I know many of you have been waiting for updates from us and we have been "off the map" a bit lately. The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy and hectic for our family. We were preparing for a move to the other side of the world while pregnant, then we thought we miscarried {but didn't... more on that later}, then we had to say "see ya later" to our wonderful friends and support system in California, pack everything we need for 6 months into 6 suitcases, and then traveled 25 hours to reach our new "home" here in Singapore. Now we are trying to get settled in despite some serious jet lag. {It's 8am and I've been up with Q for over 3 hours now and this is a significant improvement from yesterday...} So please bear with us as it may take some time for us to settle in and take a few pictures that so many of you are asking for!
Last weekend was very bittersweet for us. We started out the weekend on Thursday by having Thanksgiving {complete with roast turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce} with our small group. Our church small group is mostly composed of military couples and it has become a sort of tradition to send people off with a Thanksgiving meal. A special way to show our thanks for the wonderful friendships God has blessed us with. We lingered a long time that evening, none of us wanting to say goodbye yet.
Friday some good friends of ours had us over for dinner and planned the entire evening as a Maryland theme {where we are from} as a farewell dinner. The menu consisted of crab dip and crab cakes and a special cake that I'd never had before that was the official "state cake" of Maryland. {eight delicious layers that must have taken forever to construct!} The table arrangement consisted of black eyed susan's which are Maryland's state flower and was complete with a sign showing how many miles to MD and how many miles to Singapore. We felt so loved and so special that they went through all the effort to plan such a fantastic evening for us.
Sunday I had my usual Pho date with the girls which I will dearly miss! And we went on one last American date {to see The Hunger Games and dinner at a favorite local restaurant} while our good friends kept Q and then we spent the rest of the evening hanging out with our friends around their fireplace.
Monday I was jittery all day because I was nervous about the long travel day ahead with Q. Some other friends were so kind as to take us out to dinner at a very "American" place and helped to get our minds off the "impending doom" while enjoying some good food and great company. We are so blessed by our wonderful friends in CA! We miss you all already!
Tuesday we got up bright and early, Sam picked up the rental car, we loaded up our luggage and drove 2 hours up to San Francisco. Upon checking into the airline Q and I were traveling on they informed us we couldn't bring his rear facing car seat on the plane because they only allow forward facing seats {this information was not on their website} so I knew I was in for a day and night of little to no sleep at that point. Since I was not flying with Sam {Navy bought his tickets but not ours} I was so fortunate that my friend C, whose husband is doing the same exchange program as Sam, was willing to fly with me to help out with Q. She was such a help! It was a very long day. Q was such a trooper but with no car seat or crib and so many distractions he found it difficult to sleep. I thought to myself many times during our 18 hours of flying, "This is so not worth it, I regret this decision to do this..." but once we arrived I immediately changed my mind.
Singapore is beautiful! Even at 1:30am driving down the highway from the airport to our new apartment, it was gorgeous. Even the highways are lined with beautiful tropical trees arcing over the roads and the city is so modern and clean. Our apartment building is amazing {which I guess it should be since the Navy is paying an obscene amount for us to live here}. I can't decide what my favorite part is... maid service everyday {I don't have to wash dishes for 6 months if I don't want to!}, free hot breakfast every morning in the lobby, or the central location such that we can walk to restaurants, shops, public transportation, etc. I have also been pleasantly surprised at the availability of "American" food and products. We were told that things like cheese and many convenience items would not be readily available, but we haven't had trouble finding them. {although groceries in general are ridiculously expensive, as in, makes groceries in Hawaii look cheap, which they are not}
We haven't gotten out and about exploring too much just yet. We've moved in and are trying to get over our jet lag and have walked around the area immediately surrounding our apartment, but haven't ventured too far. We plan to change that this weekend :-) Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully pictures soon!
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