Retreat

We had our all-staff retreat these last few days.  I didn't enjoy last year's very much as I had issues with the childrens' programme.  Not this year.  The committee did a great job of getting competent, experienced people to do the different age groups.  Rose and Josh had a lot of fun.  They got to "try" the climbing wall (I say "try" because Rose said "I didn't want to climb it" and Josh said, "I just watched".), they loved the mini zip line and, of course, their highlight the "mud slide".  (Joshua informed me that it is not really called the mud slide, it is the slip and slide.)  I'm not sure what else they did but I know they had a blast.  Naomi, too, enjoyed her "group" (I think she and her friend were the only ones who went regularly!)  She had taken a box of her dolls and their clothes and she drew and coloured and made things.  It was very funny to me to hear people I taught, being called "teacher" by my kids. What an age check!!
                      


We did a cool games session in the afternoon where we split into 3 groups - competitive, non-competitive and family.  It was a very good decision and we all had a lot of fun.

The first night Rose decided she wanted to go to bed instead of their evening class.  So I thought I would put Naomi down too as she would be very tired by 8:45!  We were going to send Josh - who is the hardest to put to bed - to the group but he decided as the others were going to bed he didn't want to go.  What a mistake!  They didn't get to sleep till about 8 because they were bothering each other or making each other laugh.  Josh and I ended up outside for a while to let the girls sleep - we had an amazing display of lightning to watch.  The next night I packed them all off to their classes.  Naomi fell asleep but we had taken her blanket so Steve just picked her up and put her to bed.

Probably the biggest surprise and challenge for me from the retreat was agreeing to teach the IGCSE English as our teacher is not coming - or at least, not for a while.

Naomi took this photo of me on the zip line : )

Normal or Aliens?

While we were in the car this morning, Rose said to me, "We are a broken family".  I was a bit surprised that a) she had said it, b) the phraseology and c) that she seemed to understand the concept.  (We live in a rarified existence where most families she knows have 1 mum, 1 dad, still married.)  She explained that she thought this because daddy worked a lot of the time during the day and so we weren't together all the time.  OK, forget c)!!  I explained that was normal and that a broken family meant one parent did not live with the rest of the family.
Actually, I think we're probably an abnormal family.  Having marked the occasion of fourteen years of marriage yesterday, (where did that go?) I know it is not something to take lightly in this day and age, and nor is our "normal" family.  And how normal is it to live in a country that is not your own? I doubt our kids will feel "normal" when we return to England.  And, yet, for those whose citizenship is in heaven we are all 'aliens' wherever we live.  It's good to be reminded of that from time to time.

Closing Days of Summer

It is starting to feel like the end of the holidays - cool, rainy weather, the refurbishments and maintenance work around school slowly winding up and getting tidier, classrooms being reassembled and looking clean - some with fresh paint. And today, staff kids in abundance on campus as staff begin preparing for the new school year.  Our kids had a lot of fun this morning running round the grounds playing with some of the older staff kids.  It meant I got a lot done so I was thankful.  We had lunch - pork adobo for the girls.  More play (more work). Then we went swimming and it rained and we got out just before the thunder and really heavy rain.  The children were very glad to be active and out of the house this morning and this was the best morning we've had for a while.  They are wanting more structure and variation on our activities.
Our new staff are trickling in and orientation for them begins on Monday.  Thursday we all take off for our staff retreat.  We seem to have a skeleton staff for middle and high school this year and some are still trying to raise enough support to be here for the start of the year.

Shopping Therapy

Wendy and I started at Greenhills and ended at Eastwood.  We shopped, we laughed, we bargained, we ate, we drank, we had our nails done, we sang, we talked.  We enjoyed being in each other's company and I was refreshed.

Some photos

The mafia on our porch!

   Post-typhoon pics

  

Our front yard, the street outside our house and the road sign

    

 

   Wii Moments!

Joshua thought I had said the funniest thing ever when I said, "Let's go and leave Aunty Wendy with her wii!"  He kept repeating it and cracking up.

Wii

Wendy bought herself a Wii this morning and the children and I went over to play with her this afternoon.  Actually the kids started watching a video so Wendy and I got to play first!  Wendy thrashed me at tennis (I did not win one game!) and we did bowling.  Then the kids joined us.  Naomi decided pretty quickly it was not for her and was happy to play games on the iTouch instead. Rose and Joshua loved it and did really well at bowling - Rose, in particular.  She scored over 140 points.  And the boxing was hilarious.  Rose was an animal and seriously kicked butt.  Josh, too, really enjoyed the boxing and we had to keep telling him to move back so he didn't hit the TV!  It was so much fun.  It was good to see Rose exhibit some strengths and beat Josh - it doesn't happen very often.

Conversations

On the way home yesterday we passed the Edsa Shrine and Rose asked me why the lady (it's Mary) had a crown on her head.  Whew!  I knew I had to be careful answering that.  We ended up having an amazing discussion on worship, leading to the conclusion that it is motivated by love.  We talked about different expressions of worship and Rose talked about how it is offering our whole selves as well as other things.  Her understanding is growing in leaps and bounds.




Edsa Shrine 

Cheeky Lad

One of Joshua's areas of expertise is annoying his sisters.  He is spending a lot of time, this week, by himself in his room as a result.  Today for the umpteenth time, I sent him upstairs.  However, when I walked back into the TV room to talk to the girls, I saw him peering through the window behind them.  He had gone outside, found the 3 step ladder and set it up by the window and was watching the TV.  When he saw me, he flashed one of those cheeky grins at me.
There are times I just can't punish such ingenuity.

Under the Wing

During yesterday evening we got the first bands of rain as the typhoon approached.  Steve had looked on the typhoon tracker website and seen that the typhoon was due to hit landfall about 8 p.m. and we would get the worst around 2 a.m.  Around 9 it started raining a bit heavier so our friends left to make sure they wouldn't get caught at our house for the night!
The wind started picking up and at 12:30 the electricity went off.  Steve got up to fetch a torch and close windows upstairs.  The wind was beginning to sound more like a jet engine and the tin roof on the extension the neighbours are building got really noisy like someone was shaking it up and down.  We were convinced it was going to fly off any second. (It managed to ride the typhoon out!)  By 1, Naomi had joined us in bed, Rose came in next about 20 minutes later.  We have experienced many typhoons while we have lived here - including Ondoy - but this was the most ferocious wind I have known.  Steve began moving boxes in the playroom because the rain was coming in.  Josh slept through the worst noise of the typhoon and woke up only when the rain became very heavy after the wind died down about 2.
Considering the power of the wind we were surprised when we drove out today how little (relatively) damage had been done.  Lots of trees down, branches on our roof, a few roadsigns blown over and some of the posters shredded.
The most amazing thing, though, was the visual God gave me of something I have been wrestling with.  I have been reading through the Psalms and noticing how often the Psalmist mentions God as their "shelter", or uses the image of being "under God's wing".  I have been trying to understand what this means.  Obviously it does not mean we escape difficult situations, or that we don't suffer physically.  So what does it look like?
Last night when Naomi got into bed next to me, she snuggled up to me with her back pressed against my side and literally was "under my wing" with her head under my armpit and my arm bent over her.  It made her feel secure and while it didn't change the fact that the typhoon was passing overhead and it didn't stop it being noisy and destructive, she obviously felt safe and secure enough to relax.
We don't avoid typhoons or their effects on our lives but we are safe and secure under the arm or "wing" of God.  If we stay close to His side, we will have peace.

A Fellow Brit

At the hospital today I had a cool experience. The Filipino nurse taking my blood was giving me instructions and I said to him, "you sound British?"  He grinned at me and said, "yes, my parents are British."  We started chatting and when he done, he said, "You made my day.  It's been so long since I met a British person."  It was really cool and slightly strange!  Imagine a British Filipino choosing to come and work here when so many Filipinos are choosing to go and work in the UK!

We were picking up Wendy to come to the supermarket with us this morning and the kids were so excited that we were going to see her that they had a full-on scrap before we even left our house over who would sit in the front with her.  I had to peel Josh and Rose off each other and designate the seating before we could leave!

By dinner time Joshua was running a temperature so Steve gave him some calpol before we sat at the table.  During the meal he began to spark up a bit so Steve said to him, "Is the Calpol beginning to kick in a bit?"  Rose said, "What?  Did you say 'Cow horns are poking in your butt'?"  Needless to say there was much laughter and Rose wasn't sure whether to join in because she had said something funny or be embarrassed that everyone was laughing at her! She did join in.

Welcome home!

Yay! It was time to pick up Wendy last night.  The airport was heaving and the car park was full, but none of the attendants bothered to tell me the car park was full - I could have gone to the other one - so I eventually ended up parking at the edge of the car park at the very back.  It's often very busy at that time of night as lots of airlines seem to fly in at that time.  But this was the worst I have known it.  The waiting area was packed too (you have to wait outside) but I found a seat and thankfully I knew Wendy her mobile phone so I didn't need to crane my neck to watch people coming down the ramp.  It was so good to see her.  Now we just have to book a day to get our nails done!

Piano Lesson

Rose had her first piano lesson this morning.  She was pretty excited.  She's only been asking for about a year to start playing the piano.  She did well.  And now she is practising a lot.  She loves singing and picks up music pretty quickly so I am sure she is going to love it.

O, Canada

Tonight Rose was reading our Bible story and she made Steve and I chortle when she read "the Israelites moved to Canada".  She obviously still has North America on her mind.  Of course, it should have been Canaan.

Working Mum

My kids are adjusting to the idea that I will be working this year.  They love the fact that I have an office. So, today when we went up to school they chose to go to "mummy's office" rather than daddy's.  I had brought my own computer up so they could watch a DVD but they all started fighting over who was going to sit in my chair.  I said, "Excuse me, I will be sitting in my chair".  Chorus of groans and "that's not fair"!!  I got another chair for Rose who said, "I'm not sitting on that.  It's so dusty."  I made it pretty clear she was going to sit on it or sit on the floor.  She relented.  Rose would also like her own desk in there like Naomi.  I told her there was no point as she was going to be in school when I was working.  So she said, "Well why has Naomi got one then?"  I said, "because she is more likely to be in here with me."  The thing that really made me laugh though, was when we arrived at the office and she said (loudly, of course) "Mum, why haven't they changed the name to yours yet?!  It should say Mrs. Taylor."  All in good time, my dear, all in good time!


We went to the library and Joshua wanted us to find books that he could "read".  Naomi decided she needed to get some she could read too.  Joshua is doing good at remembering the vocab and reading it back with help.  Naomi just makes up the words to the pictures she sees.  It's pretty cool.

Naomi moments

Naomi was getting changed after swimming and after looking around for her swimming stuff she said, "I think Rose took my swimming stuff.  Because we're best friends".  It was so cute.

She also took me through all the mosquito bites on her leg, pointing to all the scars and saying "this is where the 'squitos sucked my blood".  I had a little chuckle.

The Way to do a Sleepover

One of the childrens' friends came over for the day and a sleepover.  We went out to look at a house this morning (nothing doing) then after lunch took them to the inflatable playground.  It's called "Leaps and Bounds" and has a frog theme.  I think that's pretty clever.  I love looking at branding and business names since I taught media.  It's interesting to see how some people really think about the name and others obviously just choose the first thing that pops into their head.  I am fascinated here by the way business owners often blend two names as their store name.
Anyway an hour in there was enough to wear them out.  It is just outside and it gets very hot in there so they came out sweaty and dirty.  Naomi did pretty good with the help of the older ones.  Another ex-pat family came to play there and the mother had very sensibly brought "Off" (mosquito repellant.  Another clever name) and I wished I had.  My legs were seriously eaten by the time we left.
Rose was so tired after dinner that she needed to go to bed so she went pretty early and by the time the others went to bed she was asleep so there was no silliness and everyone went off to sleep quickly.  Can't see it ever happening again but I was very happy.

Pictures from Rose's birthday

A Kept Promise

One of the things I really wanted to do with the kids before the holidays end is to go on the "train". They have been asking since about this time last year - in fact, they have stopped asking because we have failed to do it. We finally made it today. It is just a MRT line that runs through the city but we often watch it when we eat at Wendy's on Sundays and it is something the kids have never done. We merely travelled down to one of the malls, walked around, travelled back to the mall we parked at, ate lunch, finally got Rose some trainers then went up to school to swim. But, despite being simple, the kids enjoyed it and I guess it fulfilled a promise so it made me feel good!

the fine art of getting dressed

After swimming today, Naomi put her shoes on first. She told me she had seen someone at Rose's party doing this and has decided she will do it from now on. When we got to her trousers I pointed out they may be difficult to put on over shoes. She took them from me, sat down on the floor with a determined look and put her first leg straight through, turned, flashed me one of her big grins and promptly got the other leg stuck. She decided she would take that shoe off!  Then when, she had almost finished getting dressed - puling her T-shirt over her head - she says, "Oh no, I didn't dry myself!"  I said, "I don't think it matters now".

I'm the Birthday Girl

Rose's actual birthday was pretty plain. She wanted us to order pizza for dinner so we bought bread for lunch and ate at home - very unusual for a Sunday! Rose has been super excited the last two days so it was almost a relief to actually get to her birthday! She opened all her presents after lunch. Our friend Karen joined us for tea.
We are banning the phrase "because I'm the Birthday Girl"! I'm sure you don't need me to explain why.

Football's Over

Rose and Joshua have finished their "soccer skills" course and Joshua has become passionate about playing.  Thankfully, we have enough space outside to play a bit.  We may have succeeded in instilling some British culture!  Seriously, it will at least give him a way to make friends and make something in the school culture familiar to him when we return next year.  I think this is something I agonise about more than Steve because I have been there.  I know what it's like moving and wanting to settle in as fast as possible as a child.  At least I wasn't moving from a completely different culture.  But then I see the gains of their life here - such as Naomi understanding about different countries when we look through the atlas.  I know I shouldn't worry about it - my imagination will only make things worse and we can't slay those dragons till we face them.