Palm Sunday Project

I promised Kathryn I would share our "Palm Sunday Project" pictures with our friends. So here you have them. We've been busy this week decorating praise shakers, palm branches, a donkey, and today for a grand finale--a path to welcome Jesus as he rode. So today when Jim (our resident Jesus) came home from work, the long-awaited play unfolded. It only lasted about 5 minutes (and about 3 of those were spent serving Jesus soup, as Kathryn insisted this was the only proper way to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem.) But we had fun and made memories. These kinds of activities together are a stabilizing force for the girls on the brink of major transition.















Here are the girls diligently decorating Jesus' path this morning.





















Is that a great looking Jesus, or what?




















Don't you love these genuine costumes?




















The action in this shot is captured by the hair!





















Here is the full cast




















And we can't forget Kathryn's special homemade soup!

Sentosa Fun

This week was a crazy time for us, as we hosted a family of 5 in our 3 bedroom apartment for a week! (That's 5 kids--5, 4, 3, 2, & 2; and 4 adults!) They will be joining our new team and came to Singapore to take part in some related meetings. We (moms at least-- I can't speak for all the meetings!) had a great time, played hard, listened to a lot of screaming children who missed lots of normal sleep, and were glad when the week was over! Even though K was hungry for some alone time, she asked me today, "Mommy, wouldn't it be fun if we found one BIG house and we all lived together all of time??!"

We capped off the week with a team trip to Sentosa, which is a small tourist island owned by Singapore and just swimming distance from the southern coast. We have been there as a family two other times to play on the beach, but yesterday all 6 families "did" the whole island! The sky tower, the 4D movie show, the ski lift and "luge" toboganning down the hill overlooking the ocean...and of course, the beach. Great team bonding with lots of sand and sun! Here are some of the best pics.














View from the sky tower looking North--
You are seeing the south tip of Singapore
towards the Malaysian continent.















Southern view -- nothing but ocean from there on out!














Eastern view















Western view-- You can see downtown and the
shipping yards. (Can you visualize all of our
earthly possessions in one of those tincy-incy
little crates?)

















"No helmet, no ride" says the sign. So even Ellie
sported a floppy helmet for the toboggan ride





















This is the famous Singapore "mermaid-lion".
Hard to see, but can you make out K & daddy lions too?



















Famous Asian dessert -- "Ice ke chang"
It's shaved ice, flavoring, and yes, topped with CORN.
It tastes just like chocolate syrup... sort of.
















Ellie had grand fun at this shallow depth pool
















The funnest part of being buried in the sand is
breaking out!














This lookout tower boasts the southernmost tip
on the entire Asian Continent. Next stop-- Australia!

From Texas to Equador

Feel the intensity and pray for us!

Remember the last time you moved? Remember the boxes, the sorting through and throwing out; the endless forms to change your address and your mail; the new city you'd never lived in before? The packing, the stress, the lost socks?

Now throw in a couple of kids, say a 2 and 3 year old. And now pretend that you're not moving to another city, but actually another country. And then pretend that the place you're moving from is not your home country either. Oh, and in this new country, throw in another language.

For geography's sake, pretend you're moving to Equador. (Texas to Equador is the same relative distance from Singapore to our new home.) And now pretend that it's not only you, but 6 other families who are moving together -- (for a combined total of 12 children under 6)--actually equal to the number of adults! And you are all moving from different places all over North & South America!

And pretend that you and these other 6 families with 12 children are looking for that new house in that new country...seeking to meet everyone's non-negotiables and preferences and budgets all within a single apartment complex.

Add all that together, and that is our current reality for the next few months! Not trying to be melodramatic...but when I put it like this, then I think-- OH, is that why we're feeling some stress??!

Please do pray for His wisdom...

-We need a visa. More complicated and boring that I have time to explain.

-April 7 & 8 Jim will be traveling with friends to look for our new homes together. Pray we will find a group of affordable apartments quickly.

-April 6-14 Jim will be away; During Easter and our anniversary :( We wish it could be different,but pray mom would have great inspiration and creativity for some knock-it-out-of-the-park ideas for celebrating Easter... and extra stamina and grace too.

-Pray I'll have wisdom to help these little girls process and embrace this new culture-new language- new country- new friends move. Oh, I need wisdom!

...(and, of equal importance, right now, I need sleep! Goodnight!)

There Was a Time...

Since time feels like it's spinning out of control as we get closer to another international move, I feel like I need reminders. Reminders of "the way things were", even though they still are, even if for just a brief moment longer.





















Kathryn delights in being a little girl. Recently, this expresses itself in a love of pigtails. Glorious! I love them.

















This is Ellie's first time using "sissers". Hardly the sentimentality of her first word, but I cherish the few "firsts" that still remain--or at least it feels there are only a few left!
















And this one? Well, it reminds me that there was a time where Jim and I got away, to a quiet place, alone, thanks to my parents...-- Here's a night out at a fun Japanese Tepanyaki Restaurant! Yum!

Scribbling in the Sand

I read this inspiring story today in a new book I've begun and thought I'd wet your appetite. The book is Scribbling in the Sand, Christ and Creativity by Michael Card. I love his music and I didn't know he is quite the writer as well!

He tells the story of traveling to China to perform a concert, but at the last minute his concert was unexpectedly canceled. He was able to pull together an informal gathering of students, and gives this account from his time with them.

"I shared a couple of songs but soon sensed that the students were more eager to share their experiences with me. A young, intelligent woman shared her testimony, and spoke of the spiritual struggle growing up in a place where official doctrine dictated against any belief in God. She told us, however, that since she was a little girl she had found her heart resonated with the beauty in nature. She described a series of epiphanies. First there was a sunset that caused a deep stirring in her soul that she could not put into words. Then there was a time when the simmple beauty of the flowers in her mother's garden spoke to her of a simplicity for which her heart yearned. Simply by observing the beauty in nature she had become convicted of the existence of not simply a benign god but a loving, caring Father. "Imagine the joy I experineced when I learned that he had a name, and that it was Jesus", she shared. All at once almost everyone started chiming in with nearly identical stories..."

Another quote I loved:
"Beauty...one color in the spectrum of the light that is Christ."

"For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (Paul said that one!)

Remember when...

Tonight, we had the pleasure of going out to dinner, not only without our children, but also with a fun young couple. (What does that make us?) After dinner we were rushing to make it home by the time we promised our sitter, while the newlyweds were heading for Starbucks. I had a moment of reminiscing with a twinge of jealousy-- I remember those days. Spending the afternoon together at the coffee shop studying together in seminary, or sleeping in on Saturdays, or spontaneously deciding to make a drive through the hill country. And then I remembered that every time I talk to older moms, they almost always tend to say with fervor and memories in their voices, "ENJOY those years when you are at home with your kids. They pass so quickly."

What is it about human nature that we always tend to long for what we don't have? Oh Lord, help me today to delight in the privilege of giggling and playing dress up with 2 & 3 year olds!

Another Kathryn Quotable

Today I was in the bathroom when I heard Kathryn yelling from the living room. "OW, OW, OW!" "OW....OW!" I rushed in to see what was the matter. She was on the side of the couch, and a map was stuck under the leg of the couch. "What happened, Kathryn?... Did your leg get stuck?" Concentrating on the map, she started up again "OW, OW....OWWW!" "Kathryn, tell mommy what is going on! Is your arm hurt?"

"No, mommy. The map won't come out and it's hurting my feelings."

Heart Check

I have noticed a disturbing trend...

On certain weeks when I attend a mom's meeting, I can begin to feel sorry for myself. You see, I (making fun of myself here) have no full-time domestic helper (i.e., live-in maid), and I have no car, and my kids' international school education is not fully funded by my profitable company. And I can begin to feel... what is that feeling?? Hmmm. I think it's called JEALOUS.

But just when I begin to lose perspective, I ran into Na Ling last week. Remember my Cambodian friend? She came with the girls and I to visit a friend in the hospital, and afterwards invited us up to her apartment. Her earthly possessions would fit into a thimble, relatively. She has a mattress on the floor and a small desk and chair. Her clothes fit in a file box. She is a seminary student. She insists, despite her friends' insistence that life in Singapore is much more comfortable, that she is more needed in Cambodia. So, this May after her graduation, she's going back home.

The funny thing is that Kathryn and Ellie keep asking when we can go back to Na Ling's apartment because they thought it was grand fun to jump on her mattress.

When I see her life yet her joy, I remember the words of Jesus. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Kathryn's Quote of the Day

"Mom, do you want to know why I keep disobeying? It's so I can have more grace."

I said, "Kathryn dear, someone already thought of that!" (See Romans 6:1)

Pics from Nana & Pags Visit

Thought I'd share some really cute pics from the last 2 weeks while my parents were here visiting. They just left yesterday.
First, the day after they arrived, Ellie turned 2!
Then we took a little getaway to a nearby beach on the coast of Malaysia. It was a delight, partly because there was NO ONE else there!
The time went too quickly, of course.
More to come shortly...
















On the Singapore coast
















Nothing like endless chocolate for lunch!



















Mommy and my girls



















Ellie sporting her new play umbrella and shoes















Ellie had a "Hello Kitty" party















I love that smile!













Mom and the girls, Nana & Pags at the pool




















"Sand angels"...when there is no snow














K loved being buried in the sand!















Beautiful macaus at the Bird Park















I don't know his name, but he looks mad!















Kathryn's super-castle creation
















View of Singapore harbor from top of revolving hotel

Not-so-baby Ellie

I can't believe I'm going to attempt this today, especially when Jim is out of town. But I have no choice. Kathryn isn't the only one who wants to grow up around here-- So does my little baby Ellie! Oh, can't you stay a baby just a little bit longer??

Yes, Ellie is seeking a dramatic exit from her crib. I have seen her half-way out three times, and this last time she got stuck hanging from the top. SO, try as I may to delay the inevitable, she needs a big girl bed. And she's not even 2 yet!

So yesterday the girls and I hiked over to IKEA and bought her the same bed Kathryn has. And last night, after the girls went to bed I assembled it. So it's ready for her to use, but mommy is not ready. Things are going so well at bedtime now. Its so nice only having one to give encouragements, then warnings, then threats about staying in her bed. And in the mornings, we have such a great system. Kathryn wakes up and turns on their light and gives Ellie toys in her crib till mommy comes in, ready to tackle the day. So what time do you think we will all go to sleep tonight?



BYE BYE BABY, HELLO, BIG GIRL!









(Ok, we'll battle the bottle on another week!)

And, by the way, Kathryn is doing really well without her "ba". She and Scruffles have had some setbacks, but I think they are becoming better friends. The important thing is that the passie is history!

Life Without Ba, Day 1

I suppose we should have expected some resistance, but we were blissfully optimistic. After all, she said she was ready. So remind me the next time I count on a three year old to accurately assess her emotional ability to handle a major life change.

The trouble began about 1:30am when Kathryn found the puppy. With a disgruntled look she pulled on our sheets and begged me to come to her room. Phrases such as "I wanted a BLUE puppy" and "I changed my mind", and your general weeping and gnashing of teeth, were characteristic of the next 45 minutes. Sometime in that hour, she gave him the name "Scruffles", which I thought a rather endearing name. Maybe the puppy would make it after all. Eventually I made it back to bed.

Then a half hour later, I heard her door slam. A mommy tip-off from Kathryn "I don't want you to see what's going on in my room, mom." I stumbled back to her room and found the light on. She was rummaging through her stuffed animal basket to see if perhaps the Benkie Fairy had left a BLUE puppy somewhere else. Ellie was especially disheartened to hear that, no, it's not morning time, and mommy isn't here to play. Another 30 minutes pass...

A weeping Kathryn at our bedside. I think the realization must have hit at this point... "My ba is gone, and all I have is this stupid puppy, and what's worse, he's not blue." More discussion, more comforting... "I guess it's a good thing that when you came out of my tummy, I didn't tell the nurse, "I wanted a BLUE Kathryn! Send her back!", I tried. At this point, Kathryn ran from the room, flinging the puppy with force into the bathroom. I think that by about 4am, we all finally fell back asleep, Kathryn on the floor next to our bed. Poor Scruffles was sentenced to his first night alone in the bathtub.

By the light of dawn, (which came painfully soon) Scruffles looked a bit more inviting. Whereas in the middle of the night, he only looked drab brown, we discovered by morning that he actually had more golden tones. And we thought that perhaps, though we can't turn Scruffles blue, maybe we can give him a blue collar. We had a short photo shoot. Kathryn decided it would be better to keep Scruffles than give her to Ellie. (Ellie's efforts to steal him throughout the morning gave him a bit more value in K's eyes.) We made it through the first day. And, what mommy finds curious is that in all the discussion about Scruffles, the dearly departed "ba" was never mentioned. So maybe there is hope.

It's 8pm, night 2. My only hope is that she will be too exhausted to ponder the fate of her "ba" and we will all sleep through the night...

Poor Scruffles. Doesn't he look sweet?

Bye-Bye Ba?

Today is a day of great significance in our short history as parents. After many failed attempts to convince our 3 1/2 year old that it was time to part ways with her beloved passie ("ba"-- when she was 10 months, she gave it this name, and it will forever be called "ba"), she told us unprompted that today she was ready. This is a BIG deal. This ba (not the very one, but this kind!) has been with her since she came home from the hospital, and it has been her most treasured comfort since. So this is a VERY big deal!

I'd like to think that it has been due to all of our transition, and not some kind of deficiency in our parenting, that allows an almost 4 year old child to still sleep with a "ba". Our last separation attempt was mistakenly right before daddy's 2 week trip. What lasted for a couple of days melted in a pile of tears and mommy's weakened resolve. She got the "ba", she was happy, I was happy. I decided then that if she wanted to go to college with the thing strapped around her neck, that wouldn't be so bad.

My sister in law told me about 6 months ago that the "Benkie Fairy" that came to visit their house. Yes, a cousin to the Tooth Fairy visited my niece and left behind (money, I believe?) to pick out a snuggle bear replacement. All of our principles about not "deceiving" our children with notions of Santa and the Easter Bunny were thrown out the window with hopes that this might be the effective motivation. (We're fine with dear old Santa, but they know he's just pretend.) Yet alas, the thought of the Benkie Fairy snatching her "ba" in the middle of the night brought only terror, not bliss. So again we waited. But I did go ahead and buy the requested snuggle puppy to have on hand, just in case the Benkie Fairy should happen to make a special trip to Singapore. And today, as Kathryn brought me her one remaining "ba" in shreds, she said "Mommy, maybe I don't need my ba anymore."

I put in an immediate call to the Benkie Fairy to see, if with just a few hours notice, could she possibly arrive tonight? And having just spoken with her, I have it on very authoritative word that she is feverishly in transit as I write. It's 8pm, and Kathryn is too excited to sleep of course. But just as Santa is probably the one night a year where parents have some agreeable leverage towards obedient behavior, I haven't seen her peek her head out the door once. The Benkie Fairy doesn't come until she goes to sleep, of course.

Do you think we'll make it? Do you think that by tomorrow, January 21st in the year 2007, at 4 months shy of 4 years old, our Kathryn will be passie-free? Say a prayer for us!!

Merry Christmas to you! Hope your day is joyous and full of laughter and delight! Ours has been. The storms parted long enough this afternoon for a Christmas picnic lunch and swim with friends. (This week reported the 3rd highest rainfall in the history of Singapore!)



May we be more enraptured with His love and mercy than all our new toys.
Love to you today,
the Wallaces

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