Pioneer Day

My cute niece loves all things "pioneer".  My sister is the music chorister for the primary kids at church.  She was able to rent some great covered wagons so the kids could do a primary pioneer parade.

The babies and all the older kids loved playing in the covered wagon and going for rides.

Samara's Olive doll.  Olive is my maternal grandma.  My mom gave her granddaughters the doll to go along with the personal history she is writing. 

We dressed up in pioneer clothes and did a little caroling parade around the neighborhood.  After about an hour we passed my sister's house and I opted to sneak into the A/C with my fussy baby.  I left amazed that people trekked that way for months and months--not only through heat, but trough the winter.    Taking 24 hours to fly home suddenly seemed like a breeze.

I am in awe of and grateful for the sacrifices the pioneers went through to get to Utah so they could  enjoy religious freedom.  During our time in Asia, we were able to visit several places where people were also made refugees.  My heart goes out to them.

Pioneer Day is a great reminder for me that I should be grateful for the freedoms and comforts I enjoy.  I hope someday that I can be of service in some way to those who are not as fortunate.

Pioneer Day also happens to fall on the birthday of one of my favorite people.  (You know who you are!)

One year old

Elizabeth is one year old!  We can't believe it.  I must be in denial or at least I'll use that as my excuse for it taking a month to make a post about it.  We are delighted she is part of our family.

We loved being able to celebrate with cousins and Grandma. 

 Contrary to how it looks it this picture, Samara was actually very happy to celebrate with her.  Or was it that Elizabeth was rubbing it in her face..."I got presents and you didn't!"

Lizzie is a love bug.  She gets so excited when she sees any of us.   She especially loves when Papa Ben gets home from work.  It's a mad crawl towards him if she's on the ground.  Or if she's eating dinner, it's an abrupt end to eating and a mad squeal until he takes her out of the chair.  She has powerful lungs and we've been told by several people that she'll be a singer.   

Her favorite things to eat are rocks, dirt, sand, sticks, paper, coins, and ice cream.   Everything goes in her mouth, especially anything that shouldn't.

Lizzie is friendly but still very pensive when it comes to new people.  She has a sweet and calm demeanor and is very tenacious.

We thought she'd be an early walker because she has been on the verge of walking for months.  But she's been more apprehensive than we expected (perhaps because of all the changes).  Poor kid doesn't know where she will be sleeping from week to week.  She recently started taking more steps.

I dread the day when she forms an opinion about all the kisses we give these sweet cheeks.

We love you Elizabeth Helen Bikman!

Packing up but not upacking for a long long time

We have been back in the states for a month.  It's been a long jet-lagged and exhausting month.  I just got on to make a post/update and saw these photos in my drafts so thought I'd post them.  Packing up and getting rid of most our stuff was not an easy task, but we did it.  We must love the feeling of living out of suitcases because we decided to build a house, which means we won't be settled and unpacked for a while.  We hope to close and start building in a couple of weeks.  I have a ton of photos to go through from our last couple months in Singapore.   Now that Elizabeth sleeps more than once in a fortnight, I have some time and hope to catch up on everything eventually.

We had a month to consolidate, get rid of, and pack up our stuff.  It was hectic.  The girls were a tremendous help.  We built forts, dog houses, packed, un-packed, and re-packed.  Samara promoted herself to foreman of our packing team and had an opinion on what should be packed where and when.  Lizzie, though young, is an expert at unpacking everything.  She left me wondering how much paper an infant can safely consume.   And I'm pleased to say that Samara and I survived the month with a mother-daughter relationship still intact!

We are adjusting to life in the states.  We wonder where all the people are, marvel at how cold it gets (we sleep with space heaters), and are amazed at how cheap things are and how easy it is to communicate with people.  My sister is generously letting us stay with them so we are back in the basement where married life for us began.  Lizzie spent the first two weeks screaming like mad for the entire duration of any and every car ride.  But I am very happy to report that she does awesome in her car seat now.  Samara is loving the lack of attention and manhandling from strangers.  She also started pre-school at BYU and loves it.  She begs to go every day and tells people that her dad got a job at BYU because she goes to school there.  Ben is busy getting his lab up and running and putting together the curriculum for his course.   I love the beautiful mountains, but am still mourning the loss of adventure, culture and travel.   There is so much we will miss about Singapore, but it is nice to be "home".

4th of July

 It was wonderful to be back in the states celebrating the nation's birthday, especially because we spent the time with family.

UT county does a great job of celebrating the 4th, hosting a variety of fun and educational activities.  I needed a reminder that my country too has a history and is an interesting place.  :)

And what is the 4th of July without a parade and 

Fireworks?!

A very happy Independence Day from my adorable 'lil Betsy Ross and her cute-as-a-button cousin.

Made in Singapore

Singapore imports almost everything--food, workers, sand, and even water.  You name it, they probably import it.  Every once in a while they have a brilliant export.

 This little Singaporean-born expat is Singapore's finest export to date!

Vesak Day

There are so many things I will miss about Singapore.  One of them is seeing Buddhist monks clad in their orange robes all around town.  I see them on the street, at stores, on the train, and even at the zoo occasionally.  I'm pretty sure I won't be running into any in Provo.

Last Tuesday was Vesak Day.  The day is celebrated by Buddhists with great ceremonial ritual and commemorates the birth and enlightenment of Buddha and his entry into Nirvana.  Though this is my 3rd  Vesak day in Singapore, it was my first time attending any festivities.  Thank you Chelsea for having me over for dinner and taking me to it!!  

There was a great kids corner with games, which earned you tickets to buy prizes.

The tent was up for several days and all the rituals could be done/seen each day.  The actual day itself begins with the Buddha mantra chanting.  My brochure said that listening to the chanting is comparable to listening to discourses by Lord Buddha.  The chanting bestows blessings and protection.  It is a truly  a wonderful sound and so peaceful.  I've really enjoyed the several times I've been able to hear the chanting.  

Bathing Buddha commemorates the birth of Prince Siddhatta.

Lotus grows in the muddy darkness at the bottom of a pond, towards the warmth and light of the sun.  Hence, the lotus flower is offered to represent where devotees should turn--towards light and truth. 

The devoted Buddhist apply gold leaf to preserve the precious Buddha statues and to extend the lifespan of Buddhism.

The celebration concludes with a candlelight procession through the streets.

The Ten Parami Wishing Wells.  Making resolutions is to accomplish the Resolve Parami.  "Be diligent in meditation, truthful in speech, the strength of our resolution will increase."  I love that!

Since we are on the topic of Buddha.  Remember Samara's baby Buddha friends?

Lizzie wasn't too keen about her new playmates.  This is  how I feel at the moment too!  I'm thrilled for the future but so sad to leave Singapore.  And I hate packing.  And Ben's been gone all week in Ireland.  To end on a positive note,  I've sold a lot of our furniture.  And then I cry over selling cheap Ikea coffee tables.  

On the Move

 These little piggies are on the move.  

Lizzie could not be happier or more proud of her new abilities.  But can you guess what her favorite destination is?

C'est Moi!  She's been so determined to move independently only find her way back to my arms.  I feel like a million bucks whenever she crawls over to me and pulls herself to stand, wanting to be held.  It's so fun to see her sweet little personality develop.

I started this post earlier this week but blogger has been down for a couple of days so I wasn't able to post it.  Then today Ben got a job offer from BYU.  The universe was trying to tell us something.  

Ben accepted a position as a professor in the Physiology and Developmental Biology Department.  We are thrilled and grateful.   

We have a month to pack up and get to the states for my sister-in-law's wedding.  It's going to be hectic trying to fit 1,000 sq feet into suitcases and a few bins that we'll ship.  We have loved our time in Singapore and will be forever grateful for the adventures and lessons we've learned.  It will be very hard to say good-bye.  But we are thrilled to move on to the next step in life.  Anyone whose been (or been married to) a doctoral or med student knows what a long (but good) road it is.  We are looking forward to our new adventures and being near our families again.  I know we will dearly miss SE Asia.  It's an amazing part of the world and we feel so lucky to have been able to explore so much of it.  But it's time to get serious about retirement so we can make our way back to Thailand! We'll probably have to change the blog name soon to "Awaiting Tropical Adventures."