Went with mum to the hospital to see the specialist on Tuesday. The 2 bubbles are still there in the kidney. There are some white lines on it so the doctor cannot discharge the case. Another CT scan in 6 months to observe. The doctor also picked up some growth attached to the pancreas thru the last scan. My sister and I decided not to alarm her but wait for the next scan to double check if there's anything significant.
Mum is very affected by all the news regarding her health. Pray for wisdom in my conversations with her that she may be encouraged to look to the Lord. I am still praying and trusting God to do a miracle in mum and thru it God will be lifted up and draw pa to Him.

Joycelyn is such a wonderful big sister!
Daniel had received a letter from his P1 school on Saturday. The 3 of us were in bed chatting. Joycelyn brought up several issues that Daniel needs to watch out for in P1.
She wanted him to change his glasses because it's too nerdy and she thinks his classmates might laugh at him. Reminded him not to pick his nose! Taught him how to shake hands with the Principal when he receives an award or something...Told him not to buy soup noodle just in case he spills, just stick to rice! It didn't cross my mind to prepare Daniel for P1 but Joycelyn got it covered! Way to go, big sister!

My daughters are busy with their 'O' and 'A' examinations preparation. I know they are quite stressed up but I am confident in the Lord that he will see them through. They had been very hardworking and I can trust them to pace themselves. Do remember them in prayers.
The rest still need a break through in taking their studies more seriously. I really need more patience in my interactions with them.
Daniel never fails to amuse me. I challenged him to see who can bathe faster.(Just for fun!) He was afraid to lose. We put our arms together and I showed him that mine is more than double his size; so I may not win. He look at me and said, " But your hand is bigger than mine!" He is one smart boy. Anyway, I lost. But it does not matter. It is nice to see that victorious look on his face...

Last week, we were praying that we as parents will be good role model. It was very humbling to have Daniel as my personal junior Holy Spirit. It was very late at night and I was making the bed; putting on clean sheets. Told Daniel to help me pull the corners and he was jumping around on it. I told him very firmly to get off the sheets and he moved aside and told me very seriously that I need to eat more peaches! He was referring to his fruit of the Spirit book he learned during church camp and it is suppose to represent peace. He asked me why I sounded fierce. I said that I am angry. Then he told me: "When you are angry, you should hold your tongue"! That's what he had learned and is preaching to me!!! On one hand, I am proud of my son, and on the other hand, I was totally humbled that I need to watch my actions and behavior. Thank you Lord for this important lesson!

The exams are just round the corner! The older ones are doing fine studying on their own. Need to keep an eye on the younger ones who still like to play! Pray for wisdom to motivate them.
My mum is going to Changi hospital on Friday for another X-ray to check what is that 2 bubbles in her kidney. I am praying that God will supernaturally heal her and that my pa can see the reality of God's existence thru her situation...

I simply loved these flowers! Brought the kids to Hort Park on Monday and they loved the place! Ting enjoyed using our new Nikon camera to take lots of pictures. The place is totally scenic. Davy, Joyce and Daniel enjoyed scootering along the paths and enjoy the beautiful space.
After that we took on the Henderson waves and walked till Marang Trail near Vivo City! Tiring but enjoyable.
Daniel fell while scootering and scrapped his elbow and knee( no bleeding) and he was getting whiny over it. Getting impatient, I told him:" Be a man...." With tears still running down his cheeks, he responded:"But I'm not a man yet!" How often I forgot they are still kids!
He is so sweet to hug me and thank me for taking good care of him and being the best mummy:)
After dinner at Vivo, the kids still got energy and wanted to shop around a little! I was sitting there on the chair and said that I cannot get up lor...and Daniel turn to me and said,"Be a woman!" I am. So I had no choice but stand up and get going....

My husband had been travelling quite a bit lately. After a 6 days trip to Malaysia, he returned at 9+ pm and had to get ready to pack for his next trip to Taiwan/HK leaving the next morning at 4+
Daniel was not aware that daddy will be leaving so soon and asked for him. He mentioned he doesn't want papa to travel anymore because he'll have more 'chops' in his passport compared to his. Other than that, life moves on for him. The other kids seems to be acting up quite a bit this time round especially the Sunday when he left for Taiwan. I know Dads play an important role in the lives of the kids. It makes me wonder what it will be like if he needs to be base outside Singapore next year. It is going to be a journey of FAITH!

Cannot believe my first baby is turning 18 soon....She is in the midst of prelim and is in no mood to party. The family celebrated together in a restaurant of her choice in early August. It was really fun to enjoy the good food especially the dessert and the live music performance that evening.
Ting is such a darling sister. She brought a brochure from some donut place for the birthday girl to choose 12 flavors. She is delighted and all at home gets to enjoy it too! Thank you so much,Thoughtful Ting!

Been busy reading books on prayer. Very challenging to cultivate a more vibrant prayer life. Glad to be involved with a parent from kid's school to pray. Making some headway to recruit others to pray.
Personally, my faith had been challenged lately. My mum was discovered to have 2 spots on her kidney after some annual checkup. She is feeling down and anxious. As I prayed for her, I felt led to ask God for a miracle. I had prayed for my pa's salvation for ages! Honestly quite discouraged. Is God in His mercy going to reveal Himself to my pa thru mummy's situation? I had been asking God to show pa the reality of His existence....Pray with me?

Recently, I met a lady while waiting to pick Daniel back from Kindergarten. She too has a son in Sec 1, same school as Davy. As she had been actively involved in the parent support group of the school, she felt the burden to do something meaningful.
After praying about this, I sense God's leading to form a prayer ministry among the parents. It had since been a whirlwind of ideas! God provided Ting to help with setting up a blog for our Partnering Through Prayer ministry. You can visit at ptprayer.blogspot.com
Ting is very busy but somehow she is available at the time that I needed her most. Thanks Ting, I really appreciate you!
This ministry is not launched officially. We are still waiting for an appointment with the relevant authorities although we had started meeting to pray for the school. Thus far the people she shared this prayer ministry with welcomes the idea. Some even echoed ideas that we discussed previously. There is even an invitation for us to join the teachers to pray in the exam hall for the 'O' and 'N' level. We are really excited to be involved and anticipate God's work in our midst!

Had great fun cycling with Daniel and Joycelyn in the late afternoon. The track is really fun. It's cool and not crowded. I'm glad to get the kids out of the house instead of watching TV or playing computer. After cycling we went shopping(marketing). It's nice that they can do that with me and help carry the basket and picking up stuff.
Daniel's school workload is getting heavier. Both Chinese and English spelling in 1 week and the words are getting tougher! But I'm happy that he is coping very well. He is improving his piano playing too! He is at the stage of playing with both hands and I'm having difficulty coaching him. Good thing Ting is available to go through with me and I can guide him slowly. Once, I taught him the wrong thing and it took a while to help him correct it. So now I make sure Ting goes thru' first before I teach. It's so fulfilling to see him make progress and sometimes he'll came and hug me and say thank you for teaching me! I enjoy my mornings with Daniel a lot and he likes the bible story time each day. i wish I had this kind of time with the rest of my kids too...

My daughter was upset with the teacher's decision to line up the students for a performing examination. The weaker ones goes first and the entire schedule runs for 2 weeks. In her mind, the weaker ones would need the extra time to polish up. I really do not appreciate the teacher banding student according to their performance because it will really shatters the confidence. I guess she don't feel good that she is among the weaker ones and everybody knows it based on the line up. I do not know what happens to" I believe you can do it" type of teachers.
Anyway, my child, our God is greater than '2 weeks of practice' It's really no big deal. Let's put our trust in Him alone!
I know it is difficult when people tell you right in the face you are weak. Ask God to remove these negative thoughts and remember:
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength Phil 4:19
Do not let what people may think of you to determine your performance. Surprise them and give the glory back to God!
I know that God is in control no matter what. I want to grow through each difficult situation and emerge a victor. Yes you can! Yes I can!

I helped our office to organise a trip to Kukup, Malaysia on 7th July. I had been looking thru the internet for info on Kukup since 2 years ago! It's nice to see the fishing village for myself. Life there is almost like the 70's but we were rushing thru since the kids need to come back and get ready for school the next day. Saw some interesting fish in the Kelong; especially the archer fish. it spits out water to get the ikan bilis on the platform to drop into the water!
Witness the fisherman scooped out loads of fishes and they were knocked out in the box containing some chemical? it looks bubbly like soap water. Visited the Visitor Center which showcases the living things and plants in the mangrove. The lady at the center kept telling me not to eat the various types of shells even though they are edible because the water is so polluted nowadays!
I guess moderation is still the key.
We also had some branded durians which our Malaysian friends recommended. They were great.
It was a nice outing and I'm glad that Davy, Joycelyn and Daniel enjoyed themselves!

It's been a happening July! It was great organising the surprise party for Ting! It was very difficult to keep it a secret. But the secrecy of it kept our hearts pumping so hard waiting for her to come home from her tuition to start the party! Ting was totally overwhelmed but I'm sure she appreciates the love we shared with her on this special day.
Thank you so much for helping us form great memories together. It was fun watching Abner, Jh and Shawn perform the play. When we did that more than 20 years ago during camps, the audience almost always thought that the fishing action is pulling the flush in the toilet! This time round, nobody associated that. I was telling my husband that people uses push button or lever to flush...not pulling the chain type in the squat toilet! That reminds us how time had changed the way we live!
Meeting our GBC youths, Bruce and Kian Yoon made us realised how much we had missed them. We had great times together in the past and will treasure it in our hearts.

We were watching Narnia on TV and I was surprised that Daniel could enjoy the show. After Aslan was killed and then came back to life, Daniel said, "hey! they copy God!" Yeap, it's God's original idea alright.
I was doing the dishes and Daniel came up to ask if I missed daddy. I told him no and he was upset because he is looking for someone who misses daddy.( He is in Japan) I quickly corrected my answer and he showed me our family photo. I guessed he had been looking at it and thought that there might be others who would need the picture too!
Jayne is doing her 'A'level exams for her DEP on Tuesday and Wednesday; group and individual presentation. Pray that she'll do well after all the sweat, time and efforts she had put in. Glad this will be out of the way and then she can start catching up on her other subjects.
JoyAnn is really bogged down by the incredible workload that the school is putting the sec 4s thru!
Pray that she'll experience God's peace in her heart.

It's been a long time since I get time to blog!
We were celebrating end of holidays and beginning of term3 on Sunday. It's really nice to spend time together as a family and see them enjoy the treats. The entire family seldom eat together because of time schedule and most of the time the TV is on. We tried on several times to turn off the TV but did not managed to make it a habit.
Daniel was looking at the pasley that decorates his plate and asked. Will this grow up to be a broccolli? It's always fun to have conversations like this. After a fantastic meal especially the rich desserts, we walked and look at the distant lights and stars in the sky before taking a bus home. I hope this is a nice way to usher in the new term.

We do want to celebrate victories in Christ. Daniel came and told me that the forbidden word did not come out today. He is happy about that and so am I. Thank God for showing him His power in our weakness!

Started a new game with Davy and Joycelyn. They are to abide by a certain code that governs their daily behavior and activities and they get to score points. At the end of the week, hopefully they would qualify to select a treat for themselves. One new twist is 'catch me do good'. If I spot them doing good, they'll get bonus. if I couldn't, then they score double. Joycelyn scored a double for clearing the table! Good for you girl! Let's see how this can help.

Daniel hurt his hand and asked to be prayed for. I delegated it to Jayne to pray with him. A few days later, he reported that God made him well and requested that I thank God with him. I really enjoy his childlike faith! Today, as he watched Davy play computer games, I heard him say 'what-the' several times. I brought it up to his attention that the word is not acceptable. During dinner, he brought it up to me that he tried but the word kept coming out. I prayed with him and asked God to help him overcome it. Later in the evening, the word came out again and I heard him murmured' Why God can't help me stop it' He is really trusting God to help him. Now I need to pray that he will be patient as he trust God. What a difficult lesson for a 6 year old!

School holidays are super tough for parents! The routine is different and kids are interested in computers and TV programmes only. But what kind of mummy will let the kids do just that? I know holidays is meant for the kids to take a break...but I hope it can be spent more meaningfully.

I want to hear from them what they hope to see and do during this break. I for one would like to see the kids have more family time. When kids are at home, they spent time with their computers and there's hardly any interaction. It's nice to see Joycelyn and Daniel setting up a corner in the bedroom and play some pretend games this morning. Need some ideas to try out soon!

I'm happy for Ting that school is turning better these days. The good news of transfer back to HMT and she sat for the exams like 2-3 weeks later and gotten a B! That was before she had any Chinese tuition!

Today, the VP announced a group of people that the school will nominate for DSA into any JC and Ting is among them. It's very tempting but Ting prefers to enter a college because she qualifies. I think that will motivate her to do her best and I'm confident she can do it with dependence on the Lord.

The exams results are coming in. I hope some will 'wake up' and realise that more can be done if one desire better results.
I asked God to encourage(add courage) us when we 'fall'. Learn from the babies; did they gave up when they fall and say I'll never take another step again? Or blame those who are teaching them for not teaching properly and caused the fall?
I asked God to enlighten(add wisdom) us. The other extreme is to remain indifferent. When things happened, our lives can still be enriched if we chose to learn from the mistakes made.
Thank God that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5) Trust Him to walk with us even through the valleys in our lives!

Had a great party for Joycelyn. Thought of just having a small fun time but it turned out that 16 came, including a teacher. The food may not be sufficient but we sure had lots of fun playing games. It's quite tiring having to clean up the house and get it ready for the party, cook every dish served (except the cake!), host the games, clear up....Oh,thanks to Ting for spending the longest time ever at the sink washing till her fingers wrinkled up like raisins! I was trying to save my energy for cooking our dinner. Hope to create wonderful memories as we grow...

Attended 1st of the 5 membership classes at CBC. Daniel and his friends were performing a Mother's day item for the Chinese service at 10 am and the Hokkien service at 11 am. Heard he did well but too bad I didn't get to see it since I was attending the class.

Cook a meal for my mother-in law and my parents for MD celebration. Very stressful! Different generation works rather differently. She wants garlic oil on the steamed fish but i prefer healthy;no oil. i thought baked prawns would be nice, but he said steamed prawn is juicier. Aiyo, so hard to please everyone. Good thing i've got thick skin so i am not bothered by the comments.....mums must be tough!

Played badminton with Joycelyn. Good exercise after a rich meal. Daniel played frisbe with Papa. When Daniel returned home after the games, he was whinning about the way papa played. I simply told him that it is not nice of him to whine when papa spends time with him instead of doing his own work. After his bath, he went to papa and apologised! When he told me what he did, i was absolutely so proud of him. i don't have to tell him, he just did the right thing! he's the sweetest!

No time to blog! Two of my kids having exams and the more I tried to help them get down to work, the more resistance I got. It should be easier to leave them alone; but i just can't bear to let them do nothing. Oh well, i doubt anything constructive was accomplished.....Actually, it's quite weird. On one hand, i'm trying to get some to do some work, then on the other hand I had to nag at some to stop work and go to bed! It's not easy being a mum.

Daniel just warmed my heart tonight. I needed to go to the ATM and invited Daniel to come along. He agreed. At the lift lobby, I asked why he was willing to come along. He said," I want to take care of you mah!" As if that wasn't enough, he planted a nice kiss on my cheek! That made my day...never mind if it is not easy being a mum.

Jayne brought 2 of her school mates home for dinner last Sunday. Her female school mate decided to sleep over as they needed to go to school earlier on Monday. The other a male school mate went home. The next day, Daniel asked if her friends stayed over because he was already in bed when the guests were still in the house. I told him and he asked why the male school mate did not stay over. I just said that only girls can stay over and he said,' but there are boys in this house what...' I sure cannot beat his logic!

Congrats to Ting and her team! They came in 2nd in the competition! It had cheered her up and hopefully give her an extra boost of energy to see her through her mid year exams. All the best. May you experience God's peace that surpasses all comprehension as you trust Him with all your heart!

I'm so proud of Ting's Earth Day project. Her team got into the finals and I can't wait till Sunday to find out their actual results! Saw her putting in so much time on that blogskin....I'm glad at least it gave her a sense of accomplishment.

Joycelyn is marching in the GB Guards -of -Honor squad during GMS(P) Thanksgiving. Way to go Joyce! i know it will be tough for you to keep still for 10 mins for the inspection, but it's good training for you!

Jayne shared with us that she is in the top 10% of the cohort for the exams! We are so proud of her. She had been so busy with her DEP; rehearse,dance lesson, watching performances etc that I was getting rather concerned if she had time to study anything else. All I could do is make sure she eats her meals, go to bed earlier so that she can pay attention in class and pray for her. Well, we do want to celebrate her success...looks like another makan session coming right up!

Some kids came to our house to play after school. In the excitement of the games, words not allowed in our home popped out. I had to step in and remind them not to commit that offence.
it's not that we cannot use such words. Rather, we do not want to. If Jesus lives in my heart, my life will reflect Him and my words will be gracious and edify those who listens.
As a kid, i was surrounded with adults and kids who uses profanity in all communications whether they were angry or not. I somehow despise such talks and never use it in my speech. I hope our kids will feel likewise and know that it takes character to be different and that's cool!

Last Sat was meet the teachers' day at TKGS. Apparently, Ting is not doing well. I was not concern because I am very confident that Ting can do well. Tonight, we were just chatting about school and she mentioned that our changing church and then dropping the HMT had affected her a lot. I should have been more sensitive to her needs....sorry my dear Ting.
She is fitting in a lot better, Thanks to Jasmine's Birthday party which she had attended. At least, she knows the names of all the folks and had great fun laughing and playing together. I am sure she will bounce back up in no time.
Hmmm, I 'm wondering about Joycelyn's performance at school lately. It had been rather shocking too! Better check on her....

Lately, I noticed that the kids are spending lots more time on the computer. Even if they had completed their work, I do not think it is a good idea to do so. So the rules are back again. Half an hour per day. It is difficult to implement and difficult for them to keep to it. But we'll just have to try....when i informed Daniel about the rule, he told me: I know what is better than computer- It's family! I do not know what makes him say that. But Amen, to that!

It's official. The Lim family has 3 Teens! Davy just qualified this week. Well, I want to thank God for giving us well adjusted kids. There may be some instances of discipline issues for certain ones, but generally it's nothing compared to some horror tales I've read about raising teenagers.
Davy had been calling back whenever he needs to stay back in school and I really appreciate him taking the trouble to inform.
I did not realise that Daniel is such a drama king at this age! He tricked me again! He told me very seriously that he spelt 'father' as 'futer' and asked me how to pronounce that. I was surprised because he did not show any difficulty with this word when we were practicing at home. Then again
he's just 6 years old. He went on to say that he'll have to do 1 page of correction for that. i simply comforted him and say it's OK. late at night, then he told me he tricked me again. i was totally clueless! Life is very interesting with our drama queen ( Jayne) and now it's going to be 'stereo effect' with this drama king in the equation!

Ok. The school holidays is over! Could not do much because the kids are busy with CCA. The weather was not helpful too.
It was good that papa took leave on Thursday.( the only day when no one needs to go back to school) We had a nice treat at Sakura international buffet. It's nice to just indulge without a need for a reason. Too bad it was a wet day. If not the family would have enjoyed a trip to the West Coast Park.
A cell group invited us to their BBQ on Sat. It was a nice gathering meeting a smaller group of people. It really helped us appreciate our new friends better as the interaction was free and easy. Even Davy, Joycelyn and Daniel had lots of fun running around with their friends and came home sweaty and smelly!
Really appreciate all the special efforts our new friends are putting in to help us feel more comfortable at Calvary BC.
Joycelyn played the drums for EKC. She is maturing as a drummer, learning to pay attention to song leaders. I'm happy for her.

I had been cycling Daniel to school almost daily except when it rains. At first, I was rather apprehensive and unstable ( not used to tompang-ing another person!) . Now, I feel more confident although at times still kallang kabok.Tried venturing out on other routes like buying food for our pet rabbit at Geylang Lorong~. It was really fun because it saved alot of my time compared to walking there. On Saturday, persuaded my husband to cycle to CBC @ Wan Toh Ave with me as we needed to attend a meeting. He cycled along the main road. It was much faster compared to going along pavement and share the path with pedestrians. Having experienced the convenience, it makes me rather impatient having to wait so long for a short ride somewhere. Wonder whether I would ever graduate to riding a motor bike one day!

Daniel had been bugging us about getting a soft toy bat since our Australia trip. We did consider and had been looking since. No sign of any. One desperate attempt: Papa bought a bag of rubber bugs with a small rubber bat for him on his birthday. He got excited . Then Jayne happened to drop by IKEA for her meatball-fix and saw a very nice, velvety soft bat for $5. Now Daniel is delighted. He had been taking care of his 'pet' since it came. Everyone at home could feel the excitement with Jayne's find because we all tried to help look for it.
Sometimes we seek but cannot find. But God invites us :
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart.(Jeremiah 29:13)
And yes. There's great delight in seeking God!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcjkJp9VxY8
Sacrifice by Bob Fitts

Very catchy tune and meaningful words. It's base on Abraham obedience to God that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Enjoy.

Jayne is doing a play that depicts the Peranakan culture. She is playing the role of a wife who was betrayed by a husband who is keeping a mistress. to win his heart, she cooks this curry with the nut (Buah kelauk). She brought home some of those nuts so I decided to try cooking this Nonya curry. I asked the children, do you think I can win my husband's heart with this curry? Most of them said can. But Joycelyn answered:" I don't think papa will leave you in the first place!" Well, it's good that our kids have confidence in our husband and wife relationship! And I' m also glad the curry turned out well.

Daniel had chinese spelling on Tuesday and I only realised it on Monday. Normally,I'll spend more than 1 week to help him review and be prepared. But I guess it was the CNY that threw me off! So in 1 afternoon, he had to read, recognise and remember 8 characters. I thought he did well, but he has no confidence and kept worrying about it. When i fetched him from school this afternoon, he told me not to be sad or angry with him because he mixed up 3 and 4. I was quite surprised because he could do it at home and there's no reason to get it mixed up. we didn't talk further about it till Ting and Davy brought out some test papers for me to sign then he said, Mummy, i tricked you! (He could do his chinese spelling!) I can't believe that at this age, he can be so cheeky!

Sat night Daniel was praying with me and his first statement: Thank you Jesus for coming into my life....! Amen to that. Lying in bed, he told me that he's still afraid of death but just little bit. Sunday morning, Joycelyn,Daniel and I were in a taxi going to church. Joyce was complaining about all the mosquito bites she got from her P5 adventure camp. Daniel was quick to assure her " It's OK. God will give you a new body, no bites, no boo-boos." Joycelyn didn't know what he's talking about, but I'm proud that he knows how to apply his faith!

Daniel had been rather paranoid that his heart might stop beating. He mentioned it again this morning and said he's afraid of death. I felt it's time to deal with the issue. We read a book together that talks about why physical death is inevitable and brought up the aspect of the spirit part of us that lives forever. He seem to accept it well when I said that the Daniel body is made of dust and to dust it will return. But the Daniel spirit will live forever and God will give a new body that will never die. He like what he heard. I shared with him that he needs Jesus to live in his heart. "Do you know how you can let Jesus live in your heart?" He said no and is ready to asked for help to pray and invite Christ into his life!

Late afternoon went to visit a colleague's father who had been ill. He had accepted Christ but his wife has yet to make a decision. Hopefully with our visits, she too will be open to Christ. Came home to fix dinner for the family and was pleasantly surprised by Daniel. He took the trouble to clear up the messes in the living room and other places just to give me a surprise. Isn't he a darling!

Finally, the last day of the CNY. I was taking a walk with Aik after sending my mother-in-law to the bus stop. Above the busy street with cars and people, stood a serene round moon. It's really beautiful with streaks of small clouds passing by from time to time. There's no time to stand and stare; not on a busy street. But I can still take a glimpse or two from time to time as I walk.Hmmm, sounds so philosophical. I want to enjoy the beautiful things in my life no matter how busy life can get. It's not wishing to have more time, but the attitude of enjoying the moment.

We were invited to a cell group CNY celebration dinner. It was a great time getting to know more people as well as renew ties with some old friends. In a more relax setting, the kids get to mingle with those present and I'm sure it will help them feel more at ease with these new friends. For me it's a challenge trying to remember the names of the adults as well as remembering how many kids and their names! It's going to take a while...The people here are just as caring as our family at GBC. Steve sent us home even though he was having a cough and his wife had just returned from Australia!
Daniel ran to get the lift and shouted,"Hurry up, I cannot tahan so long!" Just where did he get his language training from...?

Daniel had been greeting his siblings Happy Valentine's Day. It sounded so sweet and cute coming from this little guy. Anyway, we had a little VD celebration after dinner and popped a bottle of sparkling grape juice. We were talking about how our friends celebrate this occasion. Seems that the girls received chocolates and flowers and had fun today. Jayne and Ting were commenting about people they like....and Davy butted in and said," I like papa and mummy". It's good to know that, especially coming from a teenage son! That's the best present ever!

Happy Valentine's Day!
To me this is a day to celebrate friendships not just exclusive relationship like boy/girl friend. Jayne asked me recently who are my friends. I listed some from GBC... She said they are just churchmates. But honestly, to me ,they are friends,period. We relate to each other not because she is from XXX! I hope I haven't lost my friendships even though there had been changes in our routine! Only time will tell.

We have decided not to watch TV during dinner so that we have more time to share and talk with each other. Daniel was sharing about what he learned in school; small, smaller,smallest. Ting wanted to know if Daniel is tall for his age. She asked: Are your friends bigger or smaller than you? Daniel answered, 'We are same age; 5 years old'!
Later at night, Daniel was dancing around with a box(the one that holds mandarin oranges) over his head. Ting asked Daniel,' Why do you have the orange box over your head?' Daniel got upset and replied,' It's a red box what..'!
Looks like we really need to work on communication in the family.

$5 shirts

After church Jayne and I had to make a trip to Chinatown to get some blouses for her exam piece. I was telling her if she could borrow it from somewhere because we had been spending money for this and that since the beginning of the year in preparation for this piece. I gave her a very difficult challenge: Buy it only if it cost $5. After scouting around in 2 shops, we really found some suitable ones at $5 each! God is so good! We can't believe it can be done.

After 2 days of visiting others, it was a nice change to have guests at home. I'm so glad JH remained steadfast with his decision to visit. The kids were delighted! Of course things turned up even better when Aaron, Abner and the entire Teo Family showed up. It's nice to have holidays like this for us to get-together. After all, these are relationships that grew over many years and we really treasure them, even though we cannot meet weekly.

Tonight's dinner time was really weird. No one wanted to eat even though each had only a small portion when the guests were around. Eventually,the entire dinner was wiped clean when I took the trouble to spoon feed all 5! It's true. They will always be my babies no matter how old they are.

Jayne helped Davy with his Maths, Joycelyn watched Ting play 'Audition'. Daniel set up a souvenir shop and gave Ting and Davy some paper money he drew to buy from the shop. Davy drew some bats and paste it on the ceiling because bats are Daniel's favorite. Ting helped me baked carrot muffin. ....It's nice to see family members involved with each other. It brought joy in my heart.

Davy's haircut

Sunday afternoon, Davy went to a hair salon to get his hair cut. Monday, the school have a hair check and the teacher failed him and say his fringe is too long. if he don't do anything about it and attends school tomorrow, they will send him to the school barber and pay $10 to cut for him. Poor Davy, he's really getting very frustrated. He tried hard but it's never enough.( it happened in Jan too) This is frustrating for me too. I cut his hair in Jan and so I thought maybe my standard is not acceptable. I spent money to let the pros do it and end up I still need to trim the fringe! It's time to make a trip to his school.

God loves Jayne

Jayne called from school and asked me to buy some chicken meat for her to practice her play. I was so busy with the cleaning of the house for CNY that i forgot all about it. After dinner, my husband and I went out to attend a wake. When we got home, it was close to 11 pm. I rushed out immediately and the supermarket is already closed. However, one of the shutters was lowered 3/4 way down and they were closing a/c for the day. I peeked in and requested for them to let me buy a packet of chicken. They were so gracious to let me. Thank God for His amazing provision!

Level heads

Papa and I were talking with Jayne about her fast and furious J2 year. She mentioned somethings that her level Head told the cohort. Papa said with a straight face," so the rest of them are not level heads?" We do need humour from time to time!

Daniel coaching Jayne in dance

While I was busy fixing dinner in the kitchen, I over heard Daniel asking Jayne if she was practicing her dance for competition. After watching a few steps, he asked her to count and started counting out loud for her. "1 and 2 and 3 and .... "After a while he said, "I don't know if you can win, show me another one" and continued counting.." 5 and 6 and 7 and ..". Speaking like a pro, he concluded. "I think you can win" Sure sounds like he'll make a good trainer. Dance training, anyone?

Joycelyn plays again

Joycelyn and Daniel attends EKC ( Electric Kids Company) at 11.00 am. During their children's worship, I noticed that they do not have a drummer even though there's a drum just sitting there. After talking with several people involved in the program, they are interested to have a drummer at their program. So 3rd Sunday of Feb, Joycelyn will have a chance to play. I'm happy for her to have as many opportunities as possible to gain experience. It's good for her to use her talent to serve God!

Daniel speaks Hokkien

After a shopping trip with Daniel, we were coming down the stairs of the overhead bridge. I saw Bus 10 leaving the bus bay and I commented: Aiya, missed the bus. Daniel held my hand tight , lookup then said," Nevermind, we can cheong!" I was shocked to hear a Hokkien word coming out from him. I wonder where he picked that from...?

ACJC J2 parents talk

Attended a talk at ACJC for J2 parents. Feels very overwhelmed by the workload and pace that my daughter will be working thru! Hope I can be a good support to cheer her on in this race. One perspective that a teacher shared with us regarding career guidance opens up my perspective on how I should help my kids in this generation and time. In the past, people tend to stay in their line of work all their life. Now the trend is that one is expected to hold at least 4 jobs in a lifetime! She gave the example of a person graduating and say work as an engineer. After a few years, he might face retrenchment. Then he might sign up as a teacher then pursue Master/Doctorate and end up as a scientist. If this prediction is correct, our kids today need to be very adaptable to flex with the situation and have a heart to learn and keep progressing! Sorry kids... i don't think you are going to have it easy. But with proper attitudes in life, you can with God's Grace!

Daniel

This year, we decided to transfer Daniel to another kindergarten. Throughout his K1, he had always resisted going to school and i have to use the school holidays as something he could look forward to. I was concerned that he might have difficulty adjusting to a new school environment ...then there were other factors like higher school fees, shorter hours (3 hrs instead of 4) plus weird timing 11.45 to 2.45 pm- so I cannot run out for meetings like I used to... Finally, on the 2 Jan, Papa helped made the decision and I register him at Geylang Chinese Methodist Kindergarten. After his first day, i asked him how was school and he told me he like the chinese teacher! WOW! he was so frightened of his previous chinese teacher and to hear this from him....wow!
He still missed me and I gave him a passport size photo to keep in his pocket so that he can look at it whenever he missed me. It worked. Now he tells me, he doesn't need to look at it (but he still wants to bring it to school) . Something amazing happened. He loved school and don't care for school holidays anymore! I'm so glad we made a right decision to switch.
I'm enjoying personal time with him in the morning, reading,teaching him piano, play lego, doing housework with him as my helper and lots....O , today he asked me to teach him chinese! I'm over the moon...

Why Mum 5?

Heard of Ben 10 (Sat 10.30 on Kid Central)? This boy, Ben, could transform into 10 different creatures as he tried to save each situation he finds himself in. As a mother of 5, I feel pretty much like Ben.... the 5 kids are very different in many ways and required different style of handling. Just that I wished I had a "watch" that can transform me to be the correct creature to handle each the best way possible! Wishful thinking aside, I'm thankful God lives in me and gives me wisdom when i asked so that God's purpose can be accomplished in the lives of these precious 5 that He had entrusted.(James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.)