So, I created this blog over a month ago and I am finally writing my first post! Hopefully I will get better:) So, we have officially been in Malaysia a little over 2 months now and I am glad to say it feels like home! We miss friends and family like crazy, but we are doing really well and are very happy. The adjustment has actually been very smooth...I mean minus the whole hitting a bus thing and someone being sick every week since we have moved here;) Really though, the kids have transitioned beautifully and we have quickly made some really nice friends. With our stuff all here and pictures hung, it has truly become home. Here is my first attempt at uploading some pictures, so let's see how this goes:

That's us!

Walking in the front door. The kitchen is immediately to the right. Down to the right leads into the living/dining and down to the left is the hall to the bedrooms.

The dining area...

The living...

Play area that leads out onto the balcony...

 Looking into the dry kitchen from the balcony...

Looking into the wet kitchen. The glass door leads to the laundry room and maid's room.

Looking down the hall from the back of the entry. The first door on the left is a powder room. The second door on the left is the guest room and then at the back left leads to Jake's room. The first door on the right is the master and the back right is the girl's room.

Guest room...it's all ready for company!!

The master...

 Master bath...

Our little piece of home in the hallway;)

Jake's room and finally the girl's:)

 Looking back down the hallway...

 And out;)

So, that's the condo! We have really enjoyed it! It is a lot of space that we don't know what to do with, but we have really loved riding bikes and scooters around it;) It works out really well when I am cooking and can't send the kids outside to play. I have to say, I was really worried about living in the condo, but I am SO happy with our decision! The realtor and principal were so right about the majority of the kids living in our condo and the one across the street. It's so nice having so many of the kid's friends so close.
So, the move really has been great for lots of different reasons and we definitely miss America for many reasons. The number 1 thing of course that we miss is family, friends and our sweet Jack. It is not easy going from being so close to the people we love  most to the other side of the world from them. I hate not being able to just pick up the phone and call my mom or sister when something happens in the the middle of the day. But I know our time home this summer with everyone is going to be so special! And we can't wait to love on Jack! Anyway, here are some top 10 lists for the things we miss and the things we love:)

Top 10 Things I Miss From America:

1.     Garbage Disposal: Ladies, please don’t take this little luxury for granted. I certainly did, but never will again! It really isn’t when I am having to clean out the big leftovers or anything…it’s in the morning…a bowl of cereal. Those 7 little soggy cheerios that you are having to scoop out with a spoon or dig out of the drain when you forget.

2.     Ice and water from the fridge: We don’t drink the tap water here and we don’t have filtered water, so it is strictly bottled water. I really miss quickly grabbing a little cup of water.

3.     Traffic laws: I never thought I would miss State Troopers and Police Patrol handing out tickets, but it is pretty much complete chaos on the road without them. Cars reversing in the middle of the freeway, all kinds of red light running, crazy American women running into buses…;)

4.     Drive thrus: So, the food delivery here is awesome! You can get anything from a Starbucks latte to a 5 course meal from a great restaurant delivered to your door for a very cheap delivery fee. However, there are no drive thrus. I miss being out running errands and just grabbing a quick lunch for Jake that he can eat on the go. Or driving thru the bank. Don’t even get me started on going to the bank;)

5.     Lines: They really don’t exist. It’s kind of a free for all…on the road, at McDonalds, at an elevator. There aren’t lines, just groups of people. Even on the roads. The painted lines mean nothing. They are just there for beautification apparently. You just have to push your way through. It really isn’t my personality, but I’m getting pretty good at it behind the wheelJ

6.     Decent public restrooms: Let me tell you, my definition of “decent” in this particular area has definitely changed. I drove pregnant multiple times on I10 from New Orleans to Houston and stopped at some pretty questionable restrooms, but nothing compares to some of the things we have seen here. There are different kinds of toilets for one thing. Never knew that. I thought there was only 1 way for a women to go, but apparently I was mistaken. Remember, this is my first time abroadJ We have lots of restroom stories…oh do we have lots, but I won’t gross with you out with them all. Lets just say I have learned to make sure the kids don’t drink too much when we go out somewhere new and it is best to wear shoes with good gripsJ

7.     Plastic cups at restaurants for the kids: There are a lot of kids where we live. I just assumed that any restaurant with a kids menu would have plastic cups with lids. I was wrong. And we aren’t talking light weight small glasses either. These are big…and thick…and full. There’s a lot of “Both hands. Both hands!” coming from me and BrentJ

8.     One stop shopping: I really do love the shopping here! The grocery stores are actually well stocked and very nice. It just might take trips to 3 different stores for our weekly groceries. I like Village for snacks, Bens for produce and meat/fish and Mercato for specialty items like dark brown sugar and stick butter. I miss HEB and Target. They will definitely be getting my business this summer!

9.     Being understood: Oh my gracious! We are so fortunate to be a place where English is so widely spoken. The problem is that apparently we don’t speak English very wellJ I don’t know how I am saying it wrong, but whenever I tell a taxi driver to please take me to Mont Kiara 10, he doesn’t understand me. I don’t know how I can be saying it so incorrectly?? Finally they say, “Oh! Mont Kiara.” Really?? I say that a lot in my head by the way;)

10. Sheetrock: All the walls here are concrete. I really dislike this for 2 reasons. 1. Jake. The kid runs into everything. Concrete doesn’t give at all. I cannot tell you how many times we used the flashlight to check for concussions the first month we were here. Between the concrete walls and marble floors (and the fact that we let them ride their bikes and scooters in the condo) we here “SMACK!” all day long. Reason 2. Hanging pictures. I love pictures and decorated walls. It has driven me crazy that I can’t just grab a hammer and nails and go to town. I tried the whole drilling thing too. Even used a spreader thing. There were youtube videos and bandaids and safety goggles and after about 30 minutes of drilling I had only made it about ¼ of an inch. I surrendered and called a man to come hang pictures for me. It definitely feels like home now, but it really stinks that I can’t move them or add to them by myself.

Top 10 Things We Love About Living in Malaysia:

1. The fruit: Oh my...it is so yummy! I was told about it, but until you really get to taste it you just can't understand. The mangos, pineapple, watermelon, the blueberries...seriously the size of small grapes! The kids love it!

2. The weather: I love wearing shorts and sundresses and flip flops all the time. Getting to go swimming whenever we want:) It is definitely hot, but personally, I think it feels hotter in Houston. I think maybe all the trees and shade help. I am sure that come fall I will miss the cooler weather. Especially when we are putting out the holiday decorations. As for now though, I am loving it! 

3. The coffee: It's great!! And there are coffee shops everywhere! It is so strong and delicious. The best part...there's a coffee shop right downstairs in the condo! It's a great little stop after I drop the kids off in the morning;)

4. Walking: I love living in the Mont Kiara area and how I am able to walk all the kids to school. This is really helpful since it's 2 schools and, 2 drop off times and 3 pick up times. Most of my day is spent going to and from schools. We can also walk to the grocery store, a decent number of restaurants and shopping. We are really enjoying being outside and all the exercise. It really is beautiful outside too. Lots of gorgeous trees and flowers..love it!

5. The International School: I love that even in a school of 1000 kids age 3 to seniors, it still feels small. After just 1 week of being there, I had to go to the library to pay for a lost book and the librarian knew both girls names and that they went together. Then, Lily was sick the 2nd week and missed a day of school. When I went to pick Ella up, I ran into the counselor in the hallway and she told me how much they had missed Lily that day. After only 2 weeks! I grew up in public school, taught in it and love it. Sometimes though, it just feels so big. I love the teacher to student ratio here and how they get to do activities like rock climbing and swimming, French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese:)

6. The travel: I never thought I would ever go to Asia and now I live here! There are so many neat places for us to visit just a short flight away! By the way, after 21 hours of flight time here, my definition of a "short flight" has definitely changed:) We have only been here a little over 2 months and we have already been to Thailand. We are going to Singapore in 6 days and are stopping in Paris on the way back this summer. Back when we first made the decision to make this move, Brent and I both agreed that we had to take advantage of traveling. I don't think we are going to have a problem making sure that happens!

7. Cultural experiences for the kids: I really love how much the kids have already experienced in just the short amount of time we have been here. We have had our feet nibbled on by fish, ridden on elephants, Lily fed a baby tiger, snorkeled, lit a floating lantern, tried new foods, made friends with kids all from all over the world, learned about different countries holidays, etc... 

8. Chinese Food: So good! There really are no other words...

9. Shopping: I miss Target, HEB, JCrew, etc a lot, but I have also really enjoyed all the local boutique stores here. There really is some awesome shopping here! They have so many cool local shops and then these huge amazing Galleria like malls. It's great!

10. The people: I can't tell you how much we miss you all back home! I am so excited though about all the new friendships we are getting to make. The moms here have been so welcoming and sweet! First getting settled is kinda crazy, and I was late and forgetful about all kinds of things. Everyone is so understanding though because they have all been there. The expat community here is fantastic! We  are so looking forward to growing these new friendships and already have made lots of fun memories.

Anyway, here are some pics for y'all to enjoy:

This is on the side of the freeway going home from church. Notice there are no people in the cars. Nope...they are parked. Double parked in the side lanes of the freeway.

We are really enjoying family time at night. Lily gets out of school at 3 which gives us a lot of afternoon time to get our homework done, but still get time to go down to the pool and park and play games.

Lily's sweet class before her spring concert.

Lily during the concert:)

We have loved hanging out with these sweet families!

Racing cars at a neat store in one of the malls:)

Walk to school

We love our Saturday mornings! We get to ride scooters and bikes to breakfast and shopping or down to the park to play. Really love being able to walk to some many places! Especially since the driving is insane:)

 

Ella's sweet class on a field trip to feed the turtles:)

Here are some more Thailand pictures that were on my phone. The pools were we stayed were awesome! Brent loved the jumping and the kids loved the slides!

The taxi in Thailand. This was a huge hit with the kids!!

On the boat for our snorkeling/beach excursion. This was the end so we look a little tired:)

The water was unreal!

Nothing like ice cream on the beach!

Here is a little video of Lily singing in Mandarin:) Don't know if it will actually work, but I tried!

Well, there is my first blog post! I apologize for the length and so many pictures! Next time I will try not to be so overwhelming. Cramming 2 months in 1 post was kinda difficult! And please forgive me for the layout of the pictures. Don't know why they are in all different spots and can't promise it won't be the same way next time:)