A Year In Review–and What’s Next!

Dear friends,

What a year it has been.  Not only have I proven yet again what an inconsistent blogger I am, but it has been a year of unbelievable highs, intense lows, and through it all we have been blessed with exciting plans for the future.

Since our last entry a lot of good things have happened.  I graduated from the National University of Singapore with my Masters and have been doing some freelance research and consulting.  John got a job promotion.  We have traveled a ton:  we had an epic weekend in Bangkok, visited the majestic temples of Ankor Wat in Cambodia, lived in the Philippines for almost a month, made a trip to Penang, Malaysia with Accenture, saw the majestic beauty of Halong Bay, outside of Hanoi, Vietnam, saw the kiddos in Batam, Indonesia, went back to the USA for the holidays and spent a few long weekends at random beach resorts a short ferry ride from Singapore.  We’ve made new friends, tried new things, eaten weird things, etc.

But, then John got a phone call while on a project in Manila.  It was bad news regarding his mom’s health.  Less than a week later (thanks to good friends and the folks at Accenture), we were on a plane back to the United States to be with Robin (his mom) and his family.  In mid-February, Robin was diagnosed with a rare, rapidly degenerative brain disease that would eventually take her life.  Through it all, Robin had a grace and a dignity that was inspiring.   Below is a link to a speech she gave at the Geneva School (where she worked and where all of her children have attended) on her disease and dying.

On 31 May, 2011, Robin passed away.  She was peaceful and surrounded by her family as she went home.  The memorial service was a few days later and proved to be a beautiful celebration of her life.  We were grateful to have family and friends from around the country travel to Orlando for the service and more supporting us from all over the world.  After the service ended and we saw family and friends, and all of the dust started to settled, we all had to decide what was next.  Matt, Caroline, and Lydia are living in Orlando where Matt found work as a minister.  Steve is beginning his second year of university and Lucy will be a senior in high school.  As for John and me, we headed back to where our lives are:  Singapore.

I am writing this from the National Library Building in Singapore while John is finishing up at work.  We have very generous friends who are letting us stay with them while we work on our next step.  We will be in Singapore for six to eight weeks and then we are moving to……

LONDON!  John was accepted to a graduate programme at the London School of Economics, where he’ll start at the end of September.  I am planning to work and am currently applying for positions and seeking opportunities.  John and I will truly miss Singapore.  We’ve been here for three years and it is our first married home together.  We have incredible friends here, have learned so much and have fallen in love with Asia.  But, we are extremely excited about the opportunities western Europe will afford.  Not only will we be a bit closer to home, but we will also have an entirely new list of options for our excellent adventures  🙂

As always, thank you for reading.  John and I truly appreciate your support–especially during the hard times we’ve had recently.  Hopefully, I can update the blog a bit more often, but as I have a horrible track record, I make no promises.  Until next time, have a great summer!!!