Baby's First bath!!!

Big eyes and happy Gigi!

Getting ready for his first outting!

Celebrating the Year of the Dog!

Grandpa does chopsticks!

Excited mom. . . 20 minutes into the 36 hours!

Waiting is hard to do!

Baby's first picture.

First family photo

Happy Mommy!

Happy Daddy!

dressed now

Aaron is here and beautiful!

As you can see from the banner, Aaron has arrived! He was born Monday, February 6 at 7:40 pm after 36 hours in the hospital and 12 hours of labor. Betsy's water broke Sunday morning, but labor didn't start until this morning.

Aaron and Betsy are both doing fine.

The stats:

Aaron was 50 cm, 3.07 kg, with a head circumference of 36 cm.

For those of you who are American (most of us!) That is: 19.7 inches, 6 lb 12 oz, and 14.2 inches.

Sorry, no pictures yet, I forgot to bring my card reader to the hospital! Will post some pics tomorrow!

Forget everything we just said!

OK, you can basically ignore the things in the posts from yesterday. Betsy has been admitted to the hospital, Aaron will arrive in the next 24 hours!

High Hopes

Being a native of the Northwest I have grown up as a big Seahawks fan. All my life I have watched a team with occasional bursts of greatness (usually not more than a week or two long) followed by amazing turnarounds. As such, this past year has been fun. I've enjoyed watching this team clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs, then to do the unthinkable and actually win a playoff game, opening the doors for their first Super Bowl appearance! That excitement was somewhat mellowed when I realized that the Super Bowl occurs at 7:30 am on Monday morning. . . school time. 8( Fortunately though, I found out about a traditional senior privilege of having a field trip to watch the game. Before you get too upset, we will be studying. My calculus students will be using their skills to calculate the angle and velocity of a punted football with the hopes of learning the ideal trajectory. They will also be testing their quick thinking skills as they calculate the quarterback ratings of their favorite team. All of the seniors will also be studying the economics of the commercials that will be played during the game (unfortunately they will not be the US commercials, but rather Singapore commercials).

So, here's hoping the Seahawks can step out of their normal shoes and be introduced all of next year as the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!

27 days and counting

Well, according to our doctor, 27 days from now Aaron enters our home.
We are busy doing everything we can to make sure we are ready for that
day! Quite often as we are going about our day we mention that it may
be the last time we can do it for quite a while. We are excited, but
know our lives will change in more ways that we even recognize!

I (Danny) have been recognizing (again, this is a constant struggle) my
need to focus my priorities. While I know in my mind and heart what my
priorities "are", my actions quite often do not show these same
priorities. This past week I have really been attempting to turn those
poor priorities back over to Christ so that He can direct me! Please
pray that I will continue to do this, especially as Aaron is born and I
want to be an example for Him!

Together we have been reading the book "Bringing Up Boys" by Dr. James
Dobson. It has been an enlightening read, but also somewhat scary! I
am recognizing more and more how important my role is in his proper
mental and emotional development. Betsy is already planning to go out
and buy a HUGE first aid kit to take care of him!

The doctor is now looking for weekly visits from Betsy. I (Betsy) am
feeling good, but tired. I have trouble sleeping at night because 1)the
baby moves around keeping me awake or 2)I have heartburn that makes me
move to the couch to incline a bit or 3)uncomfortable restlessness.
However, I do sleep other times and for the most part feel rested. I've
decided not to worry about how much sleep I get when, but rather just
sleep as I can. The doctor said that Aaron has not dropped yet and
expects him to in another week or two. His heartbeat is strong and all
seems well. I've been reading books my Mom sent and now know what
questions to ask Dr. Lee (my doctor). She is a very good listener and
has the answers. She said all the questions are normal, and I'm sure
she's heard them all before. Praise God for His provision of Dr. Lee.

We are very excited to welcome my (Betsy) parents to Singapore next
month on Feb. 12. Mom spent last March with us, but Dad has never been
here before. Please be praying for them as they prepare and make the
journey.

Love you all lots!
Danny, Betsy, & Aaron

MSN: iamheavenbound@hotmail.com
Skype: dabewhit

T-Minus 37 Days

Well, it is hard to believe that 37 days from now (plus or minus depending on Aaron's schedule!) there will be three Whittakers in Singapore instead of two. Betsy continues to do well, though her sleep schedule isn't what we'd like and foods don't always work in her system like they used to! Please pray for strength and rest over these next 5 weeks.

Pray for me as I am getting back into the flow of school. I'm enjoying my new computer programming class as are the students. Pray that in my busy-ness with school work I still put my family above my ministry and take care of my wife!

Pray for Aaron's continued growth and development and that he is kind to his mom and lets her sleep!

Setting up Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration.

Chinatown welcoming the Year of the Dog (starts early February)

I've been working on a time machine lately, I think I've got it!

It's working!!!

Hello 10 years ago!


Yes, After my time as Mr. Tumnus, I decided it was time for a change. I went to school on Wednesday (the first day after break) with my full beard still in place, that night I did the shave process, arriving at school Thursday morning clean shaven for the first time in Singapore. To add to the change I also decided to not wear my glasses. I had fun all day freaking people out, I still freak myself out any time I walk past a mirror!

Happy New Year one and all!

Just thought I would add my own little notes as well, Christmas break is going wonderfully, hard to believe it is already 2006! We've now been in Singapore for 18 months. We are enjoying ourselves here and getting used to the heat and humidity.

This week we are playing host to a couple from Portland that is now doing work with SIL in Jakarta, Indonesia. They have a little 7 month old baby and it has been fun to get a little glimpse of our life over the next year!

School is going well, hard to believe I'm halfway through my second year here. My elementary classes have been tons of fun, I enjoy working with the kids and their excitement for just about anything! My math classes are also going well, it is nice having a year under my belt in teaching the Calculus and PreCalculus as I hadn't taught them before coming here. Right now I'm preparing for a computer programming class (in Python if you care) that starts up for the second semester, I'm looking forward to that, it is one of my favorite classes to teach.

The school itself is doing well, we continue to grow and are looking for a way to move to a new campus where we can grow more. Pray for continued growth and continued wisdom in seeking out a new location.

Read on to get Betsy's update on Aaron.

Active Baby

This is Betsy giving you an update on the little one. Our busy lives have calmed somewhat so we have more time to update you. We had another doctor's appointment last Tuesday. Aaron is healthy and continuing to grow. He is now about 4 and 1/2 lbs and very active. I am noticing that he has a schedule now.

Times when he is active: slouching (Any time I relax my posture for more than a couple of seconds, he reminds me that there is very little room in my tummy.), transportation (Any vehicle other than my own two legs causes great excitement-taxis, train, or bus.), eating (After every meal he is a happy camper!), bedtime (He must like the reclined position and making sure I remember to pray for him before I fall asleep.).

He is active at other times as well, but these times are the ones I notice with great regularity. We are visiting the doctor every two weeks now, and there are only about 2 months left before our due date, February 19th. I praise God for watching over every step of this pregnancy. Thank you all for your prayers, God is faithfully answering!!!

As I mentioned before this has been a crazy week. Starting last Saturday a group of us began practice for an interactive Narnia show to play at one of the local malls. We spent about 6 hours practicing on Saturday, then another few hours on Monday. On Monday afternoon we did a bit of a practice show for a small audience. Then on Tuesday we began our week at the mall! We had shows at 1 and 8 at Jurong Point Mall. This meant getting to the mall at about 11 and not leaving til about 9pm. A long day! On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we had shows at 1, 4, and 8. Christmas Eve we will have only one show at noon. It has been a fun week, but a long one! Even so, I will sad when I take my Tumnus costume off for the last time tomorrow!

I've posted a few pictures that were taken by one of the ladies from our church who came with friends and their kids to see the show.

Enjoy!



Welcome to Narnia

Lucy meets Tumnus

It was COLD in Narnia

Trying to sneak past the witch

The White Witch

Edmund explaining the statue game

Frozen like a statue

Snow Dancers

Susan, Peter, the Witch, and Edmond

Lucy, Tumnus, and Professor (with kids from Sunday School)

Betsy with Sunday School kids

Mr. Tumnus with Gretchen from church

Feeling Better

Thank you all for your prayers! Betsy has begun taking iron supplements to help with some weakness she has been feeling. They are helping her very much.

This week we are involved in a production with many of the students at our school put on by Focus on the Family promoting the movie "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" It is at one of the local malls with three shows a day for the rest of the week. It is a lot of fun, but also very tiring. Today we left home at 10:15am and didn't make it back til 10:30pm, it will be the same until Saturday, on Saturday we only have one show at noon, so we will make it home a bit earlier (though we may go watch the movie after the show.) If you are wondering why we are promoting the movie now, it is because the movie only opens tomorrow in Singapore. Many movies don't appear in Singapore until a couple of weeks or even months after they arrive in the US.

We will be posting pictures from the production later this week.

Uncle Danny and Aunt Betsy

I just received news that my nephew Johnathan (Jack) Wyatt Twist was born this morning

December 17, 2005 9:47 AM PST

6 lb 4oz

19 inches

He came into the world a bit early so they will stay in the hospital a couple of days to make sure, but everything looks good!

Uncle Danny, I kinda like that! (though that is what I'm already called by the kids in Sunday school here. "Uncle" or "Auntie" are the terms used for anyone older than you here in Singapore. But this time I'm a real Uncle!)

Dragons and Christmas

Here are a few more pictures from our travels around the city. A few weeks ago while we were spending some time at Boat Quay we got a chance to watch the dragon boat races. These races are held annually on the river, close to the marina. It takes two days, and over 200 boats compete. The categories ranged from mens to womens, mixed, 20 person boats and 10 person boats. We only watched a few races, but it was amazing to see the athleticism of all the contestants. Often, the normal running of the river boat taxis was interrupted by the start of a new race. The drivers and passengers didn't seem to mind.

We had a unique opportunity this weekend to get to know our neighbors. Our community put on a Christmas party for our residence as well as some surrounding places. There were about 40 to 50 people present, and it lasted about 3 hours. There were door prizes to be won, a special talk from our government representative, lots of food, a magic show for the kids, and great games to play. We closed the party with traditional Christmas carols. It was wonderful to be singing about Jesus' birth with so many different people, Christian and non-Christian. You will see in the pictures some of the games. Betsy got to be a Christmas tree, and Danny partnered with our PE teacher's son to pop balloons. You will also see the group that lead Christmas carols. Danny and I got invited up because we love to sing.

A day at the Quay (pronounced Key); The River Taxis

Dragon boat races!

And they're off!

Three-legged balloon popping

Betsy the Christmas tree

Singing Christmas Carols

Thanksgiving & Basketball

I, Betsy, get the great honor of telling you all about our Thanksgiving this year. Some friends, named the Cochrums, invited us to their home for the traditonal Thanksgiving meal and fellowship. I made my grandmother's cornbread, enjoyed by all, and Ann had a full spread of all the usual fare. We dressed up for the occasion, and walked down the hill to the MRT (train) to make the 1:00 afternoon meeting time. We've walked that path hundreds of times and never had a problem, ever. I was behind Danny and taking my time when I suddenly felt something hard smack my left shoulder. I figured it was a seed pod from the overhanging trees. Boy was I wrong. I looked back to observe the telltale white of bird droppings. Of all the days this would be the one in which my walking path would intersect with the falling path of a much relieved bird. Good grief!! But it made our somewhat late entrance to the Cochrum home more humerous, that is for sure!! Luckily I put a towel around the cornbread container to keep it warm. I little knew that it was really for cleaning bird doo off my nice clothes. It made for a memorable Thanksgiving. The Cochrum kids had invited some Korean friends to share this American holiday with us. The two boys enjoyed the whole meal and Danny had a great time playing all sorts of games with the kids. Ann and I spent time talking with her husband, Ken, about the end times and the book of Joel we have been studying in our Bible study.

I had another appointment with my doctor today. The baby is quite healthy and growing well. The heartbeat sounds great and all seems well!! Praise God!!! We only have about 3 months left. It goes so fast!!!!

Danny speaking now:
This weekend was also the finals for our basketball teams. We were excited to have two of the three teams reach the championship game. The girls team and the U16 boys team both were able to play on Saturday. The boys played first against the German International School. The game started out tough, but in the second quarter our boys shot 73% (only missing 3 shots) and blew the game open. The final score was 63-32. The girls game followed and was a much closer game, but through a good defensive game, the girls were also able to win the game and the school's first championship! It was a fun time for all involved!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The season of Thanksgiving comes again! Thank you all for your support and prayers for us. We thank God for the way He provides for us. We thank Him for sending His Son to provide us with salvation and we thank Him for sending us our own son!

Please continue to pray for us, especially for Betsy and Aaron over these next three months and he continues to develop; then for all three of us after he has been born!

Out on the town

Skyscraper lighting up the clouds!

Our little one's bedding, thanks Mom!


If you look closely at the poster on the wall (you can click on the picture to zoom in) you will see our little one's name as well as its meaning.

Aaron Daniel Whittaker

A shining light proclaiming the message of our Great Judge.

A Sunday Adventure

Sunday was the 2005 Vertical Marathon. The vertical marathon is held annually at the tallest hotel in Asia, Swissotel The Stamford. It is a race up 1,336 stairs to the top of the building 73 flights up! I had heard about it earlier in the year while touring with Betsy's Mom, then later with my parents and decided I was going to run it, so for the past few months I have been training. Most of that training has simply been to always take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator (when possible). I realize that to some of you that doesn't seem like a big deal, but when you visit friends that live on the 13th floor it means a little more!

On Sunday we got there at about 7:15 so I could register, then stretched and prepared for the climb. I started my climb at just after 8 am. The first ten flights weren't too bad, after that I had to really push to keep going at a good pace. At the 35th floor I took out my secret weapon, I had carried my rubik's cube with me to solve when I was working hard and wanted to take my mind off the pain. Next thing I knew I had solved it and was at about the 65th floor, it did it's job well! Upon finally reaching the top, I was treated to the wonderful view.

I was able to spend about 30 minutes enjoying the panorama and relaxing, then I began the trip back down. Of course the elevator doesn't go all the way to the roof, so I had to walk down about 4 flights worth of stairs to get to the elevator. Once at the bottom I met back up with Betsy and collected my certificate. I was quite pleased to see I had finished in under 15 minutes: 14:56! I look forward to doing it again next year, hopefully bettering my time and having a clearer day!

Wow, way up there.

That is my goal!

And the race is on! We started in groups of 8 at a time with one minute intervals.

Stepping up onto the helipad to loud applause!

At the top, finally! A bit windy and overcast, but definitely worth the climb!

The senior member of the runners this year, he's 70+ years old; this was his 5th time!

Suntec City in the foreground, housing, housing, housing in the back.

Yes, there really is green in Singapore! And in the distance you can even see Malaysia!

Ships, ships, ships!

The tallest buildings in Singapore, it seems strange looking them eye-to-eye!

Nice windblown hair!

A day off

So this week has a couple of national holidays, I'm enjoying having today (Tuesday) off for Hari Raya, and look forward to having Thursday off for Deep Avali. It does make for a strange week though!

Last week we got all the painting complete, so now we show you the finished product, enjoy!!