Yes, we are leaving tomorrow afternoon. We are so excited to be heading home after a brief visit to Singapore! The suitcases are packed except the laptops and a few other items.
Ms. A has been quite the little helper in getting things ready until I started packing her toys. Suddenly, items that she's forgotten about have become her new favorite toy. Thank goodness for her three hour nap today. I was able to get everything packed up and ready to go!
Ms. A has been so anxious about leaving, she's had a hard time sleeping. She keeps talking about her pink net that her friend, Mr. A, gave her. She is so excited to share it with her cousins.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Great video
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Penang Primary
These are the amazing children from the Penang Branch. Since today was our last Sunday, I took a picture of the Primary. There were four children missing. Caitlin and Swan are the Primary Presidency with Caitlin being the President. They have a Nursery leader and her assistant, a CTR teacher and I taught half of the Valiants, Swan taught the older half as well as being the chorister and Caitlin's counselor. I taught the 9 and 10 year olds. I had four children in my class, Addy, Eugene, Eunice and Ewin (not pictured). It was wonderful to teach them from the Book of Mormon. They are a wonderful group of children. It was an amazing experience watching the children learn and grow in the gospel.Back Row, left to right: Caitlin, Adrian, Eugene, Gabriel, Arron, Addy, NgeeYong, Kelvin, Sabrina and Eunice.
Front Row, left to right: Ichi, Sister Iman and Asani
The children sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" for the closing song in Sharing Time. It was the perfect way to say our farewells. It was hard not to cry. I will miss you all. :)
Penang Branch
We have the most wonderful branch here in Penang!
One of the first things I did before our move was to find out if there was a congregation established and how close it was to our new home. I was delighted to learn that our church had a branch. The branch members opened their hearts and arms to welcome us. We have made some wonderful friends and it is 15 minutes from our home. I knew we would have a support system in place should we need anything. It will be difficult to leave them.
Tonight, the members threw a farewell party for us. We had a wonderful evening. We were so touched by their love. Here are a few pictures of some of our friends.
Danny and Ms. A bonded immediately. Every Sunday she would look for him and then run to him for a hug and some playing time. Whenever we talk about going to church, she'll ask if Danny will be there.
Caitlin and Ms. A were instantly friends. Our first Sunday she excitedly grabbed Caitlin's hand as she took Ms. A to Nursery. Caitlin is the Primary President. Ms. A constantly refers to Caitlin as her friend. She loves to draw pictures for her and will sit with Caitlin during sacrament meeting. Caitlin is an amazing person and has been a dear friend of mine as well. We will miss her dearly.Here is a picture of some of the members in our branch.
Back Row Left to Right: President Chung, Danny, Ms. A, Ricky, Heather, Sister Yoko (Ms. A's Nursery Teacher), Sister Lim, Papa (Sister Yoko's husband), Brother Lim and Caitlin.Front Row Left to Right: Asani, Sister Imai, Yuzaburo (he's in Ms. A's class at church), Wendy (Danny's daughter), Reed, and Batbold.
WE WILL MISS YOU!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Freedom
This is my first Fourth of July in a foreign country. With the time we've spent away from home and in visiting other countries, I have come to realize even more the precious gift of freedom. To be able to do and say what you want without fear of what may happen is an amazing gift. I am so grateful to the men and women now and in our country's past who have fought, lived and died to protect this AMAZING GIFT! How blessed I truly feel. Thank you for your sacrifice, courage and strength!
"Loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it," said Barack Obama in a speech in Colorado Springs July 2, 2008.*HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY *
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Beware, Bodily Function Story Below
All my life, I've been a bit squeamish about bodily functions stories. My mom and sisters loved to test my boundaries in this department. I have to admit being a mom has allowed me the opportunity of overcoming this personality quirk in a way that can be quite entertaining. Below is one of those FUNNY MOM/CHILD - BODILY Function experiences that I loathed when I was younger. This is one of those stories a parent relishes in telling to embarrass their teenager, so hopefully Ms. A won't be too upset in the future. It is a POOP story, so be aware that I warned you.
Ms. A has been having issues with her bowels, to the point that we have had to resort to giving her a mild laxative to help her out. We've also given her fiber-rich food and lots of water, but she's still afraid to poop. The other day I gave it to her and waited for the 24 hours it has taken before. When I went to take a shower the next morning, I heard this cry for "MOM!" I ran into the living room hoping to raced to the bathroom before anything happened, but I didn't succeed. There was she was standing on the sofa saying 'Mommy, I pooped!' with one foot on the cushion and the other on the back of the sofa. I grabbed her and with her legs opened, we ran to the bathroom.
I stripped her down and with poop falling out of her panties, set her on the toilet. We quickly discovered remnants down her leg, on her socks and to her great dismay - on the toilet seat! When I asked her if she wanted to use mommy's bathroom, she quickly agreed. We ran to the other bathroom and made it to the tub without any accidents. When I started to rinse her off, she informed me that she still had poops. I told her we had to clean her legs or the other toilet would be dirty. She quickly accepted my logic, I hurriedly rinse her off and put her on the toilet to finish her job. After all that, she of course got a shower to clean everything off. As I was washing her, she pleaded for me not to wash her hair! Check out why! After everything was cleaned, I took her back to the living room. She refused to sit on the sofa without a towel, apparently she thought the cushions were dirty. (they weren't)
Later Reed and I had a chuckled as I related the story to him. Secretly, I wished he could have shared in the experience. I should have been quiet though. We put Ms. A to bed, when a half-hour later I heard her crying. Normally we ignore it, but since she had a hard day, I figured she needed some cuddles and loves. When I went inside, Ms. A stated "I pooped!" Yes, she did, and on her favorite blankie which helps her sleep. Reed and I cleaned her and the soiled clothes and blanket. And I put in my second batch of laundry that day. :)
When Reed went to bathe her, she was a bit disgusted when he tried to put her in the shower with tiny poops flecks on the floor. She started to cry and I quickly took her to our bathroom and a cleaner tub. On the way Ms. A commented that my tub was cleaner than daddy's. She had her second bath of the day with the same request of no hair washing. :) You can see how strongly she feels about her hair being washed.
When I put her to bed, she said she couldn't sleep without her blankie. I explained where her blanket was and promised that I would bring it to her as soon as it was clean. That didn't help, so I gave her to Reed to cuddle with and he put her to bed with the reassurance that mommy was cleaning her blanket and that 'She was brave and could sleep without her blanket.'
The next morning Ms. A carried her blankie all over the house. We have all recovered and we are anxiously waiting to come home with the hope that her little system will be happier with American food.
Ms. A has been having issues with her bowels, to the point that we have had to resort to giving her a mild laxative to help her out. We've also given her fiber-rich food and lots of water, but she's still afraid to poop. The other day I gave it to her and waited for the 24 hours it has taken before. When I went to take a shower the next morning, I heard this cry for "MOM!" I ran into the living room hoping to raced to the bathroom before anything happened, but I didn't succeed. There was she was standing on the sofa saying 'Mommy, I pooped!' with one foot on the cushion and the other on the back of the sofa. I grabbed her and with her legs opened, we ran to the bathroom.
I stripped her down and with poop falling out of her panties, set her on the toilet. We quickly discovered remnants down her leg, on her socks and to her great dismay - on the toilet seat! When I asked her if she wanted to use mommy's bathroom, she quickly agreed. We ran to the other bathroom and made it to the tub without any accidents. When I started to rinse her off, she informed me that she still had poops. I told her we had to clean her legs or the other toilet would be dirty. She quickly accepted my logic, I hurriedly rinse her off and put her on the toilet to finish her job. After all that, she of course got a shower to clean everything off. As I was washing her, she pleaded for me not to wash her hair! Check out why! After everything was cleaned, I took her back to the living room. She refused to sit on the sofa without a towel, apparently she thought the cushions were dirty. (they weren't)
Later Reed and I had a chuckled as I related the story to him. Secretly, I wished he could have shared in the experience. I should have been quiet though. We put Ms. A to bed, when a half-hour later I heard her crying. Normally we ignore it, but since she had a hard day, I figured she needed some cuddles and loves. When I went inside, Ms. A stated "I pooped!" Yes, she did, and on her favorite blankie which helps her sleep. Reed and I cleaned her and the soiled clothes and blanket. And I put in my second batch of laundry that day. :)
When Reed went to bathe her, she was a bit disgusted when he tried to put her in the shower with tiny poops flecks on the floor. She started to cry and I quickly took her to our bathroom and a cleaner tub. On the way Ms. A commented that my tub was cleaner than daddy's. She had her second bath of the day with the same request of no hair washing. :) You can see how strongly she feels about her hair being washed.
When I put her to bed, she said she couldn't sleep without her blankie. I explained where her blanket was and promised that I would bring it to her as soon as it was clean. That didn't help, so I gave her to Reed to cuddle with and he put her to bed with the reassurance that mommy was cleaning her blanket and that 'She was brave and could sleep without her blanket.'
The next morning Ms. A carried her blankie all over the house. We have all recovered and we are anxiously waiting to come home with the hope that her little system will be happier with American food.
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