Life Changing Events.
 

Well I do believe my life will be changing in many ways:lol:. My wife and I have 8 kids between us:whistle:. 5 of them are grown and on their own now:yipi:, and three of them have been living with my EX in California. They are 9, 11, & 12.(girl-boy-boy). The boys are really into computer and RC stuff (thank God), but have not been able to really appreciate the RC hobby for a lack of money and interset by their step father. My wife and I have been enjoying a peaceful existance since her son left for college over two years ago. The empty nest syndrome is not all that bad from our point of view:yes:. Well thursday was my birthday and we were celebrating quietly at home when we received a phone call to break the news that the EX has just passed away at 35 years old:gasp:. Cancer!! What a B-day gift??? How do we ever celebrate that day again with my children knowing their mother died on that day?($&%*...

Needless to say the kids will be coming to live with us now as we are heading to Korea for our next post in July. Given the shock of losing their mother the kids are none to happy about having to move overseas. We are thrilled, anxious, excited and determined that this will be a good experience for all of us considering the new life ahead of us. I love my kids very much, and will do everything possible to make all of our lives the best that it can be:party:. Living in Korea is actually a pretty cool deal. We were there a few years ago and love everything about the living circumstances.

I have several throusand $$$$ tied up in my RC toys and I hope to get the kids involved at a low level for a start:yes:. I am sure it will evolve into a much larger hobby for all of us within a short time:eyes:. The boys are tinkerers of sorts and love the need for speed. So I am sure that we will have loads of fun together:mdr:. Of course this is a great shock to my wife and I and we wanted to share it with everyone merely for the message that you never know what God has in store for you. Do not complain to loudly about the life you have now, because it can change in an instant. We all mourne the loss of my EX because anyone who losses their life at 35 is just a tragety no matter how you look at it. Please say a prayer for all of us.

Any comments are welcome.

an odd situation to be put in, that's for sure.

I can slightly understand the mixed feelings you have about this; you need to support what's yours.

Have the kids always been in Korea? or did they grew up in the US and moved there?

I whish you and your family nothing but the best in Korea.

Life?
 

Hey Serum thanks for the good wishes. I was divorced in Orlando 2000 and we both moved on with our lives. I was remarried in 2004 and moved to Korea due to employment. The EX remarried in 2000 and lived in California. The kids have never been to Korea yet. They came here to Brussels to stay with us Xmas 2006 after a long court battle about visitation. We have spent as much time with them as possible over the last two years since. The whole story has been one big nightmare, but that is all behind us now:lol:.

The plan now is having an emotionally comfortable atmospher for the kids to thrive in. The truth is that we are about Europed out now. Living in Korea is actually pretty cool. The kids will go to an international school at our post. We get free R&R every year at gov expense to travel, and either go site seeing, or visit family at home in the states. Asia is very beautiful and there is so much to see and learn about the culture there. I am retired US Navy so I have been around the world over:party:, and it is nice to get to take advantage of the international traveling adventures, and the price is right. I know at some point we will finally settle down stateside, but until then we want to enjoy the rest of the world on someone elses dime so to speak:whistle:. All in all it is a kind of sad day, but a new begining for us and the kids.:yipi:

That's awful to hear about your ex-wife( although you seem not really sad....!?!?!?1!?!/1wk[).

Happy birth day dude!

Honestly.
 

Thanks Harkock. For the wishes and for the sarcasam. Honestly we have been at odds for years, but alot of it was just jealousy on her part. She wanted to get back together, but I was not interseted after many years of feline(figure of speach) torture. So she was pissed at me for turning her down, and tried everything to make my life rough just to make a point.

Still to err is human, to forgive is devine. I know it sounds corney to some, but I do believe that carma is real. Reap what you sow, what goes around comes around etc. etc. etc..... With all of that said no one deserves to go through the riggers of terminal cancer. She finally retreated near the end, and called a truce so to speak. She realized that she needed to fix all the damage that she created, and began to help recover my relatinship with the kids for their best interest. In turn I for gave her. I think she was kind of blaming me for her illness through the last 4 years. She had to take it out on someone I guess. I really do believe that if you lead a shameful disrespectful life that it will come back on you some way some how either here or in the next life:na:.

My condolences for your loss. I think its great that you and your wife are doing this with open arms. I know its going to be tough for your kids at first, but as long as they know they have someone to count on, things will work out.

Korea is a pretty interesting country. What city are you going to live in? My brother and parents live in Seoul (military contractors/civilian), so I visit them once a year. Seoul is a great city. Jerry, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. It's larger and more densely populated than New York, with more neon than Las Vegas (seriously). You can pretty much find anything in Seoul, and often times the cool electronics come out a full generation ahead of what we have stateside. The subway system is fast, efficient and CLEAN! and there is virtually no violent crime. Seoul is one of the safest big cities to live in.... except for the drivers :lol:. Just take the subway, and stay off the streets... lol... j/k... Its not as bad as I make it out to be.

There's also a lot a fun things to do when you just want to slow down. You can go hiking, sightseeing, visit a 900 year old budhist temple, tons of shopping for the wife and daughter, and my favorite.... go-karting right next to the DMZ. It sounds totally wacko, but there is a go-kart track right next to the demilitarized zone. You can see it on your way to the museum/lookout.

Now on to the r/c side of things. Korea's r/c scene is well established, but like anywhere else, you have do some searching since its a small industry compared to everything else out there. Its home to Academy, Atech, Enerland, Kokam, Hitec, Sky & Tech (Quark), and others. The hobby shops there also carry a lot of Kyosho and Tamiya stuff. I'm sure people there would love to see some 1/8th scale conversions. You'd probably draw a crowd.

Good luck to you in your new life.

I have to include two more pics from my last trip there in 2006.

1) look closely and put your mind in the gutter. Then you'll understand.

2) That's what they call me over in Seoul. :great:... (its actually the name of a restaurant I ate at).

My gf often calls me immature, but I don't see it...

Thanks
 

Thank you RSCHOI. You are right on the money with that one. We will live on Youngson Army base in Seoul. Our housing area is on top of the hill above the commissary. I did not know about the RC community there, but I am hoping to start something up at the base there. Plus if Quark is there, then maybe I can get better pricing on the 125B and others. All of my collection is E-SuperMaxx's. I wanted to get really good with these before begining something in a new style vehicle. I was thinking about doing a conversion with a Hellfire, and we have some helis that I have to learn how to fly as well.

Maybe we can race on your next visit to Seoul. As for the kids well I really got lucky with meeting my wife. She is so sweet and she really works hard to make sure that I am comfortable and happy. So returning the favor is much easier. We never argue about anything. It is just unbelievable after having such bad luck with past relationships. So the kids are in for something that they are not used to. Peace and happiness. Your right though it will take a little time for them to get used to that kind of harmony, but then we hope to see a peacefull household. Thanks for the good wishes.

B-day
 

Hey Harlock happy birthday to you to:party:. I just saw that you had a birthday this month as well. The big 50 will be next year for me. It was funny though. My wife did not have time to get the right candles so she put the 48 on the cake again this year. I asked if she is trying to keep me young? We had a good laugh:rofl:.

Well, happy birthday I suppose. Life is strange sometimes, but you have a fresh start ahead of you, so hopefully things will work out well. Korea has abig crawling scene I believe in RC, so you should have a good time there.

Forward...
 

We are actually very much looking forward to the move, and starting fresh with the kids in tow. We know that it wil be hard for them at first, but within a year they should be pretty well adjusted to the life we will live there. New friends, new school, new everything.:lol:

I have a few buddies that have been stationed in Korea. They all like it. They also tell me R/C is everywhere. Good luck.

Cool
 

We were actually there a few years ago and lived on the base there (Youngson), and now we are returning. I was not involved in the RC community at that time so I had no idea of the things available there for our hobby. Life is funny some times.

We actually got some good news yesterday. The State Department is flying me home to deal with everything and to get things in order for the kids to join us. The bad news is that my EX's husband (7 years) is already causing problems with the family and scaring the kids with threats of fighting for custody and suing me for childsupport:gasp:. What a total wack job:na:. We undestand his grief, but he hasn't a leg to stand on, nor the brains to see that he is a loser:diablo:. So wish me luck with this situation.

I don't know if you guys heard, but Mavrick posted on UE that he is having some family issues as well right now. I think it is his nephew that is having seziers. Check it out if you have any medical help/advice to lend them:lol:.

Good luck Jerry. I wish the adults would realize the crap they stir is really affecting the children more than the adults they intend to hurt. This is a big life change you you and your wife for sure, but I think it's huge for the kids. When my father died of cancer, I know my life changed quite a bit.... similar but different situation.... I now have a mother and sister to care for. My sister is a sweetheart, but though older than I, will remain a young child for the rest of her life in terms of learning.

Nobody should talk bad about the kids mother now. Let the kids have just good memories and let mom rest in peace. Karma is a funny thing, and it's ever present. How we act and what we do always has karma. I am a firm believer in it.
cheers

Jerry,
We may not being seeing the whole situation but just from reading your posts for that last while I think your kids will be better than fine. Your a straight and level headed guy. It seems to me that having your kids will do wonders not only for the kids but for you and the wife. I know the joy my son brings to my life and you will now have 3 again. Way to go Dad!!:yipi::yipi::yipi:

Thanks.
 

Hey thanks for the vote of confidence Hicloryhead. We are both pretty wound up about all of this, and it has been a very long time coming. When she left with the kids 7 years ago I was devistated. I have missed my kids so much and they have grown and changed so much in that time, it has been very hard to not have them close to me. Now we have to start fresh and try to build the best relationship that we can. I sure hope to be able to share as much as I possibly can with the three of them so they can adjust and become not just good kids, but strong respectful young adults as well. I am lucky enough now to have a wife who is not just very loving. but extremely supportive of this situation. We spoke of this day back in 2003, before we were married, and We knew then that this day would come eventually.

I arrived in California last night and the funeral is this morning at 1030. The family is happy that I was able to make it in time for the services. Her husband is already stiring up trouble and making noise with the family about fighting for custody and suing me for support. I am just waiting for the emergency custody order to come from the court system in Florida where the jurisdiction is. Lord please give me strength to be humble. I have very little patients for stupid or ignorant people, and he fits that bill more than you could imagine.:diablo: I will be back here for an update as things progress. Thanks again guys for the good words of support.:lol:

Update
 

Well the funeral was held yesterday for the EX and it was a very lovely event. I was very surprized afterwards when people I have never met came up to me with condolences and praise for me from information that she had shared with them about me. Everyone knew who I was and they were well aware that the children were about to move with us to Korea. there was scepitcisum about Korea, but most were very supportive and excited for the children begining a new life with their father:lol:.

The kids are doing ok considering the cercumstances, and we are allowing them to stay with family to finish the school year there, and then we will pick them up in July for our journey to the Asian community to begin our new lives together. There was alot of drama with those who live in the theatrical world of fantasy, but the general feel is that the children are going to the rightful place for their best interest, which is with me:rules::angel:. This is only the begining of our journey and there are a lot of miles to cover before we are settled down in our new home. There is still chatter from a few family friends and family members of battles for custody:gasp:, but we can only pray that they will come to their senses and leave well enough alone:angel:. I will be here for two weeks trying to get things settled for the kids and begin making our arrangements for their travels in the Fall. Life goes on:mdr:.

Update 29/feb/08
 

Hey guys I just wanted to stop in and share some info with you all:lol:. There is still a lot of drama going on behind the scenes here, but I feel much better knowing that I am able to be here to get things in order. I was supposed to head back to Brussels tomorrow, but all of the legal paperwork is not completed yet, and there are still people involved here that think they would be better sutied with custody of my children. Some people are just plain nuts. The one person that I was most worried about was the step father. It ends up that he is the one who is lending the most support in getting things done smoothly, and he has even been inspired to regain custody of his own daughter thorugh all of this:rules:.

It seems that the EX had one very close friend:diablo: who managed to get her to sign a will under medication giving her control of her estate as well as custody of the kids. Of course I have priority in the sceme of things:na:, but she is lying in wait for me to leave the area so she can launch her plan:gasp:. We are signing over temporary custody to the family until the kids finish out the school year here for their own benefit, before moving them with us to Korea where they will attend an international school. Still I have to wait for the legal system to roll its very slow wheels of justice in order for me to regain sole custody of the children so that there is nothing anyone can do from that point on:mdr:. What a mess.

All in all though things are going well and I am confident that this will all finish in the favor of the kids, & our new family. I have been going through counselling with the kids & they are now very excited about the changes going on in their lives. Losing their Mother is quite a shock, but they are doing well, and their mother's family is in full support of what we are doing here. We thank all of you for the words of support and advice. I will stop in again soon to update on the outcome. Have a great day guys & girls.:yipi:

Update 23/march
 

Hey fellas. Well I returned home to Brussesl, Belgium yesterday morning after spending approx 6 weeks in the San Francisco area with my kids. I was honestly expecting things to be a lost worse then it turned out. There were a few people hell bent on casuing trouble for me up front, but once everyone actaully got to know me and what I am about opinions changed. You know how it is when two people split. He said She said. Well the EX had painted somewhat of a tainted picture of me to everyone in an attempt at trying to cover up her own short commings. Her husband thought I was some kind of nut job through the stories that were being told.

Anyway that has all changed now and their view of me is much better. I kept my cool through everything and managed to keep the piece between everyone involved in this. It turns out that most of the trouble was going on between her husband and the family and friends. So I was the golden child throughout this ordeal. My kids are doing well and now have a new perspective of their future with my wife and I. For now we have allowed the kids to stay in California with their grand parents so they can finish out the school year and grieve with all of their mothers family at their side. We will pick them up in July and move to Seoul, Korea with them for our next posting. Life is looking much better for them now and the family surrounding them is much more supportive towards the whole situation. Positive thinking promotes positive results. Life is good.:lol:

Update July 2008
 

Hey guys I just thought I would touch on this thread and update where we are in all of this. We finally received a court order for sole custody (this week) and we have departed from Brussels. We spent a few days in DC during the 4th holiday. We had to stop in Vegas for a few days for our final rest and relaxation as a couple, and now we are in San Francisco getting the kids ready for the move to Korea. The kids are doing great and they are so pumpped up about the changes. It is great to see them smiling again.

Sounds good. Glad to hear things have worked out.

Glad to hear that too. Good luck w/ the move.

I dont know weather to be sorry or happy so... BEST OF LUCK :D :lol: :yipi:

Update 02/sept/08
 

Hey guys things are getting better every day. We arrived in Seoul, Korea 07/Aug/08 and have moved into our new home. Since we had been here before a lot of the support staff remember us, and they are super nice and supportive to our need and requests. The Goverment gave us a 6 bedroom home that has just been completely renovated. THis place is huge. Too bad it is only for 3 to 4 years. Anyway we are still awaiting our household goods shipment to come in from Brussels, Belgium, but it should be here by the end of the month. In the mean time I just had a meeting with the support supervisor about setting up my R/C shop. His team is working on acquiring materials for me to build a 12' kitchen countertop with cabinets into the maids quaters, since we will not need a maid. I will be happy to post up some photos on the "show your shop" thread once it has been completed. The boys and I are getting excited and a bit anxious about getting set up and moving with our projects.

The kids are doing well, and adjusting to not only living in Korea, but living with us now since the passing of their mother. We have only been here for a few weeks, and we have focused on getting them familiar with the base, but we have plans on taking them out and about once we have our home settled. They are anxious to see and learn about the Korean people and their way of life. I have already received invitations to a couple of the local R/C tracks, but we are waiting until we have toys to play with before we go. LIFE IS GOOD.:party::yipi:

its always good to hear good news, throw up some pics of the workshop when you get it lined out.

Glad your adventure has settled into your new part of the world. Been following along with your posts and being a Maxxman I cant wait to see your collection get updated, sounds like you have some sick stuff that I need to see. I hope your kids are doing great with the move, I know at that age a few years in a foreign country set me up for knowledge and understanding the rest of my life, even though I saw it as torture not having my MTV and twinkies, looking back I wouldnt have it any other way. Hope all fairs well for you all.

Adventure Update Nov/08.
 

Well the adventure just keeps changing as time goes on. Getting settled here in Korea after just getting custody of my kids has been quite a challenge for all of us, but things are going very well. The kids are adjusting to living with us just fine. My wife is wonderful with them, and they are learning to love her. I am much tougher on the kids then my EX ever was. They have a daily routine to follow, plus chores and responsibilities to deal with. So for them life with Dad is harder then they imagined, but I know when the time comes they will be ready for life as an adult. We do not plan to have grown kids living with us into our twilight years. Our other 5 kids (21, 22, 24, 27, & 29)are all grown and living their own lives now, but we have a few more years before we get these kids out of the house (10, 12, & 13).

Unfortunately my wife has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Yes it is quite a shock for everyone, but the good news is that it was detected early and it is still localized (DCIS). This means that it has not spread and can be removed easily. She had to fly back to the USA on Tuesday for surgery, and radiation treatments. That being said our family is now scattered for the Holidays. We are still blessed knowing that things could have been much worse if it had gone on longer without detection. Consistant self examinations are the key. That means for men & women alike.

I am trying this weekend to figure out how to post up photos of my new R/C shop, and the Maxx collection. If anyone can tell me the easiest way please PM me for assistance. I am happy to finally be ready to post up some pics. I have a few already loaded up on the laptop for posting. Thanks in advance guys. God bless and have a wonderful Thankgiving, and joyous Xmas holiday season everyone. We had to put our tree up early so my wife could be here to help before leaving for California.

Hey Jerry, good to hear from you. Hope everything goes well for the wife, so you can have her back quickly!

I would suggest signing up for a photobucket acct. It is free and easy to use. When you want to post pics here just copy and paste the IMG tag located below the pic. That way it will show up as a full sized pic in the post. Can't wait to see the collection, and post some pics of you and the family too, and your house if you can.

All the best to you, hopefully your roller coaster life slows down a bit.

Happy Life.
 

Hey Linc thanks for the assistance and the kind words. Funny you used those words. I was a rollercoaster tech at Universal Orlando for nearly 7 years after retiring from the Navy when I met my wife. Yea life sure does keep us going up and down. I am going to try setting things up for the photos today. I'm sure that my collection is nothing compared to that million$$$$ collection of yours, but I am very proud of my work and the shop has turned out pretty good as well. I have a lot of parts comming in next week so I hope to get some projects completed very soon. The boys have been patiently waiting on me so they can get started on building their Maxx trucks. Anyway thanks linc and hopefully I will have some photos posted up soon.:lol:

Definately looking forward to the pics!

And give my best to the wife. I am sure that I speak for all of us here by saying that I hope she has a speedy and painless (as much as possible) recovery.

Wow! Life certainly is an adventure. I wish you luck, strength, and blessings regarding the many facets of your situation. Your younger ones will surely appreciate what you are doing for them.

Looking forward to the pics! If you need help and have a decent internet connection, I can probably help you via Cisco MeetingPlace. Just let me know.

Hey Jerry,

Great to hear everything is working out for you and your family. Sorry to hear about your wife, but luckily it was caught when it was. Wish you all the best and your wife a speedy recovery! Oh, and the time seems to be getting near that we all get to see the 'JERRY2KONE SUPERMAXX' :mdr:

jordan

Working On It.
 

Hey thanks Jordan. I opened up an account with Photobuket, and uploaded a crap load of pics. How do I get them from there to RCM now??? Thanks for the kind words about the wife. I am confident that everything will work out just fine.

No worries. As for uploading, under the picture there should be 4 different rows, just click on the IMG row (the bottom one) and it should say copied. Then just paste that address into your post and it should show up as a pic.

photobucket just changed that...you need to scroll over the pic with your mouse for the 4 rows to show up.

Jerry, sorry to hear about your family's predicament. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers. God bless.

Thanks.
 

Thanks guys for the kind words of support and prayers. Even with such bad news we still feel lucky, because there are so many more people who are in even worse situations around the world. We think of all the soldiers and their families who are misplaced right now due to world turmoil because of terrorism. Even with the state of our economy we are lucky to have a stronghold with jobs in the US State Dept, and penssions to carry us through until things recover. So even though we are battling illness and seperation we feel very blessed to have the life that we have. Being involved in teh R/C hobby and getting to communicate with the people on RCM is awesome.

I will have to jump back onto this photo issue later on this evening as I am taking the kids to go see the new 007 movie right now. I will be back later on, and I will figure it out one way or another. Thanks again for everything guys.:lol: