Posted 2:47 PM by Anne Wilhoit
We hope everyone had a very Merry and blessed Christmas. Our Christmas in Singapore was different than usual in a few ways yet the same in several traditions. Christmas eve we partook in a meal of lasagna, bread, and salad. Yum. After dinner we began to prepare for mass which was held at 9:00 PM. Actually, mass did not start until 9:30 and after arriving at 8:30 we were waiting longer than we had planned. The time was passed listening to the choir sing carols and wondering how many more people could fit into the church. It was packed – we estimated around 900 – 1000 people. Many people were standing or sitting on the ground and in the aisles. It was a beautiful service. By about 10:00 PM Katie was falling asleep so David took her home. We thought it best that we get her home while she was still awake enough to walk or one of us would have to carry her all the way home (we walk to our church which is the equivalent distance of about 5 city blocks away).

After mass, final preparations around the house, and a night-cap, David and I headed off to bed. Next thing we knew we heard Amanda saying”MOMMMM- MEEEEEE”. It was Christmas morning and Santa had visited the apartment! He was able to get in with a special “magic” pewter Santa key, a smart creation from Longaberger. Katie had hung it on the apartment door and by golly, it worked! Santa ate half of the candy cane Katie left for him, typed up a letter to the girls using our computer, and apparently let the reindeer in too because we found little bits of carrots scattered around the apartment! Well, the girls were tickled to see their new kitchen set and baby doll (Amanda) and hoola-hoop and stuffed mom dog with 3 puppies (Katie).

Here is one of the things that was REALLY different about Christmas in Singapore: the weather! See the picture gallery for pictures of the girls down by the pool on Christmas day. A first for me too – swimming on Christmas day.

Our Christmas dinner was a bit of a fiasco though. We had ordered a prime rib, a potato dish, and a tiramisu for dessert. It was all to be delivered between 3 and 4 PM. By about 4:30 I started getting a little concerned, so I checked with the front desk. Apparently it had been delivered at 9:30 in the morning to the apartment where my parents stayed when they first arrived. The single gentleman staying there thought someone had sent it to him and gladly accepted it. A whole prime rib? You’ve got to be kidding! Well, we could not get to it because he was out. So, we packed up our stuff and were just about to leave to hunt down some dinner when the concierge arrived with our dinner. The gentleman had arrived home and they told him the story. The roast and potatoes were fine but the gorgeous tiramisu was ruined (he had left it out of the freezer). So we had part of our meal and a few laughs - I mean, what else can you do?

It’s raining heavily this morning. It started raining late yesterday afternoon and has not stopped. I guess a little like Northern California lately? Luckily we got out yesterday and took my folks to the Bird Park so today it will not be too bad to hang around and maybe take the shuttle bus to an indoor venue. Hope you all get some post-Holiday rest. We have thought so much about everyone back home these past few days. We are thankful to have had my parents here to help us celebrate Christmas and yet we missed all of you too.

Posted 9:31 PM by Anne Wilhoit
Our Thursday afternoon cookie party was lots of fun! We had 15 kids and 8 moms join in the festivities. The kids enjoyed all the snacks which we had prepared. Katie did a nice job decorating some sugar cookie cut-outs. We had Christmas trees, bells, stars, and snow "people". The moms enjoyed chatting and some of us par-took in a little white wine.

David arrived home from Germany this afternoon. Katie and I met him at the airport. We were able to get him to stay up until 8 PM...a tough feat after the 12 hour flight and time change. He will be off work for a few days now and we will all enjoy celebrating Christmas in Singapore. Katie is out of school until mid-January, so we have a lot of time for some family fun. My folks are here another 2 weeks and there is still so much to do!

Katie had a swim try-out last night for lessons at a local swim club. She did a great job and now we just have to wait to see if they can place her after the New Year. We are anxious to keep up her lessons and she seemed to bond immediately with the instructors she met, so we hope she can get a spot.

We've had some great news from California. David's parents have booked flights to come and visit us in late February. We are so excited! We may have some other news to share soon...so, stay tuned.

Posted 12:25 PM by Anne Wilhoit
So here is a little interaction I wanted to share. This morning our housekeeper Ann told me it was time to wash Katie's bedspread. Let me explain. I brought a bed-set from home for Katie's bed. Each Friday Ann takes off the sheets and leaves them for me to wash. She replaces them with plain white ones for the weekend and puts the decorative ones back on the bed on Monday. Today she said that I needed to take the bedspread to be washed as well so that it would be clean for Christmas (not that I saw it to be dirty). In preparation for Christmas, everything needed to be cleaned. Yikes!!! You mean I have gone all these years without washing every last piece of linen in preparation for Christmas? In keeping with the tradition of Chinese New Year and Hari Raya, these preparations must be done. In preparation for Hari Raya (the end of Ramadan) the preparations are made throughout the house - new curtains, cushion covers, etc. Also, new attire is purchased. Ann said the same cleaning rituals are done for Chinese New Year. (She’s Chinese so I take her word for it). I'm having a ball with Katie’s bedspread; it barely fit in my washer and drying it is going to be a whole other story with this humdity. ANYWAY, when in Rome, do as the Romans - right? It makes sense...preparation for the birth of Christ, a new beginning, cleansing...You have to think that if Christ rang your doorbell today...would you be ready? Well, don’t worry too much if all your linens aren't done...remember he is our loving and FORGIVING Savior. Peace! And, happy washing

Posted 5:40 PM by Anne Wilhoit
My dad just took the girls down to the playroom for a little bit so I have a few minutes to write. I took my mom and dad to Little India today. The main reason for going was to visit one of the Hindu temples. We were able to take our time and do some reading about the temple (unlike when David and I were there with Katie). We poked around in a few shops but quickly grabbed a taxi (it was raining) over to the Raffles hotel. We visited the Long Bar for a famous Singapore Sling, and then enjoyed the wonderful lunch buffet which David and I had enjoyed on a previous trip with David's god-parents. After a nice, leisurely, peaceful, and DELICIOUS lunch, we walked around the hotel grounds for a little while before crossing the street to "Raffles City" (A Mega-shopping complex) to catch the bus home.

Tonight we need to bake a few more cookies and decorate some of those already baked. Tomorrow afternoon we are having a cookie party down at the play-room. We have invited the kids from the complex to come by and have some Christmas cookies. The idea started because we wanted to have two little boys over for cookies. Then, the new girls arrived so we had to invite them. Pretty soon I thought it would be too much for our apartment so why not move it downstairs. Well, if we are having it right outside the play-room, we might as well invite all the kids. We shall see how it turns out!

Singapore is bustling with the pre-holiday craze. To top it off, Cruise and Cruz were here last night for the opening of their movie “Vanilla Sky”. Sounds yummy. We saw in the paper where downtown was mobbed. People started lining up at 9:00 AM to see them. They finally arrived about 5:30 PM. The paper said that Tom Cruise was delighted with the reception. I guess he was pretty gracious and signed autographs for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Great Balls of Fire!

We are anxious to have David return from Germany. When we last spoke he said there was snow on the ground in Burghausen. A pre-White Christmas for him - how cool! Literally - cool, and we did not have much cold weather gear to send him off in. He took one cotton sweater, a Napa Fire Dept. Sweatshirt (thanks Bob!), and his overcoat. I can just see him arriving to work in a suit with the sweatshirt over it to keep warm. Great Balls of Fire!

With the exception of getting ready for the cookie party, tomorrow will be mellow day at home. My folks may venture over to the mall close buy, I mean close by, but I’m going to stay home and wrap some presents and play with Amanda. Only 5 more days until Christmas. Great Balls of Fire!

Posted 10:33 PM by Anne Wilhoit
Yesterday, my mom, dad, and I ventured up to the American School to take in the kindergarteners Holiday program. The kids were adorable. All 8 classes were up on stage and each class led a particular seasonal song. It was everything from “Over the River” to “The Christmas Alphabet” song. One child from each class was picked to complete a line in a welcoming greeting. We were tickled to see Katie represent her class. She hesitated for a moment, trying to remember the first word of her line…and then it all came out just great…”People of all ages love December celebrations.” All the kids did great. My dad was so impressed that all those 5 year olds could be so organized. (A tribute to their teachers for arranging the performance, I must say!) After the performance, we headed to Katie’s classroom for some refreshments which the kids made. Mom and dad got to see Katie’s classroom, some of her work, the turtles, and have their picture taken with Katie. Katie’s teacher is always taking pictures and especially loves to have pictures of these special events. Word has it that some of the pictures will go into scrap-books that the kids are making.

We are winding down our Saturday here in Singapore. I have just said "so long" to David as he catches a mid-night flight to Munich. He will be gone one week. My mom and Dad moved out of their apartment and into ours until David returns. This morning David and my Dad ventured downtown for a little Christmas Shopping (I think David got me something...hee-hee). Upon their return David took Katie out to lunch (at the downstairs cafe) and then after Amanda went down for her nap, I took Katie to the pool for a little while. It was very "Maui –like” today: a great day to get out of the pool and sit in the hot sun for a few minutes. Upon Amanda waking, we all headed out for an adventure "down by the quay". We had to take 2 taxis 'cause we are one over the limit, but it was a quick trip and we met up at our destination just fine. We walked along the river's edge and showed my mom and dad where some of the locals nap on a lazy afternoon. It is the wall under one of the river’s bridges - nice and shaded, but one wrong move (or bad dream) and they are off that wall and into the river. It is a site to behold - all these men napping on newspapers on that cement wall high above the river.

We spotted a little fruit stand and decided it was time. Not "tiger time" as the local beer saying goes (Tiger beer is the local beer her), but rather, time to try Durian...the fruit that “smells like hell but tastes like heaven”. Well, we all pretty much thought it tasted like hell too...especially when we started burping. Yuk!!! Ok, at least we can say we tried it so now all we have to do is smell it in the local markets. Yuk again. As David said, "mark that one off my list of things to do".

After the fruit tasting, the girls and I joined mom and dad for a bum boat ride on the river. Amanda was as happy as last time to see the bum boats. David enjoyed a few moments of peace on the river's edge as he awaited our boat to return. After the ride we checked out a restaurant we wanted to try called the Rainforest Café. It reminded us a little of the old Tiki Room at Disneyland. It was a mock tropical rainforest complete with a thunderstorm (flashing lights and misty rain), mechanical animals, and fish tanks. The food was not spectacular but it was a fun place for the girls.

Tomorrow it will be mass in the morning and then my folks, Katie, and I are gong to "Ali Baba” a kind of Aladdin-like stage show. I'll post again soon. Until then, good-night and god bless.

Posted 7:44 AM by Anne Wilhoit
We have welcomed our first visitors from the states - my mom and dad. They arrived about 5:15 PM on Sunday evening...looking pretty good for such a long trip. They stayed over in Tokyo on Saturday night and that, although unplanned, seemed to help get them adjusted to the time change. We had an exciting reunion at the airport - all of us were able to meet them and welcome them to Singapore! We have enjoyed the last few days catching up, and hanging out together. Mom and Dad have come along on my usual errands to start seeing the neighborhood but we have not done any "touristy" outings yet.

On Monday, Katie and her Daisy troop ventured to the American Club for ice-cream (after school). The main purpose of the visit to the club was actually so the girls could bring their donations for the Toys for Tots. Their troop leader was so proud of them that she treated them to an ice-cream or soda at the little cafe which is right by the pool. Since we were there, I showed my parents around the club a little. There were a couple of nice Christmas decorations up including some cool gingerbread houses.

We have also ventured to the grocery store, the wet market, and to one of the shopping hubs "Holland Village". So far, so good although we could not figure out what kind of fish were available at the wet market because all the men their spoke only Mandarin. So, we ended up buying the fish at the grocery store. When we got home I asked our housekeeper the Chinese name of the fish. Now, I can go back to the wet market and use the Chinese name and get what I want. The fish at the wet market are whole so you really need to know what you are looking for. No little signs telling you the name, let alone the name in English.

Amanda is enjoying her mama and papa immensely. She brings book after book to be reviewed. She is concerned every time one of them walks out of the room or apartment. And, she no longer wants mommy to push her stroller, or "pram,”as they are most commonly referred to here. Katie has also been enjoying the time together and requesting reading sessions and game sessions too. Of course she is gone most of the day so her time is a bit more limited. This Saturday we plan on a "major" outing - either to Sentosa Island or the Bird Park. David will be able to join us for the day but will be leaving late in the evening for Germany. He will be gone for one week so it is also especially nice timing having my parents here. They are in their own apartment right now (right next door) but will move in with the girls and I while David is gone. When David returns, they will move back into another apartment.

Well, Santa is hard at work trying to fulfill the Christmas wishes of Katie: scooter, game-boy, hoola-hoop, and a dog. So far, the hoola hoop is all that is loaded on the sleigh. I've heard that Santa does not bring live pets...especially dogs. And, their really isn't anywhere for a scooter to be enjoyed around our place. David has a game-boy so we are thinking one in the house is plenty. We are hoping she comes up with something else soon! Word has it Amanda will be receiving a Sesame Street train and a doll.
Well, that’s it for now. We hope everyone is enjoying the pre-Holiday season. We sure do miss being around the Bay Area for all the usual celebrations. This year we will be enjoying some new and different things, that is for sure!

P.S. Here are mom and dad's first impressions of Singapore: Mom: "Fantasy Land"....Dad: "She stole my answer". Some things never change! This morning we will venture to Orchard Road for a couple of hours via the shuttle bus. Wow, they are really in for it now!

Posted 7:42 AM by Anne Wilhoit
We were anxiously awaiting my parent's arrival last night...they were supposed to arrive last night. However, it seems as if they could not get a flight out of Tokyo yesterday so they will arrive today at about 5PM. We were disappointed but the timing today is better for Katie because now she can go to the airport to meet them (last night they would have arrived at mid-night). So, Katie is busy making a sign to bring to the airport. We will see what she comes up with!

We had a good week last week. Katie officially became a Daisy at her investiture ceremony on Monday afternoon. The girls shared in a feast afterward - hot dogs and mac and cheese! David was out a few evenings this week with business associates. He and I managed a "date night" on Friday so we met for dinner. Afterward, we were attempting to re-trace another walk we took 2 weeks ago to the Singapore River. Well, we got lost and ended up in Chinatown. What better thing for lost "soles"...a foot reflexology massage! We had a 35 minute foot treatment and ended up with a 5 minute back/neck massage. David says he does not believe in the reflexology theory (points on your feet relate to other parts of your body) but we both agreed that it felt WONDERFUL. And, the price was right too - Sing $20, which is about US $12. We plan on going back soon. David commented that he could go ever week. I guess we will get lost more often!

I will be sure to let everyone know when my folks arrive and their impressions of Tokyo as well as their thoughts on Singapore!

Posted 5:20 PM by Anne Wilhoit
We are sharing in the same weather as Northern California this afternoon...very, very rainy. Torrential Downpour actually. The lightning and thunder is a lot mellower than when we first arrived in Singapore now that it is the rainy season. We started out this afternoon about 1:00 PM deciding it was an "indoor activity" afternoon because it was so hot and sunny. We just ventured over via bus to the shopping mall which houses the American Market “Liberty”. We walked around, had a late lunch, and then did a little grocery shopping. David decided to treat Katie to a viewing of Monsters, Inc. so they stayed while I went out to catch the bus...with Amanda, stroller, and groceries. The bus was late due to the rain but luckily Amanda was in a good mood so the waiting wasn't that bad. Katie and David have a deal that right when they get home it is bath time, reading, then to bed. Katie has a long day tomorrow - she has "investiture" at Daisies in which she receives her first Daisy petals. I'll be up at the school all day tomorrow as well. I start with book fair in the morning, helping Katie's teacher for a few hours, and then all the moms are joining the girls for the investiture ceremony from 3:00 – 4:30.

Last night David and I enjoyed a very nice date (with each other!) We went to "Original Sin" - great name for a restaurant, huh? It is a vegetarian Italian place and was GREAT! We both enjoyed our dinners and the time together. Afterward we spent some quality time with thousands of other Singaporeans out doing Christmas shopping on a Saturday night. Insanity...so many people and we were dodging the rain too. When we returned home I had a lengthy conversation with our sitter Lis about Islam. She in turn learned a lot about Catholicism and Christianity in general. We are learning a lot about each other and our cultures. She has promised to teach me how to prepare a few Muslim dishes as well. David loves some of them (very spicy). I, in turn, promised her how to make a cheese quesadilla - the one she prepared for Katie last night was "not like mommy's".

I'm going to run and try to get a few things done before David and Katie get home. Amanda is busy watching "MELMMO"...that's "Elmo" to you and I. She will be receiving some Sesame Street things for Christmas as she is quickly becoming a fan.

In closing, here is something that is still so amazing to me. Wherever you are in the world, you still see the same moon. It was gorgeous here last night…peeking in and out of the rain clouds. Next time you see it, think of us. We are really not that far away, are we?