We're so grateful and thrilled to announce God's newest blessing in our family, Joshua Jason, arrived at 11:38 am, January 10, 2012, Singapore time.
It was about a 4 1/2 hour labor and delivery with no complications. Mom and baby are resting fine! We hope to have pictures and more details up tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
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!
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!
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.
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| An example of elephant art I pulled off of the web |
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| More of the elephant show ....two elephants working as a team! |
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 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!
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!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
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.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
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!
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!
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.
(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.
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| Learning to be happy and hungry at the same time! 37+ weeks |
Thursday, December 29, 2011
"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.
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.
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!
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| Jonathan with Jojo |
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!
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