Count your blessings

There are so many things we are grateful to God in this past year.  Just want to highlight a few things here.
We thank you God for:-

1. The church in Teluk Intan received us warmly.  The leadership has been so supportive to Andrew. 
2. Elyse adjusted fairly well to the new house, new environment and the new church.
3. The moving was done smoothly.  Nothing was damaged.
4. Andrew is safe on the road, either by bus or by car.  There was once the bus had an accident, another time the bus took him all the way to Taiping instead of TI.
5. Elyse is finally potty trained.
6. A safe delivery and baby Erwyn is a healthy baby.
7. Elyse is finally free from rashes and cough -  allergy reaction.  We have identified the cause of allergy and since then she has been healthy and active (too active, sometimes).
8. Erwyn has been a healthy boy so far. 
9. Shally is healthy for one whole year (except for 2 days at the end of the year having mild fever) although there were so many things going on.
10. We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. 
11. Helps rendered to us by family members to ease our burdens in taking care of the two little ones.
12. Friends and family who encouraged Ah Ma as she goes through this challenging time to battle with cancer.

Above all, we thank you for having God in our lives. 

His provision, His guidance, His wisdom, His favor, His grace...

An Eventful Year 2011 Part 2

August

• A backhoe  was removing a tree root from our garden.

September

• Ah Ma has not been feeling very well lately.  Finally she is diagnosed with lung cancer.  It is a shocking news to all of us but we commit everything to God. 
• My mom visited us and decided to stay with us for a month.  This was her first time to TI and I simply missed her cooking.  Yummy!
• Mom saw an iguana in our backyard.  Hmm... snake, iguana, grasshopper, ladybird, anthill - a mini zoo indeed!
• Andrew's aunt and sis came back for a short trip.  The happiest person was none other than Elyse.  There were so many of us celebrating Elyse's birthday together.  She received so many presents and had such a memorable time.  Our little girl is growing each day. 

• I brought Elyse to participate in the Lantern Parade in Summit.  This was her first time carrying a lantern.  We had such a good time.

• Erwyn has dropped his night feed although he was only 4 months old.

October

• Je Ee and Uncle Lloyd visited us.  This was the first time Elyse met them.  She likes them a lot.
• We visited Logos Hope together with the family.  First time for Elyse and I, and of course Erwyn, to be found on board.
• Erwyn has learned to flip over from his back to his tummy.

November

• Mummy choose to keep it low profile for her birthday this year.
• We took up a photoshoot package for our little princess and prince.  Awesome!
• Elyse has mastered her alphabet.  Well done, my dear!

December

• We were so delighted to have Andrew's aunts and sis all the way from Australia to celebrate Christmas with us this year.  Elyse was overjoyed to have so many play mates and presents!
• Again, we are moving!  Andrew is posted to KL Wesley next year so another round of packing.

An Eventful Year 2011 Part 1

As the year is drawing to an end, I wished to take a look at some of the significant incidents that played a major part of our lives in the past 12 months.

January

• Andrew was officially posted to Teluk Intan to pastor the Wesley Methodist Church.  He travelled weekly as the manse was not ready for the family to move in yet.
• Daddy's birthday!

Daddy's birthday, but I get to play.  Yippee!

February

• Celebrated CNY.  



Daddy and Ah Ma playing fireworks with me - fun, fun, fun!



my new cheongsam, am I pretty?



love the lion dance

• We moved up to TI and settled down for good.  Elyse loves the house.  It was difficult for me to do all the cleaning with a big bump.  But everthing went on well.  The members from TI visited us to offer some help.  We were warmly welcomed by everyone here. 

Full load



Boxes, boxes, more boxes



Living Hall - Before



Living Hall - After



Daddy's study room - Before



Daddy's study room - After

• We found hundres of ants in one of the bathrooms.  It looked like the ants have built a nest there (somehow???).

March

• My family visited me in PJ and my sister has graciously 'lent' me her maid for a month to clean up the house and tidy up the loose ends.  Elyse likes the 'kakak' a lot.  Cling to her more than me.  Am I jealous?  No.  It gave me a much needed break. 

Having fun playing with my cousins

Daddy joined us too



Zi Ying Jie Jie was right behind me, can you see?

• 'Kakak' saw a snake in our garden.  But never seen it again after that.

April

• Family vacation to Cameron Highlands.  This was Elyse and my first time up the hill and first time plucking a strawberry.  We enjoyed the fresh and cool air.

More photos are found in our facebook

• Together with Elyse and 'kakak', we flew down to JB with my little prince sleeping soundly in my tummy.  I was already 34th week then.  Had a little 'drama' in the plane but everything went on fine.

May

• What else is more important than the birth of our prince - Erwyn?  The delivery is one experience that I would never want to go through, yet having Erwyn with us is the greatest joy of our lives. 

June

• First time bringing Elyse to DUMC Children Church.  She enjoys it.  Since then, whenever we are back in Subang and are free, we will be there.
• Celebrated Erwyn's fullmoon.

Fullmoon boxes

Gifts from friends and relatives

July

• Celebrated Erwyn's fullmoon in TI church.



Red eggs



Fast asleep in the church.



Mummy & Elyse - looking good?

• First outing for Erwyn - not very far, just hang around in the mall.

Chrome Heart

We visited City Harvest Church KL last Saturday.  I was browsing thru the web for musical and came across this production by CHC.

We reached there around 4:15pm.  The musical was supposed to start at 5pm but someone told us to come early for a good seat.  It was drizzling.  We were guided by the traffic marshall to park in one of the factories nearby.

I have visited CHC a few times.  Few of our friends are worshipping in this church.  But this was my first visit after the new building is completed. The hall is very beautiful.  I totally like the big screen.

The hall was only opened when it was nearly 5pm.  Within minutes the hall was packed and we started with worship.  Then the show began.  The performance was fantastic.  There were at least 100 cast involved in this musical.  The props, costumes,

I was delighted to be warned earlier by one of the children leaders that the musical might be a little disturbing to toddlers.  The werewolf and vampires were indeed frightening to Elyse.  We left the auditorium for awhile.  There was a screen outside the hall which broadcast the performance.  We watched the show from there.  When we were outside, I asked Elyse:-

Mummy:  Elyse, are you scared?
Elyse:  No, because Daddy and God will protect me.

After a short while, Elyse requested to go inside again.  She loves the big TV screen, she said.  I was a bit hesitated but finally we went back into the auditorium.  This time, Elyse stayed in the hall until the show was over.  The next day, when I told her we are going to church.  She asked me to bring her back to CHC. 

Reason:  I want to watch the show again

The Sentimental Her

Taiwan Show
When Elyse was about two and a half years old, Ah Ma had been following a Taiwan TV Hokkien show.  Elyse does not watch the show, but sometimes she happened to see some parts of the story which triggered her curiosity, so she began to ask questions.  One day, the plot of the story talked about a mother fell off the stairs and died as a result, leaving her son behind weeping for the lost of his mom.  Elyse began to ask what happen and Ah Ma explained to her.  Then Elyse cried.  Mummy tried to console her but it did not work.  Finally, Ah Ma told Elyse the mother did not die but merely injured.  Then only she stopped crying.

The Sound of Music
Just recently, Daddy introduced Elyse to this beautiful, classic musical: The Sound of Music.  Daddy sat by her side and explained the story to her while she set her eyes on the TV.  At the part when Captain Von Trap sang for the first time and all the children were shocked, Elyse asked Daddy why.  Daddy explained that when the children's mummy died long time ago, the Captain became very sad and stopped singing.  So the children never heard their daddy sing before.  Then Elyse began to cry.  Mummy gave her a hug and we stopped the movie.  And that's the end of The Sound of Music....

New Direction

The TRAC Annual Conference has ended two weeks ago.  And next year, Andrew is posted to Wesley Methodist Church, Kuala Lumpur, as an Assistant Pastor.

How time flies!  In just a blink of an eye, we have stayed in Teluk Intan for a year.  I could still remember last year around this time, we were busy packing up.  And now looks like we need to start the process all over again.

During the past one year, Andrew and I have grown to love the people in TI.  Though I do not mingle around much and my time spent there is very limited, I love the small town friendliness and simplicity.  We will definitely miss the church members from TI.  Andrew always commended them as the most supportive leaders. 

I recalled early this year, Chong Ho and his wife has treated us with a steamboat dinner in their home.  I was pregnant then, thus very selective with my choice of food.  But I had such a lovely time enjoying the soup.  It was as though I have not have such a good meal for a long long time.  Hmm, I miss the taste of the soup till this day.

As for Elyse, I guess she would missed her Sunday School teacher, Mrs Kerk, dearly.  She single-handedly impart knowledge to these young ones week after week.  Her dedication and commitment is truly amazing.  Throughout this year, the greatest achievement of all is, Elyse is able to memorise her very first memory verse: Is anything too hard for the Lord?  Genesis 18:14

Elyse is also very close to an old couple in the church, Uncle and Aunty Loh.  Uncle Loh is the oldest church member yet he is still strong and healthy.  This wonderful couple stays in the same housing estate as us.  They visited us frequently and bought lots of chocolates and ice cream for Elyse.

Whereas for Erwyn, he's too young to have any memories in this beautiful town.  But he is indeed loved by many.  Every Sunday, he is surrounded by his admirer and many of them take turns to carry him and take photographs of him.  A little celebrity, don't you think?

Farewell, Teluk Intan.  You will always be part of our memories.  God in His appointed time has brought us together.  And now as we say goodbye, we will always remember you.

My Pet

Does anyone has a pet like me? 

One day, Daddy saw a ladybird in the garden.  He showed it to me.  Then we both went for a hunting adventure.  Amazingly, our garden is an insectopia - a heaven filled with insects! 

Daddy caught a grasshopper, a ladybird and something that look like a mini praying mantis and put them in a transparent container.  Daddy placed a few leaves and some water in it.  Excitedly I showed Mummy, Ah Gong and Ah Ma my little pets.

Few days later, we found all of them dead except the grasshopper.  Oh poor thing!  Not long after that, my grasshopper friend also followed their footstep.

Since we came back from TI, I have been asking Daddy to catch grasshopper for me.  I like grasshopper the most.  But we couldn't find any insects in Subang.  How sad!

Few weeks ago when Mummy was folding Erwyn's nappy, all of the sudden she found one grasshopper on the nappy.  Wow, I was so happy!  Ah Gong put it in a container and I watched it day and night.  But only one week later the grasshopper died.  Daddy said I do not now how to take care of my pet.  So, I have decided to make my Giraffe soft toy as my pet.  Giraffe will not die, and I do not need to care much about him either.  It's quite an easy job.  I like my pet.

Children Church Christmas Party

Yesterday was the CC Christmas Party.  This year, the theme is 3 Wise Men and a Baby.

The party started at 10:30am.  We reached there just in time, but finding a parking lot was a real hassle.  In the end, Mummy has to resolve with parking her car so far, that both of us walked for 5 - 10 minutes to reach the Dream Centre.  Phew!

After registering my name at the counter, we headed into the auditorium.  But the usher advised us to go to the top floor since the auditorium was full.  There were only a small crowd there.  The advantage is, we get a good view from the top and it was pretty spacious.

It started with 2 games.  I was so excited when I saw so many balloons.  Kids have a soft heart for balloons, don't you think so?  The crowd went wild when we passed the balloon from the back to the front.  Next, by using a straw we passed the paper holly from the left to the right.

Finally, the real show began.  It talked about the three wise men traveling to the town of Bethlehem and worshiped baby Jesus in the manger.  I like the 3 wise men.  Mummy finds the ending of the story very meaningful.  While the 3 wise men were there in the manger, 3 shepherds came to see baby Jesus too.  Unlike the wise men they did not prepare any gifts for baby Jesus.  So, one of them gave his heart to Jesus; another one worship Jesus; and the last one proclaimed his love for Jesus.

Half way through the show, my tummy was rumbling.  Although I think we are not supposed to eat in the auditorium, Mummy has no choice but to give me some biscuits while we continued watching the presentation.  We were careful not to dirty the place though.

When the musical ended, the CC pastor challenged the kids to come forward and accept Jesus.  Mummy thought of leaving then to avoid the traffic jam.  After all, I was very hungry and getting restless.  Suddenly Mummy asked me do I want to receive Jesus into my heart and instantly I said, "Yes".  Mummy asked me again and my answer was affirmative.  Then Mummy brought me to the front of the stage and the pastor prayed together with us.

Later, Mummy asked me why do I want to receive Jesus.  I told her because I like it.  It's just that simple.  I may not know everything but at least this is my first step of faith.  We should not doubt that God can work wonders in a 3-year-old, right?

Overall, I love the Christmas party.  I received a goodie bag after I left.  But the best gift of all is: I have received Jesus into my heart.  Amen!

Two Gods???

It is our usual practice to read Bible and pray before we put Elyse to sleep every night.  Tonight as we read about the baby Jesus, a 3-year old asked a remarkable question.  Below is a small portion taken from The Preschoolers Bible:-

...Baby Jesus was born in this stable.  That is a place where animals eat and sleep.  Do you think the animals were glad to see Baby Jesus?...  Do you think they know that God sent Him?  Do you think they know that He is God's Son?... You know that Baby Jesus is God's Son.  The Bible tells you so.  Would you like to say, "Thank You, God"?

Immediately after that, Elyse asked me, "I thought Jesus is God, why there's another God?"

1 Timothy 4:12

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Daddy's Girl

Since nowadays we stay put in Subang more often than TI, the children only get to see their Daddy few days in a week.  Erwyn is still young, it does not make any differences to him.  But our dear little princess misses her Daddy very much.

She often said:  "When I'm in Subang, I miss Daddy.  But when I'm in Teluk Intan, I miss Ah Gong & Ah Ma.  Aiya, how ar?"

When Daddy is in TI, Elyse often ring him up.  She could even remember Daddy's mobile number now.  In fact, she telephones Daddy more frequent than Mummy.  Mummy can only talk to Daddy for a few seconds before our little girl grabs the phone and tells Daddy her love story. 

"When I grow up I want to marry Daddy", Elyse said.

Whenever Daddy is back from TI, Elyse would cling on to her daddy all the time.  She practically wants Daddy to do everything - bath her, play with her, feed her, all except to put her to sleep. 

She has also requested Mummy to go to work and Daddy stays at home.

Daddy's girl, isn't she?

Joke of the day

Husband is bidding farewell to the Wife as he will be away for a few days due to the nature of his work.

Husband:  Dear, I'm leaving tomorrow.
Wife is very sad after hearing that.
Husband:  Don't be like that.  I have been spending so much time with you for the past few days.
Wife:  But I am greedy.  I want more!
Husband:  Why don't you ask your friends how many of their husbands spend so much time with their wives like me?
Wife:  What for?  I don't want their husband to spend time with me.  I just want you!



Anyone knows which couple is this?  :p