Singapore: Simple pleasures

Just to share some simple pleasures we have experienced this week.....

What can be more exciting that a genuine construction site, complete with a mini digger, practically right outside our front door?  Jonathan came home from his playtime this morning singing his first original made-up song ....."Digger time!  Digger time!  Baby digger, la, la, la!" 

We took a bus trip (plus a 20 minute walk) to the local library yesterday . It was SO NICE!  Jonathan and I read about ...diggers.  That's another thing I like about being here ....in the U.K and Australia and here, most construction machines are just called "diggers" so I don't have to keep straight the back-hoes, front end loaders, etc, etc.

Oh bliss, there is a small thrift shop in the market block across the street from us!  I stop in briefly every couple of days or so.  Most of the books are in Mandarin chinese, but I've found a few good butter knives, a nice crib toy, and a great pop-up playhouse for Jonathan!

For Dave, a great simple pleasure is simply being able to buy an English newspaper at the corner store and read it while sitting in front of a fan.  Ahhhhh!

Pregnancy update: 37 weeks and honest diabetes rant

It's nice to be under a doctor's care now.  I've been seeing Dr. Irene Chua at Gleneagles Hospital once a week since we arrived.  She's a young glamorous obstetrician but quite sharp and so far we like her well enough.  She's done a quick ultrasound every week, to check on baby brother's growth.  Looks like he'll probably be bigger than his brother and sister were.

(SPOILER ALERT:  some complaining ahead)

Last week the baby gained a whole pound, but I did not gain anything! 

The week previous to that, baby's weight was stable, but I had lost a couple of pounds from the last weighing in Java -- granted it was on a different scale.

Dr Irene has not even mentioned my weight, but is quite pleased with baby's progress.

I just don't think that's fair. I've only gained a whopping 15 pounds so far this pregnancy.   I'm so hungry all the time but all I can eat are small low carb meals that don't satisfy.  We're eating very simply here -- lots of PB&J, scrambled eggs, french toast, milk.  It's a simple kitchen so I haven't been cooking a lot of meat.  There are TONS of eating establishments across the street, but mostly exotic to us and very high carb.  The other day we did get some take out -- the famous Hiannese chicken and rice.  I thought maybe with my Metformin on board, perhaps I could handle it, and ate about 60% of the rice portion.  It was delicious, but my blood sugar shot up to 158 -- almost 40 points above my limit.   Anyhow, after the doctor's appointment this week, we went to the more expensive grocery store and I was happy to find some low sugar jam, genuine Adams peanut butter, and a few other expensive but diabetic friendly snacks.  There is also a nice multi-grain bread here with a low glycemic index, so I've been taking advantage of that -- one slice at a time.   I also am thankful for the good supply of Splenda and Stevia that the grandmas sent in October, so I can have sweetness in my tea and my decaf coffee.  

My doctor would probably put me on insulin if I told her how I really am always hungry ....but I guess I'd rather stick it out on just the pills.  At most it can only be another 3 weeks, right?  Wouldn't it be a shocker if I went overdue!  Then I'd be begging for insulin!

(OKAY, COMPLAINING NOW OFFICIALLY OVER.  Sorry about that.)  

I need to keep reminding myself that it's a wonderful thing this condition can be controlled by diet and still result in a very healthy baby!   And to be thankful how God is shaping my character through this temporary trial.

Other news about the baby:  He's doing well!  At this time in my last 2 pregnancies, I was already effaced and partially dilated.  Here in Singapore they don't do internal checks in the late trimester, so I don't know what's going on down there.  The last ultrasound showed the head is low, but not quite engaged.  I am
having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing to get excited about.

Nonetheless, our hospital bags are packed and we are praying that baby will arrive according to God's perfect timing!  Last night Dave and I had a long talk about baby's name ...I think we are closer, but Dave is prayerfully checking into a few other options. 

Oh yes, Happy New Year!  It's not really on our radar this year, except I wonder how noisy it will be here later tonight?  I think Chinese New Year (in late January) is the bigger holiday for the people here, so maybe we have nothing to worry about. 

Learning to be happy and hungry at the same time! 37+ weeks

"Angel" helpers

Some of you might remember a few months ago, we didn't know WHERE we would be staying in Singapore or how we would pull this off.  We prayed about it day and night, knowing God would provide, but not knowing how.  We now know the answers to those prayers, and are amazed by God's provision really over and above, but different, than what we asked for.   All of you prayed, too.  Today I want to share with you some of the "angels" that God has sent to help us. 

Jonathan with Jojo

This is our precious Jojo, letting Jonathan play with her Ipad.  (She says she has a new one on order, so no matter if it breaks!)  When we were praying for a sponsor for our short term visa, God provided Jojo.  We later found out that in fact we did NOT need a sponsor at all, but Jojo just continued in her commitment to adopt us.  She is the wife of Jonathan, who is the pastor of the Mandarin congregation at Emmanuel Assembly of God where we've been attending.  By profession, she is a nurse, currently only working per diem because of health issues.  She is so bubbly and positive in spirit, at the same time practical and realistic.  She loves to play with Jonathan and has taken him a time or two for a few hours to give me a break.  When Jonathan hears her name he starts jumping up and down and saying "Jojo...church!  Jojo....church!"   She usually takes him to church where there's lots to play with. 

When she learned of our housing needs, she began quietly making a few inquiries -- no announcements in front of church or in the bulletin or anything.  Then, as she said, God sent "angels" to provide in ways that even she didn't imagine.  These angels are just people in the church to whom God gave an impression to help.

T.M, Rosalind, Jojo, little Jonathan, Jenn, Dave, big Pastor Jonathan

The next photo highlights T.M. and Rosalind.  Rosalind has a soft spot in her heart for people who leave their home cultures to serve God away from family and familiarity.  When she heard of our need, she started making housing inquiries.  When the inquiries fizzled, she and her husband T.M. made an offer to Jojo to help pay a portion of our rent -- a large portion actually.  Our jaws dropped when we learned of these complete strangers who wanted to help us like this.  I love it when God makes our jaws drop!  I'm not sure how it all works out, but we are not paying out of our pocket for rent.  

Here again is our sister Gene, a quiet gentle lady who has sacrificed so much for us to move in with her for 2 months.   Since we have moved in, the fridge has died, the doorknob broken, lightbulbs have burned out, the pot got scorched black, etc.  She is sleeping in the living room while we are using the two bedrooms, and have basically taken over the kitchen, too.  We're trying to be the best housemates possible, but sometimes we fail miserably.  We are so thankful for her generosity to us, and thankful to God for providing! 

In addition to this, other people from the church donated and loaned us many things we need for our stay here, such as bedding and linens, diapers and wipes and baby items, a crib, toys and books for Jonathan, a microwave and toaster oven, a CD player for music.  Another man, Brother Roger, gives us rides in his car around town when his schedule allows.  We feel so small and so undeserving, yet so surrounded by God's love expressed  through the body of Christ.

None of these people would want to be thanked publicly or glorified in any way for how they are giving ...but I just have to share this testimony of God's amazing work!  I hope you realize the part you have played through your prayers and also feel some "ownership," so to say, in realizing the answers to those prayers!

A chuckle for you: Pizza with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce!

I thought you might get a kick out of this.  I haven't checked, but I don't think this pizza is being marketed in the US, right?

"Make it a holiday to remember with the Christmas Fun Meal ....featuring our new Jolly Glee Pizza!  Baked on a bed of mashed potato and cranberry sauce and topped with turkey bacon, roasted chicken, red capsicums, pineapples and onions, it's made more irresistible with a cheese-stuffed crust sprinked with parmesan cheese and toppings of crispy cheesy pastry strips and a juicy cherry!"

Alas, too high carb for us, so I guess we'll have to pass.  Gotta love that cherry on top, though!

Merry Christmas 2011

Ahhh....remembering one of our favorite Christmases in 2009!

We had a lovely Christmas Day and were blessed by a special church service and a visit to some American friends!

This is the church we are connected with during our stay in Singapore.  I meant to take pictures of us at church on Christmas, but as usual the camera just wasn't in the right place at the right time, so we'll have to make do with a photo off of their website.

We were due at our friend's house for Christmas dinner at 1 pm and indeed we left church early so we could make it on time.  I spent about 20 minutes on hold with a taxi company only to be told that no taxis were available.  A kind lady from church spent an additional 10 minutes on hold with a different company to be told the same.  Then we slowly figured out which bus to take to the train station for a 40 minute train ride to our friend's neighborhood and a short walk to their 5th floor flat.  We didn't get there until after 2 pm, but there was plenty of food left! 

Christmas with the Whittakers

Danny and Betsy Whittaker were barely acquaintances of mine when they attended First Baptist Church in Lebanon in the early 2000s.  I was mostly in Kalimantan at the time.  They moved to Singapore 7 years ago, where Danny teaches math at the International Community School.  Their 5 year old son, Aaron, is Jonathan's hero.  We've gotten to know Danny and Betsy better during our transits through Singapore over the last year -- they even bravely put us up in their spare bedroom for 2 nights last July when we were stranded due to a connecting flight mess-up  They inspire us.  Betsy's parents, Frank and Susie, were also visiting from Othello, WA for a few weeks.   Thanks for a wonderful Christmas Day, Whittakers!

The Patrow family Christmas Tree 2011

Merry Christmas 2011!!

This is our Christmas tree this year and the only Christmas decoration in our dwelling!   For me, it's quite minimalist (kind of Charlie Brown), but we are thankful for it!  It is a Jesse Tree.

The Jesse Tree is a devotional book that starts on the first Sunday of Advent and has a short devotional for each day until Christmas.  The devotions start with a promise of the Messiah in Isaiah 11:  "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."  It then goes from creation to the birth of Jesus, "tracing the spiritual history of Christ."  Each day has a symbolic ornament.  We are using photocopies and double-stick tape this year ....we might get more sophisticated the next day we do the Jesse tree in a few years.  Check out these beautiful ideas on Pinterest for non-Charlie-Brown versions! 

Close-up of the toddler-mommy artwork on our tree! 

So to give you a few examples of the symbolism:

The building represents Solomon's temple and his humble request for wisdom from the Lord.
The heart represents God's word in the hearts of His people, as described in Jeremiah 31:31-34.
The Lion represents the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den.

Back at home, we were also enjoying lighting the candles of our Advent wreath every night at dinner.  Alas candles are not allowed in high rise apartments, and I can't find any battery operated ones .....so our Advent wreath is packed away for now.

Singapore -- post 1

Jonathan exploring the adult exercise equipment next to one of the playgrounds in the HDB apartment complex where we are staying.

Jonathan and I arrived in Singapore on December 10, and Dave has now joined us on December 17!  We will remain here until several weeks after the birth -- when documentation is complete and everyone is strong enough to travel.  

The first week I was caring for Jonathan by myself and also immersed in settling in.  There is always a big learning curve, and a "search-and-gather" to do.

God has provided an amazing place for us to stay -- totally unlike anything we would have imagined when we were first praying about coming here!  We find His provision to be very good indeed!

We are staying in what is known as an HDB apartment -- Singapore's version of public housing projects.  It's affordable housing built by the government.  I know the 2 bedroom flat we are staying in has been owned by the family for 35 years.  When they bought it the price was $7000 Singapore.  It is now worth $300,000.  The "projects" in Singapore are actually quite nice -- equipped with plenty of greenery, excellent playgrounds for children and exercise equipment for adults, frequent garbage pick-up, regular mosquito control measures, and good maintenance.  I really can't believe the flat we're staying in is old .....it looks very new.  Also, the first floor of most of the buildings are packed with community services such as senior centers, early childhood centers, daycares, and the like.  Our building happens to be right next door to a large police station!

Wow!  There are 3 toddler-appropriate playgrounds within really close walking distance of our flat, and about 5 more within slightly further walking distance.  It's SO nice for a pregnant momma with a very wiggly 2 year old!

Our host, Gene, helps Jonathan climb up a play structure.

We are staying in a flat with "Sister Gene," a 51 year old Mandarin Chinese Singaporean lady.  She is a precious women who is "renting" the 2 bedrooms of her home to us.  She is sleeping on a cot in the living room.   It's working out fine.  I'll explain more of that story in another blog update that will be posted soon ....I've already started it.  We look forward to getting to know this devoted Christian woman more deeply.  She is quiet, doesn't speak much English, and an introvert like us. 

Gene is a private tutor who gives Mandarin lessons to primary and secondary students.  She loves children and they have been her life's work and ministry.  She likes Jonathan too, although toddlers are a bit out of her scope of practice.  Like many single people in Singapore, Gene does very little cooking.  It's at least as cheap to eat at the "hawker center" (translate: food court) across the street as it is to buy food, supply a kitchen, and cook.  So, we pretty much have the run of the kitchen, which is convenient.  There is a "wet market" (stalls of fruits, vegetables, meats, spices), a bunch of shops, and a grocery store so very close to our flat, so buying groceries is no problem.  We haven't really explored the food courts yet because of my diet restrictions ....and no real desire yet to find menu items that don't contain fish heads or other undesirables. 

We are having some culture adjustment here.  Singapore, although very diverse ethnically, is known as being a mainly English speaking country.  That's not true here in the Bedok neighborhood!  We find that very FEW people can speak English, and even fewer can understand OUR English (nor can we understand theirs). 

Bamboo pole laundry

Okay, so here's something fun about the laundry skills I am learning!  Most everyone has a washing machine, but few have dryers.  Instead, each family has a collection of bamboo poles.  Outside the kitchen windows are special slots for holding the poles out in the sunlight and breeze.  Special giant clothespins are used to clip on the clothes.  It's a process to get the clothes on the poles without dropping them on the floor 500 times and then to heave the wet-laundry loaded poles out the window into the slots without dropping them to the ground so far below!  Of course the other skill is to grab them back in quick when it starts raining!   The kitchen has hooks on the ceiling for inside drying too. 

Until next time!

Last family photos before leaving town

Yep, it's been a whole month since I've blogged anything! 

We've mostly been slowly preparing for our transition to Singapore ....I have a history of not "leaving well" and wanted to try SO hard to do it right this time.  I had a lot of little projects to complete at home ....it will be TWO MONTHS before we arrive home with baby, but I need his nursery (translate: corner of the master bedroom) etc to be ready now!  I finished quite a few low priority but important-to-me projects that I knew would NEVER get done if I waited until after the baby.  Then there were all of the arrangements for the house, the house-sitter (required by our employer), packing things away safely.  Lastly, but most importantly, all the arrangements for Singapore:  housing pre-planning, communicating with medical people, and packing!  It's a challenge for me to manage all this!

For Dave, this "preparation" time has been preparing 2 months of lesson plans for his substitute teachers.  Thank you Greg, Scott and Sue!  They will be filling in for his classes on top of their regular full-time jobs at Mountainview. 

It's been a real challenge to manage the gestational diabetes (GDM) the last month or so, and it has been time consuming to get it back under control.   My blood sugar was out of control for a few weeks, unbeknownst to me, because of defective testing equipment.   After talking with a few knowledgeable friends (Thank you Calista and Maria!) , we finally decided I should start taking medication (Metformin) to help in the last few weeks of pregnancy and take the pressure off during the transition to Singapore.  I finally have a loaner blood sugar machine from my Singapore doctor, accurate strips and so far the test results haven't been too bad.  With my past pregnancies, I would have firmly resisted the medication but this time I am relieved to use it because there are so many variables out of my control. 

The night before Jonathan and I left for Singapore, I had a sudden pre-separation anxiety ....what if this is the last time our family is together?  I insisted that, in the rush, we try to get some family photos.

This first one -- the propping-the-camara-on-the-fence-with-timer-test-shot -- makes me laugh!

This next one is probably the best of the bunch and I will use it in our next newsletter.

And of course an updated 34+ week pregnant tummy shot:

Just for fun, here is a picture of 34+ week pregnant tummy with Jonathan in Oct 2009:

Yes, I am definitely a slightly different shape this time.  I think it's because two year old boys still need their pregnant mommies to carry them around, and indeed their pregnant mommies need that too.  So, Jonathan has been sitting on his baby brother quite a lot, and something (my insides) got moved somewhere to make room!  I remember once seeing a similarly-shaped pregnant mom in Walla Walla and thinking she looked a bit strange.  Now I know why....she obviously still had a toddler or two at home. 

Blessings to all who are reading!  We are so thankful to God's goodness to us in all of this!