After days like yesterday, I really need to play around some with my thinking and emotions. We had such an amazing day with our best friends, family really, the Lloyds. Each of the children has a friend their age. Ryan and Beca and 9 days apart, Aaron and Chris are 6 mo. apart, and Ethan and Sammuel are 6 mo apart. The young ones, Zach and Caitlyn were actually born on the same day, one yr apart!

When we arrived, the first time in 1 yr, the children could barely wait for the van top stop moving. They jumped out and ran immediately to their Lloyd counterpart, and we littereally didn't hear from them for at least 2 hours. There was a huge yard to run around in, a maze to run, tire swing, huge trampoline, and trees to climb. They were in heaven!

Mandy and I could actually sit and converse about whole topics rather than be interupted mid thought, which used to be the norm when all our children were 4 and under. We went to Wegman's for lunch, which used to be one of our usual stomping grounds. One of us would call the other and say "hey, I gotta get some groceries, you wanna meet and have lunch?", or " i gota get out of the house, come out to eat with us!". Then we would trapse out with all 6 children, dodging the glaring eyes and thoughts behind those looks saying we were either crazy, or a small daycare! Today, we got the same looks and thoughts, I'm sure, but this time the children were all (well, mostly) calm and obedient, and helpful. Save for Aaron and Chris who have way too much kinetic energy, totally feeding off eachother!

These things make me really want to stay. It's really quite difficult to process the emotions with coming back to the states each yr. Do I want to settle down and get back into my normal, predictable routine, and have these times more often with the children? Or do I want to continue to have other amazing experience, seeing the world, meeting new people, developing new friends, only to have to say goodbye in a moments notice becase they have to relocate? Traveling the world is something I would never have thought we would do. It's incomprehendable, I wouldn't change what we have done. But, there is something said for staying put for a while, predictability, old friends, family and routine. I will never have my ultimate dream of raising the children modern day Little House on the Prarrie style, but, I know there's got to be a comprimise out there somewhere.

This is obviously the meloncholy in me talking today! i am just blessed by all experiences God has given us, both here and out there, in His big wide world!

Meanwhile, we will take the days like we had today, any time we can!

If she only knew!

If she only had a clue what their real motive was. She is thinking it's pretty cool, wondering, discovering, learning. They, on the other hand, and plotting, scheming, laughing - wishing they could be squirting their sister for real! Growing up with 3 older brothers will have it's blessings and it's trials for sure.

Favorite things

Some of my favorite memories from growing up are target shooting with my dad and campfires. The one on one time you get is priceless no matter the activity, and target shooting is one of the things my dad really enjoyed, so I got in on the action. It's something I never thought my boys would experience because, well, living in Sinapore, options are limited for that activity! But, this year my dad desided that would be a fun activity to teach them. Great idea, they love it! I am so blessed my dad can relate to them, and they can gleen from him.

Ahhh, and campfires. We would have them every night when we went camping in Coles Creek. The smell of the fire, roasting marshmallows for s'mores, sitting on mom or dad's lap, and sometimes singing songs. Those were good times. Well, we don't go camping at Coles Creek, but dad designed a fire pit in his backyard so we could do campfires whenever we wanted. The boys request it quite often, but I think they love having s'mores and staying up late. And, having the Poker Stick is an honor everyone vies for, but only the lucky are priveledged with!

"Mom, watch this"

Going..... Going..... Gone!

Some things you never have to each a child to do, one of them includes slurping spaghetti.

More adventures with Cate

When gramma and grampa Wilson were here we took them to the new Children's Garden that recently opened. It has so many things for little ones, Cate loved going from one place to the next. There is a place to water flowers, a humongous treehouse, sandpit, and many different tropical flowers. You have to go in the early morning, otherwise it gets quite hot and crowded, but even then it's a great place to get out of the hustle and bustle of every day life.

Connected to the vine?

This is our trip to McRitchie Resevoir, and adventures swinging on the vine. Obviously you know the end result of vine swinging, but it was fun up unitl the last swing, so thought I would post the pics anyway. It brings new meaning to the verse, "I am the vine you are the branches, whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit". I guess we can litterally say that when you aren't connected to the vine, it can be quite dangerous!

Well anyway, Singapore has some beautiful places, outside of the city and full of green spaces! This does my heart good, now all we need to do is lower the temp about 15 degrees and the humidity about 30 degrees and it would be perfect!

ICS Soccer match

After school today the boys had thier ICS soccer match! It was great fun to see them so enthused, and using the skills they have been practising all semester. Ethan did not join the game, as he is the smallest there and it's hard to keep up. He has a friend named Leah, whose brother is on the team as well, and they had a blast playing together around the school yard.

$5 Tomato

When Mom Wilson was here, she helped me buy a tomato plant and get it established, knowing my desire for gardeing and yet severe lack of skill. We took great care of it, only the best soil, vermiculite, and compost would do. The perfect pot, the perfect spot, and the little fencing to support it's soon to be heavy branches, because I was sure it was going to yield so many tomatos with all this great care!

Unfortunately all that was in vain because only a few nights later we had one of Singapore's tropical storms, the kind where you wonder if the thunder and lightening can actually get any closer or possibly get inside your house! Our poor tomato plant tried, but there was just too much water! It actually survived this storm, but ad insult to injury, there was a second storm 2 days later, saturating the drowning plant again.

So, this is my $5 tomato. I am not sure gardening is in my future.

I love Saturday mornings

This is a typical sight on Saturday mornings if you peer into our house. While I make pankcakes (no I haven't lost my kitchen abilities!), the boys enjoy reading liesurely, taking advantage of the ability to relax and not rush off to school. They will often be splayed out on the bean bags, or couches as well. Steve is so happy they have inherited a love for reading as he has! Unfortunatly, it's s short time, as we have to rush off for soccer by 9:15 am, but they enjoy what they get!

Adventures with Caitlyn

Caitlyn and I enjoy our mornings together these days. When the boys head off to school she and I will often go for some exercise. I rollerblade and she rides in the jogger. We often stop for her to stretch her legs or say hi to any of the numerous dogs she loves to see. At the end we sometimes stop at the castle playground for some playtime. Here are some pictures of our adventure today.

Update on Ryan's leg

I guess by now you have heard the line, "it's been crazy here", enough so I will spare you this time. :-) Ryan's leg is healing quite nicely. About 1 1/2 wks after the incident, we were getting a bit worried because some of the stitches were beginning to get closed under the healing wound. I talked with mom about it, wondering if we could have them take the stitches out sooner, and she prompted me to take them out myself! WHAT!??! So, being totally intrigued with everything medical and being less dependant on allopathic Drs, I decided to give it a try! I did talk to Steve and Ryan before hand to make sure they were both on board. With all systems go, I gave Ryan sufficient preparation on what to, and what not to do in the event of various degrees of pain. And with his permission I took hold of the stitch and tugged in different angles and degrees of pressure. No pain! Praise God, that is a huge step in the success of our adventure. So, with a careful snip, I released the first stitch and we both breathed a huge sigh of relief. I continued to snip, until all 10 were out and we both let out a triuphant yell and gave a high five! He felt free, like the stitches were holding him captive, not allowing him to partake in his favortie activities. Unbeknownst to him, he was still bound, needing to allow his leg to further heal before he commensed normal activity. One Month later it is almost totally healed with just a scar to remind him the lessons of listening to your father's voice, both heavenly and earthbound. Now, I am posting some pics, but I want to warn you. I love things like this, but understand not all might enjoy looking at gaping wounds. So, for the faint, weary or those who only enjoy looking at flesh in it's intact state, CLOSE YOUR EYES! Those of you looking, the first pic is with the stitches, after we took the first one out. As you can see the 2nd stitch is partly under the skin. The first one was mostly under! The 2nd pic is after successfully taking them all out and the 3rd pic is from today, 4 weeks later.

A trip to the ER

Today we took our 2nd trip ever to the ER with one of our boys. What started out as a fun hike on a Saturday morning ended up with a little bit of blood sweat and tears. There was a vine hanging really low from one of the nearby trees that looked super fun to swing from, so Ryan and Aaron took many turns swinging, trying to make and beat silly records. Usually moms can't watch stuff like this that thier kids get into, for fear of what might happen. But, they are pretty cautious and it didn't seem too bad. I was even taking pictures (to be posted later). After Ryan said "just one more swing", he took ahold of the vine and lept into the air to abruptly meet the concrete streps below when the vine snapped! Usually I am pretty conservative and believe we can handle most things outside of the hospital or Drs. care. But this time I was really sure I was not equipped to handle it! I spelled it out (h-o-s-p-i-t-a-l) to Steve and he must have been in shock, because he thought we were ok. Ryan had a gaping would on his shin, revealing some tissues below that made me totally freak out, and a bit nauseas!! I quickly bandaged the wound before Ryan, who is screaming so loud all of Singapore can take part in his misery, could see the extent of damage done to his leg. It took 45 min to get home through the Sat. morning traffic. We prepared Ryan for the pain while we assessed and cleaned his wound, and I sat there feeling totally helpless as I knew it was beyond my control. What a helpless feeling for a mom! Steve kept looking at me to do something, but I just couldn't. At this point Ryan was screaming even louder and I KNEW I could not do this on my own. So Steve and I prayed for God to guide us, wether or not to take him to the hospital. God gave my husband wisdom and I took him in. We have a hospital within 10 min drive and we only waited about 10 minutes to see the Dr. Ryan was really brave. He shed a bit of tears through the pain, but refrained from screaming, and relyed on The Lord's strength to get through it all. We talked about Jesus' pain on the cross, so He understands the pain Ryan had to endure, and we spoke of things lovely, pure, noble and right in order toget our minds off the things that are causing pain and anxiety. One and 1/2 hours and 10 stiches later we depart and head back home. The biggest blessing from this came when all was done and the nurse was putting the bandage on. He said, "Mom, I think God allowed me to go through this for a reason". Wow! As you can imagine, I was so blessed and proud of my son! We talked a bit about why He allows us to go through difficulties and how He provides all we need to get through it. God is our Provider, Healer, Comforter, Guide and Friend! Praise Him!

Singapore Best Friends

The Erickson family came to visit singapore over Chinese New Year this Fenruary! We had so much fun seeing them again, just like a big family reunion. The children didn't miss a beat, and they are all pretty much old enough to go off and play so Tracy and I had some great time to talk.

We took them all to Malaysia to ride horses, which they loved, and also went bowling. We also had lots of fun just hangin out at the house.

Super Cute Cate

Gotta love it! Taking pictures of Cate is one of my favorite things to do, and who can blame me when she has such cute expressions and adroable clothes. This outfit reminded me a bit of Punky Brewster. I never understood the saying "I could just eat you up", but, even in my lack of understanding, I find myself wanting to say that to her all the time!

Ooooh, I could just........... :-)

Australia bound

For our Spring Break holiday, when mom and dad Wilson are here, we usually take a pretty big trip. Ofcourse, I wanted to got to Australia, probly the best place on earth! We decided to visit some of our old favorites, being Perth and the Margaret River region. There we visit 2 of our favorites, Sunflowers Animal Farm and Siesta Park. We purposely (or should I say, I purposely) planned this holiday to be very relaxed and not action packed. These are 2 places the children continually ask to visit again, and who would pass up the chance to go to Astralia once more!? So, we went for about 9 days to bask in the beautiful sun, cool temperatures and wide open spaces.