My 10th Mummyversary

The birthday of my firstborn child is also the anniversary of the day I became a mother. I call this my Mummyversary.

So on 14 April 2015, I celebrated my 10th mummyversary. Joseph turned 10 years old.

 See how he has grown...

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

I cooked his favourite 'pigs in blanket' - pork sausages wrapped in pork bacon, baked till crispy! Sinfully delicious!

2015

 We had a simple celebration at home 2 days earlier, with a very simple cake in the number 10 that cost less than RM10.

I made him write an appreciation note to his dad.

On his actual birthday, we went out for dinner at Delicious 1Utama. It was a good discount with groupons that were purchased with extra 18% off.

Here are my favourite boys in matching super-inspired shirts I made for them.

We're happy with the way Joseph has grown. Like all kids, he has his moments that drive us up the wall. But mostly, he is quite helpful and obedient. 

He's already too heavy for me to carry. I weigh only about 12kg more than him. His feet are also almost as big as mine. Just one size smaller. He can hardly sit still except when he's engrossed in a book or a movie. This year, he's picked up ping pong from school, besides badminton. He plays futsal on Sundays with the boys in church and cycles and swims at other times. Even during exams, sports does not take a back seat. 

Though he's not the academic kind, I'm happy with his progress in school. He can now read and write in chinese compared to some years back when every other word was 'something'. Any word he couldn't read was 'something'. 

Besides sports, his hobbies include annoying his sister and bickering with her. It's a love-hate relationship. They sing silly songs together and then annoy each other. 

Joseph...we  pray that you will grow into the man God wants you to be, and be a fine example to your younger siblings. We love you very much!

A life well-lived, a legacy of faith

**edited 22 February 2014

Her name was Amy - beloved.

I called her Ah Mah. My paternal grandmother lived 90 years and 18 days before she went home to be with Jesus in the early morning of Sunday, 8 February 2015.

Ah Mah's birthday cake on 21 January 2015

Ah Mah had a hard unloving life. Unknown and untold to many. Hidden beneath her graceful smiles. 

Taken from her biological parents at birth, she was given to a childless aunt so that she could care for them in their old age. 

At 16, she entered an arranged marriage. She always told me that my grandfather (whom I never got to know because he passed away when I was just a year old) did not like English-educated girls because he found them very hao but still married an English-educated girl so that she could do his admin work. It was free labour. 

From the time I was a teenager living in Penang and Ah Mah was living in Kuantan, we communicated via letters. This was before the time of e-mail and facebook. She never forgot my birthday and always sent a card with RM20 as a gift. 

I'm thankful for all the times I had to serve her....taking her shopping, buying her groceries, sending her to church for various activities, buying her cheesecake (she never liked chocolate cakes) and hunting high and low for custard puffs (which she called cream puffs but she never likes those with cream) and in the last few months....cutting her finger nails and washing her dentures.

very elderly people have very thick fingernails which can be very difficult to cut

 In the last days, it was very difficult to see Ah Mah reduced to skin and bones. Her legs were thinner than my thin arms. Her skin looked like stretched cling wrap over sticks. I had no answers when she asked me "What else is there?" with a longing to go Home. 

She ate very little and slept a lot. In fact, she kept taking out her dentures and it could no longer fit after a while. 

taken in July 2010 by stories.my

 I did my fair share of crying when I sat at her bedside with her hand in mine as I sang her favourite hymns to her. She loved hymns.

It was one week before she passed away when I prayed for her and told her, "Ah Mah....I know you're tired. It's ok. You can go home. Can you see Jesus? Hold Jesus' hand. He will take care of you".

at my wedding on 2November2002

In the 2 days before Ah Mah passed away, my mum (who had been taking care of her) told me over the phone that Ah Mah slept a lot. She could sleep from 6pm till 4pm the next day. Her breathing was also very slow. I knew she didn't have much longer. I asked God to give me the privilege to hold Ah Mah's hand as she breathed her last.

Ah Mah was a proud grandma when I graduated.

Sadly for me, that was not to be. But God gave me a vision of assurance as He took Ah Mah home.

at Ah Mah's 80th birthday in 2005 - I was expecting her first greatgrandchild.

Early in the wee hours of Sunday morning, my Isaac was feverish and fussy till almost 4am. When he finally settled and I was trying to go to sleep, I dreamt of Ah Mah and I was very conscious that in my semi-sleep-wake state, I prayed for her and asked God to take care of her. I then fell fast asleep peacefully.

in 2009 - Ah Mah with her first 2 greatgrandchildren

When my phone rang at 8am, I instantly knew it was my mum and why she was calling. Ah Mah passed on in the most peaceful way to die - in her sleep, and I believe at the time when I dreamt of her.

we celebrated Ah Mah's 85th birthday with a huge trifle cheesecake

I believe her greatest blessing in life was to see her descendants to the 4th generation in the Lord. She left a legacy of faith that I am more than proud to pass on to my children. That is my greatest inheritance from her - a woman of faith and prayer. I have kept the many birthdaycards she made for my children, with personalized self-written poems!

I'm so privilege to have her pray blessings upon me and my family in her last days. She prayed that God will always watch over us and protect us. 

Her last words to me was one week before her passing. At that point, she could barely speak anymore. I had to put my ear one inch from her mouth and even then, all I heard was a very faint whisper. 

She asked me, "Where are you going?" 

At that point, I told her I had to go home because my children had school the next day. 

But now as I reflect upon her words....I see a deeper meaning. 

Ah Mah was always sure of where she was going. She was never afraid to speak of her death. In fact, she had her funeral all planned out. In her 'final requests' which she wrote 5 years ago, she had chosen all the hymns she wanted to be sung at her funeral. She had a firm faith and unwavering assurance of her mansion in heaven. She was eager and waiting to meet Jesus. She knew where she was going. 

Where am I going? Where are you going?

I can say for sure I will meet her again one day. 

For in Christ, this separation is temporal.

**I should have mentioned this at the wake and funeral but it slipped my mind.

Firstly...about my mum.
I must thank my mother for sacrificially taking care of Ah Mah in her last days, when she was weak and frail and totally dependent on others for even her basic needs. My mum herself is no longer young. At 67 years of age, she is now experiencing hypertension. Yet she dutifully care for Ah Mah....feeding her, changing her diapers, cleaning her and the room, changing her sheets, doing her laundry etc etc etc. Thank you mummy for living out Commandment #5 and being an examplary daughter-in-law.

Secondly...to my dearest husband.
Ah Mah always told me that I am blessed to have married well....because my husband is loving, caring and so supportive of everything I do. In actual fact, Ah Mah is blessed because I married well. My daaling has been the best grandson-in-law anyone could have. He took care of the kids to relieve me to see to Ah Mah's needs. In the earlier years, he willingly drove up to Penang for Ah Mah's birthdays. He drove us to Kuantan to visit my grandfather's and greatgrandmother's graves. He was even willing to share a room with Ah Mah (and myself of course) when we went for a prayer conference in Cameron Highlands years ago.

When Ah Mah first moved to KL, she lived with me for a month. Daaling was very accommodating and even chauffered her for church activities. Indeed, Ah Mah was blessed to have a wonderful grandson-in-law.

Rest well now Ah Mah. You have fought a good fight, kept the faith and finished the race well.

I have dreamt of you walking again and I believe you are now not just walking on streets of gold but jumping and dancing in heaven with Jesus....without your tongkat!

We love you and miss you.

Reflections on 2014

It's two days to the new year. We're at the end of 2014 - that time of the year again - bus stop time, when I stop to look back and then look ahead.

It's always good to look back...to reflect on all that has happened and given thanks, then look ahead with anticipation and great expectations of what God is going to do. 

Kid by kid...

The year 2014 - Isaac has grown a LOT! I'm always amazed at how a child grows in the first year of life. In just one year, they grow from a tiny little newborn that's seemingly incapable of anything else besides pooping, suckling and crying (and driving me absolutely mad!) to a boisterous toddler who's still capable of driving me mad but in different ways. Isaac walked at 12.5 months. He loves to kai kai and protests when he's left behind. He also loves playing with his older siblings who adore him. No longer stuck to me like a koala, he will push me away to walk out the door by himself when he sees everyone putting on shoes. I'm beginning to feel redundant. Though he's getting rather heavy to lug around, I do miss having him in my sling.

my boys - Isaac is all bigger while Joseph is leaner and taller.

Joseph has made leaps and bounds in mastering the chinese language this year. Exam-wise, he's not amongst the top students but that's irrelevant to me. He can now read and write simple essays and tutor Joy. Most importantly, he's happy to be in a chinese school and no longer calls himself an English boy. Joe loves his sports. He enjoys his badminton training in school and futsal with the Dreamlions on Sundays. Since his swimming coach left for further studies, Joe has stopped swimming lessons but still practices under daaling's watchful eye. He's also made some inroads in piano playing. We're very inconsistent with teaching him and getting him to practice but he can still play some simple songs now. Next year, he hopes to pick up drums.

Joy-Anne completed kindergarten this year with flying colours and is all ready for her next stage of life - primary school. She's grown much taller such that her school uniform was quite a mini skirt by the end of the school year. Joy is a wonderful 大姐. She takes very good care of Isabel and Isaac when I need to cook and clean. She can also help me with the laundry - folding, separating and putting away. Her drawings look like mine when I was her age. This year, she's also graduated to the bigger 16" wheel bicycle and is learning to swim. She can hold her breath underwater to play paper-scissor-stone underwater with Joe. She loves singing (especially right in Joseph's ear which greatly annoys him) and got to do a solo part in the children's church Christmas musical. Her tooth 21 finally erupted (61 was prematurely extracted due to non-vitality) but both central incisors are rotated exactly like mine pre-orthodontic treatment, much to my dismay. She'll definitely need braces.

Isabel's most significant growth this year is in her speech development. At the beginning of this year, she was still in baby language and often incomprehensible. She called the playground chicham. Now, she speaks clearly in complete sentences. I'm most amused when she sings the songs she learns from children's church, complete with actions. She's also matured into a loving and protective older sister to Isaac instead of the jealous sibling who smacked and pinched him. Physically she's also grown much taller and put on at least 3kg this year.

My greatest sense of satisfaction comes from seeing my family well-fed, healthy and happy. I'm used to my dual roll as almost-full-time-homemaker and part-time-dentist now. Daaling is also great at handling 4 kids by now. I no longer worry if the kids are ok when I have to leave them to go to work. I used to worry. Now I tell myself to just go and let it go. They're smiling and clothed when I get back and that's all that matters. 

We give thanks for a healthy year. There were no health issues and we visited the doctor maybe just twice for Isaac and once for Isabel. It was nothing major.   

Daaling and I did a fair amount of counselling this year. Pre-marital, divorce, break-up..... there's joys and heartaches. It has strengthened our own marriage in the process. But my heart aches for a friend who is going through a painful divorce. It really sucks. 

I know the year 2014 has been a painful one for many people - heartaches and tragic losses. This country I call home often seems to be getting from bad to worse in many aspects. But we're still here to stay. We believe God has placed us here and we will stay to hopefully make a difference. 

We look forward to 2015 with much anticipation. I believe God is gonna do greater things in our lives. As the children grow, the challenge is to teach them God's word and ways and to live it out. Daaling and I also strive to exercise regularly and eat healthily. Salads are our daily staples. As we get older and move into our late-30s, I realize how much more important it is to exercise and eat clean. I still indulge my sweet tooth and satisfy my chocolate cravings (no, I'm not pregnant and never again will be) but I balance it with the mountains of vegetables and exercise. Exercise is a necessity.

I'm thankful for love and life. All good things come from our Heavenly Father and we must never take anything for granted. I am loved. You are loved!

Blessed New Year 2015!

December travels

It's 3 days to Christmas and I've yet to put up my tree.

This Christmas, I've decided to leave my tree into be box and make do with a nativity scene on the piano (way out of Isaac's reach) instead. Last christmas, Isaac was 2 months old. He couldn't yet roll over and obediently stayed wherever I left him. This Christmas, Isaac is a walking, climbing, extremely adventurous toddler who loves to open (and empty!) cupboards and drawers. He also has an affinity for the toilet, dustbin and anything shiny. I just know that a Christmas tree in my living room will not stay intact for long. And when it comes tumbling down, I'm not sure if I will first save the kid or the tree. So in the box it will stay. 

Earlier this month, the Children's Church had an Out-of-the-Box Christmas party on 6 December 2014. A cast of almost 70 kids performed this musical that told the Christmas story with a fresh twist. 

 Wisemen dressed as cowboys, shepherds dressed as pirates and cheerleaders for angels!

 Joy got to do a solo part - her 10 seconds of fame!

Because of the many many practices (and rehersals that ended past 11pm!!) we didn't travel anywhere for the school holidays. That and Joy had her primary 1 orentation for 3 weeks. 

So after all that ended, we made a trip to Yong Peng for a Tan family get-together and to fetch Joseph back. He had been there since before school closed for the holidays.

The kids had a gala time with a pool in the garden!

While they splashed, the men started the BBQ fire.

We had a very very good dinner with quality meats including wagyu beef, scallops and bacon!

Most importantly it was a wonderful family time. (And I had plenty of babysitters to chase Isaac up and down the staircase!)

A few days after coming back from Yong Peng, we went to Ipoh (last weekend) for another round of the Out-of-the-Box musical, this time at Dreamcenter Ipoh.

During the drive there, our windscreen suffered a hit by a small stone resulting in a small crack.

Even with a smaller stage with different entrances and exits, and a smaller cast, the children adapted quickly and very well.

After the afternoon performance, we followed some friends to town for dinner at Tuck Kee.

two of us walloped the BIG plate of crunchy tauge. RM5.00 only. Great for bowel movement the next day!

their signature grilled octopus dish. 

We were fortunate to have arrived early because those arriving later than us had to wait over an hour for their food. While the food was good, the long wait and atmosphere makes this a non-kid-friendly place. The tables and chairs are placed ON-THE-ROAD itself. It's not even roadside. Cars drive past right next to the tables and chairs. I have this paranoia of some reckless driver crashing into people dining on the road. Thank God we got a table in the shop itself. 

We stayed at the YMCA itself (where Dreamcenter Ipoh is). I forgot to take pictures of the very basic but clean quad room that only cost us RM90 on a weekend night. They provide towels and soap and a thermos which you can use to get hot water from the dispenser downstairs. No fridge, no kettle. Bring your own coffee/tea. 

I was glad we stayed there because it was really convenient and there's ample parking. The next morning, we left YMCA at about 9am in search for dim sum breakfast. 

Anticipating a weekend crowd at the more famous places in town, we made our way to Ipoh Garden South instead. It was a choice between Tai Woo or Chooi Yue which are right opposite each other. I was told Chooi Yue is the better choice. But it's tables spill on to the road and even then you have to wait for tables. Tai Woo on the other hand is a more atas place with air-conditioning! So for the sake of the kids' comfort and my sanity, we went to Tai Woo.

We ordered their signature steamed custard buns and thousand layer steamed custard cake (which the girls loved!)

 The siew mai was also good as was the egg-wrapped glutinous rice and carrot cake. Joe at a lot!

chinese tea in atas-looking cup

That sums up our travelling for this year. It's more than enough for me at this point in time when keeping Isaac in his car seat is such a battle. On more than one occasion, he has cried till he vomitted and I had to wash the entire car seat! 

There will be more travels next year.... Cameron Highlands, Kota Kinabalu, Melbourne are on cards!

Done with kindy, starting a new journey.

Joy graduated from kindergarten as Student of the Year in her class. I was very surprised because she also got the award last year for Age 5 (in a different class, with a different teacher) so I really wasn't expecting her to get it again. 

This girl amazes me. She's very different from her kor kor. While Joseph can be friends with a classmate and still not know his surname at the end of the year, Joy knows everything about everybody in great detail. She knows which kid belongs to which vehicle, has how many siblings, which kid is whose cousin and goes home with whom and even knows what goes on in the next class. Even when a kid fractured his leg just before the concert (and had to hobble on stage with crutches), she could tell me his name, his class and how and when he fell.  

She told me she can listen to her teacher with one ear while the other ear listens to the teacher in the next class!

I think apart from Student of the Year, teacher should have awarded her with a Miss Reporter or Busybody award.

After 2 wonderful years my girl leaves TJC with warm memories she will cherish and I hope friendships to last a lifetime. I'm in the midst of compiling a photobook for her, like I did for Joseph.

After school closed, Joy got to see her classmates one more time when they presented a song item at their teacher's wedding on 30 November 2014. 

Three days after she walked out of TJC for the last time, Joy walked into her new primary school in her new school uniform looking very grown up. She's just completed her 13 days of orientation and I know she will be absolutely fine in this school. Just like in kindy, she tells me lots of things in detail. She knows the names (and surnames too!) of her classmates seated left, right, front and back of her. There are also 4 other children from children's church who are in her class and a few others from her kindy who are also in the same school so that's plenty of friends to start with. 

On her last day of orientation, she said that her teacher called out 11 good students to be rewarded for good behaviour. Needless to say she was one of the 9 girls and 2 boys who were rewarded. While she's still very much a banana, I'm pretty sure she will be fine once she gets used to the new environment.