A Singapore Day

Whew! I had a frustrating day today which a friend told me is called a "Singapore Day." She also said that there are more to come:( It started with my sending an SMS (text message) to Ryan that said "I love you and am thinking of you today." I realized an hour later that I had sent it to another person - someone we met through a friend. How embarrassing! I called him and left a message saying, "I'm SO sorry - you probably think that I'm the most forward person you have ever met!" Thankfully he called back and said that he realized I had sent that message to the wrong person. Shrink, shrink! Anyway, I tried to meet one of Kenton's room moms this morning at Starbucks and was at the wrong one - I found out that there are four Starbucks in one shopping complex - and paid a taxi fare that was twice what I expected just to get there. After coffee I needed to head up to the school and decided the MRT would be the cheapest way. The mom I met for coffee advised me to take a taxi over to the MRT but I decided that since I could see the station from where I was I would just walk - I should have listened to her! After walking, and walking, and walking and going up and down 10 different escalators - no lifts were to be found - and backtracking like crazy, I finally arrived there. By this time I knew I was seriously late in meeting the next person so I called and told her I would be late. She said that she would just pick me up at the MRT - but I got off at the wrong MRT. ARGGHH! That's when I was informed that I was having a "Singapore Day!" It didn't end there but I won't bore you with anymore details...just suffice it to say that we are going out for supper tonight and than to bed early! Tomorrow's another day:)

On a happier note we went to the Singapore Botanical Gardens yesterday with our new friend Gina. I have posted a few pictures below!

Gina and Ethan became instant friends:)

We stopped behind a waterfall (man made) for a few minutes of cool! The umbrella's have been needed as much for shade from the sun as they have for the rain.

I FOUND A WAL-MART!!!!

Well, it's the European version - Carrefour - and it's not quite as big but it's the first one stop shopping that I've seen since we got here!

Ummmm...

One might wonder how a 5 year old got out of the house this am with her PE shirt on backwards...than again is WAS before 7am...

MRT

Ethan and I had a high adventure today! I took a taxi up to SAS this morning to meet with Kaitlyn's teacher and to go to the PTA new parent welcome. I paid about S$23 for the fare up there - now I had a problem - I didn't have enough cash to get home as I was expecting the fare to be S$20 or less each way. I couldn't find an ATM so I decided to find an alternate way home. You can use a credit card but there is an extra fee attached (of course!) Anyway, I ended up walking about 10 minutes to a bus stop which took me to the nearest MRT (Train/Subway) station. Ryan had bought me an EZLink card last week for that purpose. I found the correct train that would take me to Dhoby Ghaut where I would need to catch a second train. On the second train I was able to get off at Clark Quay and walk about 10 minutes home. I didn't time the ride but I'd say that total it's about 30 minutes (not counting walking and bus.) It was stressful for the first 10 minutes because Ethan was screaming - I knew that he had a bad diaper rash but there was NOTHING I could do about it right than - I felt so bad. Most people had looks on their faces like, "Oh Great!" A few were nice and smiled! I was feeling really self conscious between that and being the ONLY Caucasian aboard when a woman and two children boarded. They were really nice and wanted to know all about where I was from and Ethan. God knew when to send someone so I didn't feel like a complete outsider! The EZLink card is really easy to use - you swipe it over a reader when you board a bus and when you get off and when you enter a train station and when you leave at your last stop. Guess what my total fare home was? Around S$2.00!! It's a little longer but MUCH cheaper so guess what I'm using from now on when I can?

:)

Just a funny note: Ethan likes to watch this video and he repeats sound for sound everything he hears! It's hilarious to see him get a kick out of watching himself and "talking back!" - especially the tongue clicking in the middle of the video:)

More On CNY

The following is quoted from Living in Singapore, A Reference Guide by the American Association of Singapore.

"Depending on the lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon and has 354 days, except during leap years, Chinese New Year falls sometime between January 21 and February 19, each year. The new year is greeted with much rejoicing and celebrations continue for 15 days. For many days prior to CNY's Day families are busy cleaning and decorating their homes and shopping for special foods such as waxed ducks, Chinese sausages, fresh fish, barbequed pork, mandarin oranges, and traditional cakes and biscuits.

"On CNY's Eve the very important main event is the family reunion dinner. After dinner parents give their children red packets or "hong bao," which contain money. It is considered good luck for the children to stay up late to herald in the new year ith their parents.

"CNY's Day is a time to reaffirm ties with family and friends. Some also offer prayers to deities and ancestors. The first two days of the 15 day celebration are spent visiting relatives and feasting. For this happy, festive occasion people wear new clothes in auspicious colors such as red, pink, or gold.

"Red scrolls and banners bearing the greeting, "Gong Xi Fa Cai," which means, "Wishing You Great Prosperity," decorate homes and businesses. Many households bear a sign with the Chinese character "Fu," which means "Luck." It may be hung upside down in the belief that good luck will come upon the household. As gestures of good luck children and unmarried people receive "hong bao" from married, older poeple. Mandarin oranges, which symbolize completeness and good fortune, are exchanged between hosts and guests. Both the money and mandarins are given in even numbers for good luck.

"During this time unlucky words are not spoken and brooms are not used to avoid sweeping away good luck. While most people in Singapore resume business on the third day, which is considered unlucky for visiting, festivities continue until Chap Goh Mei, the fifteenth night. Special dishes are served throughout the fesetival including "yu sheng," a raw fish salad which symbolizes prosperity and abundance.

"Towards the end of the celebration the colorful and popular Chingay Procession of floats, marching bands and cultural dances is held. Chingay means the art of masquerading. The parade has been held annually since the early 1970's andis now televised live. It is quite a spectacular, muliticultural celebration.

"The Chinese lunar calendar is a sixty-year cycle. Years have names that are repeated every 60 years. Each year is represented by one of 12 animals, which, much like the Western zodiac, is said to influence the life and character of the people born during that year. Legend is that the Buddha called all animals together one new year and, as a reward, a year was named after the first twelve animals to arrive. The years fall in the order the animals appeared."
*************************************************************************************
As in interesting side note this is the order of the animals, "Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar." I'm guessing that if you visit a Chinese restaurant around CNY this year you will see the red decorations and maybe the signs for good luck and prosperity...order some stir fry and think of us:) BTW: Some of the traditions mentioned above are probably unique to Singapore like the parade and the businesses being re-opened on the third day. I'm wondering if in China it's different.

The Year Of The Rat...Coming Soon!

Tomorrow I'm going to post an explanation about the upcoming Chinese New Year. In the meantime here is what we have learned so far - this coming year will be the year of the Rat - according to the Chinese it's a good year to start a new job...YEA for us! You are also supposed to "spring clean" your home in preparation for CNY - a clean house, a clean beginning for the new year. You are not supposed to lose anything on the first day of the New Year - if you do, you are supposed to ignore the fact that you lost it and look for it some other time...this may prove to be a problem with the rate that Ethan loses his NUK every day! You also are not supposed to sweep your house on the seventh day as that means that you are sweeping away your good luck - I figure, hey! Any reason to get out of housework works for me! Also, CNY lasts for 14 days!! Singapore shuts down for the first three days with some business's re-opening on the fourth. This is going to completely impede our move in date, by the way! Ryan's boss told us that CNY is essentially a family reuniting time for the Chinese so there's not much in it for us...I'm seeing a four day VACATION ahead!! Maybe we'll go to Malaysia...;)

Clark Quay

Yesterday evening we walked around Clark Quay - it is to the East of here.

The twins in their SAS uniforms. They also have a special uniform for PE days. Kaitlyn and Kenton rode their scooters - there tends to be less complaining on walks when we let them take their scooters! Thanks Weiss Aunts and Uncles!

Kenton actually wanted his picture taken by himself! First time for everything, I suppose!
This is UE Square where our serviced apartment is. There is also a shopping mall, businesses, restuarants and condos in the same complex.
If you click on the picture to make it bigger you will see the sign that says "Park Avenue Suites" Directly above that is a roof top terrace. We are the first floor up from the terrace and we face east, south, and west (I think.) I've never been directionally challenged but I'm having a hard time figuring out where things are around here! Thankfully I can hop in a cab and they know where to go and how to get back:)


I went to the American Club for lunch today with Kaitlyn's room moms. It was nice as they were able to answer a lot of my questions about where to find things. They need one more person for a scrapbooking class they want to take so I volunteered:) Nothing like a little motivation to actually get caught up on some of my books! It's one of my goals while I'm here - Finish Kenton's baby book (all I really have to do is copy Kaitlyn's pictures from her book), Start Ethan's book, catch up our vacation scrapbook, and start one for our time here. I bought a Creative Memories album before we left so hopefully I can get to work on it when our shipment arrives:)

Ethan's sleeping now so I'm trying to get a few things caught up before the twins come home from school - somehow there are never enough hours in the day no matter where you live!


The video was taken outside our hotel entrance. It's a covered atrium of sorts.

Thanks for the singing, KC! Sorry that Skype didn't work out for the Bible Study and to visit...maybe next time:)

A Day On The Beach - But I Won't Rub It In:)

We went exploring this afternoon and found ourselves at East Coast Beach. It is more of a recreational park - we saw very few swimsuits. There are biking trails and walking trails. There are also roller blade rental shops all over the place along with many restaurants and little shops. We saw quite a few tents up and aren't sure if they are there for the day or if they actually camp there during the night. True to form I thought that camping sounded like fun while my better half wasn't so sure!

A view of the beach

Kenton got to work building a sand castle - notice the subtle advertising for McD's in the background. Considering that it is far from the adults in the family's favorite restaurant we find ourselves there quite often!
There were a few men flying kites along the beach. Since there is a constant coastal breeze this works well.
Ethan hops a ride on Daddy!
Okay, this next one made me laugh! Instead of a drive through on the beach they have a "Skate-Thru" You actually skate in there to a special counter and order and than skate back out!
The skyline you see in the background is downtown Singapore.
As Chinese New Year is approaching we are starting to see red Chinese lanterns everywhere. Tonight when we returned to our apartment there were fireworks going off - right in the middle of the city in between buildings. We've never seen anything quite like it. I'm guessing the Chinese New Year will bring a lot more displays of fireworks!

Ethan is experiencing the sand for the first time! If it works I'm uploading a video of him walking in the sand for the first time.
:)
This was the look on his face when we put him down on the sand for the first time! Not the twins' reactions! If I think of it sometime I will post the pictures of them in the sand - they held their feet out of it!!
Taking a break to watch all the ships coming into the harbor. Singapore is a huge shipping port.
Little shops were set up at various places selling everything from underwear (yes, underwear) to towels, to beach toys, to sunglasses and purses.

This was taken on the walking trail a little ways off the beach. If you get away from the touristy area this is what you find.
This is one of the many bike and roller blade rental shops that we saw. It was funny to watch people - they all share the same trail and I saw one little girl on a bike suddenly turn around and a man roller blading behind her had to do some quick maneuvering to keep from colliding! Good thing that it wasn't me on the skates or it wouldn't have ended so well:) This video is mostly for the grandparents...This is the easiest way to get videos to them. Ethan made two friends today which you will see...One was Ronald McDonald - he kept walking over to him and smiling up at him. The other was a little boy who earlier at the "race track" was playing peek-a-boo with him!

I was able to find a place to print photos last evening. Kaitlyn needed two pictures for school today - one when she was a baby and one from now. Thankfully I have a lot of pictures on our computer or she may not have had any baby pictures for the project.

Slowly but surely I'm finding most of what I need. I don't know if I mentioned the other day that I finally found a store that carries office supplies - it was tucked inside a book store and I NEVER would have looked there! I also found a bigger grocery store in that same mall - more choices, same prices. I found a box of Lucky Charms as a surprise for the twins - they are stale but the kids don't seem to mind! I was pleasantly surprised today when we opened a box of Wheatables from the same store that they are still fresh! That's a plus over here where the humidity is usually 70% or higher. The average rain fall for January is 7.8 inches - compare that to an average of 1.2 for Kansas city in the same month!

Kenton is home from school sick this morning and as you can see Ethan's thrilled that his buddy is home! I can't keep him away from Kenton so I'm praying that he doesn't get sick as well! He never sits on the couch when he's home by himself:) As you can see, Kenton is mad at me because I won't let him eat! That's the hardest part of the flu, I think!

Kenton's been into drawing Bengal Tigers lately:) Thought I'd share some of his recent art work! I like how they are smiling - are they looking at me thinking, "Lunch!"???


The video is from Ryan's recent trip to Macau up by China. He was there for the Adhesive Group's annual business meeting. He said that he was 6 stories up in the hotel and the water from the fountain was at least eye level with him at times! It is set to music which you may not be able to hear. He said that Macau was a lot like Las Vegas - just the China version. I think that he'll post his experiences for us sometime over the weekend:)

Success!

I was able to successfully call into two services in the past 12 hours without a hitch in Skype - amazing since it routinely drops my calls! It was so nice to be able to listen live:)

School Update

I'm happy to report that both twins are doing well so far with school. They both slipped into the new routine and school without any trouble and told me ALL about it when they arrived home today! There was a moment of brief panic when I realized that I didn't know exactly where they were to be dropped off and I saw buses flying by EVERYwhere. I learned that is what the helper on the bus is for...she spotted me standing on a corner looking around frantically and brought the twins safely to me:) We made it inside right before a Singapore Soaker hit!! (Complete with lightening and thunder:)

More Pictures!

Finally I have some more pictures!

This is a view along the Singapore looking towards the ocean and the shipping harbor. You can see a huge Ferris wheel in the background - not sure that I want to go up that high...

This is Robertson Quay (pronounced "key") which is just across the street from our apartment. It contains many restaurants and shops and follows the Singapore River.
This is where we sit and talk to you over Skype and e-mail:) Just so you can picture us!
Ethan's enjoying his stroll along Robertson Quay! The Singapore River is behind him.
The financial district of Singapore is behind Ethan and I.
Kaitlyn and Kenton with their new scooters. When they start walking to school in February these will be a lifesaver! This was the first day out and when Kenton tried turning around too fast he wiped out. I was afraid at first that he had broken his knee but he just bruised it up a little.
Kaitlyn FINALLY got to put together her easel and draw on it! This was THE highlight of her week last week - we have gotten our money's worth out of it already, I'd say! Can you guess where we ate lunch that day??
Kaitlyn taking a break with her scooter.

Today is their first full day of kindergarten! I was a little more nervous than they were because they spend a full hour each way on the bus. They got on at 6:53am this morning (this is hard for the mom who normally doesn't have to see this side of 8 am!) and won't return home until 4:03pm - quite the long day! There was another little boy waiting at the bus stop this morning along with some other children so I think that helped Kenton. He was more nervous last night than he was this morning. I wanted to take a picture of them in their new uniforms but Ryan has the camera...maybe later this week:) They have one uniform for regular school days and one that they wear on days when they have PE. Our school sells a miniature version of both uniforms specifically for the American Girl dolls! They are cute:)

As I'm typing this Kenton's teacher called with a report on how his day is going! I'm so thankful to hear that he's doing well and seems to be making friends - this should help him to want to go back! She said that he held back at first but when he saw that the other boys in the class were all wanting to be the one to be his "buddy" for the day he relaxed a little. Hopefully Kaitlyn's day is going well, too. I noticed yesterday that when the teacher picked one of the little girls to be her "buddy" for today the rest of the class groaned in disappointment that they weren't picked! That should help them both to feel at home - I'm thankful that kindergartners are open to new friends and don't have "cliques" formed yet:) God provides yet again!!

In Loving Memory of A. Sandy. We will miss your constant smile and your positive outlook on life!!!

We love you , U. Larry and A. Sandy, and continue to lift you up in our thoughts and prayers even though we can't be there physically!!! You would love Singapore, A. Sandy! You were right - it's "awesome"!

Yuuummmm! - Oh and Brian's back!

I discovered tonight that if you take Australian beef and add salt, pepper, onion, lots of cream of chicken soup and sour cream you hide the taste of the beef:) I suppose that also defeats the purpose of eating meat but it worked for me! The twins kept saying, "This tastes like Kansas!" I also found out today why it tastes different. I met someone from Australia today while the kids were swimming that told me the beef is grass fed instead of grain fed...she actually doesn't like the taste of grain fed beef...imagine that! :)

One thing this woman also clued me in on which I had already seen to some extent is how the Asians will stop in the street to touch and talk to your baby. She said they especially like little boys. BUT, it's not okay to do the same to their children! She said that sometimes you need to ask them to back off. She also said that they have ended up in a lot of pictures with Asians as they seem to think that we are something to take a picture with - like a scenic view! So different than back home! Can you imagine walking up to someone who looks different than you saying, "Can we have our picture taken with you?" Puts you on celebrity status, I suppose!

I got a "hand phone" yesterday evening so now I can call Ryan when I'm out and about and I'm lost! It's cheaper than the US even though they charge extra for caller ID and voice mail. I've already got about 5 people in my address book:)

What I have to say next will only mean something to those of you who were at our wedding when I almost married "Brian"! The flowers we received the other day were addressed to "Brian and Becky" and our Realtor sent an e-mail earlier to "Brian" - So I've concluded that it must have been "Brian" that I moved over here with! He has popped up every once in awhile during our (almost) 10 years of marriage!!

Any Takers?

We have some Northwest Airlines miles that we can redeem for a $900 discount off of one round trip ticket bringing the price down to $618 if anyone is interested. It has to be used by March 6th...There's one other condition - you would need to be willing to bring me a suitcase full of things we can't purchase here:) The ticket needs to be purchased before Feb 16th so if anyone knows of someone who would be interested in a trip to Singapore have them contact us ASAP. We can offer that the trip will be all expenses paid once you are actually here - lodging, food, and entertainment are all on us!!

$6/lb???

Today was a crazy busy day so I apologize that I didn't get anyone called! I did try to catch up on a few e-mails while you were all sleeping but only had so much time - sorry if I haven't gotten to yours yet! For those who keep asking about our home phone - I fried our router and we haven't had time to figure out how to get a new one...Sorry!

We started off the day going to the Hong Kong Bank of Singapore to set up our accounts. We were able to take a bus straight there but had trouble getting a bus back. After we walked to the second bus stop and were looking at a map a nice man asked if we needed help and pointed out that we were only about a 5 minute walk back to our apartment! It was a nice walk and the good thing is that Kaitlyn and Ethan were ready for naps when we got back. True to form, since he was 2 years old, Kenton continues to resist naps even when he's falling asleep on his feet!! I was able to get in a short nap before a storm woke up Ethan and sent Kenton running into my room. It rained most of last night and quite a bit during the day today. We experienced our first thunderstorm but it was kind of a dud compared to the Midwestern whoppers! The twins think that it's so much fun to use umbrellas - we'll see if they still feel that way when we leave here:)

Later in the afternoon I made a trip to Cold Storage - the local grocery store that caters (kind of) to expats. I think that they cater more towards Europeans as there are more of them here than us. I was able to find an El Paso taco kit - and paid $6 US a pound for ground beef!! It was from Australia but it still tastes Asian. Thankfully the taco box told me exactly how much meat was needed - 500 Grams - or I wouldn't have had a clue what to tell the lady behind the meat counter what I needed! El Paso tacos here also come from Australia - isn't that a US brand? I noticed that Coca Cola is made in Singapore and Kellogg's cereal is made somewhere in Asia as well. That explains why it tastes different even though it looks the same:) I suppose we'll get used to it and come back to the US and think everything there tastes different. I'm compiling quite the list of things that I'm going to stock up during our next trip home. Or maybe someone who is coming to visit will be kind enough to bring some in their suitcase:)

We ended our day with more apartment shopping. We viewed two that are within walking distance of the Singapore American School - both were quite nice. We also went back through two - one from yesterday and one from Saturday that we also think will work. We're narrowing it down and will hopefully have come to a decision by morning! We are working on a list of pros and cons...

Anyway, I'd better post this before it gets much longer! I'm heading to bed as we've been having early mornings with the kiddos. That won't change as the bus is picking them up next week at 6:45am!!! I think that's crazy early for Kindergartners but there really isn't any other way to get them there - thankfully it's only until February when we can move into our new home.

WOW!!!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for the flowers!!! It was so nice to come home from a frustrating apartment search and see such a cheery arrangement sitting on our table! How did you manage to do it?!?

Squares or Triangles?

I grew up with my mom cutting my sandwiches into rectangles or squares. And I always wished she would cut them into triangles as that looked so much more fun! So ever since the twins starting eating PBJ's I've been cutting them into triangles thinking that was a way more fun way to eat them. Today they complained that they want them cut into rectangles instead! I guess that I will continue to torture them with triangles and when they are old enough they can cut them into squares:) Maybe I'll post a new survey about this:)

ON to our day! Quite the day it's been so far and it's only 4:30pm!! It started with the twins waking up EARLY which I guess they need to get into the habit of doing anyway. The upside is that I can call family and catch them all late afternoon/early evening:) Than our shipment came at 10:30am which was exciting - until I started thinking "Why on EARTH did we ship this??? Where are we going to put THAT??" I guess you never know going into something what to expect so I keep telling myself that we did the best we could:) THAN, I decided to get our Vonage router hooked up so we could start using our home phone number again - well, I plugged it in and than "POP!!" and smoke. I tripped the breaker for the whole apartment and blew the router. I promised Ryan that will be the last time I will plug in something new without first checking with him on the proper way to use converters.

It took some doing before I finally got someone up here to fix the electric problem. Next the kids and I headed to Ikea for a few things. I discovered that they have a lot of "things" but very few of them were actually what I needed! I did get some hangers, a few plastic storage boxes, and a tool kit so we can assemble one of Kait's Christmas gifts that came today. Now, to figure out where to get batteries, a laundry basket, a cheap fan, and a bottle washer. I have all those coming in our sea pack that won't be until the first week of February.

We're mostly unpacked and settled in now - I need to finish unpacking the kids' clothes and than we'll be good until it's time to pack up and start all over at our "permanent" place:)

Kids Sleeping EVERYWHERE!

Last night (Saturday evening) after a long day apartment hunting all three kids fell asleep in various spots! Kait fell asleep in a chair which doesn't look very comfortable! I'm pretty sure my back would give me trouble if I tried to fall asleep this way:)

Ethan fell asleep in Daddy's arms! What a better way to end the day? He fell asleep at 4pm for what was supposed to be a nap and slept through until 4 am and was ready to be awake for the day! We tried to wake him during the evening but you can see the result of that below!
We were given an extra cot for the twins but some things never change! They prefer to share a bed still:) I'm not arguing with that as I know that those days are numbered.
Ethan in one of his happier moments. He's been a little pistol - getting into absolutely everything! He's been much more a "boy" than Kenton was - this evening he was sitting on the couch with Ryan whacking him over the head with a toy.
Kenton was sitting at the table playing (where K & K have both learned they need to be to stay out of Ethan's reach) when Ethan decided to "talk" to Kenton. They went on this way for quite awhile!

The Missing Has Been Found!!!

I'm overjoyed to announce that our missing luggage arrived this afternoon right as we were finishing up church services! It was like Christmas digging through them:) Of all the bags that were lost they were the two that we needed the most. I asked the twins today if they realized that God had answered our prayers that our luggage would be found:) BTW: They were routed through Hong Kong - I'm not sure why but I saved the tag from the bags! Thought that would make for an interesting scrapbook page - our luggage went to China!

One thing in those bags were all the Bath and Body Works soaps that I stocked up on before leaving home - it's so nice to have them sitting next to our sinks as a reminder of home:)

We had Sunday School this morning followed by a visit with brothers and sisters from KC over Skype. They were at a singing so we were able to visit a little before we listened to a sermon. We were so blessed to be able to experience fellowship during our first Sunday away from home! God is good!

It's been nice to spend today as a family without any worldly interruptions! After church the twins and Ryan went swimming for awhile and than took a walk. The rain drove them back home - we need umbrellas! We're all going out again for another walk after Ethan wakes up from his nap - we haven't had the chance to do a lot of that since arriving here and there are really nice trails close to where we live.

Saturday, 5 January

Here are a few things that we found interesting that we haven't seen in the US.

In our kitchen above the sink is a drying rack for dishes. I think that this is because of limited space. Some of the apartments today that we looked at had them and some had them in other forms.
This is a washing machine and a dryer all in one little machine. Thankfully the apartments have provided an owners manual or I'm sure that I would end up drying my clothes first and than getting them washed!!
This is one of the views from our apartment. It's overlooking the Singapore River and a park area. It's an old area of town that used to be a canning district and ships would bring supplies up and down the river. Now it's a unique shopping and dining area and there are daily boat rides up and down the river for a historical tour.

We went apartment hunting today with all three kids. I don't think that we'll be doing that again soon. The place we are staying provides "professional minders" which basically are babysitters. They come right to your apartment to babysit so I think that we'll hire one for next week. I could have done that today but I felt it was too soon after arriving here to leave the kids with someone they don't know.

There is a grocery store right here by the apartment that's within walking distance. The kitchen is small so we'll be making 4 -5 trips a week to get what we need. It's called "Cold Storage" and you can find a lot of the same things that you can in the US. I haven't really put it to the test by looking for ingredients for a recipe yet:)

Yesterday and today started off cloudy with the sun coming out around 9:00am. It stayed sunny until about 3pm when it rains until about 5 or 6 pm. Our realtor told us that this is usual Singapore weather! Right now it's POURING rain - only one little clap of thunder so far! I'm hoping for a good thunder storm or two!

Well, Ethan is taking a nap and I'm thinking about joining him - we're still working on the time difference:)

Safe and Sound

We just wanted to let everyone know that we made it safely to Singapore! It was pretty uneventful:) I've been reading every one's e-mail but it may take me a little while to answer them. The next few days will be busy as we learn to adjust to the time change and do some shopping for things we need. Thank you for all the prayers! We could most definitely feel them and we're thankful to God that He'll carry us through the next few days!

PS: We arrived at our temporary housing and an hour later were playing hymns for some comfort and familiarity! Thank you Katie!!

Last Blog This Side of the Hemisphere:)

On Sunday we went to Lincoln Park Zoo with Ryan's family and I have tried about 4 times to post a few snowy pictures and can't. Oh Well:) I guess I will have to try again later this week or next week but it won't be the same to be sitting somewhere tropical posting cold, snowy pictures from Chicago!

We changed our e-mail address to weissfamily5@gmail.com for anyone who isn't in my e-mail address book.

We leave tomorrow at noon from O'Hare and will arrive in Singapore at midnight on Thursday night. Ryan has to go into work the next morning (Thursday evening here) to do some paperwork that will allow him to legally work there. We won't be doing much of anything I'm guessing that first day!

Everything's packed and we are ready to go! We are having supper with both families tonight in Morris, IL one last time before we head out. Next post will be from Singapore!!