Anthony & Sharon

Sunday Sundaes

2012-01-22T12:05:00.002-05:00

Ever feel like you say "No!" to your children too often?
With a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old in my home its the word I tend to use most often. I am finding that, now that I'm to 3 kids, I really really really need to take this whole parenting job seriously. Not that I didn't feel that way before, but maybe now that I'm starting to see the effects of my parenting I realize just how much influence I have over my kids.

Like.

Hearing Isaiah yell, "DUDE!" when I have to slam on the breaks because he's heard me yell at other drivers before.

or, for proof I'm not the Queen of mean

Isaac saying, "What a cute little sister! Mama look at how cute she is!" And him repeating me and saying it with the exact tone and emphasis I put on certain words.

It's SUCH a big job. And though I have my worries that they may make mistakes and decisions that will irreparably change their lives for the worse, in all I am confident and hopeful about the men and woman they will become one day. HOPEFULLY God-fearing, humble, joyful, capable servant-leaders who shine bright for the God who died for them and love Him. Willing to give all for Him, even if He asks them to shine for Him in very dark dark places. People who love their spouses and their children and sing the praises of Jesus until they are old and gray.

But oh! How to get them there!?!

Sometimes I've said "no" way too much. And much of the time I'm "saying" it at a decibel my neighbors can hear. I think tattooing it on my forehead and teaching them to read it might save me some time and some breath some days, or at least they could read it while Immanuelle was napping so I wouldn't have to yell it and wake her up. I could just point to it real forceful like.

And then I'm reminded of Whose child I am.

Not Bruce and Janice's (though they ARE fantastic and DID introduce me to the One who keeps an eye on me when I am so so so far away from them)

But my eternal Father.

The One who graciously allowed me to become a parent.

Not as a big fat joke to try and test my patience every hour my children aren't asleep. No, in His loving plan for my life He made me the Mama to Isaac, Isaiah, and Immanuelle. And since the first day of becoming a Mama I realized how deep the Father's love for me is. I'm never hitting the bottom of it and I'll never understand, this side of heaven, how in the world He loves me enough to keep me alive. Not to just zap me for all my sinfulness and ugly and anger and attitude and bad decision and disobedience... and not ONLY to not zap me to a Looney Tunes pile of ashes, but then on top of that to LOVE me enough to orchestrate all of creation and time and history so that He could send His Son to come and DIE for me, so I could know Him and give Him the glory He so richly deserves.

That thought. That knowledge. That love. That's what keeps me from throwing in the towel (or just throwing things in general) most days. It's what pushes me, ever so gently and firmly toward being a better mother.

Because lemme tell ya. When that 2 year old pitches a fit over not wanting to put his cup in the sink after he's done with it and screams and cries bloody murder... where's a zapper when you need one!?

Scenes like that are too frequent. And if my heavenly Father would interject here, He could tell y'all about a few humdingers of stubborness I've thrown His way. And then, so completely unbelievable, He'd then tell y'all about how firm, kind and GRACIOUS He was as I acted like a pouting, fussing, disobedient 2 year old.

That sweet sweet grace. My. Oh my. When I know how much I deserve in the face of a Holy Pure and Perfect God. His wrath. His unending wrath because of my sinfulness. And THEN!? To get to be His child? Wow. Grace is even that much sweeter.

So when my children act like me I am learning- through each excruciating tantrum, each and every whine, in the defiant looks, and the fit pitching- that I need to act like God.

Wait. That didn't come out right. Lemme 'splain.

I do my best to treat my children like the Lord treats me. With love, gentleness, kindness, mercy, grace... conviction too. Oh yes. Nothing cuts quite so deep as that gentle scolding I get from my Father...and I feel it too, because I know He's so good. AND so right about whatever it is He convicts me about!

But His KINDNESS leads us to repentance. Not His anger. (though I want to avoid that too!) On the days I manage to not growl like a dragon and spit fire at my children, they DO seem to respond to me so much better. I can be angry...but in my anger do not sin. The bible is filled to the brim with parenting tips and case studies.

"A harsh word stirs up anger, but a gentle answer turns away wrath." I quote that SO often. That would be my next tattoo after the one on my forehead. Except that would go on my hand so I could read it.

Even so "soon" into my parenting journey, I already have regrets. Not huge ones. But like moments where I chose to yell, giving the excuse that "they make me so mad!" when, if I would have let my Father have His say, self-control would have been the wiser, more helpful option. Opportunities where I chose meanness over grace (when my heavenly Father would probably have given grace). I just pray I can learn from them and do better next time. I've got the best teacher, and He's incredibly kind and helpful even as I have days where I botch things pretty terribly.

And now that I have 3 and am realizing evermore just how BIG a deal it is that I have these precious souls in my care, I'm taking it more seriously. It's not a new revelation to me. Each child has made this understanding more clear.

Just since #3, the desire to do better and get it right has sunk deeper down and I feel the task of parenthood more deeply and profoundly as the task is busier and the frustrating moments come more often because there are more children. I know I've got a lot to learn and the only way to learn it well and make it happen for my kiddos is to get up tomorrow morning, learn from MY Father, and then do what He does and how He says to do it.

I'm ready to do a bang-up job with these Rivers kids!
------------

So when I get it right. Or, at the very least, we all have fun together. It is beyond rewarding! Like today at McDonald's for lunch after church the boys' shared their drink so well. I was so delighted and so thankful in my heart that something good was coming from all that instructing I do everyday. And most of all I got to tell them how great they were doing and encourage them in their good behavior.

To fill up my youngins' "love tank" is such a privilege. I KNOW I am going to have to say "no" (hopefully in love. Firm. Kind. Love.) tomorrow. So today, and every Sunday, we have "Sunday Sundaes." Ice cream communicates love to 2 and 3 year olds. Really. It does. :)

If you happen to have Micheal Franti & Spearhead's song, "Say Hey" or "The Sound of Sunshine" you can play it while looking at these photos as it is usually the song playing when we get our Sunday Sundaes. And you have to point to whoever is near you at the "I love you. I love you. I love you." part. That's important.

Gasp. A child not in a carseat. I know, I know. There are no childseat laws here so for the close, slow drive to McDonald's every week, the boys get to hang out the windows.

We go most Sundays right after dinner to get McDonald's chocolate sundaes.

We got a new traffic light in our neighborhood. Isaac's preschool is the building in the middle...like if you went straight through the traffic light. You wanted a tour of our neighborhood right? Also, it's rainy season. These were taken near sunset.

...the huge empty road by our McD's. In the near future that building in the center will house a Papa John's, a Wendy's, and a Subway (and a Dominoes and Kenny Rogers Roasters...but those aren't big news) Just on the other side of that building is our Starbucks with the drive-thru. That IS big news:)

Isaac gets to pay.

...the boys share a Sundae, so Zay's is in a cup. His look is like, lady, hand it over. She geeked out after I took this (it IS odd for someone to take a picture of you while going through the drive thru. Especially if you're in Asia and they're white...er...half-white in Zayah's case)

...the entrance to our neighborhood. We go through the "Residents" gate...right past that "Happy Chinese New Year" banner. (I'm writing this at 1am because it's CNY and Disney sized fireworks are going off outside our house right now)

Sitting outside at sunset eating ice cream as a family is absolutely the best way to spend a Sunday sundown with sundaes. :) (um. anyone else see that tiny adorable face sitting on her daddy's lap!?? Lucky I had ice cream, or I'd gobble that sweetness down in a heartbeat!)

Don't let their serious faces fool you. These guys LOVE Sunday Sundaes!

Immanuelle's Nursery- AFTER!

2012-01-12T04:07:00.002-05:00

Finally.

Whew.

The Nursery is "done" AND Immanuelle will now be sleeping in it! We moved her today after her morning nap to her very own room. She took her afternoon nap in it and everything.

I didn't even cry.

I may tonight when I have to walk more than 10 feet in order to feed her but that's another story. At least the room will be complete. Dark, but complete!

View from the doorway. A HUGE shout-out to our dear Kak Aygee (Kaylee as she's known to others) for helping me with nearly all of this. Polka dots on the walls, piping on the crib bumper, cutter of nearly every layer of the curtains, and the one who helped me brave the fabric store with all its 18,495 employees that would stare at us and gawk and talk about us in their language until they found out I could speak it, then REALLY wouldn't leave us alone to shop because they wanted to hear the white girl speak like them. Every time. But this is Asia. What's new?

Her window faces the atrium (the "rocks") and gets no direct sunlight. I'm excited to save on our electric bill as the master bedroom is hotter than the face of the sun and we ran the a/c nearly all day while she was napping. Her room is so nice and cool even without the a/c!

The absolute perfect place for a changing station. I throw the disposable diapers into the trashcan in the bathroom, and throw the cloth diapers into the pail beside the toilet. All without ever having to leave Baby Girl's side :)

And some close ups. One of the flowers on the bumper. Hardest part of making the bumper? The piping. Which this picture doesn't even show really. We were super proud of it though.

Immanuelle Marie Rivers. You all would be amazed at the hot(glue) mess on the back of each of those pink letters. How they turned out so nice on the front is beyond me! Immanuelle is a long name (guess that's my fault!) so it took me awhile to decide how to put her name in the room. And since IKEA doesn't make a 10-slot picture frame, fabric glued around cardboard initials was the winner!

The last piece to create (to date...there's still the matter of the quilt I plan to do). I call it the "Ragged Roses" pillow. I used the scraps leftover from the crib skirt, bumper, and curtains to make the roses. I even sewed a zipper! Oooooo! I think it turned out great!

And of course. The Pièce de résistance. Definitely the object I helped make that I am most proud of!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T00:14:00.000-05:00

A Star(bucks) Shone Bright!

2011-12-18T05:08:00.000-05:00

side note: This is "AnthonyandSharon's" 300th post! 5 whole years of blogging!

So the other day Anthony and Mr. Sivad were at Starbucks in our neighborhood (it has a drive-thru...you can be jealous, it's ok) and got invited to a Christmas party that night. I thought it was gonna be lame, but the manager said there would be orphans so that along with hopes of maybe getting some sort of free drink or prize was motivation enough to keep my kids up way past their bedtime to attend.

Turned out there were no orphans, but there were free prizes! Enjoy the pics and PLEASE watch the video...especially if you know Mr. Sivad...

When party-ers arrived, we all got put in various coffee groups. Immanuelle and I were in the "Extra Bold: French Roast" group...

...familiar Starbucks faces greeted us. This girl (tries to) flirts with Anthony and Mr. Sivad everytime they go to Starbucks. Or rather, she giggles and giggles and goes on and on about how well they speak her language. True story. First time we went through the drive-thru she was working it. Anthony and Mr. Sivad were in another car in front of myself and Mrs. Sivad and our kids... we laughed and watched as she smiled and giggled and giggled and asked them questions in their 2nd language. They can't help it really. Might as well be nice, answer her questions, and hope for a free drink or a discount. Or an invite to the annual Christmas party...

Santa was there. He liked to talk real loud into the microphone to his helper "reindeer"...

....his helper zombie reindeer that is. I was good with them though because they passed out free drinks...

...and there was a choir! We were surprised by their presence, but enjoyed them singing CHRISTmas songs...not just Holiday songs.

Then our various coffee groups had contests. One of which was decorating a reindeer of our own. Isaiah was volunteered to be the "Medium: Muan Jai"'s reindeer. Mostly because every adult there wasn't thrilled with the idea of becoming a zombie reindeer.

So cute and so far past bedtime.

Then came the run-off game and "Round 2: Funny Face Reindeer"... between "Bold: Christmas Blend," "Extra Bold: French Roast," and "Bold: Anniversary Blend." ANOTHER volunteer from each group had to get made up and Mr. Sivad, whether by being slipped something into his free frappachino or because of a strong competitive edge got his face (and neck) painted. Or maybe it's just that he's willing to push the limits on what can be considered a "reindeer" for some free coffee products?? Is it?

See Mr. Sivad on the catwalk working the crowd. The lengths people will go to for free coffee!

Regardless, his determination and willingness paid off big time. Christmas Blend won! Anthony also won Best Dressed Male. Look at them. Full of Christmas Spirit (or is it pride?)

And what would a party be without a picture with the token white lady and her baby in a sling?

Loft Wall

2011-12-10T21:49:00.001-05:00

We have an area at the top of the stairs that we call the "loft." We'll be using it for an office space and for the kids to have a play area outside of their bedrooms. We have a rule in our house that toys aren't allowed downstairs, so space upstairs to play is a necessity. I wanted to do a big batik-ish mural in Immanuelle's room, but ended up changing the "theme" of her room to, well, not-batik. (I am VERY close to posting pics of that...stay tuned!) So I wanted to paint something a little over the top. Why? I dunno. Why not?
It's taken 6 months to get to painting this wall, so though you may not be interested in seeing the progress, the fact that I've had to live with only the thoughts in my head for this space for 6 months, means that you're getting to see the whole progression. Kind of a "circle of life" kinda post.

When we moved in. Bright orange wall. Glad my friend Danielle wasn't there when I decided to paint it another color. Her and orange are like "this" (fingers crossed tightly together)

June: Wall primed, IKEA furniture being put together.

December (see the tree?) FINALLY getting to my idea. I'm sure others may have thought of something less paramecium looking, but this was the shape I thought would look fun on the wall. Office spaces always seem very sterile and "square" and lines-ish to me, so I thought some curve in the room would help it look a bit more balanced. I used the paisleys from the boys linens in their room for reference. Isaac woke up from his nap (having no clue I had grabbed one of their shams while they were sleeping) and said, "Hey Mama! You painted that? That looks like our blanket in our room." I guess I shouldn't be surprised since he's slept on it for like a year, but I'm impressed nonetheless!

And color. Sure, the color orange was very colorful too...but my friend Kellie painted her wall turquoise and I wanted one too. I thought maybe a lighter color like hers, but a deep deep turquoise-y ocean blue just seemed right for the space. Trust me. Like I said, I spent months walking by this wall thinking about what could go on it. :)

Then the details. Yes, that's a pencil. Later that day my hubby sprang for a paintbrush set for me at a whopping RM3.90 (about $1.30!) Also, it was really difficult to make that breaker box look authentic, but I think I pulled it off.

It's way more easy to paint with tile floors. Carpet is overrated and hampers creativity. It's also no friend to potty training. ;)

Ta dah! You like? We plan to get a glass-top desk and some fun curtains and what not. When that time comes, I'll post a full-fledged "loft" post.

Christmas Decor

2011-12-06T00:13:00.001-05:00

Decorating this house for Christmas was fun. Particularly the snowflakes! I think next year I'll think of something fun to do with lights in the atrium, but paper (we already had) and fishing line was cheaper than buying more lights.

Snowflakes in the atrium!

Stormtrooper snowflake. And they say every snowflake is unique. Psha.

Other than the 80-something degree-ness of the room, doesn't this pic look homey? I think it does. This was the last day of
the thankful tree.

Our camera has focusing issues, but I like this angle. 3 trees!

Isaac took this! And Isaiah ripped the broom off the snowman's stick (twice) and pulled off the star from one snowman. Kids. Good times.

Yay! 3 Stockings! God is good!

Still Thankful...

2011-12-03T23:49:00.001-05:00

...even though it's been over a week since we stuffed our faces with food and filled our hearts with being around friends.
It's a tradition around here for us to head to the Highlands for Thanksgiving. (2006, 2007, 2008 Go there and see my hair long and us without kids) The Highlands is cool, not cold, just like Florida is around the Holidays. So we feel a bit more like we're at home in Florida when we go... except for the winding mountain road (that Isaiah puked on...twice... once going up, once coming down), the dense tropical rainforest, the waterfalls, the aboriginal jungle people, the tea plantations, the Indian food, and the strawberries- er rather, the strawberries growing in November as opposed to the Florida ones that grow in Spring-Summer- yeah, other than that, it's JUST like Florida. :)

All the "kids" in the back sleeping. See Immanuelle's seat in the back right? If you're ever in Asia and as a foreigner you don't feel like you're getting stared at enough when you stop for gas/feed the baby, just open up the back hatch and put your infant into their seat over the back seat, along with the luggage and close the door. That should do it.

Kaylee was passed out in the car because she stayed up ALL NIGHT LONG (as in didn't go to sleep) helping our cupcake neighbor bake/decorate 2 cakes for the SULTAN! How stinkin' cool is THAT?!? The first cake was for his nephew, a prince, turning 1 year old. Kaylee made a ton of those red balls going around the bottom and Elmo's nose. The other cake was for the Sultan himself. That should be the first thing on any resume she fills out now, "Made birthday cake for Sultan."

Half-way up the mountain is this huge waterfall where we always stop so we ~~don't puke in the car~~ can take pictures.

"Auntie" at our favorite Indian restaurant who usually does things like give our kids huge chocolate bars without asking. It's our first stop every year. She totally held Immanuelle the entire meal. Ellie Bird LOVED it and fell asleep.

This is the food we get at Auntie's Restaurant (Restoran Kumar is the name) Tandoori Chicken with garlic naan, banana leaf, with strawberry lassi's, and strawberry roti. Mmmmm! Get's me in the Thanksgiving Spirit just thinking about it!

Isaac took this photo! So thankful for the people we're eating with. They are a HUGE blessing in our lives.

INSERT BREAK: After Restoran Kumar, we ~~were too lazy to look for~~ couldn't find the camera until the morning we left. So there aren't any pics of Thanksgiving day...but see our other posts about it and just insert older and more Rivers children into those photos and that's what it was like :)

Drive down the mountain. I say, if your kid is gonna puke up his cinnamon roll and milk, you might as well take a picture of it.

Ahhh... flat(er) straight(er) roads. This was taken in the state we live in. Just in case you wanted to see a little of the countryside. Goodness it's gorgeous here.

...and one last one which should transition us into Christmastime pics quite smoothly. Click on the pic to make it bigger. This sign TOTALLY makes us feel like we're back in Florida driving down I-4 through Orlando past the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall. Not that we're huge shoppers or anything, but its amazing (and probably pathetic:) how much this sign makes it feel like home. So thankful!!

Grandma is Here!

2011-11-15T08:58:00.001-05:00

All the Grandparents have now met Immanuelle and the boys are probably even more confused about how far "Florida" is away... seeing as how grandparents show up quite often around here! It's way awesome to get to see them and we think they understand our life better because they've seen, tasted, smelled, touched, and heard the place we call home. Their visits work double-time though in helping them connect with our world here and us (especially the kids!) to remain close and shorten the distance between "home here" and "home there."

3 Generations of Rivers girls at the nail salon. Just as it should be!

Eating Italian (for her birthday!)

Eating Japanese (sushi)

Eating Malaysian (Free! At a wedding!)

Eating Chinese (??? Not rice or dim sum, oh no, we had fresh-baked coconut buns!)

Hindu temple...

These girls were like bridesmaids at a wedding. Except we can't figure out their outfits, which are like nothing we've ever seen before here. We think the bride may have chosen these just to make her wedding stand out in some way. Or she's a big fan of "Aladdin."

Waterfall!

Days like today and pictures like this make me want a dozen more kids! (then I get over it;)

Their eyes are why this one made it to this post. My handsome guys!

Baby girl not a huge fan of the water (though she was crying before, so I think it was actually how bright the sun was...and how hot!)

Love love love this one!

Thankful Tree

2011-11-05T05:55:00.000-04:00

We made a Thankful Tree today!

Everyday (that we can remember to) in November we'll each write on a "leaf" something we're thankful for. I got the idea from this blog. I decided to do "leaves" because it makes sense for a thankful TREE. However, it's fall, so we're working backwards and putting leaves ON our tree...that and we live pretty much on the equator so "fall" is a foreign concept anyway!


Here's us looking for sticks under the very lush green trees. :)

Isaiah stayed on his bike most of the time. I think he found one stick and one flower.

Me smelling a stick. I could smell cat pee near there and didn't want to bring a smelly stick into my house. It was pee-free, fyi. I have NO clue why my husband took a picture of me smelling it. But thought it was funny.

We colored paper with fall-ish colors and then cut leaves out of the decorated paper.

Writing on the leaves what we're thankful for. If Isaiah had really been thinking he would have said he was thankful for "markers"...why??....

...because when the markers got taken away from him it was obvious he really liked them.

We will be hot-gluing our thankful thoughts onto the tree. Living in the tropics where electricity is REALLY expensive means that most rooms are cooled by fans only. We need to make sure those leaves don't go anywhere!

Thank you Jesus for all you've given us! Your blessings in our lives are so undeserved and yet you pile them on. Thank you!!

Takin' Care of Babies...

2011-10-22T06:57:00.000-04:00

Any of you out there interested in hearing some about having a baby in not-America? Here are a few pics we took this past week...some are just funny and some bring the differences between America and not-America to mind. Since I am currently holding my newborn in one arm, I'll keep this post less-wordy with my one free hand:)

Blood Pressure Cuff. While laboring with an epidural I had to wear this the whole time...exactly like America. I also got to watch my contractions on the TOCO machine. Because of the epidural we were a bit bored in the downtime and noticed the picture on the cuff. I guess you know you're a giant if they strap the blood pressure cuff to your thigh!

In the states I think they have mirrors they can set up while you're delivering to be able to watch your baby's birth. I guess our hospital doesn't have one and my OB has her own that she's labeled and leaves in the labor ward. She said her last one disappeared so she labeled this one:)

Is this a British thing? Doctors wear wellington boots during delivery...they had them out and ready for my doctor.

This definitely has cultural ties... they never ask you the name of your baby in the hospital. Your baby is simply known as "Daughter of" or "Son of." When we went for our 1 week check-up at the pediatrician I filled out all of Immanuelle's forms and they never once asked for her name...the assistant told me, "Oh, you can just put "Daughter of" and then write your name..." when I told her my daughter had a name and asked her if I could just write that she seemed super surprised (she is Indian and I'm fairly sure they don't give names until they're 1...but Chinese and Malay I think give names at birth!??) and even said "She has a name?!? Already!?!"

There are no child carseat laws here (they're getting there though) so no one checked or even asked if I had a proper seat to take her home in.

Here they must go into "pantang" or "confinement" for a month or so after delivery. Mom and baby stay inside while Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters, or other female helpers cook and care for them both. Each culture (Malay, Chinese, Indian) must follow a strict diet. Here's where I think they got things major wrong. I'm great with someone cooking and cleaning for me, but what good is burning off all those free calories because of breastfeeding if you can't eat what you want?

Here's something this country does well. Baby care rooms at most local malls. This is one of the nicer ones, but the door Isaiah is opening can be closed and locked and the curtains in the background have comfy chairs for nursing in them...so a mom by herself can nurse her baby while older siblings play. This room has about 6 changing stations like where Anthony is standing, and comes complete with a hot water heater for formula and an Adult/Child bathroom with a tiny toilet for toddlers...all in one room. You even have to press a button on the wall to get the large door to slide open...so kids can't just run out. Brilliant!

This is our pediatrician's office. There's another play table area. I'm mostly posting this so folks can see what nice facilities there are here for medical care. It really is top notch! Also, my dad passed out is pretty funny too.

So that's some of how things go here when it comes to having babies! Wanna know anything else? Just ask!

Immanuelle Marie Rivers

2011-10-12T10:45:00.001-04:00

October 12, 2011
3.465 kgs, 49cm long
via VBAC delivery

Happy Birthday sweet Immanuelle! So glad to finally meet you!

"Hello Due Date. We meet again."

2011-10-10T10:27:00.001-04:00

I've been here before. 40 weeks pregnant. It happens. Really. Sometimes more than once. Like with me.

So here's what we did this week instead of taking pictures of our daughter...who isn't born yet.

What would week 39 be without a trip to the hospital for false labor? 2 minutes apart for several hours? Yep! Actually in labor? Nope! The next day they were 1-1.5 minutes long each (that's long) for over 12 hours. Actually in labor? Nope! I'll be back there some day. Some day.

Embracing the last days with just ours boys. Sometimes afternoon thunderstorms require snuggles. (We are at a guesthouse of sorts in the capital...waiting for the 3rd Rivers child)

My (Sharon) parents are here! My mom's feet are there on the left :) Pedicure complete with girly colors and nail-art-designs. Check!

Evening walk to McDonald's for ice cream.

Pigeons.

Kaylee's, Isaiah's and my parents' first trip to the Batu Caves. Eat your heart out Nebuchadnezzar.

Wanna get stared at a whole lot? Be really big pregnant and climb 272 stairs. Wanna get labor started? Apparently it's not by climbing up and down 272 stairs.

Kaylee at the top. She's mostly glad there aren't as many monkeys as we told her there would be.

There are man-made shrines inside, but how can that compare to the beauty the Creator of the caves gave them? No comparison!

...and back down again.

There technically was one photo taken of i3 today. Can you see her face? No worries if you can't...she really will be here soon. Right??

Full Term Baby!

2011-09-27T11:04:00.003-04:00

Here is the post where I'm 9 months pregnant.

All you girls out there that think one day you'll grow up, get married, and have a baby or two, just know it doesn't stop AT 9 months, you are pregnant for 9 FULL months. Well, if you're me you are. Some girls get to skip to the baby in the arms part at 37-38 weeks, but I just don't think that's how it works for me. Though if any of you would like to pray otherwise, I won't stop you!

This is the blogpost where you get to leave the guess as to when Miss Immanuelle Marie will arrive! I know you've been anxiously waiting for it!

Here's fuel to help you all make informed guesses:
* I'm now 38 weeks 3 days pregnant and due October 10.
* Isaac was born at 40 weeks + 5 days by C-section
* I haven't really had any contractions- Braxton Hicks or the real kind!
* October 4 (39 weeks) is when we head to the capital city to wait on i3. We plan to deliver in the same hospital and with the same doctor as with Isaac.
* It takes 3.5 hours to get to the hospital in the capital city from our house that is not in the capital city (for all you folks thinkin' she'll come before 39 weeks) There is a hospital about 5 minutes from our house that is my back-up.
* I plan to try and deliver i3 naturally (VBAC)...which is why I wanted my same doc and hospital!
* Isaac was 4.03kgs...which we think was right at 9lbs, maybe under. He was not fat and neither was I.
* My parents arrive Friday October 7 at 9:30pm.

36 weeks... a couple days before my sewing machine broke. Anthony thought the threads on my belly were funny. When my sewing machine gets fixed, I'll post pics of her room! Not done yet!

Us making the "template" for painting polka dots in the nursery. The picture though is to show my belly at 37 weeks. And yes, I needed help to get off the floor.

38 weeks and getting a pedicure. My toes are now pink and sparkly. I painted them blue before Isaac came. Next week if she's still not here, I'm going to get them repainted in the capital. Why? Why not!?!

Date
Time
Location
Weight

Post your guesses!

Here's mine...just because I like playing too...and am hopeful...
9-10-11 Sunday, October 9, 2011 (in "not-America", the date is written DD-MM-YY...and I like this particular birthdate. You may write yours the American way or not-American way )
10:08am
Hospital in the Capital City
3.5kgs (you may post yours in pounds or kilograms. 3ish kgs is somewhere in the 7lbs range)

It's that time of year again...

2011-08-30T12:37:00.001-04:00

Our "Cupcake Neighbor" (she bakes professionally!) and her husband who invited us to go with them today. Their 3 yr old son was asleep in the car and our 3 yr old son was refusing to take pictures.

The feasting month after the fasting month has begun!
And like so many things we've discovered in this seemingly very different culture, the fondness for buying matching outfits on a big holiday (think Christmas and Easter) transcends international, religious, cultural and ethnic boundaries. All siblings matching (and parents included) is cute world-wide!

Kaylee looking lovely in her Raya best. Me looking like the Pacific Ocean with that much blue fabric. This was the outfit I had made from the Indian Sari material I found a few months ago! It turned out great, but still...there's no minimizing the belly these days...

How cute is this picture?

So once we're all dressed up, what do you do all day?

Go from house to house and eat, of course.

The Yard... "After" photos!

2011-08-24T04:40:00.004-04:00

It seems we're on a roll here. A sod roll that is.
The past week and a half have been dedicated to getting the yard done. The biggest holiday of the year is coming up and Isaiah's 2nd birthday is too. This is definitely the biggest "room" at our house and with 2 little boys running around, one of the most important! Knowing that they'll be able to run around and expend all that energy safely while I can be inside with baby sister in the coming weeks WITHOUT having to go to the park or load up the stroller is a wonderful thought.

But lemme tell ya, this piece of ground was a BEAST. This post is coming to you after many days and hours of blood, sweat, tears, cramps, blisters, sunburns and probably more than a couple cuss words mumbled under our breath. Just being real folks. We even had a 14-year-old choose Geometry Homework on a Saturday over working another minute in the yard (he lasted about an hour).

A couple days ago as we were sweating out the remaining minutes of sunlight chipping away at the hard clay, pulling the roots of the razor-grass up by hand, Kaylee stated (with a scary amount of believability in her voice), "If anyone ever says anything negative about this yard, I'll make sure they regret it."

So you all just mull that over in your head as you look at these before and after pictures and think of exactly how to phrase your comments at the end.

BEFORE-ish: Before the yard work, we cleaned the wall. Can you see the difference between the section of wall on the left and the one on the right? Kaylee, Caleb (14-yr-old referenced earlier, who, it should be noted finished this job, in the rain!) and I bleached and scrubbed the wall clean. Inside and out. Looks great!

BEFORE: Razor grass. Lots and lots of razor grass. Can't walk through the yard at all because it hurts, razor grass.

DURING: So we started the task of pulling up the razor grass. Then we realized it's all connected underground by a very hearty root system that must be removed before sod can be put down. For all you experts, no Round-up was not an option as you have to have a commercial business and a permit to put it out here...trust me, digging by hand was not the first option.

DURING: So then came the task of digging up the rock hard clay and digging-up as many roots by hand as possible. The nursery where we bought our grass could have done this for us but we just didn't have the $500 extra it'd take.

DURING: I like this picture. Not because of the poor lighting nor the side sweat on my belly, but because it helps capture just how HOT it was to do all this work. I labored for 36 hours with Isaac and didn't come out with a sunburn or blisters...this lasted longer, days and days longer and there were unfortunately no epidurals involved and in the end I was still pregnant.

DURING: This brightened our spirits a bit. Like green and clay Swiss Cake Rolls, the sod arrived last Saturday. Which started the countdown. It all had to be put down within 3 days or the sod would die.

DURING: Doesn't it look so nice going down? This was Saturday. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday all passed between this photo and the next...

DURING: Tuesday Night. 11pm. Finally done. This is how I found Kaylee when I came around the corner to go in the house.

DURING: I really kept waiting for her to announce "I did NOT sign up for THIS!!" every hour of the long process or simply come out of her room with her bags packed, or just be gone one morning with a note left behind. But she stayed til the bittersweet end. She got a cramp in her entire right hand last night as she slept. What a treasure she is!

AFTER: This morning the boys did this in the yard. Oh sweetness. This photo is what I had to conjure up in my brain during those hours of work. Knowing this would be the scene.

So. There it is. Who wants to come over for a BBQ?
(...and for pictures of Isaac helping to plant those snazzy yellow flowers go see the boys' blog...)

The Atrium..."after" photos

2011-08-15T03:06:00.000-04:00

There is another "room" in our house that is finished. The "Atrium" as we've come to call it. An indoor-yet-outdoor space that has come in super handy while our yard is still not finished. We keep the large sliding glass doors open all day long most days (there is a fan that blows not only in the atrium, but onto our dining area too!) and the boys have found the spot a never-ending source of entertainment. "The Rocks" is what they call it. "Come play in the rocks wif me!" is something you'll hear Isaac say most every day.

While this space took much more physical effort (thanks Daddy and Mama!) it won't require 2 posts. Here are some before, during, and most importantly some after pictures.

BEFORE: concrete chunks, cigarette butts, and anything else small and discard-able that the construction crews didn't need. What this picture DOESN'T convey is the cat pee smell as the space was also used while the house was vacant by neighborhood cats as a litter box. Couldn't let my boys out there for a second without them getting filthy dirty or (Isaiah) eating a cigarette butt or two.

DURING: It took a couple DAYS but we hauled all the rocks and debris out and tried to level the ground a bit in the middle.

DURING: If you look in the picture before this one, you'll see the quality paint job done, particularly around the bottom few inches of the space. We decided a dark green would keep with the "Atrium" feel so filled in the unpainted part.

DURING: Then after much debate and a couple-day search for Quik-crete (which in the land of concrete here does NOT exist, at least not the kind we needed) we decided to lay down some plastic sheeting (double and in some lumpier spots, triple and quadruple-layered) to keep the dust at bay and to put nice smooth rocks down. The "rock store" didn't have enough in any one color, so we bought all of them.

DURING: Us taping and cutting the plastic sheeting down. When it came time, all four adults (us two and my parents) had way too much fun ripping the bags of rocks open and dumping the various colors and filling in the space with them at like 11pm. It was the last step in a long process and we had fun with it!

AFTER: Nice huh?

AFTER: So neat. So cat pee free.

AFTER: My son standing in the rocks and smiling. Because they're a lot of fun.

AFTER: Kaylee gets her rock time everyday too. We've also noticed that she needs some help on her basic math skills, but we're glad the rocks in the atrium are there and that the space is DONE!

The Making of... the boys' room

2011-08-08T12:12:00.004-04:00

I realize a post like this shows my ~~obsession with~~ fondness for decorating. So my apologies to any male readers who don't care. Though you should, seeing as how at least the first project was completed much faster due to the mad skills of my husband. There are also shots of my boys in this post that are really just more for displaying their cuteness than helping anyone with a craft project.

on to the projects...
Project 1: The "cornice boards" or valances.
Materials: Super thin plywood (really unfinished wood laminate), corner brackets, screws, a saw, scissors, foam, tape, staple gun, fabric, a hammer drill, wall anchors, and a few more screws.
Total project time: 5 hours-ish. Though it took days for me because I had to wait to put up the blinds before installing the valances.

Final product on the window. White-colored blackout roller blinds included

Step 1- Locate plywood. Hardware stores here in our part of Asia have them. We managed to get a huge piece. If you're doing this project in the US then any material stiff enough to hold it's shape, yet light enough to have a long piece that won't require all kinds of installation difficulties because of the final weight will work. Here all I could find was thin plywood and it worked great.

My hubby coming back from the hardware store with the plywood. He supports my love of decorating:)

Step 2- Measure how large you want your valances. The big window in the boys' room is 6 feet wide so I went a couple inches on either side to compensate for blinds/curtains/etc that would be installed under the valances. So to make a "box" shaped valance, I measured one piece about 6.5 feet in length/width, and two small ones about 3.5-4inches wide, as the part that comes out from the wall. The "height" of my valance depended on the foam I found. Doesn't matter how thick/tall/high they are as long as you like them. I think my foam was like 14 inches, so the height of each of the 3 (6 total for both windows) pieces was about 13 inches. Cut the boards.

We have drainage ditches around our house that worked great for him to use to saw the boards. And we measured and cut them so there was a lot of plywood left. Think we may see a repeat of this project in other rooms!

Step 3- Attach the boards together at right angles to make the box. We used 8 brackets (correct term? I dunno, a 90 degree hinge thing, but that doesn't move). 4 to make the actual box shape of the valance frame and 4 more for attaching it to the wall. In the end we discovered that we really only needed 2 brackets to attach it to the wall bc it was light enough. But I would recommend attaching all the hardware/brackets before adding any foam or fabric.

Corner brackets on the outside, wall-attaching brackets on the inside. A man who can attach brackets AND has nice legs? Got a great man for sure! Note: at this stage we were like, "Wow. This seems kinda flimsy" but in the end everything held up nicely and was lightweight.

Step 4- Attach the foam. No JoAnn fabric stores here. I used what I found at a hardware store and just taped the foam (wasn't very strong tape) to the valance frame to hold it in place until I got the fabric secured around it. To make the fabric end up looking nice and plump, I made sure to let the foam go up over the edges of the board. Maybe about a half-inch or so. So foam was 14 inches, board behind it, 13 inches.

So you can see the tape in place. Please don't be confused by Isaac's opinion of how the foam scraps should be used. :)

Step 5- Secure the fabric to your foamed valance frame. I used a staple gun, but with a board this thin I could have probably gotten away with hot glue and a regular desk stapler. (Note: the fabric I used was plaid. So getting the lines straight was important. I started in the middle and worked my way to either side constantly pulling, checking, and smoothing the fabric around the foam. The corners I just kind of tried to make look neat. I'm sure a professional upholsterer would be appalled at my finished product, but I had very few wrinkles in the corners and the plaid ended up straight, so that was good enough for me!

Step 6- IMPORTANT!!! Install ANY blinds, shades, curtains, curtain rods, etc that will go under the valance BEFORE the valance. The valance goes last. My "design plan" included wooden blinds to give the room a warm masculine feel. But alas IKEA didn't carry them long enough for our windows and "custom" blinds are as expensive as you'd expect. So we went with white-colored blackout shades. The fingerprints from the boys touching them will probably eventually drive me mad, but they keep it dark in the room and dark = sleep. Here is where I give a shout out to Mr. Sivad for coming and assisting Anthony with measuring, marking the drill holes, holding up of valances so I could tell them when it was centered and straight, etc. This picture doesn't do his help justice, but it made me laugh, so I'm posting it anyway.

Step 7- Attach valances to the walls. Here in Asia EVERYTHING is built from concrete. So a hammerdrill, wall anchors, and screws are always necessary. However you attach your valance is up to you and whatever works best on your walls. They never get pulled on or touched so I'd recommend the path of least difficulty. If they stay put, that's all you need:)

Project 2: The Boys' Name Frames
Materials: Poster paint, a thicker-than-computer-paper art paper, scissors, tape, and frames. Having 2 sweet boys to do the painting helps too, but isn't absolutely necessary. You could also use a sweet little girl or two.
Total Project Time: 1 hour (hands-on) but add time for the drying of the poster paint:)

This is really straightforward. I had 2 matching frames and got the boys to paint several pictures on poster/craft paper with poster paint, then I painted their names on poster/craft paper and tried very neatly to cut out their names so that they were even. I didn't measure or anything though, just eyeballed it. Then taped their name cut-outs to their artwork and put them in the frame (had to trim some of the paper to make it fit). Because I couldn't do wood blinds, I decided to keep them the dark brown wood color instead of painting them some fun color...but a fun color would be, well, fun, if it worked in a room for you! Easy peasy. The fun part was the painting and the pictures of my adorable boys. :)

Sometimes they're just extra cute!

I had them paint more than one so I could have a choice. They didn't mind! The ones I chose they painted with paint brushes...

...though they made a couple with their fingers too. My Righty and my Lefty getting their paint on!

The kiddie pool was waiting for them when they were done.

"Clean up" of materials and children is included in the project time :) Though seriously, that kiddie pool for them to jump in afterwards ended up being a smarter idea than I expected.

I'm sure this is what Michelangelo looked like as a 3 year old.

Project 3: The Toy Shelf
Materials: IKEA "Gorm" shelf (or any other paintable wood rack), paint, hardware to assemble said shelf.
Total Project Time: 2 hours (hands-on) Though we let paint dry over night before assembling shelf.

This also really has no steps and is more a shout out to Mrs. Sivad for bringing a truckload of paint color samples from the US, and to Kaylee and my husband for helping me narrow down a paint color (Anthony was a fan of primary colors, Kaylee of fun colors... so in the end a light, bright yellow was chosen). Kaylee also helped me paint and assemble the shelf. It is simply a "GORM" shelf from IKEA...we chose it mostly because shelving here involves hammerdrills, wall anchors, and screws. This required none of that and my husband was a fan:) We painted it first, then assembled it. I briefly considered getting us matching orange painting smocks, but decided against it in the end. They wouldn't have helped all the yellow paint I got on Kaylee's feet anyway.

So there ya have it. I have ONE more craft project I'm planning to do for the boys' room- Growth Charts. I have a cute idea for them, but they'll probably have to wait until after little Sister's room is done. Thanks to everyone for your help!

Boys' Room- AFTER photos!

2011-08-02T05:14:00.000-04:00

The first room in our house is finally complete!
I realize these pics are slow in coming and the 7 or so of you who cared at one point might have dwindled...but here they are nonetheless!

A reminder of the before... geometry and half-blue walls...

...standing by the bathroom door...

...standing in corner with small window looking toward bathroom...

AFTER...

From doorway. (one of the big problems with this room is the hot morning sun coming in the big window and the hot afternoon sun coming in the little one...we think we fixed it;)

...in corner with small window looking towards bathroom (standing on Zay's bed:) I wanted a bigger rug for their room but the "Lightning McQueen" rug was given to them by the childcare workers in Bali. Free is free and the boys love it!

From bathroom through doorway...

The toy shelf.

...standing beside wardrobes looking toward beds :)

Personalized art work...

...and the reason we did it all! :) These two sweet boys!

I will do a "The Making of..." posts for
1. The curtains (well, the valances)
2. The framed artwork
3. The toy shelf

The valance is the only thing with actual "steps" to it, but my husband, the boys, our neighbors, and Kaylee all helped make the room happen, so I want to give credit where credit is due. For now enjoy the done-ness!

Family Tour Guides...

2011-08-01T10:09:00.001-04:00

We are privileged to do a lot as a family living where we do. Though with 2 small kids (and a smaller one on the way) getting to go everywhere as a family when Guests come from the states is a real treat. We had juuuuust enough room in our van for each tourist and each Rivers to fit. And since we just moved to a new area, it was really fun seeing some new sights. The group from Florida were real troopers as we took them thither and yon and made them all eat funky stuff.

For pictures of more "Isaac & Isaiah" centered moments see their blog.

Begin photog recap now... (with a heavy emphasis on the island we'd never been to...)


Tour of Sikh Temple...

Standing not very still in front of the really old oven where delicious banana bread is baked...

What it looks like when you eat and get drinks near the end of Asia. In case you were wondering.


What it looks like when you try to chase mud-fish in a mangrove swamp...which is a lot like what happens when you try to get out just a litttttle bit farther to take pics of the beach...


Brave brave souls and the King of Fruits...

...End of Continental Asia...

I think the planking photos were originally suggested to mock all the planking on facebook. Then the Rivers boys brought their A-Game in Singapore and it was on from then on...

Merlion Plank. (Mr. A actually has the better picture of this) also Singapore.

What the Rivers' boys look like at a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Cute. Though it isn't Isaac's norm to hug plants.

Really old famous church in Melaka.

Really really awesome bed & breakfast in a village on the coast of the South China Sea. We all could have stayed another night or two there!

... the b&b was our jumping off point to visit an island for a day. This is what the Rivers boys look like climbing on our guests from Florida. We were on a ferry out to the island so the guests couldn't escape:)

just a wee bit pretty.

...just a wee bit stinkin' excited to be there...

It's just hard not to take pics next to blue water like that...

...or IN the water...

So am I the only one that cares that I don't look pregnant in this photo? Or is everyone looking at the straight-from-a-post-card scenery instead? Or the 2 gorgeous girls in the photo with me? ...

The water was like a magnet for cameras. Kaylee and Nadia were both thrilled at having their beach-tired pictures taken with the blue water:)

The local departure phrase, translated, is "Meet Again!" Hope we do beautiful little island!

So glad Kaylee got to see so much of our beautiful slice of paradise! I'm sure these gorgeous views will help her find her happy place when the Rivers boys are driving her crazy!

The plank that wasn't. Such a shame too. But we're fairly sure we would have gotten in trouble with the local authorities when our planking broke the tea cup. We salute you unplankable cup.

And that about wraps it up! If you're interested in seeing our part of the world, let us know!

Sleepy Sunday

2011-07-31T08:39:00.000-04:00

We feel the need to put up a new post but are both Sunday tired. So here's a one picture post:

Meet Kaylee

2011-07-23T09:48:00.001-04:00

This week we are hosting a few folks from the Sunshine State. My husband's job is to be tour guide to them and to share with them his extensive knowledge of the beautiful country we live in. Along with these guests came Kaylee.

This is Kaylee.

This is Kaylee's "I'm not eating anything weird or new" face.

Kaylee is also from the Sunshine State. In fact, we grew up in the same hometown and I know her Grandparents, Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I know them because most of my family and most of hers attend the same church in our little hometown. I remember when this gorgeous young lady was a tiny adorable doe-eyed infant.

You can smell the durian before you ever crack one open.

During our time in the states I had time to watch and observe Kaylee in action. Mostly at church since that's where I know her from, I saw her love and serve others, faithfully attend church and be an active part of a believing community....not because she was dragged there but because she has a genuine Faith and it affects (for the better!) the people around her. Alongside her mom she cares for her 2 young nephews everyday and she also worked at my Uncle's feed store (Yes ma'am, we are frum the cawntree!) so I got to ask him about her work ethic and what kind of "employee" she was - (totally behind her back;)

Freshly baked in a WWII-era wood burning oven, Banana Bread! Yum!

So why tell you about Kaylee?

Easy to smile while smelling delicious banana bread.

Because she will probably be appearing on this blog quite a bit until December. She will be living with us for the fall semester. So maybe here is where I can include that she's probably got some sort of Crazy in her too, but that's alright as it'll make her fit in better with us. We call her our "Au Pair" as that sounds way more world-travely and exciting than "Nanny"...but the truth is, she's agreed to taking a semester off school to come all the way over here and help me take care of our boys so I can get out of the house a bit easier and to help with the transition from 2 to 3 Rivers children in October.

...but there's a time when everyone who comes has to eat durian. Kaylee included. Doesn't matter how many diapers she says she'll change. Durian is a rite of passage.

We warned her. We told her about poop and pee and temper tantrums (the first 2 are about our boys) and culture shock and the heat and the durians, and the squatty potties but she came anyway. And for that we are so grateful!

I'm quite positive she is contemplating how to not eat the durian that lady is about to break open. On a side note, we didn't MEAN to schedule her arrival smack-dab in the middle of durian season.

She's spending her first week here with our guests from the University of South Florida and then after that she'll be moving into her room off the kitchen. She's particularly excited about learning aaallll about the world of cloth diapers and seeing me in the kitchen every morning before I brush my teeth.

At the Southernmost Point of the Continent of Asia. See. It hasn't been just her eating weird things.

Her presence has already been such a blessing and help to us and to our boys. Keep it on this channel to see all the fun she'll be adding to our family...the more people involved in our poopy and weird food stories, the better!

Bali: Part Two

2011-07-06T09:37:00.003-04:00

...the rest of my parents' trip here was a lot of fun. We went to conference for a few days so didn't get many pictures of the last few days in Bali (though one of the buildings at the resort burnt down while we were there! Wish I had a picture of that! No one was injured and it wasn't guestrooms that burnt.)

When we got home my parents got to hang out with our neighbors and co-workers some. We went to "U-turn Satay" and "Cheeslicious" the same night. My mom made the comment that those two eating establishments display and help define the wonderful range of life here. Easily accessible yummy cheap traditional local food and easily accessible non-native western 'delicacy' food. I think in one night we might have established a tradition! Satay and cheesecake!

Enjoy the rest of the pics!

I know it's tough to find good employees, but I'm fairly sure it wouldn't be hard to find one that wasn't THIS obvious in their slacking off. No joke, she woke up because some monkeys in the tree above her shook the branch and the rain water on the leaves of the tree splashed her.

We got to see monkeys before entering the Monkey Forest Temple (Bali is majority Hindu). And they were all macaques anyway, but fun nonetheless (basically like the monkey version of feral cats in Southeast Asia. We have some that live in the trees by an intersection near our neighborhood)

There were stone statues all over the temple grounds.

At one point a guy rang a bell somewhere to call all the monkeys to come eat. This is them running back down the stairs (and past my mom, Anthony, and the boys) to where ever.

You have to keep all valuables secured so the monkeys won't take them.

This video is hilarious. My dad laughing adds most of the humor:)

Back at the hotel a Balinese dancer (and her niece) were dancing.

Father's Day!

Bubba Gump's for Father's Day!

And you think YOU spent a lot on your dad for Father's Day?!

putting flowers in the sand at the hotel...

Love this kid!

....the drive home from the airport. It took 3.5 hours, but thankfully it was supposed to take that long and it wasn't spent pushing a car through immigration! Made for a much more chilled environment ;)

Satay with our neighbors. They've lived in this city longer and know more fun local places.

...some of the best beef satay ever!

it's hard to read from all the grease dripping down, but the sign says "U-turn" satay. I'll give you one try to guess how you get there.

...it's right off a U-turn on a highway. Quite the harrowing experience getting to it!

Ending the night at the cheesecake place. I promise Isaiah wasn't the only one excited about it;) Airconditioned, next to a multi-level mall. So different from U-turn satay and yet still a normal sight here. I had Snickers-licious Cheesecake. I'd recommend it!

We are so glad my parents got to come and stay for so long. Two grandparents having jobs that allow them to have time off like that (a Teacher and a Family owned Farm) isn't the norm and we're glad they want to come spend it with us!

Bali: Part One

2011-06-28T23:03:00.000-04:00

My parents are now landing in Moscow on their way back to the states. We had such a great time while they were here. Here are the first few thousand pictures of their time here. Sorry I have no clue how to make a photo collage so they must be looked at one by one... and even though one pool picture would have sufficed, I'm posting a googillion anyway! They spent 12 days with us at home before we all went to Bali for a vacation-within-a-vacation!

Grandparenting + Jet Lag - a proper guest bed = This :)

The grandparents helped with child-wrangling during the house-decor shopping. Also, we know that our new laundry basket can hold at least 32 pounds :)

Our neighbor (who does cake catering) sent over some cupcakes!

Before flying out to Bali we spent a day in the capital. We went to see the "Two Tall Towers and A Bridge" as Isaac calls it. This miniature telescope thing was in the waiting area before getting on the elevator. It had pictures in it of the view from the bridge between the towers.

Ahhh...family pics on a hot hazy day in the capital. The boys loved it though!

Looking down from 41 floors up. That painted roof below is on top of a 6 story mall. The towers have 88 floors, but the bridge is through the middle...still high though! They're currently the 4th tallest building in the world, and the tallest twin towers in the world.

With our house in moving-disarray and with all the traveling, we did a LOT of eating out.

...the plane to Bali...

Both boys slept on the flight! And both grandparents too!

The beach near our hotel was really dirty (great waves though if you're a surfer!) so we stuck to the pool. Isaiah attempted to drink all of it.

"Get Tight!" (which wasn't hard to make this face as the pool was cold!)

Grandmama brought water toys. And after just a few example shots and short tutoring, the boys got the hang of them pretty quickly. Though Isaiah still preferred to just try and drink the water from the pool.

I LOVE this picture. Isaac's face says everything a little boy's face should say about vacation.

Sandwich lunches on the porch...

...before awesome pool-tired naps!

Cute huh? Zay actually found a pack of gum and put several pieces in his mouth, wrappers and all. He didn't seem to mind at all.

And no trip to Bali would be complete without visiting "Ibu Oka's Babi Guling" (Mama Oka's Suckling Roasted Pig). This restaurant was featured on Anthony Bourdain's: No Reservations, Bali episode. Apparently after it aired, Ibu Oka had to move her shop to a larger location.

This is the skin of the babi guling. For a long number of hours (can't remember how many) a whole pig is turned, constantly brushed with a sugar water mixture (with coconut milk too? Go watch the episode!) until the skin gets a crispy caramelized coating around it and the meat inside is oh-so tender.

There are rows of low tables lined up inside and everyone sits on the floor. You have basically 4 sets to choose from, but most get the standard set. We ordered four sets and chowed down. It was good!!

Then we walked the super touristy streets of Ubud (the town where Ibu Oka's is on the island of Bali) and found a gelato shop. Yum!

...and that's all for now. We'll start part 2 with the Monkey Forest in Ubud....

Immigrants...

2011-06-07T12:26:00.002-04:00

If you're going to go through immigration. You might as well go all out.

My parents flew into Singapore (and we were WAY late picking them up because we had the time all wrong). Singapore is an island. Singapore is actually another country, so we had to "leave the country" to go pick them up as Singapore's airport is closer than our capital city's airport.

After picking them up, it took us about 30 minutes of driving on the tiny nation-state-island of Singapore to find a gas station. Not sure why, one was just hard to find. We needed a little extra to get us home as the grandparents were wanting showers after their day and a half of traveling. Then we only had $10 Sing Dollars on us to get gas. Instead of going through the trouble of getting some from the ATM, or taking even MORE time to find a money-changer and exchange currency, we just chose to get what little gas we could and fill up once we crossed the border. I believe something like this was said as we noted what little gas we had, and what little gas we just added as we were leaving the gas station...

"Yeah, and every Singaporean car has to have at least 3/4 tank of gas in order to leave the country so that they don't just cross the border and fill up at our stations, which are subsidised by the gov't and way cheaper. SO glad we're not driving a Singaporean car!"

THEN we decided to take "The 2nd Link." There are 2 bridges to exit the country of Singapore. One is the older, more traditionally used bridge which is usually more crowded, but crosses right over into our city and is only about 10 minutes from our house. The "2nd Link" is the newer crossing, but it's farther out, so we've never taken it. But several of our friends said, "Oh! 2nd link is SOOOOO much faster! You NEVER have to wait. There are never any lines through immigration." And since we weren't in any huge hurry and were in a good mood to finally have the grandparents in the car, we took the 2nd link to avoid the Saturday traffic (takes about an hour of sitting on the traditional bridge in line). Or so we thought.

We exited through the Singapore Immigration station with ease. No lines. At about 12:00noon.

That's when the day took a very long turn for the more interesting.

You see, the Tradtional Bridge isn't very long... from exiting Singapore's immigration station to entering the immigration station over here, it's maybe 1/2 mile.

The "2nd Link" bridge is about 4 kilometers (2 miles?) from station to station.

About 1 kilometer in, traffic was piled up and not moving. The next FOUR hours we waited in line to enter the immigration station on our country's side. With the car literally on "E" the entire time.

The rest can be told with the help of pictures...

Because we were technically in "no mans land" between the 2 borders, there was a fence lining the road. When Isaiah started crying, we all really felt like we were trapped beside the Tyrannosaurus Paddock in Jurassic Park with a screaming Velociraptor in the car.

...Velociraptor. They don't like staying seated. Especially not when Daddy and Mama left the portable DVD player at home. But Grandmama helped saved the lunch-less car ride with a box of Pop-tarts, fresh from America.


While crawling at a snail's pace (mostly sitting for about 10-15 minutes at a time, then moving up a couple car spaces then sitting again) some passengers in the car found a way to escape their seats.

This was taken about 3 hours into the wait. That many-roofed building up there is the immigration station. By this point there were many plans made for shin-kicking all those people who ever said "The 2nd Link is SO much faster."

Then we ran out of gas. This is my dad and I walking back from seeing if there was anyone at the immigration building who might be able to help. There wasn't. Big Surprise. So seeing as how we were in between two international borders and it would be difficult for any Roadside Service truck to come help us, we just stayed in traffic and Anthony and Daddy PUSHED the car the last hour or so through the line. That's right. PUSHED. As a Floridian who has seen their share of news stories of folks arriving on our shores on whatever they can find that floats, I now understand a bit better that if you don't make it happen in these situations, no one else is going to make it happen for you.

So then my mom and I took the boys to wait at the station in the shade instead of the no-longer-air-conditioned-car. Along the walk up there, Isaiah lost a shoe. Would it be appropriate to push your car through an immigration line and someone not be barefoot? I think not. Thanks Zay for keeping it real.

Then this man appeared. This is a tried-to-be hero from Singapore who offered to siphon the gas from his tank and who gave us a Nalgene bottle to fill it up with. This man who had also waited 4 hours in his car and then delayed his journey even longer to help us out. He ALMOST saved the day. But even after some pretty intense martial arts breathing techniques (really, would the day be complete without some???) he couldn't muster the courage to suck the gas. If only Justin Stephens had been there. Nice Singaporean Man at least left us with the Nalgene bottle, the hose, and some well-wishes.

This was taken just after we had all gathered outside the car and stood in front of the immigration booth (everyone just usually sits in their car and it's like a drive thru, but they stamp your passport instead of give you french fries). We then pushed the car to the side and flagged down one of the many motorcycles zooming by (many work in Singapore factories and commute everyday). One guy stopped to help. We handed him some money, our Nalgene bottle, and he gave us his word he'd go get some gas and bring it back up to the immigration building...so we waited about 20 more minutes....

...and that's just what he did. He came back with a Nalgene full of gas. He even refused to take a big thank you gift of money for his help.

So THAT folks is how you immigrate when you really want to take things up a few notches. And as much as my parents think it's funny now that they went through all that after flying for 30 hours to get here, I can assure you that the Rivers will now be taking the traditional bridge across on other trips to Singapore. Every. Single. Time.

"i3" is a...

2011-06-01T02:17:00.004-04:00

Immanuelle Marie

That's right! "i3" is a GIRL!

We are so excited and a little beside ourselves in thinking of all the change our DAUGHTER is going to bring to our home, our family, our future. The Lord is so good and we are so thankful and delighting in His plan to build our family. So far we only have one pink item in the whole house for her... this...

A cloth diaper! Anthony said he bought it weeks ago and hid it from me (he was a little more confident in his guess than I was!) He dropped me off for my appointment then went and parked the car. When we left the doctor's office I opened the door to the car and there was that cute pink and purple diaper sitting there waiting. I said, "How did you do this?" He said, "Well, I guessed, but I figured if I was wrong we could just give it to Bobby and Martha for Mary Grace." My cousins Bobby and Martha juuuuust had their 3rd baby girl Mary Grace. SO excited to give Mary Grace a cousin her age that she can play dolls with! (wait...hang on...having a moment here thinking of all the different kinds of toys soon to invade our house!) Go see an ADORABLE picture of Miss Mary Grace here!

About our name choice:

First. We know it is usually used for boys born with a Latin American heritage. I grew up in a majority-Mexican town and am well aware of this. She will probably spend most of her life not in the presence of very many Latinos, and we're good with her name being "different."
We also know it is a long name, but are confident that she will be smart enough to learn to say it, spell it, read it, and write it one day. There are a plethora of nicknames that can come from her name, so if she decides she's a "Mannie" or an "Iman" (faith in Arabic) or an "Elle" "Ellie" or "Ella" more power to her. We just know these things have rolled through our heads in deciding and the few who know her name already have said similar things. We love it and think it will fit her perfectly!

Immanuelle
I first thought of this name, with this spelling, when I was 18 weeks pregnant with Isaac. So nearly 4 years ago. I clearly remember the night I was washing dishes, wondering if the next ultrasound of our baby (Isaac) would show again that he was REALLY a boy. We hadn't thought of a girl's name and loved the name Isaac Joseph. Then out of nowhere (I was by myself in the kitchen), really before it even went through my mind, I spoke the name "Immanuelle" out loud. Just barely audible, but 'out' there. Isaac WAS a boy, so we just packed the name up.
For those of you familiar with the Christmas story and any Christian worship songs where a "list" of names is given about Jesus, know that "Emmanuel" or "Immanuel" is part of that. "God with us" is what it means. A name full of promise. Sure our Latin American friends like to use it a lot, but it's a Hebrew name, just like her big brothers' names.
The boys names both start with "I-S-A" and while Isabelle was surely a contender we're good with this choice and think it goes well with the boys. "Isa" (Ee-sa) is the Arabic pronunciation of "Jesus." So while the boys have "Jesus" IN their names, Immanuelle will have one of Jesus' actual names.

Also, the more I say it, the more feminine it sounds to me. Those guys I went to highschool with fade from memory when I say it. Immanuel (Eh-man-you'll) or Manuel (Man-well) is how I've always heard it pronounced with "boys." We are saying it "EE-man-u-elle" like it's sometimes sung when the syllables are all drawn out :) And the "-elle" on the end like "Michelle" or "Danielle" makes it look more feminine as well.

Marie:

Isaac's middle name is Joseph, which is Anthony's middle name and also a family name on my side. Isaiah's is Kingston and while not originally chosen for this reason (we chose it while we were pregnant with Isaac too, so didn't know we'd have a half-Jamaican son!), his birth father was born in Jamaica and so his middle name heralds his ethnic heritage.
"Mary" is Anthony's Mom's and Grandma's name. Mary Lou and Mary Ann respectively. I have no problems with Mary, but when said with Immanuelle, "Marie" following it seems to have a nice rhythm to it. Like the accent in Marie goes with Immanuelle better than Mary. Say both of them, "Immanuelle Mary" and "Immanuelle Marie"...you agree don't you? I thought so! ;)
The "connection" behind the name will certainly be, and we will tell her, that she is named after her grandmother and great-grandmother on her father's side.

So there ya have it folks. Our little girl. Pink. Purple. Dolls. Braided hair. Disney Princesses. Nail polish. Wedding gown. All of it is headed to the Rivers house care of Miss Immanuelle Marie.

And here is a belly picture at 20 weeks. This is the FIRST belly shot I've ever taken with a fellow-pregnant friend. She's about 2 weeks ahead of me, but is carrying twin boys. Oh. My. As much as I get comments that "Oh, I can't even tell you're pregnant!" I think we're holding our own next to twin boys!

Before...

2011-05-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

Because I don't get to share my new house journey with any of my "girlfriends" in America, (as in they come over, help me clean it, or help me paint, or go with me furniture shopping, or watch my kids while I go furniture shopping) I figured this is about as close as it gets over here. Though my friend Angie WILL be here very soon and will be very close-by for probably more ventures in home decoration than she ever thought possible. Until then though...

April my friend, here is us sharing an experience together. I don't tend to be too much of a hand-holding type, but I like to think that our blogs are doing the equivalent of that through this post.

In a couple weeks we will move into our new rental home in our new city and I will decorate it (as much as budget allows... and if you knew how Candice Olsen and I are secretly bff's in my mind and how I clap for her surface, finishes, lighting, and fabric choices, you'd know that budget isn't allowing for much. But we'll do what we can and call it home anyway!)
Here are a LOAD of pictures of our house "Before..."

House from street (behind me is the neighborhood park!)

Yard to the left, just inside the gate

Outside standing in the carport, door-grill open leading to "atrium" (as I've come to call it)

Standing at door-grill, with front door to my left looking into atrium. (you can't see front door, but it's there) It's outside but it's covered somewhat. This area is going to require hazmat suits to get clean! But we really like it as it's just off the living room and will give the boys space to play "outside" while not being in the sun!

Standing in atrium looking through glass into living room. You can't see it, but front door is off to the left from the window on the left.

Standing in corner of living room. Basically opposite view of photo above. This room will look much different! Except for the little boys you see there. We think they were designed very well and don't need any sort of color change or rearranging... those pink walls however are already gone!

Blurry picture, but this is the guest room (aka- Kaylee's Room, we'll tell you about her later). Door to the right past the atrium.

Guest Bathroom. Yes, that is a squatty potty. The blurry doorway in the pic above is the doorway I'm standing in for this pic. The white door on the left leads to the kitchen.

Standing in doorway looking at kitchen from Kaylee's squatty potty bathroom :) Orange walls are already somewhat gone and we are trying our darndest to figure out how to get rid of those random orange cabinet doors.

Opposite view of photo above. Looking from window back across kitchen toward laundry area. That's the squatty potty bathroom door again.

Standing in kitchen entry looking up the stairs.

Standing in Master bedroom doorway looking across "loft" area towards staircase and kids rooms.

Inside master bedroom looking at what will be the closet area. They really got their money's worth out of that can of orange paint!

Standing in corner of Master bedroom. Windows to the left look out to the park. You can't see it, but there is also a window off to the right that looks out/down into the atrium. LOTS of windows and natural light in this house! A big selling point for me (now to figure out how to pay for all those curtains!)

Master bathroom. Not huge, but there is already a hot water heater in here and I don't have to share this with my kids. Good with me!

Baby's room. First room off to the right at the top of the stairs. Window in this room looks out/down into atrium as well. Also ignore the pink. That was there. Though it may end up being a fun coincidence that this room is pink and the boys' room is blue. We shall see. They'll both be painted regardless (you can't see the masking tape still lining the lovely shapes on the walls, but believe me. It's there and it's sticky)

Kids' rooms share a bathroom. Walk in the nursery and to the left is the door to the bathroom. Western toilet for the kiddos!

Standing in bathroom doorway looking into boys' bedroom. That is actually Isaac's bed and mattress pre-assembled. We had to order a matching one for Isaiah...his first big boy bed! Also. As much as I love stars and squares and triangles. This paint will also be re-done.

And this will be your sneak peek into the "After" photos. This was taken in the house we're in now, but these pillows are my mother's day prizes and they will be happily displayed in our new living room!

I know that was a lot of photos and most of you don't care. But there is an interior decorator part of me that only gets let out occasionally (whether actually capable or not, it doesn't matter, I enjoy it immensely!) So of the 7 or so of you who follow the blog, thanks to the maybe 2 of you who cared enough to look at all the photos! Can't wait until there are "after" photos to show!

Me? The mother of three?

2011-05-09T01:18:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was sweet. Mother's Day. I didn't cook not one time. And Anthony let me buy a couple of large throw pillows for our new couch/living room/house.

But this morning, the morning after such a sweet day, even AFTER spending time in the word and praying specifically for patience and kindness, I lost it. I think the washing machine was the straw. I pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and up came a knotted mess of clothes and like a sleeping dragon waking, I got angry. I yelled. I didn't merely "unknot" the clothes so I could hang them up to dry. No. Really, it's a miracle they were all still intact once I got them out. They definitely didn't have any sort of self-esteem left when I got through with them.

After my episode, part of which was unnecessarily taken out on my amazing husband, I went in my room ~~to pout~~ to pray and figure things out. Why had I gotten so angry? The Holy Spirit in that gentle, but firm way He does things convicted me of my selfishness and well, my selfishness. He comforted me too and while the greatest comfort came in the fact that my Lord is willing to listen to me even when I'm being a big baby, I also found a little relief in the fact that clothes balls won't be coming out of my washer in a couple weeks (see post below) and that I won't have to wash the dishes in the kitchen sink just so I can brush my teeth (only sink in the house now, changing in less than 3 weeks!).

So childish and selfish, isn't it? Part of it is culture stress of course, but part of it, most of it really, though of all the things I'm conscious to do in my spiritual walk, was because of my selfishness and unthankfulness. Discontentment. Why should a stupid washing machine with an agitator bring me comfort? Holy cow, I have CLEAN water that comes straight out of the ONE sink in our little house right now and I can wash my dishes and brush my teeth in that one sink without fearing that I'm giving my self, my unborn child, or my family some sort of water-borne illness. So ungrateful I am!

So, now that the kids are taking a nap (the Lord is merciful, amen?) I sat down to get on the internet and came across this post from a blog I follow. This little lecture in the form of a Mother's Thoughts was EXACTLY what I needed for my selfish, high-maintenance, un-Christlike attitude today (and way too many other days as well). And while not all my selfishness stems from me fighting to save "Sharon" in the midst of her disappearing into the "Rivers kids" a HUGE part of my life is my children, and with the addition of #3 it's just going to become more-so... and so often my attitude and my heart towards them isn't what it should be.

As the mother with 2 little ones and another on the way I really wonder how there will be enough grace to cover me, the Dragon-Mama, some days... this perspective below (I should probably print this out and post it on the fridge or above the kitchen sink...whether I have to brush my teeth in it or not) is what I want to learn from the Lord. Then maybe our clothes, my husband, and our children won't suffer from my selfish fire-breathing ways...

The following made me cry.

A "I'm so sorry Lord" kind of cry.
A "teach me Lord because I want this type of wisdom" kind of cry.

These were written by a mother-in-law on the request of her daughter-in-law who wanted to learn from her...
________________________

I grow increasingly convinced that God values children much, much more than we do.

We value a clean floor more than children. We value free time more than children. We value the good dishes more than children. We value going out to eat or watching grown-up television shows more than we value children.

All the world, including the church, tells us that children are a bother, perhaps even a mistake. If you don’t believe that, introduce a family with many babies into your church and see how long it takes for someone to say, “They know what causes that, don’t they?”

We have let the world convince us that a large family is a curse, when the Bible clearly teaches that many children are a blessing, a sign of God’s great favor.

If I had the choice right now, there would be more children in my family. And I think I might be brave enough to let God decide how many.

I remember that it seemed a little frantic around my house when the children were little. I never got “it all” done, whatever “it all” is. There was not much privacy or money or free time. There was lots of laundry and garbage and stinky stuff. The boys were going to be 2 and 4 forever. It was never going to end.

Don’t get me wrong - I enjoyed my boys. But it was all colored by that worldly, selfish, hurry-up-and-grow-up attitude. And then it was over. I woke up one morning and they were almost as tall as me. The next day, or so it seemed, they didn’t even live with us. Now there is not much garbage or laundry or stinky stuff. And there is much more privacy and money and free time.

I’d trade it all in a heartbeat.

I would do laundry around the clock if it meant I could have one more day with my little boys in my home. I want the piles of blue jeans back. If my family had been larger, perhaps I would have grown in wisdom and learned to treasure the tiny victories and agonies of everyday. Perhaps not, but at least it would have lasted longer.

You think they’ll be little forever. You can’t imagine being able to handle – afford – care for another little life. But you can. And it will be over before you know it, with plenty of years left to use the good dishes.

Do I need a Mother's Day gift?

2011-05-05T11:39:00.005-04:00

...especially when we bought these this week?

Lemme 'splain. This is in our new house. The gem on the right is an Electrolux 11kg washing machine (holds 11kilograms of clothes). There are bigger ones out there, but this one has an AGITATOR in the middle.

Do you know what that means to this American?

Usually I'm anti-agitator and have to get on to my boys multiple times a day for agitating each other and have to quote "a sharp word stirs up anger but a gentle answer turns away wrath" to myself when they agitate me.

But this is different.

Most washing machines in Asia, for some unknown reason, don't have agitators in them. They're either front-loading washers or washers that rotate and spin the clothes from an upright position but with no stick made for washing the clothes sticking up the middle, just an open tub.

This leaves Every. Single. Article. Twisted. Together.

I don't need to do puzzles in Asia or watch that episode of Animal planet where snakes breed, because each load of laundry gives me a chance to figure out which pants leg or shirt to pull on first to get the ball of knotted clothing to pull apart. It's like I'm being tested to enter the gifted program each and every time. "Now Sharon, please look at this mass of fabric in this tub for 10 seconds and tell me which article I should take out first in order to make emptying of the washer the easiest and fastest."

But not so with Mr. Electrolux with an agitator. That agitator is perfectly fine with me. I did about 3 loads of laundry while we were at our new house this past weekend (we haven't moved yet, just trying to get some preliminary things set up in the house like, for instance, appliances) and when I opened the lid at the end of the cycles you know what I found? Shirts, pants, underwear, sheets, blankets, socks, and towels sitting in a circle around the agitator like boyscouts around a campfire. All super-dee-duper clean and without one moment of feeling not-gifted because I pulled the wrong pair of shorts and made the knot worse.

No knots. Glorious.

Then Mr. Agitator's friend on the left there. That's a dryer. They are not so run-of-the-mill in these parts. They are never very big, cost a lot to buy and to run, and they are never part of washer-dryer deals at Sears. It's an Electrolux too and I'm kind of amazed I found both in the same color! (white was the only colors they came in!) And while it only holds 6kgs compared to the 11 of the washer, it is as much welcomed with it's collars-of-my-husband's-undershirts and fluffing of my boys' clothes abilities. No more scratchy towels. Revolutionary I tell ya. Sure we'll still hang most things up in the free sunshine, but on those rainy days, and when nothing will save the day during potty training like being able to get the sheets washed and dried and back on the bed before nap-time, I welcome Mr. Dryer to our home with great happiness!

And yes, I have picked out a paint color for the wall. That is primer over bright orange (turned it pukey yellow) All of that will probably come in another month or so when we've actually moved to our new house. So nice to know Mr. Agitator and Mr. Dryer will be there waiting!

Also, in case he asks, I don't really consider the washer and dryer as substitutes for a mother's day gift. Just to clear that up.

Hiking with Isaac

2011-04-20T10:55:00.005-04:00

Today Isaac and I had a daddy/son afternoon hiking at a nearby mountain. The locals call it a hill, but the locals don't know I'm from flat-as-a-tortilla Florida. Tallahassee has hills. This thing was a mountain. Ok, we'll compromise: hilltain. And it was Isaac's first hiking expedition—sort of. He did go hiking once in Florida (where we took the backpack picture featured in our header), but lets be honest. Hiking in Florida is a bit like snow skiing in Ohio or eating seafood in South Dakota - doable, but not the greatest.

While thinking about this post and what a GREAT afternoon Isaac and I had, I was reminded of a good article Dr. Russell Moore wrote about how social media can make us depressed. We all have the tendency to only post the good, so our blogs and Facebook pages are filled with rosy and witty quotes, our pictures look straight out of a travel magazine and we present ourselves like Parents of the Year or master chefs or any number of things. We look at each other's pages and think, "They have a cool life. My life is no where near as interesting. They are ALWAYS happy." Even if we don't think these thoughts explicitly, sometimes we click away with a general sense of dissatisfaction.

What we don't post are things like the massive meltdown Isaac had before going on our hike. Our little Southeast Asian didn't want to wear shoes. Nobody wants to watch a video of Isaac screaming and defiantly telling his parents, "NO!" or his parents repeatedly sending him to the corner or spanking him. My first thought was not, "Honey! Get the camera! The folks back in Florida will think this is adorable!" In fact, I nearly called off daddy/son afternoon because he was behaving so horribly—stomping his feet and falling on the ground. I was totally exasperated and ended up yelling back at him. I was not exactly the gentle, firm, loving father. So there. We're all normal.

And you know what? After all that, I ended up taking off his shoes ten steps into the hike because I could tell they were bothering him.

You don't have to mail me the Parent of the Year trophy—just send the prize money.

So, this was Isaac's first real hike. And he was a champ. He hiked the whole way to the top of the hilltain by himself. Without being carried. Wearing flip-flops. The guide we read online said it would take an average adult 20 minutes to reach the top (the hike starts half-way up). It took Isaac's tiny 3-year-old legs 30 minutes. I sounded like I chain-smoked for 31 years when I reached the summit. Isaac wasn't winded at all—for him it was like we'd been walking in the mall. I was so proud.

Translation: "Jambul Hill(*cough*tain) Hiking Area"

The Stud taking steps half as tall as him.

View from the top.

He even walked in front of me almost the entire ascent, picking paths and telling me (and asking me) where to go next. He threw out a couple "good job, Daddy"'s, too. The man is gonna be a leader.

After a short rest, water and apples (thanks Mama!) at the top, we headed down. This time the 3-year-old kicked in and I had to carry him down most of the way, but he was still in a great mood and so fun to be around.

Here's a little video of our afternoon:

Rockin' Rio Afternoon Out

2011-04-10T01:11:00.004-04:00

We had such a fun Saturday! The last time we took any Rivers child to the movies was when Isaac was about 10 months old and my parents were visiting us here. Appropriately the movie we attempted to see was, "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Between us taking turns removing our screaming child from the theater, we just wish we could have frozen time and made the moment go away. That was over 2 years ago!

THIS time however, we thought Isaac was ready to watch a movie like a big boy in a big theater. We figured for Isaiah we would just take turns taking him out if needed. We saw "Rio" a cartoon about 2 blue macaws in Rio de Janeiro. Isaac was brilliant and we learned Isaiah is an angel if he has 2 hours worth of snacks to keep him occupied. He ate through the ENTIRE movie. He also danced every time a song came on. But neither of us had to leave or even get out of our seats!

An attempted belly picture, but more just to show the top level of the mall which is where the movies are usually located.


Theater 12 lighting up showing us that it was time to be seated. Here you pick your seats beforehand so there's no reason to rush. It's nice!

Then afterward we were in such a good mood (as parents) we decided to extend the fun, and after careful budgeting all month, we played tourist again and went to Hard Rock Cafe. It would have been a 45 minute drive home and then dinner would have been late getting cooked and all would have been cranky anyway, so this was the obvious choice;) We took some pics at the Hard Rock hotel before dinner then continued our great time with a yummy yummy meal. Which I ate until I was full (instead of took 3 bites and felt nauseous) yay for 1st trimester finishing!

Isaac spelling "Hard Rock"

The beach in front of the hotel before dinner.

Proof that not every family pic goes as planned. I laugh every time at Isaac's face!

The view with the ocean to our back. The HR-Hotel here has an entire children's water play area with several slides. The boys looked on with awe, but surprisingly we didn't have one meltdown about not being able to get in the water! I'm tellin' ya, this was a parents' day out with the kids dream day!

Brotherly love.

Watching the music videos. To which he sang his own preschool songs over them. I think it's musical genius to combine the theme song from "Chuggington" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's Heard it Through the Grapevine.

I am currently researching the recipe to HRC's mac-n-cheese. Oh. MY! Also, Isaiah stood up and ate his mac-n-cheese while dancing once again to every single song that played.

Then to round out our day, we took the scenic drive back home around the mountain with the windows down.

A little of the winding way home (again which I didn't get carsick in...bring it on 2nd trimester!)

What a FANTASTIC Saturday out with our boys!

Cell Phone Pictures

2011-04-06T02:17:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I finally dumped my cell phone pictures onto my computer. Here are a few jems:

We saw this game while we were in Singapore, and the English is absolutely awesome. In case you can't read it, here's what it says:

Invetsmts havn ' t the risk,Quickly allies!

Throw the once basic coin please.

Game is explained:Throw into once basic game beginning,small looable eight mice the reasonis in snccession slow hide in naughty qinck complging with out in the hole.game person is prompt to hit the reaction abilitg ciming to jndge you rates a bit since the general mouse returning to a hde.

You knock me knocking everybody knock.

Let you knock out good state of mind.

Beautiful.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this game isn't Disney approved, although it might be Qisnep approved.

Below is a sign we saw inside an elevator:

Not "if," but "when." Is the company expecting this thing to break down? "Let's be honest, sir. You WILL get trapped in this elevator, and when that happens stay calm."

So that's what my beans and vegetables have been missing... ice cream:

So for some reason, "concept restaurants" are becoming a big thing on our island. I've seen some that look like the inside of a Chinese coffee house and one that looks like a hospital (complete with nurse waitresses), but this one takes the (urinal) cake:

On the plus side, you don't have to figure out where the bathroom is.

Tourists for the Day

2011-03-22T10:55:00.001-04:00

When you live in a place that has a lot of foreign tourism, it's actually pretty easy to miss a bunch of the fun local touristy stuff. Not sure why, though!? Maybe in a place like this where the predominant culture is Muslim, going to the high-traffic tourist areas and seeing the very (to the locals) inappropriately dressed foreigners walking the streets, and being lumped in with them just for sharing the same skin color kinda makes you not want to be "part of the crowd." Also, tourist area stuff tends to be more expensive and when you LIVE in a place, well, you don't spend money everyday like you do while on vacation. However, last Saturday we ignored all that and went to downtown Georgetown (a British Colonial City if you can't tell by the name) to see some of the sites! We of course brought PB&J sandwiches from home and spoke the local language if we bought something to make sure we were getting the best price... no reason to pay full price if you don't have to!

Didn't actually go inside the fort this time... but it makes for a good picture!

Instead we played in the little park beside the fort (free!) You can see the walls of the fort in the background.

I know it's just a pic of a little boy on a slide. But I'm posting 2 of them anyway!

It was HOT! We decided to head toward Little India... (Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun)

Cool tiles!

The man I've vowed to sweat on the equator with for as long as we both shall live. :)

Chinese Tea House doors!

This one's for Andrea... Bangles! You know you're in little India when you see a wall full of bangles!

Stop for a limo-ice...

"Cheese!" But he was waaaay into it and didn't want to take the straw out.

We let Isaac keep the spoon that comes with every drink.

Mama chillin' out too!

Scantily clad. Not what you were expecting right? Still... way too much skin for the locals!

More cool doors. Wonder what they store in there that they need to be that tall?

LOVE all the fabric stores in Little India. Even found a deal on some sari material. I won't be wearing it as a sari though :( I'll have a traditional dress made out of it in order to wear this year for Hari Raya...the BIG holiday here.

Here's my sari material. My bucket list contains wearing a sari in India (and wearing it to a wedding if possible)

Anthony wasn't crazy about this pic... but one street away from Little India and there's a Chinese Buddhist Temple... this place is so diverse I tell you!

All of us!

My New Kitchen

2011-03-13T08:19:00.002-04:00

So while looking at the Before-and-After pictures of this, it doesn't really look like a whole lot of change in the photo, but I can assure you my feelings toward cooking and being in the kitchen in general have improved dramatically since our little additions. The huge rubbermaid containers belong to our landlady and so unfortunately have to sit around inside.

We added a big stainless steel counter top, a shelf, some hanging racks, the random stand-alone florescent light we found in the house now has a very helpful place to be, and we put a shelf under the counter top...

Before: Aluminum foil taped behind the oven, ZERO counter work space.


After: Moved the oven to another wall, put up a "back splash" and now have somewhere to prepare meals!

Before: Basket with brooms, rubbermaid containers, and a plastic rack to hold the electric appliances.

After: Look at all that space to work on! Kitchen gear stored neatly below with room for electric appliances on countertop. The action packer below holds other kitchen stuff (like Christmas items and a cake stand) that I'm not taking out til we move into our "permanent" house. Though it does serve as a perfect step for the boys to stand on to help me cook!

Over by the washing machine we added a shelf and some holders on the wall to put the broom and mop type tools up and out of the way (they were in a huge basket in the corner of the kitchen before). Under the sink I also made some curtains to change the black/white/red motif of the original ones to a more white/blue/gray to match the blue tile and white walls of the kitchen. We also painted the walls white. None of these pics show how dingy they were, or mismatched. Since it was for a temporary house, we just did the cheapest...which is white! It looks a lot cleaner though!

Before: Clutter. On top of bathroom wall, on top of fridge and everywhere else it felt like! We couldn't open the backdoor without having to move the laundry basket and trashcan.

All things off the bathroom wall, brooms secured to the wall, and the door can be opened now with ease to let a breeze in!

After: New curtains under sink, all clutter off the little dish cabinet, and trashcan out of the way of the door!

Just a couple months left in this kitchen, but a counter top to work on sure makes the heat, the early pregnancy symptoms, and the stress of language learning a little more bearable!

A Simple Woman's Daybook...

2011-03-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

I copied this from a friend's blog a few months ago... fun to see the differences and similarities!

Outside my window... It's raining. And mercifully every few seconds I feel the cool breeze coming in through the windows.

I am thinking... "I really want to get a blog up by Sunday night so I don't end up taking time out of language study time on Monday to do one. My language needs me, my public (all 5 of you) needs me. I could be drifting off to sleep right now reading "Harry Potter dan bilik rahsia" so really, language loses anytime I blog. I'm ok with that though because blogging helps me clear my mind and feel connected."

I am thankful for... quality medical care. This past week Isaiah got sick with "Intususseption" which is when the small intestine telescopes into the large intestine. We took him to the doctor, she knew immediately what it was (confirmed by ultrasound) and he had the procedure done to fix it within hours, slept peacefully all night in the hospital, then was checked again the next day just to make sure it was all corrected and released. Absolutely amazing. Children die from this if it's not diagnosed and treated.

From the kitchen... there is now a 2nd light over my new work station. We bought a stainless steel countertop at IKEA a couple weeks ago, installed a shelf and some organization stuff and stuck an extra light under the shelf. I have basically a brand new kitchen. I made hummus and salsa this week, just because I had a countertop to spread it all out on!

I am wearing... A tank top with a shirt over it and some capri pants. Barefeet of course because I'm inside and it's Asia.

I am creating... a baby in my belly. The Lord breathed the life of course, but I'm thankfully and gladly letting my body play host to this little guy or girl for the next few months. What a privilege. I don't take it lightly.

I am going... to Bali in June. Just booked the rooms last night. My parents will be here as well. Sharon the Floridian just may get her tan preggo belly afterall.

I am reading... as if it needs to be restated... "Harry Potter dan Bilik Rahsia" (the chamber of secrets). I'm about 2/3rds done with it, but I lost interest. Not because of the language challenge, but because a couple weeks ago Anthony wanted to watch the movie. So we did. And now I feel like I'm just having to watch the movie over again, but at a much slower pace, in my mind.

I am hoping... That tomorrow my all-day morning sickness won't bother me enough so I CAN get the language done I want to. Last week with Zay in the hospital and the week before with all our traveling language time has stunk around here. I'm ready for tomorrow to be more focused!

I am hearing... Rain on our tin roof.

Around the house... it's quiet except for the rain and the fans. All the Rivers' men are asleep.

One of my favorite things... right now is having pregnant friends. I have 2 actually that are due within weeks of me. Best part they are both living in Asia too. One due before, one due after me. All within about 11 weeks of each other.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Language, language, language. Cooking dinner for my family each night. Trying not to puke- I haven't yet, but fighting it all day long isn't a walk in the park either!

Here is a picture I am sharing.... me at 8.5 weeks pregnant. Here's me with Isaac pregnant early on. I don't look relaxed in this pic and it totally shows I think. I usually NEVER EVER go outside with "just a tank top on" for fear my neighbors would think me immodest. But the inside of our house (minus my new countertop from IKEA) really isn't cute and I didn't want the first belly pic of Baby #3 to be inside. So I hurried Anthony along and went back inside to put some more clothes on:) I'm also, I guess, growing my hair out. I really hate it though. Short is so much easier. When I get time I'll go get it done (maybe after a couple good weeks of language study, it'll be my reward) but I'll probably just cut it off again. I don't have time! But about the belly. I'm definitely having to unbutton my pants each evening (those of you who have been pregnant know your belly gets bigger as the day wears on) and I didn't even come close to that til about 12 weeks or so with Isaac. But I figured even though there's not much there, in a few weeks it'll be good for comparison! Also, this is a maternity tank my mother-in-law sent for my birthday (along with a ton of other clothes too!) ...but the green felt fresh and fun. :)

31, 30, 3, & 3

2011-02-26T23:14:00.001-05:00

It's been a heck of a busy week around here. One or all of us has traveled out of the country, redecorated a kitchen, gone to the doctor, the zoo, and IKEA, searched for a new house, in a new neighborhood, in a new city, baked cupcakes, partied preschool style, went "outstation" and slept in poverty, discussed black magic with a dreamer, read a novel in another language, formatted an ebook in another language, started a new yoga workout, sewed new curtains, swam with friends, found out there's not an Italiannes on our island afterall, and watched a movie without kids.

Then on top of all that... Anthony turned 31.

I, Sharon, turned (GASP) 30.

Isaac turned 3. (really? already?)

And we saw Rivers #3 for the first time (and tried to let it sink in!) and saw his/her little heart beating on a computer screen.

Quite a jam packed week!

The Camping Trip that Wasn't

2011-02-07T06:09:00.001-05:00

So we were supposed to go camping this weekend with the teachers and students and their families from our language program at school. I imagined something like this or like this and frankly getting to prove how adept we were at camping here.

But that didn't happen. The guy's daughter who organized it got sick (he was the only one who knew the way, etc) so they cancelled. However. They didn't inform any of us until we woke up, packed up the car like we were moving into the rainforest, drove 30 minutes to the meeting spot and waited. But like most things not-in-America you have to just go with the flow and be flexible. At least we weren't underprepared right?

We ended up eating breakfast and meeting the other language students and then going to a dam with a lake fairly close by (sorry, no pictures) Granted we couldn't swim in the lake, and there were few trees or waterfalls, but it was fun nonetheless. We meet with our teachers one on one instead of being in a class with others ~~because we're so advanced~~:) so it was good to meet the other students. Isaac fell while running there (hence the forehead). Then we ate lunch with everyone and came back home.

After a nap, we headed out to find some air conditioning and a playground of some sort so we ended up at McDonald's. On the way there our friends from the capital (who, coincidentally first took us camping here) were visiting for the weekend and so we went out with them (after McDonald's).

So instead of fireside chats, peeing standing up in the woods (for the ladies I mean), threats of wild animals at night, and sleeping on the ground, we....

ate rambutan (Isaac's first time after reading about it in "Sasha visits Kuala Lumpur")

laughed a lot with our good friends...

took a nap today (instead of driving home 2 hours after having not bathed!) and played with the neighbor kids. Isaac even learned how to say "come here" and "put it here" in Bahasa as he played with our neighbor girl today. So cute hearing him repeat it after her!

So not too bad of a non-camping trip!

We just keep goin' back for more...

2011-01-26T08:36:00.002-05:00

This afternoon Isaac said, "Let's go night market! I want it!" when we asked him if he wanted pizza or night market food.

Some of these pics are from another night where we went "native" and gave our boys baths and put them in their pajamas before going to the night market. If you go anywhere past about 7pm, kids are in pj's. It's how they roll here and we did as well. We don't always, but why not?

The rice padi by our house at sunset. Sunset is over the ocean here. Pic is a little enhanced, just because I thought it was fun.

This one is for Andrea... these are like gigantic Chinese donuts like you can get in Thailand hotels... sweetened condensed milk over these bad boys and yummmm!

30 cent drinks. Free stares from the locals.

Pajamas!

Meat! On banana leaves!

Fish!

This family was so cute with their night market findings, motorcycle helmets, and bunny balloon.

Oh Pandan Balls! The reason Isaac says "I want it" about the night market. (Kaya balls are also good, but we like the pandan ones best)

The pandan balls in the bag... pandan is a sweet substance. Pandan balls are like small pancakes with pandan filling. Yum!

A very blurry pic of the inside...but the motorcycle in front of us is clear! You get the drift.

Only pic of me at the night market...I like it too!

These last two pics were taken at the same time on our way home. The first is the moon rising looking east over the hills in the middle of our island...you can juuuust barely see a bright star (or planet?) along the top towards the right. The second is looking directly west back towards the water (you can't see it, but it's there past the trees:) at the sunset. What a perfect evening to go to the night market!

Video: Back to the Other Side

2011-01-16T23:35:00.001-05:00

A Rivers family home movie of our trip back over here. Enjoy!

*We worked really hard to get this video up in a higher resolution (we bought a new high def video camera for Christmas) but our internet is just too inconsistent to upload a huge file. Maybe one day we'll be able to post it.

Sunday Night Market

2011-01-11T21:36:00.004-05:00

Most towns here have a once (or twice!) a week night market. In larger cities, the various sections of the city will have night markets. They are the best place to buy yummy grilled meat, fried food, sweet treats called "kuih"("kway"), and various assorted items like belts, small toys, knock-off shirts, and shoes. The one in our town is on Sunday and there is also another on Wednesday just across the road. They just take up part of a street and set up tents, grills, tables, umbrellas, and all the items they've brought to sell. People show up in droves. It's the place to be when it's night market night.

We went this past Sunday so ~~I wouldn't have to cook~~ we could participate in the local scene. We arrived when it first started, but it stays open late into the night.

Isaac has been to markets similar to this before, but it was the first he could remember. This was Isaiah's first one period.

Here they are sharing a lime drink we bought for 30 cents. Shortly after this while walking to the car, Isaac dropped the whole cup. Even though we're not usually so indulgent, we decided to splurge and to spring for another 30 cent drink. (it was a good drink!)

While Zay and I were waiting in the car for Daddy and Isaac to get the replacement drink, we couldn't resist eating our "sri muka" and "pandan balls." The sri muka is pictured above, but Isaiah ate the pandan balls before I could take a picture. Pandan is a sweet green substance (from a plant) that about 50% of desserts are made out of here. It could have it's own blogpost.

Food enough for 4, the desserts already eaten, a couple pomegranates just to try them, and one spilled drink included. Total cost, about $4. I heart night markets!

What it is...

2011-01-02T20:14:00.001-05:00

Since you all have been waiting since last year to find out...

What is it?

2010-12-30T11:57:00.000-05:00

Answer coming soon. You know where to comment in the meantime.

Wednesday, from Anthony's cell phone

2010-12-22T19:58:00.001-05:00

9:05am, near our house

9:06am

9:20am

11:20am, cooking hot dogs

11:22am, waiting for lunch

11:39am, lunch almost finished

3:14pm

3:16pm

6:25pm, waiting for dinner

6:36pm

6:38pm

6:39pm

9:14pm, home

9:30pm

10:19pm

Kari Ikan Makcik (Auntie's Fish Curry)

2010-12-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

I thought about typing out the actual recipe on this blog, but decided it was too late (almost midnight!) to type it all out. However, if there are significant numbers of requests in the comments (like two maybe) I will be happy to post it.
Here is the story however... this is Auntie's kitchen. She's actually got quite the set-up as far as kitchens go. Her house is probably the nicest on our street though, so it didn't surprise me.

Part of the recipe calls for coconut liquid (not milk I don't think because I think that's just straight out of the coconut) The liquid here I'm talking about is gotten by pouring water over the coconut shavings. Here's Makcik (Maa-cheek) grinding out the coconut flesh on her special coconut grinding machine. The girl in pink is her house helper...who had just cut the fresh coconut open with a machete about 4 minutes before this.

Here's her rinsing (then squeezing) the coconut shavings. You can get the coconut liquid from a box at any import store...but like most things, the fresher the better!

Speaking of fresh. She bought the fish from the Chinese guy who drives by everyday on his motorcycle selling fresh fish and vegetables. Every bit goes into the curry. This fish was really good... I have no idea the English name for it, but it's Ikan Bawal (Bawal fish). Also, before you (in America) get grossed out by the thought of fish in your curry- maybe you already are?- I realized after cooking this with Makcik that "fish" or "chicken" or whatever other kind of curry isn't really all that different- at least not how she did it. The curry was all made, then the fish put in at the end to cook in the pot. So it could have easily been chicken or lamb and it didn't really change the flavor of the curry at all.

Here's the curry (before the vegetables and fish added). It's quite easy to make really...though Makcik owned a restaurant for 20 years, so watching her do it was a bit like watching a prima ballerina dance... she made it look easy.

My throat was hurting pretty bad that day and as much as I'm just kind of take-it-or-leave-it on my feelings toward curry in general, when Makcik asked me to taste test it, the tiny little spoonful I got ran down my throat like warm powerful medicine. Think vegetable soup times a thousand. It burned a bit because curry is spicy, but at the same time it felt amazing. Maybe it was numbed, I have no clue, only it worked.
Anthony was home watching the boys (who were both napping during the curry making) so Makcik loaded up the "mangkuk tingkat" or the stacked bowls with all the fresh food she had just made. She of course made fried chicken, rice, and an eggplant dish all while making the curry. So I had to take it down the lane to Anthony, then return to her house to eat our fresh meal together.

The curry is the bowl directly under Anthony's elbow. I saved what he didn't eat of it and ate about 8 spoonfuls like a soup the next day (you're supposed to eat it with rice). What was left of my sore throat went away after eating it. So. I can't say I'll be making curry all too often, but I do know what I'll make when I get a sore throat!

A simple woman's daybook...

2010-12-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

...I am simply copying this idea from a blog friend... thought it could give me (and you) some insight and a picture of what's going on right now in my little part of the end of the earth...

Outside my window... It's dark. Saturday is done. There are crickets chirping. I can hear them because we have slatted(?) windows and they don't reaally shut.

I am thinking... that I only have 6 months to accomplish a lot in my language learning. So why am I on the computer? When I'm done with this post, I'm going to do something that increases my language ability a little. Maybe review some cooking terms.

I am thankful for... quality medical care. I took my son to the doctor today and walked out with all the medication (and more) he could possibly need to make him comfortable and better.

From the kitchen... today poured a washer-full of water into most of our tiny house. Maybe I should have put in the question above that I'm thankful for tile floors? A post on that later...

I am wearing... a striped cotton shirt from Gap and some old maternity pants. No, I'm not pregnant, the pants were just so comfortable, they never went back into the pile.

I am creating... organization for our tiny little house while dreaming about the slightly larger house we'll probably get in 6 months and all I'll want to do with that organizationally when the time comes. IKEA won't even see me coming.

I am going... to hopefully learn how to cook curry tomorrow from our 70-something year old landlady. She said to come at 10am on Sunday. I'm going. Hopefully she meant it. Anthony is hoping too because he would love for me to know how to make curry. A post on that to come too.

I am reading... "The Count of Monte Cristo" on our Kindle and am 93% done. I started it a couple weeks ago and once I start a book I usually average only about 4 days at the most in finishing. This book is a bit longer than usual...add to that moving to the other side of the world and all, and there's a little wiggle room in finish-time. It's good though. Nothing like the movie, but it helps because I put the actors' faces in my mind as I read.

I am hoping... for a lot of things actually. 1) That language class will start well on Monday. 2) That Isaac will get better and be able to start preschool on Monday too 3)hmmm... lots of other things to put... I hope mostly in the Lord. It's why I'm here. With him though, my hope is always so sure. Maybe that's what I should have put in the "I am thankful" spot?

I am hearing... motorcycles (or rather "motor bikes" as 125cc's barely counts as something to be classified with Harley's) outside on the little lane in front of our house. Believe it or not, it's great ambient noise and the boys have slept longer and better since moving here. Occasionally though, there are one or two that are a bit too noisy.

Around the house... fans are going. No air conditioners here. But then I wouldn't hear the crickets now would I? We have one pointed at us right now, sitting on the bed as I type. It's rainy season, so the heat hasn't been bad at all.

One of my favorite things... is watching (and receiving) Isaiah give kisses. Isaac fell asleep at 7 tonight because he's sick. At every chance he could, Isaiah would run into their room and lean over and try to give Isaac kisses.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Include starting language class, watching my first born go to preschool, hunting down a fabric store and seeing if I can manage to get a tailored traditional outfit made before my good friend's wedding in a couple weeks, seeing the beach which is only about 2 km (1 mile) from here. Me not going to the beach (even if I have to wear long-pants) must be remedied soon.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing... it's not a great photo in itself, but I took it the other day. It's the view of the bay from one of the malls here on the island. Really? I live here? Yessssss!

A glimpse at the new house...

2010-12-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

There's still a little work to be done (new fridge, re-do curtains, get rid of moth-ball smelling dresser) but we're excited... moving in today! (Monday)

"Blasten Colden," an afternoon in Germany

2010-12-03T11:37:00.000-05:00

We left Orlando, slept on the plane overnight, and after a fairly uneventful flight we landed in Germany and had a few hours to kill so we went out of the airport (or for this post I think I'll call it the "Flughafen") to go see the Christmas Market in Mainz near Frankfurt. It was FREEZING!

Isaac loved the train from the flughafen. There was a lot of snow on the ground and there was no chance of it melting as it was 25 outside and "felt like" 9. Isaiah slept on the train and only woke up as the cold air hit his face as we got off the train.

I'm sure we sounded pretty dumb as we passed all the neighborhoods on the train and walking through the streets as we kept saying, "Wow. This is so neat. It looks just like Europe." and "Those houses are so cute. Very German like." and so on. We left our "We're Tourists!" shirts at home so we figured we should make it extra clear. Expertessen aur we nau?

The Christmas Market was adorable and all we had hoped it would be and more. By "more" I of course mean "painfully cold" or "Blasten Colden" as Anthony so aptly named it. We were layered sufficiently but we have a lack of decent cold-weather gloves so we looked for a little while, got a fried German potato cake thing with applesauce squirted on it, then sought refuge inside a nearby store. Thawed out then went to look for a nativity or something to buy. We ended up getting some sort of natural candle carved into a nativity scene and a small magnet. We pack light.

Then we asked a few locals where we could get "traditional German food" from and ended up at HDW, which wasn't like an old school German pub looking thing, but a sleek modern restaurant. Oh well, it was warm. We ordered a couple types of sausages and were delighted with the yummy saurkraut (we think?) but the oversized hotdog- in the menu described as a "Haggis type dish"- came back 50-50 on the review. The Parents weren't too thrilled with it but the Kindersboysen really seemed to like it.

We hopped into a cab and caught the train back to the Flughafen. I give props to Germany in that every person we stopped to ask directions of or an opinion about where to eat, were all friendly and tried to help. If we at some point find ourselves planning a trip to Europe, I think I'd like to go back to Germany and see some more, buy a Lonely Planet guidebook for it beforehand, and of course go in the summertimzen when its hottenaddel outsiden.

More posts about us arriving at our final destination later! We are here and safe and trying to combat jet-lag as best we can... photos to come!

"Oh, say can you see?..."

2010-11-18T21:53:00.002-05:00

My mind keeps jumping from, "I want to get on a plane and leave this very second!" to "Man. I'm gonna miss this. It wouldn't be so bad to stay a bit longer."

And since this is a pre-Thanksgiving post, I'm gonna stick with the positives. Some things we're thankful for here in our home country and what we're choosing to do without by moving overseas. Things that make the USA, "home." Because I'm American I'm going to put it in a top 10 list.

10. Anonymity. Oh to blend in. When we got off the plane in NYC 17 months ago, we instantly became just 3 more faces in the crowd. No one noticed us. Even in the US with all our diversity, this white-girl can disappear in a mall, sit and eat without being watched at a restaurant, and even go to church without feeling like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb. That will disappear as soon as we step off the plane in Asia. We'll be 1 foot taller than everyone on average, have "sharper noses," and in general, call attention to ourselves every moment in public just by being non-Asian.

9. Pork. BBQ. Specifically Sonny's BBQ, my Uncle Ronnie's BBQ, and even the new found love of the BBQ joint at the end of town that is constantly smoking ribs. Man oh man. We will give up pork- even having it in our house or using old utensils/cookware that's ever touched it- willingly, but will miss it all the same. Anyone heard the comedian Jim Gaffigan's bit on bacon? Hilarious.

8. The "Size 9" section at Payless Shoe source. That 1 foot taller thing goes for feet and shoes as well. I have so many friends here with feet as big as mine...and bigger! My niners will no longer be anonymous in 2 weeks.

7. The assumption that my children are boys by the general public. When people do notice us in public, it's often because of our boys. Not ONCE have I been asked, "Is it boy or she?" Maybe it's just an easy opener to approach the white people and start a conversation, but it's just been nice that everyone here can clearly tell that my boys are boys. Even when Isaac's hair was long.

6. Having heart to heart conversations with friends face to face. Even though I'm sure our friends are glad they don't have to hear any more stories about Asia, it has been so nice just chatting. Never once having to ask what a verb meant and hoping you get what they say. They call them "heart languages" for a reason.

5. Tank-tops, shorts, and flip flops in 90 degree weather. We get to keep the flip-flop aspect (though new pairs will be hard to come by...see point 8) but its nice wearing shorts (nice modest bermuda shorts!) and not have to think twice that I might ruin my entire family's reputation and remove all virtue from my character simply because I wanted to be a bit cooler outside.

4. Central A/C everywhere.

3. American football. Its so distinctly American. Japanese and parts of the Caribbean have baseball, China has basketball, the whole world has soccer, but the US and Football...we will miss you on Sundays (and Mondays and Thursdays and Saturdays).

2. Dinner time = 6-7pm-ish. In the US a normal family dinner with children, etc is around that time. It's our culture. It's the flow of our day. 6:00 to 7:00 is HIGHLY associated in my mind with dinner time. Most nights at home will still work fine for that, but where we're going most folks eat sometime after 8pm. Ugh, I would gain so much weight. Sounds like something inconsequential, but imagine your neighbors thinking you're weird because of what time you eat dinner?

1. Grandparents at home and on-hand. Aunts, Uncles, and cousins close-by. There's just nothing like it!

Mi Miami es tu Yourami

2010-10-27T10:10:00.002-04:00

So the night before we left to visit Anthony's family in Miami we told Isaac we were going to Miami. He then replied, "Yeah. We going to Your-ami." Still working on the pronouns.
We had a great time visiting with Anthony's extended family (his mom and dad are both from Miami). Though, this post might not reflect that. We didn't take even ONE picture with any relative! I have no clue how we managed to do that. Grandma Puccio (Anthony's grandmother) had just gotten out of the nursing home/rehab place, so maybe her concern over her hair was what kept the camera in the bag? Not sure, but it was fun nonetheless!
And as always a ton of photos (all non-familial of course)...

Hwy 27 South... Ahh Florida. Billboards on the right, flat sugarcane fields, and smoke from them burning the sugarcane.

The last time we drove this road was 6 1/2 years ago going down for our honeymoon (a cruise that left from Miami). There were only 2 of us then... you can't see Zay, but you can see both car seats. We've gone a lot of miles since then!

Palm trees, ranch-style homes with red-tile roofs, and canals... yep...Miami!

First night's food. Cuban. After a call to my BFF Cara (who speaks fluent Spanish...bc she studied it, not bc she's Latino) steered me to the flattened chicken something-or-other. The menu was in Spanish! We loved it.

Coconut Grove. Quintessential Miami. Shopping, $100,000 cars e'erbody got 'em, and weird people.

Like Louisville with the horses, Lakeland, FL with the swans, Miami has painted peacocks everywhere. They were all way fun!

Isaac with one of the peacocks.

We came back here the next day. But I can't figure out how to move the pictures in blogger.

Just because he's cute

eating crayons at a sidewalk Arabic restaurant

pictures of food...soooo good. Shewarma's!

and baklava!

El Cristo on Calle Ocho (8th St) The most Cuban part of Miami. More Spanish was spoken here too!

Isaiah taking in the Cuban cuisine and atmosphere.

Cafe Cubano! A potent little cup of coffee!

I don't even really like coffee, but I love this! So sweet, so thick, so coffee, so small. An amazing little drink indeed.

Back to the park the next day. It's preserved from the time when there were no roads down to South Florida and everyone got there by boat. Interesting to imagine!

The home that a guy built way back when on Biscayne Bay.

My loverly Mother-in-law!

Random hole in the ground...read below...

Biscayne Bay. Before the Everglades began to get drained, there was so much fresh water underground that it literally pushed up into freshwater springs in the middle of Biscayne Bay (which is saltwater). So sad that all those springs are gone. :(

My men in the mangroves!

The Barnacle behind us. What the guy named his house way back when...like 1887 or something!

Fish tank while eating sushi.

I have a better picture of my MIL using her chopsticks, but this one made me laugh. Anthony reaching in to take a piece!

The drive back home... "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neal Hurston is a story about folks in Florida way back when. In the book the characters are caught in a hurricane around Lake Okeechobee (the BIG lake in Florida). The wind blew the water to one side then as the hurricane passed it released and all the water rushed back flooding miles and miles around the Lake (which really happened). After that they built a levee that runs all the way around most of the lake...

...so of course we climbed up the embankment and looked out. There's a canal close, but you can see Lake Okeechobee waaaay off in the distance. It's humongo.

And thus was our weekend in Miami. I am so glad we got to go. I actually met a couple more people in Anthony's family I've never met before. We didn't have time to see them all or hang out as much as we all wanted (they live there, so they had to work) but it was good nonetheless. Miami is one of those international cities that you have to visit in order to understand what all the hype is about. Most of the party-scene that Miami is famous for doesn't interest us one bit, but the atmosphere itself...the tropical-ness, the Latin majority (I went to Dillard's and the sales lady didn't speak English), the food, even the weirdo people, all make it a very interesting place to visit (even live?!). Yay for Miami!

Special

2010-10-15T20:37:00.000-04:00

We totally ganked this idea from our friends. So please give all creative credit to them for the inspiration...

Cousin Lizzie assisted me in choosing the colors and in warming up the paintbrushes with some water:)

Applying the blue sky, then the clouds...

The letters didn't turn out like I wanted bc I didn't realize my tube of paint was messed up until I was finished writing...you can still read it so I guess it's ok!


A week later with the shoppe (two 'p's and an 'e' very fancy) glazing it and firing it, and Wah-lah!

We can't wait to use the plate on special days in the Rivers' household! Wonder who will be first?

Foto Friday

2010-10-01T17:33:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00