Hi there!
The Clarkson family is doing well. Most of our time these days are spent language learning. I (Emily) meet with Isir, and Seth with Ahmed, every day except for Friday. We're learning so much and it is definitely A LOT easier than learning Korean. I consider it to be a major accomplishment that I can say something to someone and they in turn respond with an appropriate response. When we were in Korea I'd usually get a look of confusion in response to my greeting. So nice. Yesterday we went to visit one of the hospitals here in town. It was originally a woman and children's hospital but now treats men as well. Though no one from the hospital knew we were coming, we were warmly welcomed and were able to spend some time talking with the hospital's founder Edna. She is an impressive lady, the wife of a former president here. Her vision and passion for serving the people here was incredible. It is a teaching hospital with a variety of educational programs. Nurses, midwives, and a number of other types of health professionals are able to be educated here. The hopsital itself was very clean and well run. More than likely, this is where we will take Eden for her next checkup.
It's incredible that Eden is four months old already. We look back at pictures of her birth and are amazed at how big she is getting. And she is a big girl. The nurse at the hospital thought she looked more like a 1 year old than a four month old. She loves to smile at anyone and everyone. We are very blessed in that she sleeps very well through the night (usually we can lay her down at 9PM and she won't wake up to eat until 8AM. Mom definitely appreciates that. Now she puts her hands in her mouth and is able to grasp. Her favorite toy right now is a teething book. We just love teaching her about the world. What an awesome privilege is it to be her parents. Breastfeeding is going great. On busy days I wish that Seth too had the ability to feed her, but more often than not, I find such joy during the special time that we get to spend together. Sometimes when she's hungry she'll start to give me the biggest smiles as if she's trying to lure me to come and feed her. And it always works.
Hmm, what else is going on in Eden's life... we've covered sleeping, eating, what's left? Pooping! We continue to use cloth diapers (bumgenius pocket diapers) and absolutely love them! We rarely have problems with diaper rash and leaks. We did decide to use disposible diapers during the long journey over here though. We're not quite that adventurous:)
And I think that's all we got! Much love to all!