures with be more comfortable for us to function in the outdoors:-) Here is a review of where and what is going on with all of us:

• Tim has had a busy summer at work due to various people going home on leave! He was luckily spared of taking part in the "exercise" this August, but became a celebrity of sorts here in Korea:-) During a ceremony at his work which was videotaped for our local news. Tammy gets all excited when she sees him on there! Will post a link as soon as I can. He has also made a change in his school and career plan for the Army. He has transferred to American Military University to a Bachelors program in Religion which could lead to him becoming a Chaplain/Pastor in the future. He starts his first classes on Oct. 5th. With this our intent is for him to become an officer within the next 2-3 years. Here's to hoping and praying:-) At the beginning of November he will be able to move from Camp Bonifas and hopefully it will mean a move to Yongsan with us!


• I was home this summer with the kids of course...currently debating on wether or not I want to go to graduate school through a grant program that the Army has offered to spouses! I am excited that the kids are back in school because it allows us to get on a better routine. I am staying busy by being involved with PWOC and the PTO. Getting very excited about our move to a bigger apartment this coming Friday! Very happy that I packed light which should help our process to go quickly!


• TJ has decided that he now wishes to be called Timothy or Tim at school!! At home it will continue to be TJ! He has started the first week of 3rd grade and it went a bit bumpy to say the least...he didn't listen to the teacher very well which resulted with Mommy getting a phone call from the teacher. But this week promises to be much better! He has finally begun to grow just slightly but still progress! He has also finally learned how to tie his own shoes!! This week he started the bowling league and he is on the bantams which means bowling 3 games with no bumpers...he got 1 strike and a few gutter balls to say the least. We are hoping that it will help to increase his upper body strength. This summer he also started swimming all on his own...he even started jumping off the diving board!!


• Emily had a rough start to 1st grade herself because the first day of school she had to go to the dentist and have a tooth removed due to a bad cavity which led to an absess on the cheek:-( Her teacher was so very nice and helpful with the fact that Emily had a special diet the first week due to the tooth removal. This summer was pretty exciting for her as well...she finally has started enjoying getting her head wet while swimming and likes to try to swim without her life jacket. She's grown a few inches this summer as well...her legs are getting longer and longer! Em started bowling this week also and is in the PeeWee league which is with bumpers but she is learning how to hold the ball correctly. She is the one and only goof!!


• Elijah is patiently waiting for his school to begin...he gets to meet his teacher this coming Wednesday. He has continued to grow this summer as well and has discovered a new found love for the pool. He loves to go down the slide and jump in off the side which includes his head getting wet:-) Elijah is bowling in the PeeWee league as well and he has some power behind his throw!! He made a new friend at bowling this week, whose Dad was helping Elijah to learn how to hold the ball correctly and how to use his arms and legs to control the ball! He went to the optomotrist this week to get his eyes checked and we found out that for right now he is ok but in the future he will need glasses...the Dr. told him that if he stands in front of the TV to watch it he will have to go back to get a shot(cause he hates shots)! We do what we have to do to avoid bad behaviors!
• 
• Tammy is turning into a beautiful little girl...it seems as though just yesterday she was a baby and now she is 3! She's going to finally be home with Mommy on her own and she is very excited about that!! This summer she also learned how to swim on her own in a life jacket. She still doesn't like her head wet but it will come with time! Tammy is also doing PeeWee bowling and is quite entertaining...it takes about 2 minutes for the ball to go down the lane and sometimes loses power and stops halfway down but she is having fun and that is all that matters:-)

I hope to post more soon and plan to do better at keeping up with our posts! Please know that we think of all of you often and miss everyone lots! We have about 14 months left to go here in Korea and look forward to what the Lord has in store for us next!!