Our Place

Here are a few uniques things about our home in Malaysia.

Yes that's a gate for our apartment - Major fire safety hazard, but it's one of our security precautions

Our fridge. It's a bit smaller than the one at home.

Yes that's a propane tank under our stove and the toaster oven on the counter - that's the oven!

The tap water isn't safe to drink from, so we have a filter set-up next to the sink. Most people get free standing water purifiers.

Don't you love our wicker livingroom set? We are very envious of Alan and Sonja set. It is much nicer - no wicker!

We have tons of windows in the living and dining rooms. Most of the time we keep them shut to keep out the heat. :)

The air-conditioner - need I say more. It has been hovering between 84 to 91 since we arrived. Each room has one and they are wonderful!

The switches here took a bit of getting used to, which light/fan/air-conditioner does it belong to? What is on and what is off. The one on the end is always on - it's for the main air-conditioner. :)

The water heaters in our apartment are controlled by a switch. You have to turn it on, wait a few minutes for it to heat the shower water, and in the master bathroom - hurry and take a shower because there is no way to balance the hot and cold. If I time it just right I can have a comfortable shower for 7 minutes. :)

My Little Cleaner

I was cleaning the apartment and Ms. A decided she wanted to use it. The vacuum is so loud, that Ms. A typically runs the opposite way. I thought I'd let her try it out. She did a pretty good job!

Thailand - Here we Come!

Due to the type of visa Ms. A and I have, we have to leave the country for one night after being here for three months. Reed and I decided to make the most of this requirement by doing a bit of traveling. Thailand was our choice. We will be in Bangkok and surrounding areas for a week.

We are hoping to ride one of these:

And we are excited to visit this:
one of the Grand Palace buildings

pictures courtesy of thailand-pictures





I decided packing while Ms. A was awake is a mistake. First, she decided to "pack" her items, which meant grab a bunch of clothes and throw them in the suitcase. (I wish Reed was that excited to pack!) Secondly, it is hard to pack with a shadow following, mimicking and asking what I was doing and trying to help. (I love having her help and learn). Lastly, she thought we were leaving as soon as we finished packing. She grabbed her shoes and told me she was ready to go. It took me several tactics to convince her to accept we were leaving tomorrow. (No car, no daddy, we need to go to sleep first, and then the basic distractions.)

Because of our 'forced' :) vacation, I will be taking the week off from blogging.
Tune in the first part of May for pictures of our trip.

Is THIS what I have to look forward to?

I was getting lunch ready when Ms. A decided she had other things in mind for me to do. She asked me to play with her and when I said "It's lunchtime." out came her pouty face, then with her arms crossed, she said: "Well, mommy. I don't want to eat!" (Ms A's pose looked like this.) To make sure I knew she was serious, she stomped her feet and walked off to the sofa. Thankfully her little tirade ended as quickly as it started.

CAN MY LITTLE GIRL
STAY LITTLE?!?

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mom celebrated her birthday on the 20th. Because of the time difference, Ms. A and I called her this morning (21st) to wish her Happy Birthday. I was surprised when Ms. A burst out singing her rendition of 'Happy Birthday.' Grandma was so touched. Ms. A usually doesn't talk very long on the phone and quickly loses interest.

When I told Ms. A that it was Grandma Valerie's birthday, she asked me if we could have some birthday cake. I told her grandma lived too far away for us to eat her cake. She replied with a very serious 'Oh'.

After several attempts Ms. A was ready to repeat her performance. Enjoy Grandma!



My mom is an amazing person. She is so caring and loving. She gives so freely of herself to so many people. It's difficult being so far away. I am grateful she is only a phone call away.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Reed and I were married six years ago, April 20th, on an overcast, snowy day in the Salt Lake Temple. I am so grateful for that temple sealing and for the priesthood Reed honors.

It has been a wonderful ride so far. We have shared heartaches and joys, had amazing experiences and seen fabulous sights. I never thought that a girl from a small town in rural Idaho would enjoy a life with so many opportunities. I am so grateful for Reed's level-headedness. Reed keeps me grounded and pushed me to be a better person, at times with me kicking the whole time. :) He is kind and sometimes knows me better than I know myself, especially when I need a good cry or a girls night out. :)

I am so grateful that we are together. I cannot imagine my life without him.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 5

Here's my last installment of the Fruits of Southeast Asia. I thought I would end with a familiar fruit. The coconut. I love the way they served coconut drinks. Reed ordered one for his birthday. I also found this interesting site with a bunch of fruit pictures.

I also wanted to test your Bahasa Malaysia abilities. Here is a list of some fruits in English and Bahasa Malaysia to see if you could match them up. I added the answers in my first Southeast fruit blog.

We were out eating with a couple of Reed's coworkers from home and when one of them saw tembikai he jokingly thought it was pronounced 'Timbuktu'.

1. Orange a. kelapa

2. Coconut b. tembikai

3. Pineapple c. susu

4. Banana d. lobak merah

5. Watermelon e. oren

6. Carrot f. nanas

7. Milk g. pisang

Hope you enjoyed the fruit introduction.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 4

Lychee is a highly favored fruit here. I seen a variety of spellings, so this is the one I've seen the most. I have heard comments about the amount a restaurant or home puts in drinks or food lets you know the quality of the establishment. I've also heard people complain if they don't have enough in their food. :)

My first experience with the fruit was in a cake celebrating the birthday of the Relief Society.
It was like eating large grapes in a cake. It was alright, but unusual for me.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 3

Dragon Fruit was another fruit that we tried at the Fruit Farm. I was surprised by the deep magenta color and all the little seeds. It tasted a bit like kiwi, sweet and juicy. Reed and I loved the end of our tour at the Fruit Farm, because they have a buffet of the fruit. It makes the perfect environment for trying a variety of fruits. :)

Both pictures are from wikipedia.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 2

We tried Jackfruit the first week we were here. We went to the Botanical Gardens with Alan and Sonja and noticed the stand as we left. The interior of the fruit is a soft yellow color with large bulbs of pulp about 1 inch long. It tasted a bit like a pineapple melon.

Some cards from Malaysia

When we came here, Reed laughed at my need to bring a SMALL selection of my stamps and supplies. He thought it was even stranger that I packed a craft suitcase for Ms. A and I. I have SO ENJOYED having a bit of my stamps with me. I thought I'd share a few that I have made.

Ms. A's Birthday Invitation - Idea from KWERNER. I LOVE HER SITE.

Caitlin's Birthday Card - I got the layout idea from Splitcoast Stampers, but I changed the dimensions.

Addy's Birthday Card

Another idea from kwerner. Under MACM Happy Birthday. Unfortunately, no printed paper, so I drew my own lines and stamped my own backgrounds.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 1

I thought I'd share some of the fruits we have come across since our moved to Malaysia. The first is called Durian. It's nickname is the "King of Fruits."

Reed had a couple of coworkers come over from home and on their last night here, we went out to eat. Amy, another coworker, is from China and she recommended this delicious fruit. As we were leaving for the car, we saw a stand that was selling them. They ranged in size from a cantaloupe to larger than a watermelon. Reed selected to fruit they wanted and asked if they would open it up. The fruit has a very spiny exterior with a white interior and is known for it's very pungent smell. Several public places and rental car companies do not allow them inside. The edible part of the fruit looks like a semi-cooked dinner roll that has been squished. Reed said it looked like chicken vomit, that turned me off from trying it. :) Apparently the fruit is very sweet tasting. The guys ate the fruit while Ms A and I watched.

When we came home, I could still smell the fruit, especially where Reed had been standing or sitting for a bit of time. Here are a couple of sites about the fruit. Enjoy!

Durian Fruit

Durian celebration

Funny story

Here are the answers from part 5: 1. e; 2. a; 3. f; 4. g; 5. b; 6. d; 7. c. I know milk is not considered a fruit. I included it because they will add susu to some of the drinks.

Big News from Ms. A

Ms. A has sucked her fingers since she was a baby, What was so cute, now needs to be fazed out. Before Ms. A's third birthday we talked about stopping her finger sucking and determined what item she wanted to earn. Her birthday came and we implemented the plan. We tried to tape her sucking fingers, but that didn't work. The next night Reed suggested we tape one of the fingers she sucked to one she doesn't, but the tape came off. Finally we discovered that band-aid work. So far we have had three successful nights. To night Ms. A wanted to say hello to her cousins and Aunt Sara and tell Ms. E her big news! (at the beginning of the video). I tried to email the file to Sara, but it was a bit big for email, so I here it is.

Sweet Pea and her 'hiccups'

Sweet Pea has an interesting way of letting us know she is thirsty. She hiccups or coughs. We finally caught her doing it at home, usually it is in a restaurant and she is very loud! :)

Caitriona

I was so EXCITED to receive an email from my dearest friend, Caitriona. My spirit smiles whenever I hear from her. For those of you who haven't heard me talk about her, Caitriona is a friend I met on my mission for my church.

My missionary companion and I received a referral to deliver the Bible to Caitriona, who was living with her aunt in New Hampshire. We gave her a copy of the Bible and introduced her to The Book of Mormon. Over the next several weeks we taught her and she decided to get baptized the night before she left for her home in Ireland. I was so sad to see her go, but so happy she decided to join the church. It felt like my sister was moving away.

She is an amazing individual. I have been so blessed to know her and to hear about her growth in the church. She has gone through some difficulties lately and I haven't heard from her since 2006. I have been thinking about her for a few months, so I was tickled to receive her email and find out that things are settling down. It's great, we think of each other and usually one of us will call or email the other. I love reading her emails because she always talks about how a prayer was answered through temple attendance, priesthood blessings or a good friend. Her child-like humility reminds me where my heart needs to be. I feel so BLESSED to have her for a friend.

I wish I could see her, but she is in England and I'm here in Malaysia. It's a good thing we have email and telephones. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy Birthday Sweetpea!

Things I love about you:

• I love your laugh.
• I love your smile.
• I love your zest for life.
• I love your adventurous spirit.
• I love your giggles.
  
• I love your hugs.
• I love your kisses.
• I love your sweet spirit.
• I love your peacemaker personality.
  
• I love listening to you talk.
• I love listening to your singing.
• I love listening to you play.
• I love playing with you.
• I LOVE YOU!

Thank you for letting me be your mommy. :)

Alan, Sonja and Caitlin came over to celebrate Sweet Pea's birthday. We had a wonderful time and Sweet Pea loved being the center of attention. She was so excited for her friends to come. She raced to the deck to watch for them and then we ran to the front to see if they had arrived. :) Sweet Pea had to show them all the balloons and made sure everyone had a birthday hat on. When I asked what she wanted to do first, she thought about it for a couple of minutes then excitedly said "Open Presents!" She loved the wonderful beach toys, pencil set and bag Alan and Sonja gave. She went everywhere with the scissors and asked if we could go to the beach. Caitlin gave her two books, one played music and the other was about My Little Ponies Friends. She was in Seventh Heaven. Sweet Pea had to go to sleep with her music book playing "I'm a little Teapot." We gave her some My Little Ponies, so I think her pony collection is set. She loved playing with the mail truck and giving mail to all her pony friends. It was a wonderful evening.

Thank you Caitlin, Sonja and Alan!

ABC's with Ms. A

Before we left for Penang, I purchased a few items at one of my favorite stores, Office Depot. One of them were alphabet flash cards. They have two sets of letters with the letters and a picture on one side and the picture spelled out on the other side.

Reed decided to play a game with Ms. A and her ABC's cards or as she says her ABCD's. He set them on the floor and they played a matching game. They were having a great time, so we decided to share it.

I love a rainy night

I was watching a bit of tv, when I saw lightening and heard thunder. I just had to go outside and revel in the storm right above our apartment. As I was watching the storm the words from an Eddie Rabbitt song from 1980 popped into my head. The lyrics are a perfect description for the way I love a rain and thunderstorm at night.