Introduction

We had a fantastic summer visiting family and friends in California and Minnesota. The kids are in school now and we are a pretty busy, normal family living in an exotic place. We are starting our second year in Singapore. Because this is my first attempt at blogging, I am going to do a basic introduction of the family and see if I can manage to get pictures up too: my blogging debut. If all goes well, I will try to post something every month and someday compile it all as a family history.

Abigail
Abigail is in third grade at a private international school here in Singapore. She has a fantastic teacher who has taught there for 23 years (and about 15 years elsewhere before that.) She likes school, especially writing and PE. She has recently started soccer and practices once a week with games on Saturday. She is also in gymnastics one day a week and is beginning her 4th year at the piano. She works hard and is one busy girl. She is easy going and very responsible. She is constancy.

Maggie

Maggie is in first grade at the same school. After a rough first year here, I am happy to report that she is enjoying school and happy to be in Singapore. Just recently she said she wants to live in Singapore for at least 6 more years and maybe until she finishes all her school here. She has a great teacher and has made some better friends at school. She is also in gymnastics 2 days a week (the girls could each pick 2 activities to participate in and she choose gymnastics and gymnastics). She is beginning her 3rd year at the piano. In school she loves math and music. She is an amazing reader and a very conscientious student. We call her the spice in our family because she keeps things interesting.

Xander

Xander just turned 3 in June and is going to preschool 2 days a week. He was a little hesitant at first but is enjoying it more each time. He has recently learned that his whole name is Joseph Alexander Gordhamer and is pretty impressed by this, telling anyone he meets. The fedex man came to the door to deliver something and he ran up saying, "Hi, my name is Joseph Alexander --------- but my friends call me Xander." He is a very friendly, optimistic kid and a joy to have around. He is still passionate about trucks and dinosaurs. He is often a T. Rex, a very loud T. Rex. He is variety in our family.

Ella Marie

Ella is almost 10 months old and is crawling all over the place. Our goal each morning is to keep her from choking or falling down stairs. She loves to eat paper and consumes it at an alarming rate. She literally devours books. She enjoys her siblings and being a part of things. Of all the kids, I think I could call her more of a "spitfire." She has blue eyes, 8 teeth and still no hair, but that is normal in our family. Ella has the most of her dad's genes in her with those deep set eyes. What she will bring to our family is still to be discovered.



Me and Joseph (okay, there aren't very many pictures of us together. This picture from the Gordhamer 4th of July family reunion in Minnesota was all I could find; and sorry mom, but I married into a motorcycle family.)

Joseph recently accepted a position in the steel trading business with Cargill (as opposed to the strategy group he was in that brought us here.) Because the steel business is headquartered out of Singapore, we are here to stay, for awhile that is. (I've learned with Cargill anything can happen at anytime.) He is the gospel doctrine teacher in the ward. He still likes to run and swim when he gets the chance. And he loves his motorcycle.

I am busy doing to usual things: packing school lunches, driving here and there and back here again, helping with homework, teaching piano, changing diapers, blogging. I am reading more--no TV helps. I facilitate the book group through the ward and am room parent for Abigail's 3rd grade class. I'm always eager to plan our next trip (Cambodia in October is coming up.)

Random Section

You know you're in Singapore when . . .


Monkeys come into your backyard and clean every living leaf off of your new papaya tree (where is Grandpa Gordhamer's bb gun when you need it.) We really were/are trying to have some sort of produce as a garden for our kids.


"Lizard traps" for the house are on the top of your shopping list (actually they are geckos.) And it is really disconcerting when just as you are going to bed you see a lizard run behind your night stand. Once Joseph reached into a bad of cookies for a late night snack and was greeted by one who got there first.

Mold covers your shoes if you leave them out too long. In fact, green mold grows on most clothes and shoes that aren't kept in an air-conditioned home.