Nana and Grandpa Arrive

My parents arrived in Korea late Friday night, and they got into Cheonan in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I had some nice quiet reading and coffee drinking time waiting for them after Sarah konked out. (She's been getting over the flu. She always seems to be going through or getting over something this winter.)
Anyway they arrived without too much adieu. KNU practically delivered them to my doorstep, since they and another English Camp teacher were arriving late, after the buses stopped. So this time, I only had to walk across the street to pick them up instead of riding a bus for 3 hours each way. Much, much better!
They are now settled into our friends Joe and Elena Willey's apartment. (The Willeys are on vacation to the USA for almost exactly the same time frame that my parents are here in Korea.) That is a great set up for them, much better than the dorm or the single prof housing. Thanks Joe and Elena!
Saturday and Sunday we experienced the great gift deluge that always accompanies any visit to or by my Mom. She is the bargain shopper extraordinaire, and she has the gift of giving, so we always get lots of whatever it was that she could find. Of course, Emma is the main target of her shopping adventures, but Sarah and I also get in on the action some. Emma got lots of clothes, toys, shoes, and books. Sarah and I each got some nice clothes. We also got lots of desert mixes. Mom really hit the bullseye for me with her standard gifts of beef jerky and dried cranberries. I can't really get those here, and I really miss them. I ate a whole pack of beef jerky on Saturday. I've since slowed down. I've got to make all of this bounty last until the next visit or care package!
Emma was delighted to see her Nana and Grandpa, and she has pretty much remained in this euphoric state. She even went to get some of her neighbor friends to come to our house to meet them. This is probably the best Emma has ever received them. In the past, she has sometimes been unusually shy or standoffish. We aren't really sure what was going on there - maybe she felt threatened because Sarah and I were giving them our attention. Anyway, now, at the ripe old age of 4, Emma is delighted to have them, and we are delighted that she's so delighted.
Dad has graciously agreed to teach the adult Sunday School class while they are here. They have done this several times now, and some of the people are the same. Everyone looks forward to it. I'll have to talk to him about time management, though. Yesterday, he taught until 20-30 minutes into the service! He said, "Well, they just kept asking questions." They are both teachers at heart! I'm delighted to have their help. Matt and I have been filling in as the Adult Sunday School teachers ever since Stan Martin left in the summer. It's a little difficult to preach and teach in the same day, so I'm happy for the relief.
I'm really happy my parents can come. Sarah and I were talking about this a few days ago. We are really blessed to have these English camps. Thanks to them, my parents can basically live next door to us two months a year.