Happy Birthday Sergeant Pierce!

Happy Birthday Sergeant Pierce... we are so proud of you a little man of 5 years.  Oh how we have enjoyed watching you grow up to the little (BIG) person that you are.  Since your last birthday party you have asked for an Army birthday party and boy did you get your wish and what a great day it was.

Here are some of your accomplishments this year:
-  You have completed your first proper school year (and still going strong) at ICS.
-  You have been potty trained since you were two but at night you still wore a diaper... and for months you have not needed it but you refused to not wear one.  But after your birthday party you decided that enough was enough.  With two diapers left in the drawer you said you did not need it any more and you were right.
-  You are a great joke teller... Your grandparents started this with you and you love it.  Everyone you talk to on a daily basis you have to tell a joke to.  Some are real jokes and most of them are just ones that you make up.  And you are so loved by many that they just laugh and it makes your day.
-  You love and adore anything army/military and anything that is camo... we were hoping that you would like the hero aspect of it all but you really just like the fighting aspect... we are working on that they fight to protect our country so they are heros (you are not intested in the why part right now).
-  You found out this year you are going to be a big brother when you are 5 1/2 and you are thrilled and talk to your baby all the time reminding him/her that you are their brother and this is your voice... so cute.
-  Your best friend is Alex and you would love to be from England like he is... when you spend time with him you talk in your British accent which is so cute.
-  You have really become a good swimmer... it is still not your favorite thing to do but you have gotten really good at it and now can swim in the deep end all by yourself.
-  Sometime this past year you decided that you wanted to stop swimming class, taekwondo class but wanted to keep doing soccer... and this was a great decision that you made bc you have become really good at soccer... scoring goals and being goalie... your favorite is being goalie and you are really good at it when you pay attention (:-)).
-  This year among any other you are the best helper... all you want to do all day long is help... help Tita in the kitchen, help clean, help mommy pick up, help mommy with school stuff, help mommy at the church office, help mommy when ever I need help, help daddy build something, and more... all we have to say is will you help and you are there and we love you for it...
-  You love math... you come home from being at school all day and ask if we can do math homework (which you don't have homework yet) but we just pretend... oh the day is coming soon.

We are so proud of you and have really enjoyed watching you grow into the person that God has for you to be... keep strong buddy and thank you for all the joy you bring to our lives.

Pierce's birthday was in Jan... but his party was just a couple of week ago... we had to wait to get back from our trip to the states and for all of his friends to get back from their vacation as well... it is always fun celebrating your birthday for months and months (he got that from his mom).


Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa's christmas present this year... it made a great station for the kids to play in... oh what fun.


Our friend Jennifer made the cake again this year... so cute and yum yum good.

Pierce was so happy that this day had finally come... he was thrilled to see his friends and get presents of course...

Kids are already outside getting wet and the parents are inside staying cool...



This is just the beginning come back for a lot more fun and games... see you soon.

Happy Valentines...

I have so much to update you on... and so far behind on blogging but I had to post something recent... Happy Valentines Day... oh what fun we had on this day.  Pierce had a v-day bash at his school that included an ice cream social and you know I had to be there for that.  Here are some pics so excited to get ice-cream at school.

I got this Snoopy shirt for him in Texas when we were there... it says "what's not to love"... right?

Pierce and his buddies... Pierce was so cute he did not want to sit with his class he wanted to sit with me at a different table so it was just him and I but shortly his friends Wietze and Lorenzo came to join us... so sweet.

After school we came home to v-day packages... it was fun to get some lovins from family but we were sad that Daddy could not be with us.

Aunt JuJu and Uncle KW know exactly the way to Pierce's heart... anything army... especially something that you have to build.

Daddy might not have been here but he remembered... love you babe.

We got lots of love this week and we are so thankful for our friends and family... we appreciate you all and hope you had a great valentines day.  (the painting in the picture was created by Sara May).

A Tree Top Walk...

The past couple of weekends we have had time with Daddy on Saturday (which if you know our life in Singapore... this is very rare)... so one Saturday we decided to go for a walk on the Tree Top Trail... It was an exciting afternoon full of sweat, monkeys, someone wanting to be carried, praying not to fall, fun and good family time.  Here are some pics of our adventure...  From where you have to park the car to get to the Tree Top Bridge is quite a distance (forgot about this)... and we did a fare bit of walking.  Blake was trying to push our son to walk but you know the mom has to give in (and feel bad) so I did give Pierce some short piggy back rides... but daddy stayed strong... Pierce is better and tougher for it...

We did get to see some monkeys on our way into the "jungle"... and they were up close and personal hoping that we had food.


I love this picture... might be a keeper...

My two boys...

One of the early stopping points Pierce was anxious to keep going... his tuned definitely changed about an hour later... he was always asking to stop.  Grandma and Grandpa did this trail with me a couple of years ago... you guys will know how long it is..

Here Pierce is showing off another battle wound he got from a friend... his poor face...

We made it... yeah...



A great afternoon with my boys... sweat and all.

13 weeks...

13 weeks... introducing our little Peach (this was taken about 3 weeks ago).  The baby is usually referred to the fruit that is equal to its size... this week the baby is a size of a peach... and boy did I feel it.  Watch our progression... fun times ahead... I got huge with Pierce so you never know... this could amuse us all.


Age: 13 Weeks

Size: similar to a peach

Mom's Cravings: anything salty or spicy and the occasional ice cream

Pierce's comments: This is awesome... I want a Brother

Dad's Prediction: Baby #2 will be a boy

Movement:  None that I can feel but during the ultrasound there are lots of hiccups and lots of movement

Sweet Moment:  In your latest ultrasound you were sucking your thumb

Sweet Moment #2:  While standing in a taxi que, Pierce and I were second in line and a man and his son were in front.  Pierce out of no where said to the man "excuse me... my mom is having a baby"... well you can imagine the look of concern that immediately flashed on the man's face and I was quick to jump in an say "not yet"... lets just say the man was thrilled but Pierce was a little confused.

Date of Arrival:  Aug 6th - 11th due date

Our family is growing by 2 feet!

We are thrilled to announce that our family is growing by 2 feet... and what a journey we have had up to this point and we can't wait to see all that lies ahead.  Back in Dec. (right before we were to leave for a holiday in the states) I was not feeling right... some of my favorite things were not tasting right and I knew the waiting game was soon to be revealed for that month.  More than 30+ months has the monthly waiting game not ended the way we wanted and when this one came I did not believe it at first.  I found out with 2 little pink stripes and Blake was in the process of kissing me goodbye as he walked out the door... so I decided to wait until he came home that night to surprise him.  That whole day was like a blur... constantly praying and thanking God, telling myself over and over that it was real (I think I looked at those 2 pink stripes like 20 times to make sure I was not seeing double), and patiently/excitedly waiting for Blake to get home.  After dinner and putting Pierce to bed I handed Blake a bag that had a new pair of baby booties in them (the same ones above).  This is how I told Blake 5 years ago we were pregnant with Pierce (after 8 months of marriage he was a little confused)... but this time he knew exactly what was going on and reached over and threw his arms around me.  We were beyond thrilled and so thankful for this Blessing.  I have always said that it takes 3 to make a baby and at different points in the past 3 years, 2 of us (different depending on the month) were working really hard.  However I was wrong... it actually took 4 of us (now don't get me wrong God is the miracle maker and the only one that really counts but for the story purpose... it took 4 of us to make a baby)... regardless God has perfect timing and we are so thankful for our little one.

We landed in Texas about 4 days later and could hardly wait to share the news with the family.  We had yet to tell Pierce but wanted to share with the family so everyone could start praying and join in our excitement.  We thought the best way to share with the various family members the big news was to take a picture of Pierce holding a sign saying "I'm a Big Brother"... so here it is... I wish I had a camera each time we shared this picture with a family member or friend... great memories for sure.  Pierce can not read yet so he was clueless as to what he was holding but he will do anything for a piece of candy... already a good big brother!

We had a blood test in Singapore to ensure that all the levels were good but when we got to Texas we called our doctor there and told him the good news.  He was a bit sad that he did not get any part in this one and was not going to since we lived overseas... so he said why don't you come in and at least let me show you your first picture of your little one.  So you better believe we were there as fast as they would get us in... and here is our little olive/oliver (back in Dec.)  The size of the baby at the time was an olive (and I liked the sound of that but Blake soon said Oliver).

At the doctor visit is where we got to tell Pierce the good news... that he was soon to be a big brother... we let the ultrasound and doctor do the talking at first (he was not sure why we were there) and afterwards we asked him if he understood what just happened... and I will never forget this moment.  We had him in his car seat all buckled in and daddy in the driver seat asking him this question and me in the passenger seat turned to look at him... and to answer the question Pierce picked up his hands in little fist by his side (shaking them a little) and with a big smile and tons of excitement said "I'm going to have a baby".  He has been thrilled ever since this moment and has often told complete strangers that he was going to have a baby or be a big brother.

We are all besides ourselves and can't wait to meet our little one in early Aug. 2012!

Thursday in Cambodia... saying Goodbye!

Our last and final day in Cambodia... is it really over... I wish was back there this very minute.  Welcome to Thursday... a day full of tears...
Here is our trusty driver... he was amazing and kept us safe and on time the whole trip.  He was a joy to be around and he was happy to share with us his new marriage to a beautiful bride.  We knew we were thankful for him but especially when we got to the airport later that day and meet a group of college students that had a similar van to ours (no seat belts and 7 passengers) and they were in a horrific car accident that killed the driver and co-pilot and several of the students were injured and were being taken back to Singapore (where they were going to college) to get further care.  We are so thankful for a safe trip.


Our gang with all of our loot... we had a great mission and we did some shopping too.

I will forever remember these people and remember the good times we shared and the stories they told... If I could only be half the woman/man these people are... I will be doing good.


Here is a random street... but here is a better shot of the street that we were on when we had out flat tire... now you tell me that God was not all over that...

Teacher Mo is one of the teachers that has to share the office to sleep in with another male teacher... he has a hard time sleeping bc the other teacher stays up talking with his girlfriend... but Mo never complained just gave his friend a hard time... so my gift to him was a clean pair of ear plugs... sleep well Mo.

If we were away from the kids... this is usually what I was doing...

One of the Cambodian Ministries that IBC supports is Kingdom Creations... where they make mostly bags (that look like Vera Bradley)... if you know me you have probably bought one of these or been given one as a gift... on our way out of Cambodia we got to see the shop where these ladies make the bags... a great ministry where they are trying to teach women in Cambodia to sew and make income for their family... a great safe place for them to be and they are awesome and make some cute stuff.

Leaving Cambodia... what a great group of ladies...


Oh yeah... we had to do one more shopping adventure at a local market... oh boy...


This is what I came for... cow bells... they are known for here in Cambodia and along time ago this is how the farmers use to tag their cows... by ornate cow bells... I got me a couple.. they are so pretty.

And some old pipes for some substance that will stay unnamed... use your imagination... I do have to say they were pretty.

Our team (minus a few and plus some new ones) are going back in April for another VBS visit with the village... I really prayed hard over this but with the timing and some other key important reasons (you will learn soon) Blake and I thought I should stay here in Singapore and pray for the team while they are there... it breaks my heart to miss this opportunity but no matter how bad I want to go (selfish reasons I am sure) God is saying no... can't wait to hear about all the amazing things the team will do and so thankful that our church will get to love on that country again (and again).