Seaward Family

Cheddar Chicken recipe

2011-04-28T14:03:00.002+08:00

The other day I made some chicken that is one of my favorites. I thought I would post it on here and share it with you all. It's super easy and equally as tasty. So, try it out and ENJOY!!! This is from the REAL SIMPLE website.

Ditte Isager

Cheddar Chicken
Serves 4

Hands-on Time: 15m

Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

16 buttery crackers (such as Ritz), crushed (about 3⁄4 cup)
6 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
wild rice pilaf and steamed green beans (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

2. Dip the chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help the crackers adhere. Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet.

3. Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter. Bake until the chicken is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Serve with the pilaf and green beans, if desired.

Tip

Amp up this cheese-crusted chicken by adding some spicy Pepper Jack.

Nutritional Information

Calories 514; Fat 32g; Sat Fat 16g; Cholesterol 170mg; Sodium 591mg; Protein 46g; Carbohydrate 10g; Sugar 1g; Fiber 0g; Iron 2mg; Calcium 344mg

Fun at the dinner table...

2011-04-23T16:18:00.001+08:00

Last night as we were finishing dinner the kids started dancing around and having a good time. Then Megan started laughing..she's got this silly laugh nowadays so I thought it would be fun to catch it on video. Of course after I got my phone to video them, they stopped..but Jeremy knows what to do to get a response..so here it is!! Enjoy!!

Isn't her laugh just hilarious?? It's her latest thing..and I'm so happy I caught it on video...and Caleb...loves to make her laugh and as you can see, loves to be on video!! =) He kept looking at it, knowing I was getting him in action!! Love my family, and the fun, simple times we have together!!

the latest happenings...

2011-04-06T22:15:00.000+08:00

So much has happened since I last updated this blog. Our normal busyness has also included me painting my entire house and Caleb losing his first tooth. We just signed another 2 year lease on our apartment here in Singapore, so with that I decided it was FINALLY time to paint!!!! I've been wanting to do it for a long time, but wanted to be sure we were gonna be staying here before I got around to doing that. So, within a few days I painted my entry area, living room, dining room, office, hallway and balcony. The kids rooms were already painted previously so that didn't need to be done. I still have my room to do, and will be doing that in a couple weeks I think. There's nothing better than fresh paint. As I was rolling over scuffs and marks on the walls, I was having a little party...it felt so good going over those marks!!! =) (still need to take pics of the new paint job!!)

Hanging on by a thread

Caleb also lost his tooth a few weeks ago, March 16th to be exact. He wiggled that thing and pushed it with his tongue so much that it was just hanging there...only attached by a 'string'...I told him he better pull it out before he went to bed, or else he would swallow it, but he was convinced it was gonna hurt. Finally, after a lot of talking and persuading, I got him to let me pull it. It didn't take much at all and when I got it out, he was so excited!!!! He agreed that it didn't hurt and then went to take a look at his new smile in the mirror...He laughed and thought it was so funny. His other tooth was growing in behind it and it's now about half way up already. He's getting so big and acting so old the last few months. He's gonna be 6 in a couple months...it's such a crazy thought to think he's that old already.

Toothless, kinda...

Megan is talking non stop and trying to do everything her brother does. She's got a little mind of her own and has some attitude at times that needs to be corrected, but she's such a sweetie. She loves giving hugs and the way she does this is by holding her arms all the way out on either side and say, "HUG??" It's adorable. She gives me hugs all day and kisses...she'll tell me, "Mommy, you're cute...You're cute, Mommy..." She's also learning how to pray at night when we put her to bed and it's the most adorable thing. I just wanna squeeze her and kiss her all night!!! She prays for daddy, mommy, caleb and adds in the grandparents and whoever else we've talked to that day. She'll thank Jesus for her dog (stuffed dog) and other toys as well. I love the innocence and I know Jesus does too. =)

Jeremy and I are headed to Melbourne next week to go to the PlanetShakers conference. We're really excited about it. I've never been to Australia, so that will be fun and it will be nice to get away as well. The kids are staying here with grandparents. It's the first time they've stayed with them for so long...it's only been a night here and there other times, so a week will be interesting. Not sure what I'm gonna do...from being with the kids 24/7 to nothing for a week. I know i'll miss them like crazy, but it will be nice to have some time just with Jeremy as well. I'm really looking forward to that part!!!

That's the update for now...I'm in the midst of starting another blog and I'll be posting all my diy, decorating projects on that one...I'll put an update on here when I have it up and ready.

Here's a few more pics...cause I have to show you my cute kids... =)

Decorating frenzy

2011-03-04T10:45:00.000+08:00

Yes, you read that right, I've been on a decorating/organizing/redoing/getting rid of frenzy lately. We were up in the air as far as if we were gonna be staying in this flat or moving to another, and thankfully, we are able to stay here for another couple years...so...this has gotten me going on all that I've been thinking of doing to our place. We are about to paint, which I'm super excited about...then the owner bought new blinds for the windows, so we gotta put those up, and my whole kitchen is getting a redo...new cabinets, sink, stove, etc. It's been needing a fix, the counter top by the sink is actually sinking in (tried to think of another word, but there isn't...haha) and it's been leaking underneath...so instead of just replacing the counter top, the owner has decided to redo the whole kitchen...So, I'm SUPER excited about that!!!!! That was very unexpected, but something I had hoped for!!!! So, that should be happening in the next couple weeks. I'll post before and after pics when it's done...

So, since I've been in this frenzy, i've gone through stuff like crazy and am trying to redecorate a bit and do some fun easy stuff. When we were in the states the last time, in July, I found some awesome clearanced greens at my favorite store...TARGET!!!!!!! Oh how I wish they would come to Singapore!!! I think they were like 28 cents per stalk...so i stocked up... (do you like my puns?? haha) I figured I could do something with them...and something I did...

They started out like this...

and I bent 2 of them around to look like this...

And this is where it landed...

Then with some others I cut the sprigs apart...spray painted these IKEA plant pots white...

and made my own little planted pot...

I'm enjoying the extra greenery around my house, that doesn't even require watering!!! Have a great day!!!

Aren't they gorgeous?

2011-02-25T09:05:00.001+08:00

I was at the grocery store a couple days ago and couldn't help but take a pic of these beauties!!

I love bell peppers, raw, on pizza, cooked up in olive oil, and one of my favs is when I put them in my scrambled eggs for breakfast.

So that's exactly what I did this morning!! Green peppers button mushrooms are a great combo along with the eggs and cheddar cheese!!

Only problem is that Megan keeps stealing them!! But when she's as cute as she is, how can I say no? :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nail polish

2011-02-16T22:52:00.001+08:00

Ok, so recently I've been really into nail polish. I watched some YouTube videos and saw other people's nails and I got inspired. So the other day when I was out, I stopped by the drugstore and picked up one of the colors that was talked about on the video.

It's very modern, but I LOVE it!! I think it's so pretty and I just feel good having a fun color on my nails!! I put it on Megan too and her first comment was, 'ooh, it's sparkly...it's pretty!!' so adorable, but she's exactly right..it is sparkly and it is pretty!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Caleb making a Guava Slushy

2011-02-12T09:51:00.000+08:00

After seeing my tostada video, Caleb was inspired. He loves making videos...but this one was different. He wanted to do an instructional one like I had. So, we set out to do one. We went to the zoo this week and they sell these guava slushies that are amazing. Pretty much it's just ice blended up with guava juice in it...so i figured it wouldn't be too hard to make...so that's what we did...Here he is...

Tostada Night!!!

2011-02-10T21:24:00.000+08:00

For those of you who are my friend on Facebook or who follow me on Twitter, you will know that I post about having "Tostada Night". Many of you probably wonder why in the world we would give it a night unto itself, but let me tell you, they are just so amazing, they deserve their own night... So, I put together a video at how to make them so that you can see how amazingly easy and amazingly good they are...and to spread around the "Tostada Night" cheer!!! =) So, enjoy...oh, and this is my first instructional video...so it's not perfect, and I hate hearing my own voice...please don't laugh...haha...I've already laughed at myself. Just try them out yourself...you'll be pleased!!!

From one holiday to the next..

2011-01-13T13:47:00.000+08:00

I finally got around to taking my Christmas decorations and tree down yesterday. I love Christmas and usually put it up early, this year it was before Thanksgiving, and then leave it up awhile after as well. I was ready to take it down and get the house back to normal again. So yesterday in the morning our house looked like this:

And by afternoon it was all put away and it looked like this:

Ok, so it's not back to normal, but we've moved on to the next holiday...Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day. Chinese New Year is the first few days of February this year and Valentines is soon after...so I combined the 2 in my decor...We don't celebrate Chinese New Year...except have 2 days off of work for Jeremy...and Valentine's Day isn't huge here...but I want my kids to have memories of different holidays. Since the more american holidays aren't really celebrated all that much here, I'm trying to do whatever I can to give my kids a feeling of what the holiday is supposed to be like. So...I try to do different crafts and activities that lend themselves to the holidays...

So, soon we'll be getting out the red and pink paper soon and the heart cookie cutters and getting down to having fun...I'll keep you posted with what we do...In the meantime, here's some shots of some simple decor from around the house...it's mostly for Valentine's Day, just the cherry blossoms are for Chinese New Year, but I thought they went well with the heart decor...and they have a springy feel!! (We don't have seasons here either..so I gotta make it feel whatever season it is..it gets tricky sometimes!!)

Hope you're having fun thinking about the ones you love, and how you're going to celebrate Valentine's Day!!

Fun time with Grandpa & Grandma Hook!!!

2011-01-04T18:39:00.000+08:00

My parents came to visit us for 2 weeks, arriving the week before Christmas, and just New Years Day morning. We had a great time together making memories and having fun!!!

We did a variety of things, one of the favorites was going to see the 'snow' here in Singapore. No, it doesn't get cold enough to snow here...not anything even close to it...but we do have 'snow'...in the form of bubbles. =) There's a mall downtown that has snow machines set up outside every year and it's quite an affair. Every evening at 7:30 the snow machines blow bubbles into the sky making it then fall down looking almost exactly like snow. It's actually quite amazing...and all the kids, and adults, love it!!! =)

We also took went to the zoo, the botanical gardens, went 'fishing' and went to one of the reservoirs here...We played games at home, ate, talked, and generally just had a good time together. I am so thankful for family...both the one I grew up in, and the one I am now raising. What a blessing it is!!!

Merry Christmas...a little late...oh well...

2011-01-01T09:22:00.000+08:00

Well, Christmas has come and gone and it's now 12:08 am on New Years Day over here in Singapore. It's a weird thought that we are in 2011 now but all my friends in the states are still in 2010...that just messes with my mind!!!

We had a great Christmas here with many exciting things taking place. A week before Christmas, my parents arrived here in Singapore to celebrate their first Christmas with us here in Singapore since we moved here 9 1/2 years ago. We had a great time before Christmas, on Christmas, and after Christmas. They leave early in the morning to fly back to Seattle. The kids have had a great time having Grandma and Grandpa here with us and Jeremy and I have as well. It was nice to have them here with us during Christmas. =)

Christmas Day we were up at our church in JB having our first outreach. It was a huge success and so fun. We had over 130 adults and over 40 kids there...we usually run about 50 adults and 4 kids...so it was much bigger than normal and everyone had a lot of fun. Everyone hung around for awhile after the service and talked together. We are expecting great things to come from it, even this coming Sunday. Will keep you updated!!

We came back late afternoon Christmas day, to Singapore and we opened our presents then. We were all so tired, but had a good time and Megan appointed herself the present opener...of everyone's presents!!! She would just grab one and open, grab and open...haha...we all didn't mind and we just enjoyed the time together....

We had a great Christmas...hoping you all did too...

December is a happening month!!!

2010-12-16T15:14:00.000+08:00

This month we've been doing a lot of different things. It's a busy month as always, but of course lots of fun. First off we had our 2nd annual youth conference that our church here in Singapore (Victory Family Centre) hosted and organized. It was a huge success in every way. The youth were touched and changed, leaders and youth pastors were encouraged and inspired, the speakers had fun and imparted so much to the young people, and we as organizers were excited to see God use us once again and move in this generation.

We had groups come from different countries (Sri Lanka, Malaysia, East Timor, Cambodia) as well as over 20 churches here from Singapore were represented. Some of the young people from our new church plant that Jeremy and I started in Johor Bahru, Malaysia came as well. That was exciting for us to have these new believers come and encounter God in an amazing way!!

We love "TheEDGE Conference" and we can't wait for it again next year in Dec 2011...come and join us if you can!!!

The kids and I have also been having fun doing various activities. One thing that they have here in Singapore during the month of Dec is they have these short 20 minute shows in some of the malls with various characters followed by meet & greet photography sessions right after. So, Caleb especially loves going to these...so far we've seen the Power Rangers, Yo Gabba Gabba and Diego. Today we're headed to see Strawberry Shortcake for Megan to enjoy!!

The week after TheEDGE Conference, Jeremy took a few days off work since it had been so crazy, so we could have soem time as a familiy. We had a great time and one day went to the zoo...which is where these pictures were from...they have a great water splash park there as well which is a huge highlight!!!

I've also been having fun doing christmasy sorts of things and one of those things is a little baking...I don't have much time to do it, but a little and I like to do soemthing special especially when I have gatherings at my house. A couple nights ago I had a leaders meeting with all the main female leaders in the youth ministry. We had our normal meeing where we go through a lesson and talked about various youth ministry needs, and then we broke out some cupcakes I made and had a gift exchange!! We all had a great time talking and laughing together...

The last bit of news I have I heard about just 2 weeks ago. I had been talking with my parents about coming here to Singapore for Christmas this year. They had thought about it, but tickets were expensive and my dad was planning on going to a conference in the area in February, so thought of combining the two. So, they had planned to do that, and I was disappointed. I really wanted them to come as they haven't been here at Christmas time ever since we moved here over 9 years ago. Well, 2 weeks ago I got an email from them that was a flight itinerary that said "See you for Christmas" and I looked and they had booked tickets to come here for christmas. I was shocked and so excited at the same time. They had decided they didn't really need to be at the conferece in Feb and upon looking at ticket prices, they had come down $200 less than the lowest my dad had seen them for, for this time of the year. So, he booked them!!!

They had some trouble getting out of Seattle, they had engine trouble and so the flight was delayed by just short of 24 hours and were then waitlisted on the 2nd leg of the flight from tokyo here, but just now as I am typing this, my dad called and said that they got on the flight, so they will be arriving tonight!!! =) God is so good. He gives us the desires of our hearts and amazes me by doing it. =) Merry Christmas everyone!!

It's Looking a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-09T01:59:00.000+08:00

Well, we decorated for Christmas awhile ago now, but I'm just getting this up...sorry it's taken so long. We actually put the tree and all the decorations up even before Thanksgiving!!! GASP!!!!! I know, I know, you're supposed to wait until at least the day after...but I was too excited...so you gotta give me a break!!! =)

The kids were super excited to get all the tree up so we went ahead and did it and we've been enjoying it for a couple weeks already...=) So, here's some pics of the decorating process and the rest of the house in all it's Christmas cheer!!!

They also each had a tree of their own to decorate and we put them in each of their rooms. They were pretty excited about that!!!

Caleb's tree

Megan's tree

And here are some pictures from around the house, keeping up with the festive theme...

Centerpiece on my table

Just inside the front door, around the corner

Entryway table

I hope you all have had fun decorating your homes for Christmas and are enjoying the season...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2010-11-27T11:48:00.000+08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you all...a little late...but I hope you all had a great one!!! We had a fun one. It's very different celebrating it here since no one else does...but we still had fun. Caleb made a 'thankful list' and we had previously made a turkey that we put feathers on to complete the look...

After Megan woke up from her nap, the kids and I took the train up to my in-laws place to help my mother in law with dinner preparations. Then Jeremy and his dad showed up about dinner time for the meal after work...

We had a fun time being together...

So, happy Thanksgiving everyone...hope you had a great day with family and friends. One thing I know is that I am very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. God's blessed us so very much and I am so thankful for that. One of my favorite songs has a line in it that says, "Where would we be without you Jesus, where would we be without You Lord..." That pretty much sums up my thoughts...it's so very true...i wouldn't be where I am without Him...He's the one that makes the difference...

Caleb and his creativity..

2010-11-20T20:16:00.001+08:00

Caleb is a VERY creative and imaginative kid...which is great, and very entertaining a lot of the time..so I thought I'd show you a little of what I'm talking about..

And he of course is "Dinosaur Man"!! Who else would he be?? :)

He loves to make things up and imagine. I'm so glad he can do this even in an 'entertain me' world.

Caleb... the dinosaur man, batman, alien man, cute little doggy, or whatever he is in any given day..he's my little man and I love him like crazy!!

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Fall fun...

2010-11-06T16:35:00.000+08:00

The kids and I have been having fun doing various activities in the "fall" theme...We've been cutting out colored leaves and pumpkins...playing in the few leaves we have outside...

...took them trick or treating on Halloween...

...and made pumpkin cookies.

I've gotten inspired also and made a little Thanksgiving decor with my new Making Memories Slice machine...This is right in the entry way of our apartment...I think it gives a nice festive welcome to our place...and yes, we do need a new family picture, that was was taken was Megan was 5 months old and she's now 2...

Caleb and I started making a turkey too to put on his door for the month of November...We'll be adding a feather every day until thanksgiving...

I hope all of you are having fun in this fall season...and as we prepare for the winter season...Christmas!!! =) I'm so excited...all the Christmas decorations are up here in Singapore...but I'm trying hard not to do anything yet until after Thanksgiving...we'll see how that goes.. =) Well, have a great fall day!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Megan!!!

2010-11-03T23:45:00.000+08:00

Sleepy birthday girl...

Today was Megan's 2nd birthday. She woke up today early, as always!!! She came out of her room and found her presents right away. She quickly grabbed the Cinderella balloon and wanted to open the presents. So we had to go wake up Jeremy and Caleb as well. Both were happy to wake up since it was Megan's birthday and we were all excited to have her open her presents. We got her a tricycle and some bubbles...Caleb got her Lemon Meringue doll (one of Strawberry Shortcake's friends). She also got to open a couple more presents, one from my sister and her family as well as one from Jeremy's grandmother. The rest of her gifts are on their way here...=) So, she'll have an extended birthday!!!

All day we were asking her how old she is...and she's finally started answering us by saying "2" in the cutest way...I'll to try and video it one of these days...

This evening we went on a picnic dinner at the park. I wasn't sure what to do for dinner with her since she doesn't really care about restaurants and doesn't really have a favorite meal at home or anything. So, since she loves being outside...I thought it would be nice to take a picnic dinner to the park where they have a pond with turtles in it. It was a hit. She loved it and so did her brother...of course Jeremy and I enjoyed it as well. It was nice and peaceful and just nice to be there without anyone else around.

We came back to our house and had cake and sang to her. She loved every second of that as well...and tried singing along with us!! She was excited that she actually got to blow the candles out too...since I'm normally telling her not to!!! =) We had a fun day with our special birthday girl.

It's hard to imagine that it's already been 2 years...yet at the same time it seems like so long ago she was a little baby. I can't imagine life without her...she's such a joy to us all...makes us laugh, smile, and keeps me on my toes!!! =) She's an adventurous little one. There are no more babies in my house...part of me is sad...but the other part of me loves it...We have so much fun with both her and Caleb and now that they are 2 and 5, there's actually a lot of stuff we can do...We are very thankful for both our kids and are so blessed that God has given them to us.

Yes, she is eating her cake, well the frosting at least..

Happy Birthday, Megan!! We ALL love you!!

Cranberry Scone Recipe

2010-11-03T14:49:00.000+08:00

Last week I made cranberry scones from a recipe I got from my college roommate!!! I had tasted hers and loved them...so I decided to make them for my girl's leaders meeting last week. They were a hit for the meeting as well as my family. Caleb said they were the best thing he had ever tasted!!! haha...

So, some had asked for the recipe...so here it is...I take no credit for this...it was passed to my friend from someone at her church...so just enjoy it!!

* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup raisins/craisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
3.Cream the butter and sugar in large bowl. Beat the egg with vanilla and add to the sugar/butter mixture.
4.Mix the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture – do not overmix.
5. Stir the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened.
6. Mix in any toppings – for orange/cranberry scones 1 C dried cranberries and the zest from one orange. For chocolate chip scones, 1 C mini chocolate chips.
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into 4 3/4 inch thick rounds. Cut each into 6 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake 14 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.
9. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. Glaze or top as desired. For orange glaze – orange juice, zest and powdered sugar until desired consistency.

I was really worried that they wouldn't turn out...for some reason making scones has always scared me...but they turned out great...I'll definatly make them again...so enjoy!!!!

A Day at the Zoo..

2010-10-25T22:27:00.000+08:00

I decided to take the kids to the zoo today..well I told them we could go this week, and so in their little minds that meant today!! :) we have a year pass for the family and ours is up the end of this month..so gotta go before it expires!! We'll get it again though cause the kids love going and it's a good deal for lots of fun!!

My 2 sweeties!!

Up close..

Pretending to be a dinosaur!!

We had a great time!! The weather was much cooler than normal (we were still in our shorts and t's..so not cool for anywhere else in the world, but for here, it was cool!!) and there were VERY few people which made it even more enjoyable. Megan enjoyed her freedom out of the stroller and just running loose!! So we saw the hippos, white tigers, giraffes, zebras, orangutans, etc...we also took the tram which the kids love and then the kids played at the splash park there in the zoo. It's very impressive and the kids enjoy that just as much or more than seeing all the animals!! We stayed until closing time, got bank in the car, had a peaceful drive home with Caleb falling asleep. I think I wore them out!! Which can be translated as: I was successful!! :) We had a great day!!

Too precious for words...

TheEDGE Conference 2010: Not Ashamed

2010-10-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

I thought I would do a ministry update for you all and tell you a little about our upcoming conference that we are running for the 2nd year now. Last year we held Victory Family Centre's first ever youth conference in which we had over 500 attendees. It was a powerful conference with speakers Matthew Barnett, Doug Lasit, and Jeremy Seaward (he's my favorite!!) We had workshops for the youth and special ones designed specifically for the youth pastors. We had over 20 churches represented from Singapore, England, Philippines, Malaysia, and Cambodia. It was power-packed with amazing worship, sessions and fun.

This year we are holding our 2nd conference and we are so excited. Now we know what it was like last year and so we are even more excited this year for the amazing things that God is going to do in this generation. Our speakers this year are Henry Seeley, Jude Fouquier, and Jeremy Seaward. Our hope and prayer is that churches from all over can come and be refreshed, energized and learn new and exciting ways at how they can reach the people around them. Here's a video promo for the conference that I thought you would enjoy watching. If you wanna sign up you can register at www.edgeconference.sg Sign up today!!

Not Ashamed Edge Conference 2010 from TheEDGE Singapore on Vimeo.

Fall has arrived!!!

2010-10-15T21:00:00.001+08:00

Fall is in the air!!! Ok, well maybe not in the air, here in Singapore. It's crazy hot as it is all year round..but it's October, so in my mind, it's fall. See, I live according to the calendar, not the weather!! For those of you that may not know, it's ALWAYS hot and humid in Singapore. We're practically on the equator, so it's just hot, hot, and then some more hot. Right now it's 8:30 at night and my weather app is telling me that it is 90 degrees!!

Anyway, back to my title of this blog!! Fall is here!!! In my house it's fall, meaning I've decorated!! I get excited to decorate for fall cause that means Christmas is on it's way, my favorite time of the year!! I don't have a lot of deco but I am having fun!! So I drink my coffee from my beautiful 'fall' Starbucks mug, enjoy my pumpkin smelling candle and spread faux leaves and pumpkins around my house.

Some people wonder why I even bother decorating for fall..especially Singaporeans. They probably think I'm slightly crazy..but it helps me. I do it for me. We've been here in Singapore for 9 years now (July 4, 2001) and I still miss home. Sure, I've gotten used to it here and I love it here..but I still miss the great Northwest. God has been so good to us and allowed us to go back to Seattle so many times since we moved, but at times it's still hard. I think it's the hardest for me around the holidays, cause I know it's supposed to be spent together with family. It's hard when the rest of my family is all together except me. Now, before you think I'm all depressed over here, I'm not. I'm so thankful that God brought us here and I'm happy. I really am...but there's always a part of me that misses my first home. So the decorating that I do helps my heart. Helps me feel like I'm not totally missing out on everything. So, no, I'm not crazy and I'm not living in denial, but I'm doing what I need to help my heart. So..happy fall everyone!!! I'm enjoying my own version of fall here in Singapore.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How different could they be??

2010-10-15T10:17:00.001+08:00

Both of my kids are so wonderful, but oh so different!! They both have strong personalities but it's expressed so differently!!

Caleb is stable. He's predictable. He's not big on change but he's the kind of guy you want around cause he's dependable..yes, even at 5 years old!! If he hasn't finished his dinner..and much later I forget about it..then ask him if he wants dessert..he'll refuse it, telling me he can't cause he didn't finish his dinner!! How amazing is that!! He's such a sweetie. He comes up and tells me, "Mommy, you're beautiful!" or "Mommy, I love you!" or "Mommy, you do a good job!" Seriously, how sweet is that?? The other day in Sunday School he told the teacher that she was a really good helper and does good helping all the kids. He's amazing!!! I love this kid!!

Megan is up for anything!! She's adventurous and gets into everything!! She's the one that I worry about when it's too quiet. A few weeks ago she found my mascara and decided to try it on!! I found it all over her eye brow. She thinks it's fun to play with our cat's food and sometimes litter..she's unpredictable!! There's no telling what she'll do next!! She keeps me on my toes..but she is also very sweet. Her latest thing is to come up to myself, Jeremy or Caleb, give a huge hug and say, " I wuv you!!!" she's also been breaking out in dances lately. She'll get excited about something and do a little dance!! It's so sweet.

I've been blessed with 2 amazing kids that are so different but so strong in their own ways. When I was a little girl, I dreamed of when I was big..and all I wanted was to be a wife and mom. I'm living my dream, and I'm so thankful!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's a Good Day!!

2010-10-14T13:18:00.001+08:00

You know when you feel on top of the world? Like you succeed at whatever comes your way? Today is that day for me!! First of all, my house is clean!! That's a miracle in itself right there!! You know what? My bed is even made!!! Wow!!! Did I just say that?? Yes, I did, and I'm not lying!! Ok, another miracle...both kids rooms are clean..I know you're wondering how that happened..I'm still in shock myself!! You're not gonna believe me here but again I speak the truth!!! Ok, here it is: Caleb cleaned his room!!! Shocking for a 5 year old I know..but he did and did a great job!!

I got Megan down for an earlier nap so we can go out this afternoon, I had a great time in my Bible and prayer, listened to an awesome podcast by Judah Smith while taking a shower, and I'm now making lunch for Caleb. You know, I'm even having a good hair day!! You know it's gonna be a great day when that happens!!

I don't know why some days are amazing like my day so far and others seem like everything goes wrong. But what I do know is that my God is faithful whatever the day. I'm so thankful that I don't have to just try so hard to have a good day and if I don't then all is over. God is with me on my good days AND my bad. (I promise, I'll write about one of those too) He's faithful no matter what and He is for you too!!

Psalm 89:2 "Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens."

What a promise that we have!!! His love lasts forever and his faithfulness endures!! So whether you're having a great day like I am, or you feel like it's all falling apart, remember that He is faithful!! I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite verses.

Psalm 112:7
"They do not fear bad news; they CONFIDENTLY trust the Lord to care for them."

Psalm 11:4
"But the Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord STILL rules from heaven." (read the preceding verses to get the whole picture!! It was utter chaos!!)

Have a great day and know that God is with you!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life of a Mom

2010-10-13T22:29:00.001+08:00

The laundry has been washed, dried, and folded..

The dishes have been done..

Toys from the day are put away..

My life seems to consist of these small joys..but I'm so thankful for my life..not for myself..but my life. I'm thankful for what it consists of. For the most part I'm home with the two kids and cleaning up after them..if I only looked at the surface, it could seem worthless..but it's not..cause I choose to look beyond that.

I provide a home for my family..a place of safety, fun, and laughter. When we walk into the doors, I want there to be a feeling of warmth and love. So I invest in my kids and spend quality time with them. I tickle them, do crafts with them, hug and kiss them and teach them about life. We have a good time together and when Jeremy comes home, Megan runs to the door yelling excitedly, 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!' Caleb also rushes to him with an update of all we did in that day and I give him a welcome home kiss...and a home-cooked dinner.

Our house isn't perfect and there are so many things I wish I could do differently in the decor, but in the end all I want is my family to love my family and for them to know that I do.

Like I said, I love my life, and I'm thankful for God's goodness to me!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We're having fun!!

2010-10-13T21:17:00.001+08:00

Things have been busy...which is why I haven't done much on the blog lately..but I'm here so here we go!!

Been having tons of fun with the kids..doing crafts and going fun places!! With both kids old enough to do stuff it makes it more fun. Megan is no longer a baby but a full fledged toddler. She'll be 2 years old in just a couple weeks..so she can do so much more now and she and Caleb actually play together...at times!! :)

So we've been getting crafty with the holidays coming up..we colored and cut out pumpkins, cut out leaves of various fall colors, made flying bats and hanging spiders!!! We have many more crafts on the list, so I'll keep you updated!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

US holiday was a blast!!!

2010-09-03T21:09:00.000+08:00

As many of you know, we were in the states visiting my family just recently. We were gone for a month, which was really nice. We had a great time catching up with everyone as well as making a lot of fun memories.

We took a week and went down to LA to Disneyland. My sister, brother-in-law, and 5 month old niece went with us as well and we had so much fun. We had a 5 day pass to Disneyland and California Adventure so we really got to enjoy it all and not rush. Caleb was not a fan of many rides...but loved getting all the character's signatures. Megan was a fan of whatever ride she was able to go on, but was a little leery of the characters. She was fine as long as mommy or daddy were holding her. All in all it was a great time though.

We went back up to Seattle and enjoyed the rest of the time there during which i helped to host a baby shower for one of my sisters and a surprise party for my mom for her 60th birthday. We mostly spent time with family, while also seeing some close friends. We are so thankful for the time we had there. God has been so good and blessed us more than we could imagine. It's a huge blessing when we get to go back and visit family. I am so thankful for the MANY times we've been able to be back.

All the cousins...before #5 was born

Grandpa Hook and Megan

Caleb and Kylie- cousin and best friend!!

The kids and I on a friends boat

Jeremy and Caleb and their prize catch!!

As you can see, we had a great time!!! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends!!

My nephew has arrived!!!

2010-09-03T20:24:00.006+08:00

Just wanted to update everyone and let you all know that my nephew was born a couple days ago. He and my sister are doing well, as are my brother in law and niece. His name is Braydon Luke Cordova. Born August 31, 2010. He was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19.75 inches long. Here he is, in all his cuteness!!!!

Adorable little thing huh??

The Edge: new location

2010-07-13T00:03:00.001+08:00

The Edge, our weekly youth service, moved location just 2 weeks ago. We were located in one of our church buildings that was given to the youth ministry, but we have been growing, and it was getting too small. We started the service there almost 9 years ago with 160 youth, and now we run anywhere between 300-350 youth every week. So, we have moved out and moved on to a bigger place...and a better place as well!! As soon as I saw the hall a few weeks ago, I thought, "This hall was made for us, it's perfect!!" We are renting it on a weekly basis, but it has been a fight to get it, but we have it, because of the Lord's favor. We are so blessed. The location is amazing...it's practically right in the middle of Singapore, making it much easier for the youth to make it down on a Saturday night. Now we have room to grow, and grow we will...one of the strengths of our youth ministry here is evangelism. They love to bring their friends to services, cell groups, and activities. So, we are excited for this new physical meeting place, but we are even more excited for the new spiritual place God is taking us to as well. Please pray with us as we continue to reach this amazing yet lost generation.

One of our worship leaders leading worship...

Jeremy Seaward preaching

The many faces of Megan

2010-07-11T22:39:00.005+08:00

Megan is a fun loving girl with many expressions...I managed to catch some of them on camera the other day...sorry they're blury, she is fast moving...but they were still so cute, I had to blog them...thought you would enjoy...

Hope you enjoyed her expressions as much as we do!!!

Pictoral Tour of our 17th story apartment...

2010-07-09T12:54:00.003+08:00

So after posting the pics from the kids rooms, it occurred to me that most of you have never seen or been to our apartment here in Singapore...so I thought I'd give you a little tour with some pictures of the rest of the house...well, our apartment. I call it a house...cause it's my house...whatever...anyway...we live on the 17th floor...yes, we are way up in the sky, it's the top floor in our building. Good thing we're not afraid of heights huh? Actually when you're in here you just get used to seeing the tops of buildings outside...

So, here it is!!! Enjoy!!!

Entryway

Entryway looking into living room, dining room, office...

Living room

Living room

Balcony (off of the living room)

Office/my craftroom/kids craftroom

Other side of Office/my craftroom/kids craftroom

Dining room, hallway (office on left, kitchen door on right)

Main bathroom (off of the kitchen)

Kitchen

Other side of kitchen

Our Bedroom

Other side of our bedroom

So, that's our place...the layout of this blog didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but I couldn't figure HTML out enough to get it the way I wanted it...I think Blogger has some work to make this easier for us...or maybe I should just switch to wordpress...oh, I don't know...anyway...that's our house...I gotta get off of here before I hit something!!!

Kid's room makeovers

2010-07-08T20:54:00.005+08:00

Well, the kids are getting bigger...and it was time to move them both to bigger beds...Caleb out of his toddler bed and into a twin and Megan out of her crib and into the toddler bed. So we did the switch for both kids last week and as a result had to rearrange their rooms a bit and did some organizing as well...

Caleb's room got the biggest makeover with new paint on the walls, a new bed (given to us a few years ago), and new bedding (Batman!!) He's very excited about his new room and loves the area underneath where he can hang out. We're gonna put some beanbags under there so he can enjoy it more!!

Walking into his room...

Batman, I mean Caleb...on his new bed...

Other side of the room

And here is Batman himself!!!

Megan now has her freedom by being in a bed she can now get out of on her own. So no longer do we hear her screaming for us in the morning...instead it stays quiet much longer in the morning since she just gets up and starts playing...then when she's bored, she knocks on the door...so we know she wants to come out. She's loving her new bed and all of a sudden it seems like she's such a big girl. She's 20 months and it weird to think that in only 4 months she'll be 2 years old!!! Where has my baby gone??

The view walking into her room

Right side of the room

My big girl on her big girl bed

Upclose...with her Mimmy aka Minnie and baby

Well, I found a much easier way to upload pics to this blog...so I think...think...that you can expect more posts from me...just gotta make a habit of it and i'll be a blog maniac!!! =)

Caleb's learning to read...

2010-07-07T13:14:00.002+08:00

I've started teaching Caleb at home and we're working on reading...at the moment we're using "Hooked on Phonics" and it's been really good for both of us cause it shows me exactly what to do and how and it's also easy for him to follow. There's a lot of repetition and review so that helps a lot for a learning reader...

He's doing really well and I'm so proud of him...he read his first "book" the other day and was so excited. He gets frustrated really easy cause he's quite the perfectionist, but when he figures it out, he gets all excited and says, "Ah, ha!!" It's so cute!!! I love seeing the look on his face when he figures it out. He's so proud of himself, and so am I.

So, while it's only 3 letter words he's reading, he's doing it...and that is where it all begins. Actually doing the teaching isn't my favorite thing, but seeing him succeed and figure it out on his own makes me very happy and well worth the effort...

So for now, I'm a teacher...something I never thought I would be...but sometimes that's what comes with being a mom...and I love that...

Hi...after taking way too long of a break...

2010-07-04T09:57:00.006+08:00

Hi all...I think I've resolved that I'm not a good blogger...I just can't seem to keep it regular...oh well...just bear with me please...

Here's some pictures from the last couple months...thought this is the best way to update you all on how we are doing...

She's a daddy's girl!!!

And a VERY girly, girl!!!

Caleb takes good care of Megan

They are the best of friends!

Easter egg hunt with some new American friends!!!

Pretending they were sharks!!

Making pizza for the first time!!

Happy 5th Birthday, Caleb!!

He's very please with his gift, as you can see...

10 years ago....

2010-02-25T12:07:00.020+08:00

10 years ago today, Jeremy and I started dating!!! It's hard to believe it's already been that long. It's been the best 10 years of our lives!!!! I thought it would be fun to let you all take a look back in time with us to the very beginning of "us".

February 25, 2000- This was the day we made it official. We went with some friends to the Seattle Aquarium, Buca-de-Bepo's and then ice-skating, and followed by a movie at a friends. We had an awesome time together and at the end of the night, we talked...we had talked the week before and shared our feelings for each other for the FIRST time (after being good friends for a year). We agreed at that time that we would pray and see what God was saying. When we talked on the night of Feb. 25th, we had both sensed that God was saying it was time. So that night at Northwest College, we made it official and started our dating relationship. The above picture is of us with our good friends, Kelly and Takeshi, at the aquarium.

The morning after we started dating, I woke up feeling all kinds of excitement and it only grew when I saw what my new boyfriend had done for me. He had gotten up early in the morning and gone down to the florist and picked out some of my favorite flowers, had them put in a vase and called my friend Kelly to come down to the lounge to get them from him and bring them up to put them outside my door. He was off to an amazing start right from the beginning.

Here's a picture of those flowers and believe it or not, I saved some of them dried, and here's a pic of that along with the card he gave me with the flowers in which it said: "I hope this brightens your day as much as much as you have brightened mine. -Jeremy"

Here's some other pics of our early dating relationship...thought you may want another peak!!

And now 10 years later, we've been married for almost 9 years, have 2 wonderful kids, been youth pastoring here in Singapore for 9 years this coming July, and we are loving life and each other!! Thanks for letting me share with you a little of "Our Story".

After a LONG break...I'm back

2010-02-23T21:40:00.009+08:00

Ok, so I know most of you are wondering what in the world happened...well...a lot...haha. We were in Seattle and Hawaii for most of December and into January. We went to see family and got to spend Christmas there, first in Seattle, then to Hawaii and then back to Seattle for a few days. Since I've been back life has not slowed down, I don't think it ever will!!! I keep on thinking that I need to update this, but the thought of uploading all the photos always seems to keep me from it. So, I'm just going to upload some from our trip as well as some others since then. I hope you enjoy this "Photo Blog"

Seattle Pictures:

My sisters and I. (I'm in the middle, only non pregnant one. ;)

Aunt Juliana and Megan

Caleb with Santa

Took a day to go to the mountains so we could get some snow!

Cousins!!! (2 more are on the way...one due in March and the other in Sept)

Hawaii Pics

Date Night!!!

At the beach with the creature they found

Jeremy and kids with a sea turtle in the background!!!

Family Picture...smile everyone...

Hope you enjoyed the pics...I'll upload some more pics soon...hopefully tomorrow...keep your eyes pealed!!!

All set and ready!!!

2009-11-27T14:44:00.009+08:00

Well, our tree is up and we are ready for Christmas!!! It's actually been up for over a week now!!! The kids and I will be leaving here the 11th of December to head back to Seattle, so I wanted to have it up so we could actually enjoy it!!! I thought about just not putting it up this year, but that just seemed too sad, even though it seemed practical. Oh well, practical didn't win!!! =)

Caleb has his own tree in how room this year and he had fun decorating that all by himself. He is also busy making Christmas presents for our extended family. He's very excited, this is his first year making gifts and he loves it. He's so proud of his little presents and is very good at keeping surprises. He doesn't even want people to know he has a present...much less what it is. So, I guess he's a good secret keeper!!!

Megan's having fun with the tree but not getting into it as much as I thought she would. She plays with some of the ornaments near the bottom that I've put there especially for her, but she leaves pretty much everything else alone. I thought she would be more destructive, so I'm very happy. She loves to "ooo" and "ah" and "wow" at the tree and the lights.

Welcome to the Christmas season everyone...as we go about doing all the busy things of the season, let's not forget the real reason for this season. In all the busyness, sometimes we can get quite distracted. Jesus came to earth to set us free from every burden and to see us live a life of fulfillment. Remember him in all you do and draw close to him. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Megan and Caleb videos...

2009-11-26T08:41:00.003+08:00

Megan is walking!!!! She's been taking a few steps here and there for the last few weeks, but yesterday she really started to get the hang of it. She's been walking halfway across the room yesterday and today and getting real proud of herself. She's so cute while doing it!!! I got a real short video of her yesterday walking to Caleb. Hope you enjoy it!!!

And since I took a video of Megan, Caleb had to have a video too!!! He loves doing videos, it's so funny. Maybe he's going to be in film or something...haha...So here he is, 'surfing'.

I'm an Aunt again!!!

2009-11-24T22:47:00.005+08:00

Well my Sister in law and brother in law just had their baby yesterday after being a week and a half late. His name is Joshua David Fredrick Seaward. He was 8 pounds 12 ounces and was born on Nov 23, 2009 at 1:27 pm. Please pray for a fast recovery for Jannica and for the new family of 3 as they adjust.

So Caleb and Megan now have another cousin and will have a 3rd cousin in a few months...my younger sister is having a baby girl in March. Yay for cousins!!!!

Happy Birthday Megan!!!

2009-11-18T20:40:00.004+08:00

November 3rd was Megan's 1 year birthday!!! I can't believe she's one year old already. We were in Bali for her birthday so we brought a few small presents there and then celebrated some more when we got back home. She had a great day and had fun with her presents as well as the ribbons that were on them. =) Maybe we should have just gotten her a whole spool of ribbon!!! These are the joys of a one year old. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I've really enjoyed each moment of this last year, not wanting it to rush by as I know it already does, as it did with Caleb. But even though I enjoyed each stage and each moment, it still went way too fast. She's such a cutie though and her personality is really showing. She's quite the charmer and she's not afraid to let people know how she feels. =)

We spent the day at the pool and relaxing in general. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in the evening for a good dinner and had them sing to her. It was a little interesting and I'm not sure that she enjoyed that part, but oh well, it was a memory, that's for sure. There was sort of a Balinese band going on and it was pretty loud. Anyway, we had a great time. We had cake once we got home as well as more presents. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the whole birthday experience!!!

Birthday at Hard Rock Cafe

Birthday cake back at home...it was a hit!!!

Bali!!!!!

2009-11-18T20:10:00.014+08:00

Well we had a great time in Bali!!! The trip started on a sad note as when we got to the hotel I looked through my bag and realized that my Iphone was gone. It fell out of my pocket on the plane and I didn't see it when I checked the seat as the cover was red, just like the seatbelts. So, it started on not such a great note, but I decided to not let it ruin my holiday and the great time I could have with my wonderful family. After all, it was just a phone...but a nice one at that. =(

Anyway, we had a wonderful time relaxing at the pool and beach. We got an early start every day as it gets light around 5:30 am there so Megan was up with the sun. Oh well. So it was early to bed and early getting up each day.

On Friday was our friend's wedding, which was very beautiful!!! Caleb was the ring bearer and he did a very good job at it, especially since we only got 2 days notice!! He had fun, knowing that he was doing a very important job!! We had a great time all together and only wished it lasted longer. Here's some pictures of our time there...

Zoo and Reservoir

2009-10-22T16:35:00.006+08:00

Well, I'm going to try and keep this more up to date, so as you can see, I've been doing pretty good so far...;) So I'll try to keep you all more informed of normal activities instead of the once in 2 month update...haha...

Last week on Saturday, we took a trip to the zoo. We signed up to become "Friends of the Zoo" again so now we can enjoy our membership all year long. It was the first time that Megan actually cared about the animals and seemed interested. So, I think we'll really enjoy it this coming year.

They have a water playground at the zoo as well that's amazing and the kids just love playing in it. I think we spend more time in there then we do in the entire zoo!!! What can I say though, Singapore is HOT and how better to spend a hot day outside than in the water!!!!!

Then on Monday, Jeremy's normal day off, we went to our favorite reservoir for a picnic. Caleb brought his bike so he could ride around as well and we had a great time. It's amazing how quiet it is up there...we forget what quiet is like in the busyness of Singapore. It was nice to hear nothing but 'nature sounds' and just have a fun time as a family.

Caleb's Projects

2009-10-15T20:24:00.012+08:00

Caleb and I have been working on projects the last couple days so I thought I would let you in on what we've made. I had a bunch of toilet paper rolls in the garbage and thought we could do something with them...so we made a caterpillar and a pair of binoculars!! Caleb is very happy with his creations...Here he is painting his caterpillar...

Here's the binoculars...

As you can see he's very proud of himself. He's been taking the binoculars everywhere with us...we went to the zoo the other day and he brought them. He was so cute looking through them to look at the animals!!!

Megan "walking"

2009-10-14T08:29:00.001+08:00

I was going to add this to the blog update yesterday but forgot, so here it is. I took this yesterday of Megan pushing her little car/push toy. She'll be walking on her own soon!!! Enjoy!!!

Happy Fall Everyone!!!!

2009-10-13T22:33:00.011+08:00

Wow, amazing how fast this year has gone huh? I am blown away as I look back over the year, so much has happened, but it all went so fast!!!! This time last year I was VERY pregnant and wondering when Miss Megan would make her debut. Even though she was due in October, she decided to be a November baby. =) So much has changed in the last year, it's been a good year as well as a stretching year!!!

Caleb is doing well and is constantly amazing us with the things he says and what he does as well. He's very interested in letters at the moment and the sounds they make...so I'm happy about that. I know many kids already have done some reading by now, but I haven't pushed him into it as I wanna make sure he is ready for it and I figure he'll let me know when he's ready...and he's showing me a little at a time.

It's amazing how much energy a 4 year old has...and how loud his voice can get...=) There are times that Jeremy and I don't know what to do, so we just pray and do our best. Then there are those times that he says something that lets you know that he is listening...and we are comforted!! He's had a sudden interest in 'reading' his bible lately too. It's really cute, he'll sit there with his Bible, one with no pictures, and pretend to read. He's been asking us too how God speaks to us and telling us that He wants to hear God speak to him. It just touches my heart when I hear things like this. His prayers right before he goes to bed have also gotten more and more serious and hilarious at the same time. I will have to record them one of these days. Tonight he started out all calm and normal sounding and said, "Dear Jesus..." then his voice got loud and his arms started going up and down, while keeping his eyes closed (I obviously had mine open!!) and he says in a strong voice..."You created so many things...and we so totally love it!!!" hahahaha...I almost started bursting out laughing at that...but the great thing is that he's so serious!!! Then he went on about something else and near the end of his prayer he said in a very authoritative sort of voice..."We just want to know you more, God...Lord, we just want to know you more!!!!!" I was so touched by his sincerity and the way in which he prayed. When he finished I asked him where he learned to pray like that, from his Sunday school class, or from someone...He said "No, I just learned it myself!!!" Wow, I know God's smiling down on my little boy...and so am I!!!

Megan is doing so well. She'll be one year old November 3rd. I can't believe my baby is almost not a baby anymore. One year kinda is the mark for me that marks the cut off of babyhood. We are just enjoying her more and more and her little personality is really coming out. She's such a smiler and loves to 'flirt'...she puts on these shy girly looks and then looks away...playing hard to get or something. haha...Jeremy's getting a little worried

She's said a few words so far...Mama...Dada...book...bug...YAY... Her favorite ones are Mama and Yay!!! Her other thing that she loves to do is nod her head. It cracks me up, cause she knows the meaning of it, but I'm not sure where she got it from. I don't think we go around nodding our heads much, but anyway, she got it somewhere. I'll sit her in her high chair and before I can even sit down, she's looking at the food I'm about to give her and just nods her head up and down, up and down...It's seriously the cutest thing.

She's also trying to walk. She's crawling everywhere of course, started right after she turned 8 months...and she pulls herself up on EVERYTHING!!!!!! She loves to clear everything off every table and put everything in her mouth. She's into everything...very different from Caleb who didn't really care about anything but his toys. She's been holding our fingers and walking everywhere...fast...and of course along furniture and stuff. So I think it won't be much longer and she'll take those steps on her own...

She also has a heart that wants more of God and it's so sweet to watch. In church during worship, she's clapping to every song and she raises her hands as well when she sees everyone doing it. She loves to pray before we eat, I'll say a little prayer, which she amazingly sits still during and stays quiet, and then when I say AMEN...she thinks it's so funny. She gets this huge smile and just starts laughing.

Jeremy and I are doing well. Jeremy's been busy getting ready for our first ever youth conference that we are putting on at the end of the year. We are really excited about it, but there is a lot of work involved in it, especially it being our first one. We are really excited to ahve some amazing speakers coming from the states: Matthew Barnett and Doug Lasit as well as our very own Jeremy Seaward!!! Here is the website for the conference: www.edgeconference.sg

I am trying to stay on top of caring for the kids, keeping the house presentable, making amazing dinners, getting into shape, staying in contact with past and present friends, chatting online with my family, meeting up with my girl youth leaders, attending and participating in many church services and leaders meetings, trying to teach Caleb here and there, keeping Megan out of a lot of things...haha...the list goes on...but I love my life. I always wanted to be a wife and a mom and that's what I am...and I LOVE IT!!!! I wouldn't trade it for anything. I never knew how much I would love youth ministry, but I also LOVE IT!!!!!!

God has blessed us with so much...thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray for us...we need it!!!

Happy 8 month birthday, Megan!!!

2009-07-03T09:58:00.003+08:00

Today is the 8 month mark for Megan. I can't believe it's already been 8 months. She's growing up so fast, I can't believe she'll be a year old in just 4 months. Time flies.

She's doing great. She's trying to crawl, but hasn't ventured into actually doing it yet. She gets up on all 4's and then acts like she's stuck and then just sits back down. Silly girl. She's babbling a lot now and trying to say "Mama" and "Dada" It's pretty cute. Her favorite sound is "babababa" She also flaps her arms like crazy, when she's happy, when she's upset, when she's really mad...it's funny to watch.

She has 3 teeth now, 2 on the bottom and one on the top. The top one just popped through yesterday. She's proving so far to be a good teether, they don't seem to bother her much, so that's a big blessing. She's a very happy baby and very easy going. She is quite attached to me though...she'll let others hold her, for a moment, then arms go reaching back for Mommy.

Her hero is her big brother, she just watches him in amazement and laughs at him all the time. He's the only one that can almost always get her to laugh. She just loves him and it's so precious to watch them with each other. He's just as proud of her as she is of him, I hope this lasts!!!

I'm so blessed to have 2 such wonderful kids. I couldn't ask for anything more. They are so well behaved and bring Jeremy and I so much joy. I am also so blessed to have a wonderful husband. We celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago. It's hard to believe it's been that long already. But it's been wonderful and full of many adventures and fun times. God has blessed us in so many ways and I'm so thankful!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Caleb...

2009-07-01T22:26:00.011+08:00

Caleb is 4 years old now, as of a few days ago. He was so excited, he's been talking about his birthday for the last few months. A few days before the big day, as I was putting him to bed, I told him that he only had 2 days left to be 3 years old. He looked at me and said, "And then I'll be 4....so old...!!!!!" It was the way that he said it...he was totally serious. It was so cute and hilarious all at the same time.

We had a little birthday party for him with his friends the day before his real birthday. He had so much fun as did the kids. The more attention the better.

On Sunday, his actual birthday, he opened his presents from my family in the morning as well as the big one from Jeremy and I, which was a 2 wheel bicycle. He's been asking for one for quite awhile now.

Then we went to church and then out for a birthday lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Seaward. He got to open more gifts from them, including a helmet to go with his new bike.

Then on Monday, Jeremy's day off, we went to the Bird Park, which he's been wanting to do for a long time. It's like a zoo...but just birds. It was pretty fun and Caleb had a blast as did Megan.

I can't believe it's already been 4 years since I had Caleb, time just goes so fast. He's quite the big boy now and we're so proud of him. He amazes me with some of the things that he knows and cracks me up with stuff that he says. Then there are those random but not infrequent moments when he stops whatever he's doing and looks at me and says, "Mommy, I love you!!!" or "Mommy, you're the best mommy ever!!!" He just melts my heart. Being a mommy is the best thing in the world. I love my life!!!

Youth Camp 2009

2009-06-23T14:55:00.004+08:00

We just returned from youth camp a few days ago and had an awesome time!!! We went up to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, about a 4 hour drive from Singapore. We flew in Pastors Jude and Becky Fouquier from the City Church in Seattle, Washington. Pastor Jude came for our camp about 2 years ago so the youth were very excited to have him back. We had over 350 young people with us for the week. The week was filled with games, services, hanging out times, and bonding with friends and leaders. It was an amazing week. In the above photo you can see our family of 4 in the second row from the front, in the middle...the rest are all of our wonderful youth!!!

One of the days we went to a big field and did some crazy games. As you can see from the pictures, they all had a great time getting dirty and just having some plain fun.

We had 2 services each day and God really did a work in all of them in each person's heart. It's amazing to see the young people touch God and truly desire to be changed by him. I was so blessed just to see this happen. Camp is a great time for us leaders to be able to really connect and bond with the youth as well and this happened on many occations during the camp. Pastor Jude brought the Word so strongly as well as entertained us all with his stories. It was a great week and we were all built up and very excited to see what God has in store for each of us individually as well as for us all together.

During one of the services, we split the cell group leaders from the members and Pastor Jude spoke to the cell leaders, over 100 of them, while Pastor Becky spoke to the members. At the end of the service with the members, we asked for those that were wanting to become cell leaders, to stand and come forward, the numbers that came forward was amazing. I'm guessing at least 100 of them went forward. It was amazing to see that God had done such a work in their hearts and now they were ready to serve Him. Our God is amazing and He has done a great work in our lives.

I'm back...

2009-05-10T21:41:00.010+08:00

Well people, it's been ages...I know, I've been really bad and haven't blogged in so long. I actually kinda forgot I even had one and needed to update it. haha...anyways...we are doing well. We've been keeping busy and the weeks and months have been flying by. We went to Seattle at the end of March for a youth conference and were able to bring 11 of our youth leaders with us. It was a great trip and the bonus was that it was in my hometown...so I got to see my family. Jeremy and I stayed longer than the rest of the team so we could spend some good time with my family. We had a great trip there, despite the SNOW that we had in APRIL!!!

The three of us sisters and our girls...Caleb didn't wanna be in the pic...

Megan and I in freezing Seattle...

Caleb and Megan..

Jeremy with the kids

It is now May and I cannot believe where time has gone. A few days ago I celebrated my 30th birthday. Where have the last 10 years gone?? So much has happened in the last 10 years it's hard to believe. I always thought that 30 was such a long way off...but now I'm here and it's alright actually. =) Not that I expected it to be bad, but when I was much younger, 30 always seemed so old...and well, I don't feel old at all!!! haha...

God has been so good in our lives and that's the thing that I've looked back on over the years and all I can see is God's handprints all over my life, leading, guiding, protecting, providing....It's amazing to look back and see all that He's done. I'm so grateful to Him!!!

Megan is 6 months old now, I can't believe how fast it's going, another 6 months and she'll be a year old and my baby will be gone...oh what will I do...I'll enjoy her of course...but the thought of not having a baby makes me sad. =) She's really doing a lot of fun things now. She's VERY responsive and a VERY happy baby. She's sitting on her own and reaching as far as she can to grab anything that's nearby...I think she'll be crawling not too far down the road. She likes to be on the go and with mommy....Doesn't like me out of her sight. So the nursery at church is not her favorite place to be, but we just keep trying. She is such a joy and is so much fun.

Caleb is going to be 4 next month. I just don't know where the last 4 years have gone. He's growing so fast and is really very smart. A couple weeks ago he started doing some simple addition and is really enjoying it. He surprised Jeremy and I when Jeremy told him that he had 2 shrimp in his tank but then bought 3 new ones. Jeremy asked him how many he had now and Caleb thought for a minute and then said, "Five!!!" Jeremy and I looked at each other, shocked...and so proud of our little man. He's been doing this a lot lately now and keeps asking me to ask him more addition questions...He's also starting to be more interested in his letters and can spell his own name already. I'm just so proud of my little boy. He's such a sweetheart as well. He gets all sentimental at night when we're putting him to bed and says, "I just love you, Mommy!!!" He just melts my heart, over and over...

Jeremy and I are doing well, ministry and life in general are busy, but we're very happy and we can see God moving in us and around us, and that is exciting. Please continue to pray for us as we minister to this amazing generation of young people. It is our passion to see them running after God with purity in their hearts and to bring other young people with them on that journey. Thank you all for your prayers. We are truely blessed!!!!

The Edge: Big Launch

2009-03-18T19:57:00.006+08:00

Well this last Saturday, March 14th, we had the "Big Launch" at our youth service, The Edge. We launched our brand new website that is finally finished. We also released some new 'edge cards' as we call them, invitation cards to the service with a cool design and a map on the back. We also got some shirts made as well as some notebooks and stickers...so it was a "big launch" of our new stuff!!!! It was an exciting night and everyone loved all the new stuff. The building was decorated and everything...it all looked very cool. So, I thought I'd let you all in on it and let you take a look and it all. So, here's the link to the new website: www.theedge.org.sg and here's some pictures from the night.

This coming Monday, Jeremy and I, and our kids of course, are heading back to Seattle for a youth conference at The City Church. We are so excited to be able to bring with us 11 of our youth leaders. We are very excited to be there and to have our vision yet again expanded for our own lives as well as the youth ministry here in Singapore. Please keep us all in prayer during the next couple weeks.

Time flies....

2009-02-17T22:59:00.015+08:00

I cannot believe how fast everything goes. Life gets busy and months just fly by. Megan is 3 1/2 months old now and she's such a fun baby. She's so smiley and happy!!! When she looks at Jeremy and I her whole face lights up and she gets this huge smile with a little scrunched up nose. It's the cutest thing ever!!! A couple weeks ago we were talking on the webcam with my sister and Caleb started laughing at something. Megan just loves her brother and just loves staring at him. So as he laughed at whatever it was that he thought was funny at the time, she decided to try laughing as well. She let out the cutest little chuckle as she smiled at her big brother...her hero!!!

Megan's dedication- Feb 8, 2009

Grandpa Seaward dedicating Megan to the Lord!!!

Caleb is doing well also and just growing up so fast. He's quite a thinker and always has some sort of plan up his sleeve. In March we're heading back to Seattle for a youth conference and a visit with my family. He's so excited about it and tells just about everyone about it. He loves Seattle for many reasons and one of them is that it's not near as hot there as it is here. He's constantly telling me that it's really hot here and that we need some winter!!! =) I love hearing about all that's going on in his mind and as he makes connections about all sorts of things.

Deep in thought

Caleb playing in the fountains at a shopping mall

Caleb and his buddy at the edge

Jeremy and I are doing well. We've been super busy, but that's not new. =) We did manage to get out and celebrate Valentine's day, so that was nice. Caleb went to see Grandpa and Grandma Seaward and Megan came with us but slept pretty much the whole time. So we had a nice dinner together and some quiet to have a nice conversation!!!

Valentine's dinner

God's been so good to us and we're so excited about all that God's doing here in the youth ministry. We've been here for almost 8 years now and we're seeing now what we only dreamed of back then. God's working on the youth in amazing ways...personally as well as with them reaching out to their friends. I took a video a few weeks ago to give you a taste of what's been happening. This is of part of the worship time, sorry it's so dark, but at least it's a feel for it...here's a few photos as well...

The Edge worship

Jeremy preaching

New Pics of the Kids...

2009-01-14T00:20:00.004+08:00

Hey, just thought I'd post a few new pics of the kids...they're doing great...Megan's 'talking' more and more now...it's so adorable. She's such a sweetie. Caleb is still doing so great with her and just adores her. Enjoy the pics...

Ministry Update

2009-01-13T23:37:00.002+08:00

God has been so good and we've been seeing amazing things happening at the edge. God's been moving on the hearts of our young people and they are rising up to get a hold of God and wanting to be used to lead in their generation. At youth camp in Dec, we challenged them all to become cell group leaders. We currently have about 50 cell groups that are totally run by the youth. There are about 300 that are involved in the cells. So we challenged the youth that by the end of 2009 we would have 300 cell leaders. It was amazing to hear the responses from the young people. Many whom, you would never have guessed would even desire to become a leader, expressed a desire to be trained and raised up to lead.

We have just started up a new quarter of classes at our church and we currently have 70 youth in the cell leaders training class. We are so excited to see these 70 begin to lead cells in the next few months. We are strategizing with our main youth leaders, between the ages of 16-29, at who else we can raise up and the steps that we're going to take to get them to that point and ready to lead. It's an exciting time for all of us!!!!

For many months, we've been praying that our weekly youth service, the edge, would break through the 300 barrier. We've been hovering right about 280-295 for a few months now and Jeremy's been challenging the youth to see us pass the 300 marker. This past Saturday, we did just that. We had an amazing attendance of 321 young people!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing to see and to be in that place. When Jeremy announced to them all that we had surpassed 300, the room was electric!!!!! The excitement couldn't be contained!!!! It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!

God's been so good...as always of course, but we're seeing things now that we've been dreaming and praying about since we came here 7 1/2 years ago. Words cannot express all that is happening here and we are SO privileged to be a part of it. I will try to get some video soon of the service so you can get a taste as to what it is like. It's truly amazing. Please keep praying for us and for all that's going on. It's an exciting time!!!!!

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-03T21:41:00.008+08:00

Well, it's already 2009...I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years and that this year is off to a great start for all of you. We are doing great over here. We didn't do much for New Years here. We had a watchnight service at church on New Year's Eve and then Jeremy went to an all night youth activity. I came back home with the kids after the service ended a little after midnight. New Years Day, we just relaxed and stayed around the house and got together with Jeremy's parents in the evening. We had a great youth service tonight at "the edge" and are excited for all that God's going to do this year. It is such a blessing to see so many youth serving God and desiring to do more for Him. We are so privaleged to be able to work with them and inspire them to do more. God's so good!!!

Caleb is getting bigger and bigger and saying the funniest things. I'm not sure where he gets it all, but he puts things together very well and then randomly it comes out in conversations. The other day Jeremy was getting ready in our room in the morning and Caleb was playing with his new remote control car. He had a great idea that he wanted to make the car go under our bed and then out the other side. So he asked Jeremy if he could do that. Jeremy told him no, cause he didn't want the car to get stuck under the bed. Then Caleb says, "Daddy, just trust me!!!!" So, Jeremy was kinda stuck and said he could do it, that he trusted him...=) We just thought that was so hilarious!!!! He's a very good kid and is very smart. He's always got a plan for everything. =) His latest thing is that he loves transformers...so the poses you see below, are of him being a transformer... =)

Megan is 2 months old today...time is just flying by. She's really growing now as well. She's fitting into more of her 0-3 month clothing, so that's nice...they're not swimming on her anymore which is really nice!!! I've been dying to put her into her cute jeans and tops and everything. She's finally grown into another pair of her jeans so I am happy. =) I'm having fun dressing her up. She's just too adorable, if I may say so myself. =) She's smiling so much now, especially when you get close in her face. She just smiles so big...I think she'll be laughing soon!!! She's also sleeping through the night already!!! She started at about 6 weeks and now she's sleeping for about 10 hours at night. It's such a blessing!!!!! God's so good to me!!!

Jeremy is doing well too. December was a busy month for him especially. It all started with him speaking at a youth camp for another local church here in Singapore. Then the following week we had our youth camp, up in Malaysia. The week after ours he was the speaker at another youth camp, also in Malaysia. The day after he came back from that he went straight into an encounter retreat here for some of our youth. It's sort of an inner healing kind of retreat, 2 day thing. So, there was a lot of teaching and praying involved in that. Then a couple days after Christmas he went back into Malaysia for one of our churches to speak for a youth outreach. So, as you can see, it's been one busy month!!!!!

I've been trying to keep the fort down here at home. =) So far, it's going alright. Still getting used to having 2 kids and finding time to get away for a shower!!!! =) Even the simplest things are complicated now. Anyway, things are going well though and we're doing well. I love having 2 kids and Caleb is a big help with Megan. He loves doing things for her and he's very good at doing things for himself as well. I'm so thankful for both of my kids...they are so good!!!!! And Jeremy's a wonderful husband!!! We've been married now for 7 1/2 years!!! I can't believe it.

Anyway, that's the update on us. I hope you enjoyed the pictures as well...

Merry Christmas!!!!

2008-12-26T11:23:00.008+08:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!!! I hope you all have had a great Christmas this year. We had a great one. Caleb really enjoyed himself and Megan...well, she looked cute. =) She'll enjoy it a lot more next year. We started celebrating here on the 22nd as Jeremy's parents took off for Hawaii the following day. So, we had our turkey dinner on the 22nd at their place and opened presents. Then We had turkey dinner all over again on the 24th at our place and opened all the presents from my side of the family. Then Christmas morning we all opened presents from each other here at our place as well as opened our stockings. Then we went to the Christmas service at our church. We came back and ate leftover turkey dinner!!!! In the evening we went out to dinner with some of our youth leaders here and had a good time just hanging out and enjoying the evening...Here are some pictures and video of our Christmas...Hope you enjoy them!!!

Megan's latest...

2008-12-22T07:55:00.005+08:00

Megan's 7 weeks old today and doing great, she's sleeping through the night now for 8-9 hours and is such a good baby. She's a little smiler and looks like she'll be laughing soon. We are really enjoying her. So, here's some of her latest pics and a new video of her smiling a lot. Hope you enjoy them!!

And here's the video...Enjoy!!!

It's almost Christmas!!!!

2008-12-21T14:19:00.004+08:00

I can't believe Christmas is in just a few days. Caleb's getting very excited and keeps on asking when he can open presents. I've just started to put some presents under the tree as I didn't want to tempt him too much. My sister, who came in early November, brought presents from my family, but I didn't dare put them out until just last night. I figure it is good for him to learn a little self-control though too...=) So, we'll see how it goes, but so far, so good. We'll be celebrating a day early with Jeremy's parents as they will be going to Hawaii for Christmas to be with Jeremy's grandma. So, it'll just be the 4 of us here this year. It'll be a great one and I know one that Caleb especially is going to enjoy! Anyway, here's a picture of our tree and a silly one of Caleb in front of it as well as one of him and some of his favorite youth. They are his "friends" as he refers to them. =) Our cat, Cheerio, also loves Christmas and has claimed the tree skirt as his new favorite place to nap.

Smiling Megan...

2008-12-08T09:53:00.004+08:00

Well i managed to catch a couple little smiles on video the other day so thought I'd share with you all. Enjoy!!! We're off to youth camp this week with 270 of our youth!!!! It's gonna be an awesome week!!!!! Caleb's been looking forward to camp for months so this morning he asked me if we were going and i told him we were. He said, "right now?" I told him after we got ready, and immediately he wanted to get in the bath. He's been more than willing to do anything...as long as we go to camp!!!

So thankful for my family...

2008-12-02T22:13:00.005+08:00

Well, with thanksgiving last week, it makes you think about what you're thankful for. It didn't take much thinking though as I feel so blessed. Our growing little family is what I'm so thankful for. Jeremy is such an amazing husband and the best friend ever. Caleb is so much fun and hilarious. He makes us laugh all the time with all his little antics and the expressions he uses. He is quite full of energy but when he settles down, he's quite the sweetheart. He's always giving us kisses and hugs and telling Jeremy, Megan, and I that he loves us. My favorite is after I give him a kiss, and he says, "Mom, thanks for that kiss!!!" It's just the cutest thing ever. Then there's our newest addition, Megan. She's still so little but has brought us so much joy. She's such a good baby and so much fun. Here's a couple pics taken on thanksgiving of the kids...

Today, as I was changing Megan, Caleb and I were playing and talking to her. I started tickling her a little and she smiled!!!!! Then did it again a bit later when I tickled her again. It was so cute! It's the first time that she's smiled in response to something. Most of the time she just smiles in her sleep. So, that was a lot of fun. She will be one month old tomorrow already. I can't believe it's already been that long. I'm trying to savor each moment as I know it goes WAY TOO FAST!!!!!!! This video was taken just tonight...enjoy...

I have truly been so blessed. When I was little I always wanted to be a mom...I've dreamed of where I am right now. So, I'm right where I always wanted to be, serving God as a wife and a mom. People ask me how things are going with the 2 kids now, and I just tell them I'm so happy right now cause this is all I ever wanted and dreamed of. God is so good and He's taken such good care of us as well as let us be a part of an amazing church here with the most amazing young people ever! I'll update soon on how the youth ministry is going. God's doing great things and we're so happy to be apart of it!!!

The tree is up!!!!!

2008-11-25T22:10:00.012+08:00

Well, we got out our tree and decorated it tonight. Caleb was so excited, he kept thanking us over and over again for letting him decorate. Whenever he does something he's really happy about doing he is overwhelmed with thankfulness and expresses it in as many ways as he can. It's really quite cute. So, here's some photos of him decorating tonight.

Megan is now 3 weeks old and is doing really well. She's sleeping well and eating well also. She is only waking up once or twice in the night so we've been really blessed. Yay for 2 good sleepers!!!! She's such a good baby and we're having so much fun with her. Caleb still loves her to pieces and can't stop giving her kisses. I'm so happy to have my little girl and Jeremy is still smitten by his daughter! I can't believe she's already 3 weeks. Time goes so fast. I'm trying to treasure each moment as I know how fast it all went with Caleb and I know it won't be any different this time around. Here's some of the latest pictures of Megan...

Megan Joy...

2008-11-08T09:05:00.011+08:00

Well, as you can see, she's here. I finally had to just schedule a c-section as she wasn't coming on her own and they wouldn't induce me since I had a c-section with Caleb. For some reason it increases the risks of uterine rupture if you are induced. So, we prayed all weekend that she would come naturally, but she just didn't want to. So, Monday evening I had the c-section and she was born. She was not engaged at all and was really high actually, showing no signs of coming on her own. They had to use forceps and the vacuum and push really hard on my stomach to get her to come out! It was just crazy! But, everything turned out just fine and she was born healthy. She had a little trouble with her breathing and was taken to the NICU for a few hours to keep a close eye on her, but she was out that evening and brought up to me in my room. She's been doing well and so have I. I got released from the hospital a day earlier than they normally let c-section patients go, so that was nice. I was feeling good so asked if I could go home and amazingly, they let me! So, I came home Wednesday afternoon after having her on Monday evening. Jeremy's taken this week off of work so it's been nice to have some extra time with him as well as some help since I'm not able to do as much as I normally would with the c-section and all. I'm feeling really good though and not very sore at all anymore. God is so good!

She's sleeping well and eating well. She's such an excellent baby. Very easy baby and very content most of the time. She's so much fun and we're all enjoying her very much!!! Jeremy is totally taken with his daughter...as I knew he would be. Caleb loves his little sister and is always wanting to help out. I am enjoying having a baby again and she's such a perfect baby. We are so blessed!

And here she is...

2008-11-06T21:02:00.003+08:00

Today is the day....will she come?

2008-10-29T10:43:00.007+08:00

Well, today is my official due date and still no sign of Megan. I've had a few contractions here and there, but nothing very painful and not consistent. I thought I was going to have her on Sunday, but nothing...every day we keep thinking it may be the day, and nothing...So, trying not to get our hopes up every day, but it's hard. I was 5 days overdue with Caleb when he decided to make his appearance, so I know what it's like to go over, and it's not fun. So I'm just trying to trust that God knows what's best and Megan will come in his timing. I'm still feeling great, so that's good and not too uncomfortable, most of the time at least. I'm just really anxious to see her! So, we're just waiting over here and praying she comes soon. Here I am at 39 1/2 weeks...

I had been thinking I wanted one last family pic of just the 3 of us, but didn't know if I would get one as Caleb hasn't been cooperating for pictures when I want to take them. But while we were sitting at dinner the other night he said we should take a picture...so I jumped at the chance. I was so happy that I got it!!! Family pictures make moms happy...=)

The Edge Podcast & Fuel Podcast

2008-10-23T10:37:00.003+08:00

Just wanting to let you all know what these 2 podcasts are that you can get from the left hand column of this blog. The Edge podcast are the weekly sermons from our youth service that's called, "the edge". They are mostly Jeremy preaching, so if you wanna hear what's going on over here as well as hear a GREAT message, just click on the one you want and it'll help you download it! The other podcast that's available is called "fuel" devotional podcast and it's a 5 day a week podcast that is corresponding to our Bible reading program that we launched in August. We are reading through the New Testament by the end of the year. So, if you'd like to hear a short devotional every day, download that! Some of them are done by Jeremy, and others are done by our own youth! God's doing great things here and using us all!!!! So, hope you enjoy the podcasts!!!!

Caleb's big day...

2008-10-23T09:56:00.002+08:00

Well, last week Friday, Caleb had a big day. He woke up early, as usual and Jeremy got up with him and got him his milk. Jeremy sat out at the table and was reading his Bible. Caleb came over to him and started talking to him. Somehow they got on the subject of heaven and Caleb asked why Jesus died and everything. Jeremy explained it as best as he could to a 3 year old and Caleb told him that he wanted to go to heaven. So Jeremy prayed with Caleb and led him in prayer, asking Jesus into his heart. This all happened while I was trying to get a bit more sleep. Jeremy came back in our room soon after and said to me, "Well honey, Caleb just got saved!" I was still half asleep but was so excited. It was so cute. Later on that morning, I gave Caleb a bath and he was getting dressed and was putting on his current favorite pair of shorts. He was telling me how much he liked them and then asked, "Mommy, can I wear these shorts to heaven?" =) Is that not the cutest thing you've ever heard? I know he doesn't understand everything, but there's something going on in there and I'm excited for what God's already doing in my little boy. Jeremy and I were both saved at a young age as well (3 years for Jeremy and 4 years for me), so I believe this is the start of something amazing in Caleb's life. Just thought I'd share the great news with you all!

Caleb, our big boy...

2008-10-10T14:49:00.007+08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted some pics of Caleb, so I thought I'd post some for you all to see. He's growing up so fast and is so independent now. It's very nice, but I am realizing more and more how fast this time really does go. He's already talking about wanting to go to school. Not sure what I think about that...=)

He's quite a ball of energy and comes up with the funniest sayings. The other day he told one of the youth in our church that his hair was 'funky'...haha...the guy got quite a laugh out of that one. He's also been into measuring things with our tape measure. He's been going around measuring everything from his tummy, to our cat, to Mommy, to his room...everything! He asked me how long something was while he was measuring so I told him it was about 3 feet. He then responded, "and hands too?" =) I laughed...it was just too cute!!! In one of the pics you can see him laying back on a float in the water. He told us there that he was getting a tan...He makes us laugh all the time with the stuff he comes up with.

He's getting real excited for Megan to come. He keeps telling me all the places that he's going to hold her...on his bed, on the couch, on the chair...He's really very excited. I can't wait to see what he's going to do when he sees her for the first time. I know I'm going to be all teary...He comes up and hugs my stomach and talks to her. He tells her that he loves her and that she needs to come out! It's really adorable. I just hope she listens to him and does come out soon!

Anyway, just wanted to give a little update on how Caleb is doing and let you see some recent pics as well. Enjoy!!!

It's the home stretch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-07T13:02:00.006+08:00

I'm on the home stretch now and doing the final preparations for Megan. She should be here in about 3 weeks and we're all very excited about it. Caleb keeps asking me if she's coming yet and wants her to come 'right now'!!!!! It's very cute. Hey, at least he's excited...for now at least. I think he's going to make a great big brother although I'm sure there will be some adjustments. He's a very well behaved boy and is looking forward to meeting his sister. Here's the latest pic of me with Megan poking out...it was taken yesterday.

I went to the doctor yesterday as well and everything is looking right on track. She's estimated to be about 6 pounds right now and doctor expects her to be somewhere around 7 pounds, just like her brother was. I'm all registered at the hospital so when I go into labor I just go directly to the L & D ward and they check me right into a room. I can't wait to see what Megan's going to look like!

As many of you know, I had a c-section with Caleb. I am really wanting to try for a normal birth this time, so please pray that all will go as planned and Megan will be born naturally. My doctor is willing to let me try, but they really seem to like to do c-sections here quite quickly. So, please pray that all will go well and that we can have the normal birth. This really means a lot to me!!!

We moved Caleb out of his old room and into his new 'big boy' room about a month ago. He's loving it. We painted it and got him a new bedding set which helped to make it more exciting. We're waiting for a Cars wall border to come from the states to put up in his new Car themed room. He loves the new room, so that's good since we've made his old room into his sister's room. Here's some pics of his new room.

We're finishing Megan's room up as well and we're quite happy with how it's turning out. We're going with a ladybug theme as well as some flowers. It's light pink, dark pink, and red. We've still gotta get some curtains and put some stuff on the walls, but other than that, it's pretty well finished. Here's some pics of her room.

Her name is...

2008-09-10T16:36:00.000+08:00

Well, we decided on a name for our baby...she'll be Megan. Still deciding on the middle name. I always liked Megan, but Jeremy wasn't positive it was 'the name' It means victorious, able. I've been feeling for quite a while that we were to name her Megan cause of the meaning, felt like God's said on multiple occasions about how we're heading into a new season of victory and breakthrough and almost as if as she comes out, it marks the beginning. Jeremy's been feeling that we're heading into this new season as well and finally decided that it would be good to name her with this great name/meaning. So, I'm excited cause I like the name, but the meaning is even better...I just love it!

I can't believe I'm due in 7 weeks! It's crazy. I can't believe it's going so fast, yet at the same time I wish it was time now! I seem to be ready earlier than with Caleb to have this baby. I really enjoy being pregnant, but I'm done now. haha...I wasn't tired of being pregnant with Caleb...I just wanted to see him really bad and being in normal clothes sounded nice too. haha...I'm still feeling pretty comfortable. I haven't gained much weight...so that's nice. But I'm just done...it's hard to get around and makes it harder of course having to chase Caleb around as well. I can't wait to see her and hold her. I'm so excited that I get to have a little girl and of course my big boy as well! He's very excited about being a big brother, at least for now. He talks to her and tells her that he's going to teach her all kinds of things.

That's the latest news from here. Here's the latest pic of me, this was a couple weeks ago already, but I think my tummy's about the same.

The Edge UC: A Success!!!

2008-09-09T17:27:00.000+08:00

Just wanted to update you all on the the service we started that I asked you all to pray for us about. We've had 2 services so far at NUS and they've both been a huge success. The first week we had 58 total people in attendance, most of which were our youth from our normal youth service, but 9 of them were first time visitors from NUS!!!! And 3 of them got saved!!!! So, praise the Lord for that! The visitors stayed around for awhile after the service and got to know some of our youth. The atmosphere was great and the presence of the Lord was there.

The second week was also just as wonderful! We had 57 total present, again 9 first time visitors, and 5 repeats from the previous week's visitors!!!!!! We were so happy that so many came back and that we again had more visitors. Again, many stayed behind to get to know our guys. Jeremy's preaching a series called "Hostage" in which he takes different things every week that can hold us hostage in our lives. The first week was an introduction, then last week was on fear. This coming week he'll be preaching on anger. Last week after the service some of the visitors told their friends who brought them that they wanted to come back so they could hear about anger. So, we're very excited for what God is doing and for what is happening at NUS. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to keep this service in your prayers!!!

If you want to hear any of Jeremy's sermons, including these in this hostage series, you can see the links posted on this site and it will lead you right to them!

Ministry Update: The Edge UC

2008-08-27T22:39:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, Thursday August 28th, we are starting a new outreach service on the campus of the National University of Singapore. It will be called "the edge uc" ("the edge" is what our youth service is called and the uc is for university campus) To our knowledge there has never been a local church service meeting on the campus ever before. This has been something that's been on Jeremy and my heart for a few years now and we are seeing it come to place real soon now. It's been a burden on our hearts to reach out to the university students of Singapore right where they are at, on the university campus. So starting tomorrow we'll be launching a weekly service for the students of NUS. We have a cell group that has been meeting on campus for the last month or so and we've been doing weekly evangelism on the campus for the last couple months. We've made over 100 contacts on the campus and really have received a positive response when we tell them that we're starting a service on the campus. So, needless to say, we're VERY excited for what is going to happen and to see what God's going to do. Our youth ministry is also very excited as this is the only other 'youth' service that we've started since starting "the edge" back in 2001. This is a whole different thing though as it's outreach oriented. It's not a service for all our university guys, it's specific to reach out to the NUS campus and see God do an amazing thing there. So, we would appreciate all of your prayers as we venture out in this new way. Pray for Jeremy as he leads the team, pray for the team as they talk to different students, pray for favor with both students and faculty, pray for God's anointing to be in each service, and pray for SALVATION among the students.

Yep, I'm going to blog!!!

2008-08-25T16:08:00.001+08:00

Hey everyone, with all that goes on over here in Singapore and with all the people that I try to keep in touch with, I thought it would be good to have a Seaward family blog. This way you can always check in and see what the latest happenings are and see the latest pictures as well. I'll try to keep this updated with the latest of our personal family news as well as what's happening in our ministry here in Singapore. So, keep checking back for all the updates. We appreciate all the prayers we can get and thought this may be an effective way of keeping people informed so that you all can pray more specifically. So, I hope you enjoy. Check back often!! Hope we can all stay in touch better through this!!!