Last Singapore blog entry

Wow!  It's February 10th already and we are leaving Singapore tomorrow after spending 2 months here!

It has felt like a long stay, and we are very eager to get home but we have made some fun memories here!

Joshua is a month old today!  He's doing very well and weighs over 4.5 kg already -- that's  almost 10 pounds for you Americans.

We're in the frenzy of packing and last minute preparations but I want to upload some pictures before we leave.  Just FYI, we'll be off line for a while after we get home.  We decided to change internet providers, so it will be a week or more before the new service is up and running.

Again, our dearest thanks to Sister Gene who shared her home with us, and her love. Here she is at the hospital holding Joshua.

 Here we are at my post-natal check-up with the very glamorous and proficient Dr. Irene, the doctor who delivered Joshua.

While we were in Singapore, the country celebrated 3 of the biggest holidays of the year -- Christmas, New Year, and Chinese New Year.  On Chinese New Year, our friend Jojo took Jonathan for the day to go visiting people and spread joy and good cheer to all according to her report.  It's Chinese tradition to give little red envelopes of cash to children at New Years.  Here is Jonathan's collection (a few were for Joshua.)

Dave took Jonathan to the nearby local public swimming pool quite a few times.  The entrance was less than $2 Singapore for both of them, so definitely affordable fun!  Here is Jonathan in his suit waiting for Daddy to get ready to go.  He is sitting in the front door.  Most Singapore flats have a big metal "gate" with big locks like this one at the front entrance.

 Here are Dave and Jonathan hanging out in the kiddy pool on a hot afternoon.

 I could never have done these last 2 months without my wonderful husband, AKA Superdad!  He's helped out so much with household chores and hanging out with Jonathan so I could rest, heal, recover, and care for Joshua.  Here's a another shot of Dave and Jonathan having fun at the pool.  I went with them twice.

We did make it out to one of the many Singapore malls a few times for treats.  Here we are at Wendys -- in honor of Dave's dad.

 Finally, he is learning to cheese it up for the camara!

This photo was taken on a day when Dave had to go out on business and I took Jonathan outside for his playtime.  Here he is with one of his playground friends, Freida.  It's the first time I had met her, although Dave had told me of meeting her and her Daddy several times.  This time she was with her mom and grandma.  Upon meeting Joshua, who was 3 weeks old that day, Freida's mom shared with me that she had recently had an abortion for an early pregnancy because her husband didn't want a third child.  This family is from mainland China, where I think such occurrences are quite common.  She said she was doing "okay" but I wished I could have visited with her more times to get to know her better and be a blessing to her.

Just some more playground pictures......so much fun, we have to share!

Singing to Joshua

Looks like I finally am able to upload this video!  Josh was 3 days old at the time!  Hope it gives you a chuckle!

A brave adventure at the Singapore zoo!

Well, since Dr. Irene said she thought baby will be "a while" in coming, we decided to give up sitting around waiting for nothing to happen and make a big adventure to the Singapore Zoo!

Folks, I have to tell you, the Singapore zoo is AMAZING!  It's big and their animals are lively and many are free ranging ....meaning they are not behind fences or nets or glass walls.  At our big zoo in Oregon, I remember the poor elephants.  Of the half dozen times I visited, I never saw any of them out in their yard.  They were always in their covered area, standing on a sad concrete floor looking....blank.  Here the elephants are kept very busy working.  They have baths and do shows and work and give rides and get yummy snacks several times a day, and it seems like they love it.

Our first stop was the Sea Lion "Splash show."  I gave Dave a bad time for being so excited about getting to see a Pacific Northwest sea lion.  We got there good and early for our front seats.  While waiting for the show to start, Jonathan played in the water splashing out of the tank and  made a new friend, Scarlett, who is from England.  (You can just barely see her behind Jonathan in the picture.)  They both were soaking wet within 2 minutes and had a great time squealing and splashing and copying each other.  As for our front seats, we quickly vacated them after the first big splash from the sea lion.

So here are Jonathan and Dave watching the elephant show, which was our second stop.  This morning I asked Jonathan what he saw at the zoo, and after a while he answered "elephant draw picture!"  This is what he remembered the most of the whole day.... Before the show, one elephant was out in the yard "finger painting" with her trunk.   Artistic expression for elephants!

An example of elephant art I pulled off of the web

More of the elephant show ....two elephants working as a team!

While we were waiting around, Jonathan quickly found a "digger" in the gift shop.  "Drive digger, drive digger, drive digger!"

Soon little Phillip came along and since there were 2 steering wheels Jonathan was happy to share his digger.  Dave visited with the little Russian boy's parents, Igor and Olga.  Having kids is such a wonderful way to meet people, and I wished that Jonathan could have more playtime with both Scarlett and Philip.  I also wished that we could hang out with their parents more!

We made it in time to the giraffe feeding.  When asked, Jonathan said he did want to feed the giraffe, but he got a little worried when that big blue tongue came reaching out at eye level! 

Here, he's a little braver!  This morning, he also recalled giving the giraffe a "snack" and was excited to see the pictures. 

Here are Dave and Jonathan at the white rhino exibit.  There were 5 rhinos.  I just couldn't get them in the same picture.  They were kind of dirty and ugly.

So, it was a very fun day, and I walked the whole day all around the zoo and did not go into labor, despite some moments of discomfort.  Jonathan did NOT fall alseep in his stroller as we had planned.  We left the zoo at about 5 pm and decided to try coming home on public transport -- bus-subway-bus.  (In the morning, we traveled by taxi for $28 SGD = 20 minutes.  Cost by public transport is about $4 = 2 hours.)  Jonathan did fall asleep at the train station and all was fine until he woke up in an extremely crowded subway car about 30 minutes later.  It was the worst meltdown EVER ....almost wiped out all of our happy memories of the day.  Fortunately, we have pictures of the happy day at the zoo and none of the meltdown so I think I know what we will remember in the end.   We're very thankful to have had one last family outing, just the three of us, before baby brother's arrival! 

Pregnancy update 38 weeks: short and sweet

Okay, it's not sweet, in the sense that I won't be eating any sweets this week.  My weight is up a kilo (2.2 lbs and baby's is up a bit, to 3.4 kg from 3.2 kg.)  Dr. Irene is not concerned about my weight, and happy that baby is growing....she just doesn't want him to grow too much.  She said "tighten up" a bit on my diet.  Big sigh.

So, in other baby news, he's slowly coming down but not "engaged" and she thinks he will still be "a while" in coming and my "biggest baby."

As of today, Saturday, I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been!  

Learning to smile for the camera....finally?

  I think I may have finally figured out how to get Jonathan to smile for the camera.  He usually freezes when I pull it out.  He has a toy camera here and will often instruct us to smile ("mile!  mile!") before pretend-takng the picture, but I just don't think he knows what it means!  In most of his pictures, he is so solemn looking ....either that or he is just a blur because he's rushing to the camera to try to see the digital image on the back.  So today at the playground I tried "Show me your teeth, Jonathan!" and here are the results! 

 Okay, it's not his "real" smile, but I'm hoping it's a start in the learning process!

Lost his shoes, took a spill, and coming over to mommy for a hug.  Too big shirt and too short pants..... they're called play clothes!

Jonathan is loving my new thrift shop find -- his pop-up Wiggles playhouse.  It's a bit worse for the wear and ripped in 3 places, but he will disappear inside it for long periods of time (okay,  maybe only 10 minutes) and play with his toys.  At night he puts some of his cars and trucks "to bed" in there before climbing in his own bed. 

 

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!

A visit from Grandma Coral and Traveling with a 16 month old!

My mom is here for a 3 week visit from the US!  Dave said "Wow!  This is the first time anyone's ever come to visit me overseas!"  Well, we know that the real draw is Jonathan, her only living grandchild.

It's interesting.  My mom has commented that Jonathan is stubborn and strong-willed.  It's true that he is a very busy boy at 16 months, but I hadn't thought of him in those terms, probably just because I don't have anything to compare him too.  Guess we need a lot of wisdom from the Lord how to help Jonathan learn how to manage his personality.

 Last week was Spring Break, so we took the opportunity to travel and make some family memories.  We had already scheduled to go to Singapore for my 20 week ultrasound, and after the miscarriage we couldn't refund the tickets.....so we went.  

Singapore has a large population but a very low birthrate of only 1.1 children per woman.  As a result, the government is trying very hard to get people to have babies and we found it to be the most child-friendly city we've ever visited!  Every restaurant had multiple baby seats and didn't mind the mess that Jonathan left on the floor!  Here we are at a Chinese place we found that had excellent vegetable dishes!

We were able to stay at a mission guest house that saved us a few dollars and also gave us the comfort of home and lots of room for Jonathan to run around.  Here are Jonathan and Grandma Coral playing with Bananagram tiles in the master bedroom!

One morning Dave had a business meeting, and we went along to wait until it was over?  What to do with our very busy and energetic kid?  Ah, bliss, we found an empty tennis court with a fence all the way around it!  We could relax a bit and Jonathan could run freely with no danger of injury or escape!

Singapore being the baby friendly city that it is, every establishment had a well-stocked diaper changing station.  You know those Kangaroo diaper changing stations in the U.S. at restaurants and airports?  I never found one that had supplies or a working safety belt.  I gasped at the Singapore airport when I found their spotless Kangaroo diaper changing station had a full pack of liners and a functioning safety belt!  In this picture, Dave is changing Jonathan's diaper at a department store we visited.  There were about 5 well padded, well supplied stations!  It was beautiful, but changing Jonathan's diaper has become a wresting match no matter where we are!

Well, it might seem a little silly, but we visited Ikea while we were in Singapore.  It was the real deal -- blue building and everything.  Dave and Jonathan spent about an hour playing in the children's department.  Dave said it was practically his favorite experience of the whole trip!

Even more wonderful, the Singapore airport had this lovely family center complete with a Burger King, cartoons, padded play area, private nursing rooms, diaper stations and this play structure!  We needed that wiggle opportunity before boarding a 2 hour flight!

Vacations are fun, but getting home is fun too.  Jonathan likes to help with every now, and here he is helping us to unpack!