Old Stone Church

Old Stone Church - A historical landmark in Monroeville. This church was founded in 1834 (just about 2 decades after Singapore was founded....). We passed by this church many times, and decided to go and have a closer look today.

cool and fun

It's a warm and sunny 30C summer day, after a series of thunderstorms... too good a day to stay cooped up at home yet too hot to stay outdoors for long. What should we do? Go somewhere cool and have fun!

The Carnegie Science Center - Charis loves that place, especially the bungee jumping on a trampoline and the water-play, our first two stops. She actually did a somersault in the air!

Touching a little bug.

Absorbed in a game.

Charis the Explorer!

Robots in town.

Josiah was totally intrigued by

this robo-man coming to "life".

All smiles.

Pittsburgh 250!

Pittsburgh celebrated it's 250th birthday yesterday and we managed to join in the "fireworks party" with some Singaporean friends last night. Took the Monongahela Incline up to Mt Washington to catch the panoramic view of the fireworks. They had them launched from 17 different points over the city, with some shooting out of the Ohio river. It was a pretty impressive display... unfortunately, we didn't get to hear the accompanying music from up there although we got to hear 2 ladies singing "Happy Birthday to Pittsburgh!" as the "finale" to the celebration.




Our latest night out ever since coming to Pittsburgh... and even caught a glimpse of Pittsburgh's night life while stuck in the traffic.

Storywalk once again!

An annual children's event in Pittsburgh... story booths, activities and craft, lots of fun and walking in the park :) Just a pity that the weather was a little unkind. But as always, Charis enjoyed it! She has grown to love nature... running on the grass, picking little fallen acorns and leaves and even playing on the sand.

One of the most popular amongst the children...
"Tattoo" that took days to go away...
Contributing to the huge poster...
Making a kite...

Random shots

2 visits from home...

LOTS of fun times... and LOTS of photographs!

Thanks, Shawn and Feng Jun, for the fellowship in Him... you've been a blessing to us. This is our only group photo with them...


Here's the link to more photos... hope you have the time to look through all of them ;p

18 days... just flew by...

Now it's back to just the 3 of us. The apartment seems a little too quiet and empty these 2 days... no more queue for the bathroom, no more chattering in the kitchen, no more snoring in the bedroom... I think we're all experiencing a little withdrawal from the visit. Saying goodbye once again, after the last one (9 months ago) in Changi airport, was not easy. But I'm still very thankful for the blessed time we had over the last 18 days. Lots of fun and photos! Will sort through them and put them up soon... meanwhile, I've picked out my fav shot of all of us :)



Thank God for protecting all of us and taking care of all things, big and small, during that time together. I'm glad that they've arrived safely in Singapore today. God also answered our prayers by providing them with a completed new lift (that now takes them right to their door step!) so that they didn't need to struggle with their luggage on the stairs.

May 10th, 8.30 p.m.

After months of waiting and 27 hours on the journey, my parents have finally arrived in Pitt safely... jet lagged but very happy! These are photos of the first hugs. A pity that the photographer (erm, that's me :p) wasn't quick enough to capture the moment better. It was a wonderful reunion!



Got home, ate instant noodles, chatter chatter, dug up the many goodies from Singapore... also had a little flooding episode at home to end the excitement for the night... haha. Whew, what a night! Looking forward to the next 3 weeks of family time and the road trip :)

Downtown Pittsburgh

Taken a few weeks back during the short Spring break that we had. We were at the top of Mount Washington that overlooks the downtown. It is voted as one of the top 10 most beautiful places in America.

The Strip District

Ah... it's not what you think it is!

It's a place that we visit every month to get our much needed groceries because it's where the main Asian grocery store is located. The district is known for its wholesalers, restaurants and other shops but we have stopped only at the Asian store in our previous trips there. Over the last weekend, we spent a little more time there to walk along the streets so that we can browse in the other shops too! And we had interesting finds :)

A melting pot of shops representing the various ethnic groups in Pittsburgh... we see street vendors selling food like Asian snacks and Italian breads (akin to our "pasar malam" vendors), a fresh fruits and vegetable market, Mexican home-made sweaters, a large Italian grocery... with lots of pasta varieties, herbs, preserved olives and cheeses... giving the place a cheesy smell of fermentation we're not quite accustomed to, I guess. We also ventured into Wholely's, one of the region's largest seafood wholesalers and butcher-shop... and guess what?!? We found a variety of "exotic" stuff... whole fish (good for chinese-style steam fish and fish head... yum), fresh chicken (but I didn't see any chicken feet though... hee), beef parts, pork parts (even pork liver!), and... frozen whole rabbits. The experience was like walking into an enclosed wet market cum supermarket. I think we'll head back for the fresh meats and fish for our Chinese New Year "reunion" dinner.

It would be fun to stay a little more to see the other stores but it was a cold, cold day... and we felt our toes and fingers freeze even in their woolen coverings so we had to go seek warmth in the car after 1 1/2 hours. Perhaps, we could head back on a warmer day to explore the other stores along the Strip.

We were told that the Strip is one of the favorite weekend destinations for Pittsburghers and it was crowded, by the Pittsburgh standard, even on that cold day. The temperature actually dipped to -15'C on the next day! Thankfully, we didn't choose that day to explore the Strip ;p

The Harlem Globetrotters

TK received 2 free tickets to this basketball game from his school a few weeks back... it's the box seat complete with food! But all the time, we wondered what to do with the second ticket. We thought that it would be wonderful if Charis and I could go with him... I've never been to one of these and it would be fun! Besides, it's an entertaining game... the Harlem Globetrotters clown around and perform ball-stunts during the game. But she needs a ticket too since she has passed her second birthday... and we have only 2. TK even thought of bringing her so that I get my free time but we hoped that this could be family time for us.

On the day of the game, he decided to email to the other 4 people who got the free tickets to see if anyone might have an extra to pass to us. To our surprise, a lady replied and was willing to give us her 2 tickets... she cannot go because her partner fell sick. Now each of us have a ticket with an extra to spare! Can't be just a coincidence... it's really God's gift to us this Christmas :)

Family Outing

We spent the day out at the Carnegie Science Centre with a friend. It has been some time since we (the old ones) have stepped into a science centre, and the first time for Charis. We also managed to catch an interesting Omnimax show - the Christmas Star - that explores what was the possible star that led the wise men to Bethlehem.


According to Charis,T-Rex is a bad animal because he goes "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

We also managed to explore a retired submarine, USS Requin.

Inside the USS Requin submarine:

Miss Personality...

Following the science centre visit, we went jalan-jalan and managed to bump into a Christmas tree...


It was a wonderful day out as a family. Especially since the last few weeks have been busy with the assignments. The weather has been nice too - still cold, but slightly warmer than what we have experienced over the last couple of weeks.

Chihuly at Phipps

Link @ Phipps Conservatory And Botanical Gardens

Went to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Been seeing this beautiful glass building that stands out against the greenary around it. Banners say "Chihuly at Phipps"... wondered what it meant until we had the chance to visit last Sat. Enjoyed both the gardens and the glass exhibits by an artist named Dale Chihuly.

Storywalk @ Frick Park

The Pittsburgh Children's Library and Citiparks organise this event every year, and we were told that it is good and well attended. Although TK needed to stay home to finish some work, I decided to go ahead with the other families. Booths were scattered all over the park and there were numerous activities for the hundreds of excited children. Face painting, kite drawing, cookie decorating, music and movement, and of course the story-telling booths where the stories came alive. A great way to encourage reading in children!

Charis woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning... grouchy and fussy. Despite of that, she had a nice time there. She didn't want photos taken of her, except with the giraffe, and her new friends joint in =)

OIF

Today is our 2nd Sunday in Pittsburgh. I'm starting to miss family and friends at home as the "holiday mood" wears out. However, we're blessed to be able to attend a church, called the Oakland International Fellowship (OIF), on both Sundays. It's a Chinese church and has both Chinese and English services. We, of course, attend the English service, which has a much smaller group. There're also many Singaporeans attending it. The family that has so kindly taken us in for the last 2 weeks attends the church too. The people are friendly and they do make us feel quite welcomed.

I'm glad that Charis gets to attend the Children's Sunday School with many children her age. We told her that she may get to go to school in the US so she has been asking me about school! Well, I meant preschool but for now, I can tell her that she attends school on Sundays! She likes it, especially the art & craft time, but she's really not such an attentive student... she gets distracted by the toys in the room... haha. She's also quite silly, she get her toys or chair taken away... I think she needs to learn some survival skills too!

Generally, Charis has made good progess since we arrived. After getting over the jet lag, she has been eating quite a lot. TK thinks that her face is looking a little rounder =) We've also trained her to seat at the back of the car by herself in the safety seat so that I can eventually take the driver's seat. It seems that she has taken a liking to it... often talking and singing to herself along with the CD that is playing, many times with one leg placed comfortably on the window. She has even fallen asleep in her safety seat a few times!

temp housing in Pittsburgh

Since April, we have been searching for a temp housing in Pittsburgh. We just need a place for our first few days in Pittsburgh as we look for a more permanent apartment. We have been looking at craigslist and also put up our request through a church there. However, for the last 3 months, there wasn't much progress.

Just as I was about to email a friend to ask him for some recommendations of affordable motels (in case we need one), he offered his place as a "last-resort". Two hours later, he emailed us again, saying that there are now 3 offers (inclusive of his) to take us in from his church. It is so amazing - just yesterday, we have no place to stay during our first few days. Now we have 3 place (and maybe even more) to choose from. As my friend said in his email to us, and we testify, "God has been good". We truly thank our friends in church for praying with and for us regarding a temp housing for the last 2 months - and thank God for the positive answer.

So, where exactly are we going?

Based on what we have read and heard so far, these are what we know about Pittsburgh, the city that we are heading to:

1. It is in the state of Pennsylvania. On the map of USA, it is located towards the North-East.
2. It is a few hours drive to New York.
3. Winters could be quite harsh in Pittsburgh.
4. Main sports in Pittsburgh: Baseball (Pirates), ice hockey (Penguins), American football (Steelers). I think the nearest NBA team should be the Philadelphia 76ers.
5. No famous touristy attractions that we know, as of now.

More information can be found at this excellent resource.

If you like to have a sense of how Pittsburgh is like, you may want to check out those movies that were shot in this city, including Inspector Gadget (!), Groundhog Day, The Silence of the Lambs, and Robocop (!!!). Hmmm, we should have rented some DVDs...

Some stuffs about Carnegie Mellon University, the purpose of our going over.
1. Remember lycos search engine? It was started in CMU in 1994.
2. John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1994, received his bachelor and master degrees at Carnegie (then known as Carnegie Institute of Technology, before it merged with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research) in the 1940s. He then went on to Princeton and MIT. If his name sounds familiar, you must have read his theory in an economics class or watched the movie "A Beautiful Mind", or both.