We've Been Visited . . . and that's not just with 8 years of marriage!

Hello everyone! We'll like the title says we have been visited but not all in the ways you might think . . . So. . .

Yes, we've been visited by yet another wonderful wedding anniversary. Yesterday May 19 was the celebration of 8 glorious years of bliss- with a dose of obstacles, a few frustrations, a couple ounces of stress, a few teaspoons of transitions, and not to mention two very large pinches of children! But, it's what makes our marriage so beautiful. It's really, really tough at times and really incredibly easy at other times, but through it all it's as real as you can get because it require a real choice from us both, to choose each other. And I think that's really what "keep'n it real" really means!

We've been visited by friends who do similar work in other countries throughout the Asia Pacific region. We are blessed to have both new and old friends who have been able to hang-out with us here in Singapore. It's been great to share ideas, thoughts, joys, hardships, and even at times vent frustrations in the midst of healthy laughter! It's also tremendous to have such a group of people who are not only colleagues and mentors but friends and companions! Truly, our Father knows the people we need at the appropriate times.

We've been visited by old friends. One of Tim's college/university classmates was in town for one month for work and so it was an unexpected joy to walk down memory lane while jumping quickly over; "So what have you been doing the past 12 years since graduation?" Yeah, can you believe Tim's getting to be that old- 12 years since good old NNC(U)! Anyway, thanks Kristin, it was great to see you again, even if it took 12 years.

We also had two old friends from our days in Italy. One of our closest young people who we worked with in Catania, Joy, is now married, pregnant, and stationed in Japan. Well they got the chance to pop on down and spend some quality time with the Whetstones here on this little island. We had a wonderful time catching up as well as catching some rays at Sentosa Island. Thanks Joy and Mike, you are always welcome to crash at our place if you are ever in the mood to come to the beautifully hot and humid country of Singapore again!

We'll be posting more Sentosa pics soon!

We've been visited by illness. Yeah, both the kids and us have been going through an on-going battle of viruses. However, at the present moment we can declare that we're all doing fairly OK! No current fevers or other hideous bodily aches or rashes and for this we are grateful. However, we do ask for you to keep remembering us as we know these battles will continue as our bodies continue to adjust to life in Asia.

We've been visited by yet another transition. Tim is currently in the midst of changing positions at Focus on the Family Singapore from his administrative/managerial position to more of a teaching/speaking one, while Danielle is interning and as of two days ago will be permanent full-time with Focus in their content/design team.

We believe that this is a much better fit for us and we ain't monkeying around about it either! (hint, check out the pic) It's going to enable us to be more a part of the big picture we have for Singapore. However, the catch is that Danielle's job will be a pay cut - still enough to maintain our work visas - but we will be praying that our faithful Father will provide as he always does. Please remember this item of concern in your thoughts and prayers.

We've also been visited by our shipment and these visitors are here to stay! So once our 30 boxes of "stuff" was unpacked we noticed that it was primarily the kids stuff! Yet it all arrived safely to our new home! Even though we are renting a "furnished" apartment it's nice to be able to hang a picture here or there and add a little color with our own curtains and bed spreads to make it feel more like our home. I think the kids, especially Natalie is ecstatic about getting many of her things - like Belinda her crying, sleeping, and talking baby doll! :-) We must say it's nice to finally have silverware and pots and pans. It sure makes eating at home a whole lot nicer!

We've finally been visited by TWO glorious date nights. Yes, after 6 1/2 months of absolutely no "couple time" it happened. Thank you very much to those of you who helped make these possible!

And lastly, we've been visited by the biggest storm in over 100 years in Singapore. In fact, they called it a "Sumatra Storm" because the winds were close to 70 miles per hour! Yeah, I guess we tend to like crazy weather places! In any case, the trees did not hit our apartment but there were two that went down - one in front and one in the back. And honestly, Tim thought it was awesome to watch and film... maybe he'll post the video some day?

Anyway, that's all for now because I'd hate to make this longer than it already is . . . yet, we'd like to leave you with yet another word that has spoken to us most recently because we know that with hardships or uncertainties (like another job transition or physical illnesses) there are joys of many kinds (like friends visiting and even "stuff" arriving) that go hand-in-hand. Simply, they kiss each other at every moment. So, may these words be an encouragement to you too:

"Those who have gone before us have left a clear witness: We may seek God or we may seek ease, but we cannot seek both. The road we travel is anything but easy. It is true that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives, but it is equally true that the plan is often fraught with tension and uncertainty, and with emotional, spiritual, and physical pain." by Gary Thomas. But "The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore" (Psalm 121:8)

Peace