flower in the wilderness

5 months

2013-06-03T15:36:00.001+08:00

my dear baby,

this month has passed in a blur and we are sooo sleep-deprived. what is going through this little mind of yours, that causes you to wake up ever so frequently when you used to be a sound sleeper? we do wonder, and at times, despair... but thank God that day by day and with each passing moment, strength we find to meet our trials here :)

on a happy note, perhaps it's because you really are growing. suddenly, you seem so engaged and active, so easily excited and acutely aware of your surroundings. mama has become a familiar face to you, such that you don't want her out of your sight (especially when you are feeling cranky). you are chattering and blabbering, to people, soft toys, lights and fans. your legs, the moment you awake, are on non-stop action. kick kick kick!

as we look back on this month, i think the biggest thanksgiving is how God has seen mama and papa through, for it has not been an easy month. papa has been especially busy at work, and sometimes, returning to find you asleep. mama has been "forced", or "trained" (by God) to learn to be independent in taking care of you. and she has made some milestones! walking to the nearby food centre is a breeze now, after we have taken the mrt and taxi :) mama has even taken you for a drive in the car..... which sometimes you take to while other times.....hmmm.... let's just say you missed mama too much ;)

you also have a few "firsts" :) first time you rolled intentionally from front to back, first haircut, first two nights away from home during the yaf retreat :)

your personality is emerging. you have fussy peculiarities and when not given your way, will make your displeasure known. for example, you seem to dislike wearing clothes?! sometimes, we are confounded as to when we ought to scold you or discipline you. may God give us the wisdom to do so :) without anyone teaching you, you learn to get angry, throw tantrums, and make your desires known. why? its our sin nature. ( For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Rom 3:23) how we pray that one day you will quickly come to know our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the only one who can deliver us from the bondage of sin.

nevertheless, my dear, we love you more than ever. you have brought so many smiles to our faces and God has used you to teach us so much. we can't quite imagine life without you anymore :)

tots on parenting #4 - I'm blessed to be a mother

2013-05-12T11:03:00.001+08:00

I'm blessed to be a mother because

E was not my choice, but a gift from God

E was not part of my plan, but given in God's perfect timing

I get to work with PP, who has given so much as a husband and a father

we get to grow together in mutual understanding as we take care of E

the trials (unexpected and soooooo difficult at times) teach us what it means to trust in God

people rally around us and support us as we grow in this journey of parenthood

I get to see my boy grow in amazing ways (physically, mentally and hopefully soon- spiritually)

it has been a sanctifying process with countless lessons learnt

I am taught to give and sacrifice in ways unimaginable

I am in greater awe of my mother because I see what she has done

I am mother of a beautiful, adorable, most-of-the-time cheery little boy

4 months - when going to the hospital can bring good news too

2013-04-29T20:40:00.001+08:00

my baby boy,

you have made many marvellous milestones, such as bring able to clasp your hands together, to turning your head back, as though in search of something. once, you even unintentionally rolled over! mama and papa continue to be amazed by how God helps you to grow and pick up new skills. you seem to have found your feet, and you are always rubbing them together. toys appeal to you now, and you jump into excited fits when we start to read a book together :)

we can't quite imagine life without you, because you have brought so much joy to us with your constant smiles and funny antics.

this month, i do not have much to say about your milestones, because all that is etched on my mind is what happened recently.

you fell sick. you have never been entirely, completely healthy since you were born (who is? such is the result of sin in this world :( ) but this recent bout of cough really caught us by surprise and made us worry and fear, alot. for once, i truly experienced the worry of how you may never recover. initially, when we first saw the doctor, i was not extremely worried. you had no fever, and you will still active, although the phlegm caused you some breathing difficulties every now and then. days passed, and you soon got a runny nose, and your cough never went away. this added to my worries.

when feeding you medicine :( :(

we went to see the pd again, and to our dismay, she diagnosed you with bronchitis! for a little one like you, with an illness that already sounds like a mouthful, it was very very worrying. before we left the clinic, we had to sit through 5 minutes of the nebulizer. as i held you in one hand, the other holding the nebulizer, my heart ached. i felt guilty, as though i did not take proper care of you, and at the same time, sad that you had to be subjected to something like that at such a young age. we returned home with an array of medication, including antibiotics :(

our worries mounted when yiyi reminded me to look out for chest retractions. i studied your chest and oh dear, there were retractions indeed. unsure if that was what she meant, i sent her a video and she confirmed with yi zhang that they were something serious. subcostal retractions, they call it. a google search was enough to send chills down my spine, because that meant that you were having acute respiratory difficulties. "i think you should go to the hospital..." were yiyi's words, and my heart sank :(

at the same time, i was thoroughly confounded. although you were still coughing and sometimes gasping for breath, you were at times happy and you could sleep through the night. what's going on? is there something really serious that i did not pick up? baby, are you that tough, that even when you are SO sick, you can still seem ok?

off to the hospital (children's emergency) we went. junior doctor examined your lungs, and said that they were fine. huh? what about the retractions, we asked. she frowned and told us that she would check with the senior doctor. senior doctor came in, clearly knowing what she was doing. to our surprise, she said you had no bronchitis, and that you did not require any other medication besides nose drops!

going to the hospital can bring good news too.

what is the purpose behind this? God has put this into our family's lives that we may learn how important it is to trust in Him. to make mama realise that it is not the doctor or the medication that is going to make you better. to teach us how to suffer long, and to cling unto God in such a time of desperation. and to help us realise how many prayer warriors stand by us, making their supplications known unto the King of kings, on our behalf. we are truly blessed, Ezra, that we are under the care of God Almighty.

the hands-on brother

2013-04-26T11:33:00.001+08:00

we kinda liked the dining table from star living, as mentioned here, but it was a little too small. PP and i were looking for a versatile dining table that could open up to fit more guests and this was a perfect match :) however, it seemed a little too common. thank God for a fantastic younger brother who really went all out to customise it for us! our inspirations came from here, here and here :)

colour dipping, is what it's called :)

first, he tried it out on a small portion of the table. (and even took a snapshot to show me!)

taped half of the table legs with masking tape and newspaper..

sanded and primed them..

before painting them many times over :)

it looks easy, and the tutorials online make it look so simple, but it is actually very tedious work! he even offered to paint the sides of the table top, and the outcome was really fabulous :)

my brother's labour of love was a big big help when i was heavily pregnant and now the dining table fits seamlessly in our house! even our carpenter, Mr A, asked us where we got it from! thank you so much brother :) you really went the extra mile and made sure that the paint job was done to perfection. your masterpiece is going to stay in our home for many many years to come!

tots on parenting #3

2013-04-15T10:40:00.001+08:00

the privilege of a Christian mother (words of wisdom from popo)

the privilege of a Christian mother is prayer. in times of desperation, when we are alone at home, helpless with no one to give us a hand in looking after a helpless baby, we know we have a Heavenly Father who is only a prayer away. Yes, He is watching over us all the time, but prayer reveals how much we need Him and trust Him to provide for what we need.

my mother has touched me very much recently, with her words of wisdom and sweet gestures of love. according to her, she says she is also still learning till now, and how i have so much to learn from her! she shared how she had to take care of us (3 little ones, oldest being 8) in the past, and how she would be busy from daybreak till dawn. even going to the toilet was a challenge! how den, i asked. and she said,

i just had to keep praying and praying.

this is a privilege that Christian mothers have, and it is such a means of grace to us! without God, who can I look to? who can I commit my cares to? who will understand my needs? I thank God that I am a Christian mother, and with this means of grace, may I accomplish what He desires me to do!

ezra's one-month-old thank you favours

2013-04-15T10:15:00.001+08:00

we have been blessed by the love of many who showed their support in different gestures since Ezra was born. some have been patient with us, some pray for us. one sweet sunday school boy has constantly been praying for good health for ezra! wow. some keep us in their thoughts, offer words of advice, others shower us with hand-made cards and thoughtful gifts. thank God for all these people, who are blessings sent from God.

while we do not like to stick to tradition and give cake vouchers/gifts for the sake of the one-month celebration, we are grateful to these people. we hence wanted to do a little something, as a token of appreciation. here's what we came up with, by God's provision.

materials needed:

- a badge front (in this case we got someone to laser cut some wood pieces)

- badge pins

- foam double sided tape

- glue

- a card with a heart-felt note

thank God that it was relatively easy to stick everything together and we completed these (100+ pieces!) rather promptly :)

front of the card

back of the card

the card is an adaptation of our wedding card, which we felt was meaningful because truly, by God's leading, we are on to another phase in this journey of life :)

we felt that this would be a nice souvenir for everyone to have, to point people to our Creator as we celebrate the 1 month of life God has given to Ezra. truly a.t.w.o.s.l.u :)

All the way our Saviour leads us...

three months

2013-04-07T23:26:00.001+08:00

your cheeks are so round they look like you have two fishballs tucked in them :)

baby dear,

you are three months old, a wonderful milestone! thank God for His goodness, in sustaining you day by day, feed by feed.

the highlight of this month is definitely your smile, that you dish out so unreservedly to everyone around you :) all you have to do is flash that sweet smile, and it brightens up everyone's day, including mine :) i thank God that even though you are young, still a baby, you have already been used by God to bring joy to others. and i pray it will continue to be so!

you have learnt to recognise people, and the best thing about that, is how you smile the moment you see me! it is almost a certainty that when i smile at you, i get a smile in return, even when you are fussing about something :) im so blessed to be your mummy, you are truly a gift from God. this is the month where you have started to learn how to relate to others, whether it be your grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles, even mama's and papa's friends. you're truly blessed - there are so many people who love you very much!

you are becoming a real chatterbox. we hear less and less of your crying, as you learn to express yourself in other ways. though no proper words are used, we get an idea of what you are try to express through your facial expressions and tone. it's a joy listening to you. you may feel very vexed as we crack up in laughter while you are complaining away. that's because you do sound very adorable!

bathtimes remain your favourite :) the sound of water splashing is enough to make you squirm in joy. you get so excited to go into the water that you start fussing when we shampoo your hair. speaking of your hair, it is getting longer and longer! papa and mama are reluctant to give you a haircut, but we probably have to do so soon. how we will miss your glorious head of golden brown hair, which so many are enamoured with. auntie ying even says you look like a korean pop star?!!?

there were some feeding hiccups this month. one moment you seem really hungry, the other moment you just don't want to feed. we have resorted to so many means just to get you to drink your milk... rocking you to make you drowsy, turning on the aircon, distracting you, suspecting that you are teething. you are so easily distracted by everything, from the sound of the traffic to mummy's sneezing. sometimes, even when mama and papa talk, you stop to eavesdrop hehe! at the end of it all, i must say that your feeding has been something that i have learnt to commit to God, because i have so little control over it. there have been times that mama just loses patience and gets tired of trying. yet, thank God that He always works it out well day by day. i am learning not to fret so much, and just pray with you at the start of each feed, that you will drink your milk with less discomfort. you seem to have lost weight. we miss your tummy :/

all in all, it is amazing how God has seen us through the past 3 months. when i look at you, it is unbelievable to see how much you have grown. we are thankful for that, but it is truly not by our own efforts that you grow day by day.

tots on parenting #2

2013-04-02T10:20:00.001+08:00

loving how E brings so many smiles to those around him!

i wonder if it is part of maternal instinct but sometimes, i do find myself becoming protective and possessive of Ezra. On one hand, i DO love it that people adore him so much and surround him. On the other hand, there is an occasional sense of apprehension. (oh, do be careful with my son! are you sure what you are doing is best for him? why must you suggest such a thing about my parenting?)

I guess the first part of this apprehension and defensiveness comes from my pride. I do not like others to tell me what to do. The second part of it comes from my selfishness. Baby E is my son and i wish for others to realise that. The last part comes from my responsibility as a mother to protect him and desire what is best for him. The first two parts need to be reigned in, while the last part needs to controlled and presented with love and tactfulness. Only that way, can Ezra, and we as a family, become a blessing to others!

also loving how others (gong gong included!) can make him smile so much!

designing a showroom vs building a home

2013-04-02T10:05:00.001+08:00

long before PP and i got our keys, we were already planning what we wanted in our house. PP's criteria was simple: he just needed a toothbrush and a bed -_- i, on the other hand, am alittle more complicated :)

nonetheless, we were sure that a house was after all, a place to live in. yes, the houses we see on interior design magazines look so pristine, but eventually, we fell into a pattern where decisions were based more on what we needed and less on how it would look. of course, if it fulfilled both that would definitely be a bonus! :)

hence, we took time to consider each portion of the house and what function we wanted them to have.

living room + study area

what's your living room like? in singapore, im pretty certain 9 out of 10 houses would have the television as the central focus in the living room. hence the popular concept of feature walls, with sofas adjusted such that they face the television. we were not avid TV fans, and a living room should after all, be for living. this would be the place where we chat, relax after a meal, read, and fellowship. our living room therefore does not have a television or a feature wall. it does, however, have a desk space for an iMac which is versatile and serves the functions we require. any storage is always good :) so we tucked a full length cabinet at the corner, for things such as paper, cartridges, chargers, wires and random everyday things that we want to keep hidden, and yet access easily.

since the living room would probably be the place we spend our days, it was best if the space was bigger. in truth, it was tiny! we decided to knock down one wall, to open up the space, and combine the living with the study. we wanted the space to be as open, clean and as "airy" as possible. some tips i picked up along the way:

1) align the bulky furniture, like cupboards, shelves and tables along the sides of the walls. walls were very precious when we were doing our space planning. it was like fitting a jigsaw, to see what ought to be placed against the wall and what did not.

2) buy low-lying furniture (sofa, coffee table, beds...)

3) put the tall and bulky furniture (like full length cabinets etc) in corners so they don't interrupt the visual space.

4) think before hand what kind of wires need to be concealed! for us, we forgot entirely about the internet modem and all the wires, which do a fantastic job at cluttering up the space. thank God we found appropriate furniture to conceal them eventually!

5) choose warm colours, both for the walls and the furniture. they really do wonders in opening up the space!

the open space would be lovely to welcome visitors and for baby E to run around next time :) it would hopefully also be a place for schooling, learning and crafting - how convenient that the bomb shelter was right there and by painting the door with chalkboard paint, it could serve as a magnetic doodle board! we got the paint from art friend at bouna vista. this and this are the popular brands and you can usually also find them at home-fix or diy stores. we asked the painter if there was need to sandpaper the door to smoothen the surface and he said no. cant give any feedback on how it is yet though, yet to use it :)

the brick walls (increasingly common nowadays, but still a feature we love) were immaculately put up by our contractor, Mr L. He has an eye for detail and any wet works and tiling done by him is excellent. he completed the wet works within a few days, beyond our expected timeline. the bricks (purchased by him for our behalf) are from Craftstone and we chose the lightest shade (Austin). all we had to do was select from a catalogue and he did the rest. he did recommend for us to go to the showroom to take a look but since we were sure we wanted the lightest shade, our decision making was easy.

dining area

meal times, i read in this book (which btw is a good book about motherhood!), are precious times to spend as a family, to communicate and to promote fellowship. it was definitely a tradition we wanted to keep. we decided to maximise the space by building a settee against the wall (ah, hidden storage). in future if there were gatherings, the table could be moved away for more space. it was long enough to seat more people at the dining area if necessary, and at the same time, accommodated a pull out tray for our printer. (see photo below) sadly, though this was really nifty, we realised we forgot to consider how the dining table would block the opening of the cabinet, making it tough to access the printer :( well, we shall have to make adjustments in future! here are some more printer storage ideas :)

at first, i was really keen on this dining table (seen at star living) - so affordable, scandinavian and chic! yet, it seemed rather small. the pricing was really attractive, and had the exact feel we wanted! but since dining together was a priority in our family, a larger dining space would be better.

thank God for a fabulous brother who gamely agreed to customise an IKEA table for us. the outcome was fantastic! another post on that later :)

bedroom

the less clutter in these places, the better. an ideal bedroom in our opinion should consist only of the wardrobe and the bed. as i took time to think, i realised it would be nice to read there too. when i was young, i used to adore reading so much that i would hide books under my pillows and in the nooks of my bed, and whip out the books to read in semi-darkness. haha! we therefore set aside a space which could ideally, be the future reading corner for baby E, and had some built-in top hung bookshelves in our room :)

there is a long corridor leading into our room, and the best way to maximise the space was to build bookshelves on top. inspiration from here!

of course, there were many more practical decisions we had to make. although grills were ugly, they were necessary. cost was also something we always had to keep in mind :)

now, looking back, we are especially thankful and pleased. this is our home, a unique home built to suit our needs, based on our lifestyle. even if we engage the best designer who uses the best materials, he will never be able to build this home for us, for it is, at the end of the day, constituted by our family. this is where we will spend our days worshipping God and seeking to please Him even in everyday routines. after living here for almost a month, PP and i feel very blessed to have a place we can call home! of course, with a home comes vacuuming, mopping, cleaning, wiping etc..... but that is part of the blessing as well :p

tots on parenting #1

2013-03-25T20:39:00.001+08:00

"...it is important to look at the big picture. Anytime we take on an important job, it is helpful if we have a vision for the end result. If you are building a home, you may not be able to see with your eyes what the final product will be, but you can, by faith so to speak, know what you are shooting for. The house plans lay out the complete design, and as each wall goes up, it should follow this master plan. Because mothering is very similar, a mother needs to see her daily tasks in the light of the whole design. Each day's work is significant, for it is contributing toward the long-term plan.....Though it may not seem like much got accomplished in a single day, all those nails in the walls do add up. " - (Praise Her in the Gates, Nancy Wilson)

"Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands." Prov 14: 1

It has been on my mind to record all these lessons learnt from books/thoughts/sharings from others... to remind myself, as well as to share them with others :)

The daily routines of mothering can become mundane indeed... and for me personally, i do dread mundane. While I do not like changes and find comfort in routines, sometimes I do dread going through the same thing and doing it over and over again. yes, it can be wonderful, amazing to witness the development of Baby E, his smiles, his funny gestures. however, there comes certain days where I do wonder where I am headed and if there is any end state in what I am doing.

I pray that the end state will be of Ezra, being presented to God, as a faithful servant of Him, loving God and doing the law of God as shared here. May everything I do as a mother, whether big or small, be used by God to lead this little one to this end state. While Ezra may be still young, he is indeed picking up every word and response we give. Yesterday as I was griping to PP about something, I realised his eyes focused on me, picking up every word, every murmuring tone that came out. oh, if he was more sensible, what a terrible influence I would have been!

sometimes I wonder what I can DO exactly to teach him. must I preach? recite verses? nag and repeat? It has dawned on me while reflecting (as I type), that perhaps the best way to teach is by example. May our examples as fathers and mothers be pleasing in the eyes of God!

christmas 2012 - part 2

2013-03-19T14:56:00.001+08:00

many others, in return, blessed us with their gestures of love! it was heart-warming to see the effort put in by others to show they love us very much indeed :) these are just a FEW snippets of what we received :)

sweet and meaningful hand-made gifts...

hand-written and heart-felt notes :)

books, which we can never have enough of, and can never finish reading!

a personal poem, composed just for us!

and a cryptic acronym which we took eons to figure out! *face-palm*

SGNA - Super Good Neighbour Award?!

hahaha!

christmas 2012 - part 1

2013-03-19T14:55:00.001+08:00

sometime has passed since christmas last year, but we would still like to record this down since our christmas projects are pretty much a tradition. see here and here.

when working on these projects, PP and i are forced to reflect on our relationships (with those we give gifts to), write a note of thanks and encouragement to them (while saying a simple prayer), and work on something together! It is always a very blessed process. here is what we did last year :) a set of 4 postcards for various occasions, so our friends can use them to bless others in the coming year..

after drawing the illustrations, we scanned them in and editted them by adding the relevant verses.

"congratulations!" - for happy occasions such as weddings or good news

"thank you!" - to thank anyone who has been a blessing

"keep growing" - to encourage a fellow brethren to keep persevering in our walk with God

"praying for you" - for anyone who is struggling or going through a trial

We believed that in the coming 365 days, there would surely be an opportunity to write each card to anyone who needed a word of encouragement.

Our inspiration actually came when we were packing for the moving of house. I was going through (and smiling endlessly) the little notes written by many many people to us. some people, we have already forgotten. reading what they have written reminded me of them! some notes, were heart-felt and reading them once more warmed our hearts. i am so glad we kept all these! when i feel down, I am very sure going through the many boxes of letters and notes will surely lift my spirits because all these people were once used by God...to make the effort to pick up a pen and thoughtfully pen down something for us!

we used washi tape to attach the postcards to the envelopes before sealing them by wrapping a slip of kraft paper around them.

after writing our messages to them at the back, we bound everything with twine.

we really enjoyed working on these. While we cant buy expensive gifts or work on specific gifts for specific people, this is the next best option. doing these also teaches us how to cooperate with one another and brainstorm on what is the best way to do certain things. I strongly believe that it is through these projects that PP and i learn how to work with one another and build on each others' strengths and weaknesses. next time, baby E will be part of these projects! that would be excellent family time! exciting :)

p.s. (edit) since there are a few enquiries, the postcards are available for sale if you are interested :) all designs, concepts and illustrations are original. more details here.

a new day

2013-03-13T11:39:00.001+08:00

how often do we wake up each day feeling joyful, purposing in our hearts to rejoice because God has given us a new day?

i confess, being nothing like a morning person, i wake up each morning probably "mournfully" and groggy as i drag my feet to wash up and begin a new day.

with the coming of baby E, i have been forced to become otherwise! it seems like my boy is a morning early-bird, who blabbers and chatters away as he lies next to his sleepy mama. this morning, as i talked to him, i was thinking of what song i should sing to him and this song came to mind. every day that the Lord gives to us is precious and we ought to rejoice in it, and strive to live abundantly :) i am also especially thankful for each new day that God gives to Ezra, but it is not of our own efforts that he is sustained.

God does not just give us a new day for us to trudge through, or barely survive it. neither does he give it to us to wear us out. With every new day He provides, He also gives the strength and grace, just sufficient and enough for what we need. may we press on, to live each day for him, rejoicing and being glad in it!

2 months

2013-02-25T15:35:00.001+08:00

ezra,

you're coming to 2 months old! it's amazing to see how you have grown within the past two months. you are no longer a tiny, fragile little one in our eyes, but an adorable baby boy who has started to express your wants and displeasures. this second month has been nothing less than a roller coaster, more for us and hopefully, less for you. we moved into our new home, we went out, you met (many) people, and we survived the many chinese new year visitations! day after day, we learn and learn. we learn that somethings are not worth fretting about, we learn that many of our worries are uncalled for, we learn that so many people love you...so many....

we adore your babyishness. oh, please slow down! everyday you look different and everyday you seem to develop in a certain way that we are simply in awe. you have learnt to turn your head from one side to another really quickly, and to coo and grunt in response to us. you are also able to push yourself up briefly when we place you on your tummy. and your neck muscles are pretty strong - able to turn your head from left to right when doing tummy time. wow! we are amazed by how God helps you to grow, and we are so enamoured by how God has made you SO adorable :) i always ask PP, are all babies this cute? or is it because you are our baby, and we are biased?

it is not just you that I am thankful for. I am especially thankful for PP (papa :)) who is so committed to supporting us and doing everything he can. you like his broad shoulders just as mama does, don't you? and only PP dares to venture into the depths of your nostrils to pick out all that pisai that irritates you. he is the one who cuts your nails, cleans your tongue and changes your diaper when things get too.....explosive :) not too long ago, PP had the time to read to you your favourite book - Jonah and the Great Big Fish (not that you have many at the moment hehe!). i loved that sight very much :)

bathtimes are your favourite! you seem to like it cool. how blessed we are that our new home is cooling and breezy most of the time.

morning routines for us can be abit daunting with the amount of things we need to do. thank God that He gives mummy strength and enables me to go through the daily experiences. you have peed, pood and puked on mama during the most unexpected times. but after each morning when you take your nap, mama looks at you with a grateful heart (and quickly jumps to clear up and gobble up some breakfast).

i love how you snooze each morning, when you are not yet hungry, but about to wake up. you open half of your eyes, to peep at me, smile and fall back to sleep. repeat 5-10 times. i can sit there and look at you do that forever :)

like we have said, when you are deep in sleep, nothing can really wake you up. this is what your "ah jek" did to you that day. through it all, you were still soundly asleep. he even had to ask, "is he alive??" we are thankful for that, because our place noisy with planes and construction in progress!

all in all, as we watch you grow and as you make us smile each day, we are filled with thankfulness because you are a precious gift from God. we are trusting in our Heavenly Father to provide us daily with what we need to take care of you :)

Mr A - a wonderful, flexible carpenter!

2013-02-19T10:44:00.001+08:00

A carpenter seems to be pretty much a crafter as well :) He takes the various materials, works on them and fits them together to eventually create a masterpiece! it was extremely easy to liase with Mr A. Although we engaged a contractor, Mr A seemed to come from an ID firm and he even drafted various 3D illustrations of our carpentry so we could see if he understood our concept :)

we truly thank God for him. firstly, for his flexibility. I wanted a "white-planked" texture (not sure how else to put it) and asked him if it was possible. no problem! he said. he could even work with fabric, eventually creating a beautiful open-concept cabinet with cushioned fabric backing. the laminate options he provided were comprehensive (we took sooooo long to browse through them!) and he even advised on or against certain colour choices. with his experience, we fully trusted him. nothing seemed to difficult for him, heehee.

we were also thankful for his helpfulness. he was ever ready to help in this or that. he helped to drill in many of our own furniture!

because of his flexibility and readiness to accede to our requests, we are thankful to eventually have a "home of many textures" :)

the beautiful fabric in the first picture was purchased from Fanny of laughing house. it was truly a blessing to stumble upon her shop! we spent some time at Spotlight and looking through online sources but alas, met with so many hiccups along the way. this was our first option and this was our second, but they were unavailable or rather expensive to ship in. this purchase was delivered really speedily and Fanny was also very prompt in responding to my enquiries. i really like the final fabric bought from her. it has a touch of peranakan and whimsy, and on top of that, is a colour i really like :)

as for the laminates, Mr A gave us catalogues from formica and lam chuan. wow, the variety of options are amazing! it took a long time for us to scour through all the options and visualise the outcome. our suggestion is to first decide the main colours you would like for each room, and hence eliminate all the other possibilities. consider the textures as well. for example, it would not be sensible for a table top to have rough wood grain textures. a glossy laminate would also cause fingerprints to show up more easily. Mr A also suggested that each room has only a maximum of 2-3 different laminates so as to minimise clashes. our living room furniture turned out beautifully even with just two colours - wood and white. it's all about how you want to work the colour combinations and the textures, and i really love the outcome :) don't forget that you can have an option of a different colour backing in your built-in cabinets, just like how we chose to have fabric instead!

it really helps to visit the showrooms so you get to see the laminates in big pieces. formica, especially. its showroom is small but they have huge sheets on display for you to view so you can see the wood grain patterns. as for lam chuan, we were rather disappointed :/ all we got were a4 sheets after request, which i guess were better than nothing anyway :)

these are sneak peeks :)

one month old

2013-02-12T12:24:00.001+08:00

my dear Ezra,

u are, in the blink of an eye, one month old. it does not take long for us to fall in love with u. being a first time mummy, I confess I had no idea how to relate to u as a person. it all felt so unreal to me. yes, when u were in my womb, u brought smiles to me with your relentless kicks and hiccups. your presence alone was comforting, because it reminded me that God was taking care of you and me :)

this is our first sight of you, all wrinkled up :)

now, so quickly, you already have such a personality :) your smiles are rare but precious. u fuss when things are not to your liking. it's comforting that you are not fussing for no reason, and it is also comforting that you fuss because you long for human touch, and for someone to carry you. it's perfectly normal to desire the love of others. we too, do that. and we do love you very very much. but remember, our Heavenly Father loves us most of all, and His blessings bestowed on us are a wonderful testimony of His love.

you have the softest head of hair. everyone adores your hair, and I cannot stop stroking it. your cheeks are getting rounder by the day, and I love your side profile as I watch you in deep slumber. did I mention how you can really sleep? even when your neighbors are renovating their homes, your sleep goes on :) your eyes are round, everyone says you have my chin. you look at people in all sobriety as they talk to you. as they do so, you seem to respond by pursing your lips together and sticking out your tongue.

oh, not to forget your dabian face! you must be confused why your papa and mama break into fits of laughter when you are seriously engaged in business. that's because you look too funny, my dear!

we are still learning everyday as parents. and it's not just about how to take care of you, but also how to relate to others about you. you're growing too fast! slow down, my dear. lets enjoy, together, this journey God has placed us in :)

baby's breath

2013-01-16T10:09:00.001+08:00

the day we became a family of three

30th december marked a life-changing experience. by life-changing, i really mean, LIFE-CHANGING, in all ways. our lives have changed so much, till now im still grappling with all that has happened. instead of being overwhelmed by all that needs to be adjusted to, i really need more faith to trust that God's plan is perfect, more dedication in fulfilling this calling He is given me and a more thankful heart to count all the beautiful blessings God has given, especially a dear son, Ezra.

the birth process revealed to me how amazing and miraculous the birth of a child can be. it can be nothing except God, who watched over every moment, ensuring that every thing went well. there are countless possibilities of what can go wrong!

30th december was a significant day for us. less of the date, but more because it was a revelation of God's perfect timing. the week was an extremely hectic and nerve-wrecking one. as we counted down the days, we were rushing and rushing. on top of Christmas activities, we were rushing to move house, rushing to pack everything in, so our new home would be in "liveable" conditions. i knew that with ezra's arrival, moving in would have to take second place and we needed to settle down properly so it was most ideal if we could finish packing the home. so JUST as we finished organising the home, and JUST as we moved into (temporarily) my mother's home to prepare for the confinement month, and JUST as we settled down and thought we could catch our breath and properly anticipate Ezra's coming, God sent him into our lives :) in a time, JUST right.

details are a blurr (i'd rather spare all of you from it haha!), and all i know is i was very much in pain till the epidural came. the pushing and labour process was..... hmmmm..... less painful.... more laborious if anything! that night, after giving birth to him, i could not sleep. i could only lie in bed, listening to the breathing of the two dearest persons in my life, and realising how precious my baby's breath was. it was a breath of life, a miracle. who were we, that God would bestow this gift unto us? my baby's heartbeat kept echoing in my ears.

till now, it has only been 2 weeks, but it feels so much longer. so much has happened. some downs, some ups, several worries and fears. pray for us, that we will keep learning and persevering as parents, to take care of this inheritance that God has given to us.

Psalm 127: 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

our son amazes us day after day. yet, the heavy burden of having a new life in our hands is beyond any other commitment one can ever have. just as how God kept our baby when he was in the womb, we trust Him to watch over baby Ezra now that he is out.

this was our very first sight of baby Ezra. nothing more that 0.5 cm! and after 10 months, we finally get to meet him :)

meet ezra, 3.135kg, who joined our family on the 30th december at 2243H :) reflecting on how he has grown from a little bean of a baby to who he is today brings to mind these verses:

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Psalm 139:13-14

ezra is a dear, a sweetheart. he is a boy who can wait, patiently, as we as newbie parents grapple to meet what he needs. he does not cry alot, he sleeps alot. he has the softest hair, beautiful eyes, beautiful feet and hands that hold on to your finger when you touch them. his appetite is increasing voraciously (what joy as a parent to see your child growing well!), and his hands and feet will kick around when he is hungry. he freezes in motion when, ah-hem, doing his business. he does his, ah-hem, business more expediently when in my arms. his cheeks are increasingly chubby. when in deep slumber, nothing can wake him! talk to him and he stares at you as though in deep understanding. he has started fussing, and yes, we have started reproaching him (to my surprise, he responds). he has learnt to smile when u sweet talk him and just look at his cute little button nose!

this marks a whole new journey for us and for fitw as well. things change, but thank God that He will always be our constant, leading us all the way. what joy and comfort that gives :) :)

Except the Lord build the house,

2012-12-24T12:39:00.001+08:00

i was just discussing with PP whether the home building process ought to be discussed on the blog. firstly, it involves our privacy and secondly, the last thing i want is to end up flaunting a showroom. oh, how i always struggle with pride. nonetheless, on reflection, God has been INCREDIBLY good to us. i need to record all these blessings down and to share them as a testimony of God's goodness to us! i definitely hope our experience can be a testimony of how moving house is not THAT daunting, and yes, you can have a baby while doing so ;) all because we have a heavenly Father who takes care of us and watches over our every need :)

before we got our keys, i was scared to bits, yet thrilled at the same time. the date of completion appears to be so near (too near!) the arrival of baby Ezra. Psalm 127 offered special comfort. It seems to address every single worry i had, whether it be the house, my difficulty in sleeping, even the growth of Ezra.

Except the LORD build the house,they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,

to eat the bread of sorrows: forso he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed,

but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Except the LORD build the house.....

How true! If God was not in this home-building process, everything would just crumble.

the first blessing God sent our way was a wonderful contractor. after comparing quotes, we realised that engaging an ID would definitely ease the process, but was so much more costly. it also seemed like more often than not, we were telling the ID what we wanted. hence, with some fear and trembling, we started scouring around for contractors, looking for contacts from friends and even online. amazingly, God led us to a contact (gotten online!). we saw his handiwork, liked it, studied his quote, found him fatherly and experienced, and decided that he was the one! he was not the cheapest option, but in construction, what you pay is more often than not, what you get :)

Mr L (the contractor) and Mr A (the carpenter) are very very amicable and easy to work with. they speak mandarin, but are clearly savvy with what needs to be done, offering suggestions for improvement on the way. can you believe they were more efficient than us? they started work even before we expected them too!

on hindsight, if you were to ask me whether a contractor or ID is better, I would say, go for a contractor if you already know what you want. If you have in mind the colours you like and how you would like to plan your space, a contractor can easily fulfill your expectations as long as you are clear, you show him pictures, and constantly double check if he has understood your concept. PP and i use pinterest alot and we pin all our favourite ideas and designs so they are easily accessible when we try to explain what we have in mind. An ID would help you conceptualise and create a mood for your house, show you 3D drawings, add some design-y touches, bring you furniture shopping, but the hidden cost would mean forfeiting a full-length cabinet, or a nice platform ;) we decided to go for the more prudent option, and definitely have no regrets! thank God for His providence :) Here's the start of our journey!

we entered the house and were surprised that aircon piping had proceeded, followed by hacking of walls. yes, these are probably the ugliest photos ever on this blog, but they are heart-warming sights. the mess proved to us that work had started, in God's good timing, way earlier than we expected! :)

I'd love to share Mr L's contact with you. email me if you're interested :)

and his name is...

2012-12-08T12:22:00.001+08:00

it has been an amazing journey so far, and i believe what we have experienced till today is but a foretaste of what is to come. God's timing is always perfect, and we tightly cling on to this fact. by faith, all will fall in place!

planning for a new home, and preparing for a new member of the family, can be more than overwhelming at times. how true it is, that "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." Lamentations 3: 22.

With the edd being 1st of January (this can only be planned by God!) we are constantly reminded by the promise that ATWOSLU - All the Way Our Saviour Leads Us! and He doeth all things well. progress is well for our new home, by God's grace. oh, such exciting stuff! i was telling my sister that day that this feels like a gigantic craft project, hehe! more importantly, i do look forward to moving in with PP and baby E, to build a new home, our own family :)

thank God especially, for people who support us so much, in acts of love, prayer and sincere questions of concern. these blessings are another reminder that God is with us, through you :)

and so, as the countdown gets lower, thank God we have decided on the name of our son. (feels surreal, saying the word, our son)

Ezra. /ˈezrə/

name of hebrew origin, meaning "helped", or "helper"

How we pray that our dear son will find his help in God, and be a helper greatly used by God! more importantly, that he will love God and His word. "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." Ezra 7:10

Surely, our role in achieving this is crucial. may God help us! we covet your prayers!

side note: amidst our busyness, we found time for a little photoshoot for memorial's sake :) the lovely photos in this blog post are by Blocmemoire Photography, an amazing couple whom we really enjoyed working with!

Saviour, more than life to me

2012-11-19T12:21:00.001+08:00

Savior, more than life to me,

I am clinging, clinging, close to Thee;

Let Thy precious blood applied,

Keep me ever, ever near Thy side.

Every day, every hour,

Let me feel Thy cleansing power;

May Thy tender love to me

Bind me closer, closer, Lord to Thee.

Through this changing world below,

Lead me gently, gently as I go;

Trusting Thee, I cannot stray,

I can never, never lose my way.

Let me love Thee more and more,

Till this fleeting, fleeting life is o’er;

Till my soul is lost in love,

In a brighter, brighter world above.

blessings from cambodia

2012-11-12T11:40:00.001+08:00

seeing this warms my heart.

i realised i do enjoy working on projects like this :) thank God for the opportunity and for blessing each step of the process!

packaging

2012-10-28T23:51:00.001+08:00

i do enjoy packaging items and have slowly learnt that it does not have to be too complicated or involve too much :) while PP and i lack a colour printer, thank God for a simple provision of washi tape to add colour to little tags. we wanted to wrap some gifts we got from bangkok (such a wonderful wonderful time), and the children's day gifts as well. here's how they turned out :)

first, we printed the text on thick white paper (got 250 pieces of 200gsm paper at a steal of $23 at art friend). we intentionally aligned the text more to the right to allow space for washi tape later :)

then, we cut them up.

stuck washi tape at the sides.. this part makes me wish i have a greater variety of washi tape haha!

then, we used a single-hole puncher to punch holes and tied the gifts up.

alternatively, you can punch holes and add washi tape on both ends :) rounding the corners of the tag creates a different look as well!

can't get enough of this baker's twine which i got for a STEAL at a random bookshop in bangkok! it was a gigantic roll, for only sgd$2! i was so thrilled and i grabbed all that was there :)

all these took less than an hour to complete :) children's day is a little more simple this year, considering the amount of things we have in our hands (house, baby...). we got some stationery from bangkok and packed them in the paper bags you see above. while the gifts are not hand-made, we hope they will find them useful and like them still :)

suan phung - part 2

2012-10-16T15:07:00.001+08:00

blogging about suan phung brings back beautiful memories of the blessed time we had. oh, how i love travelling! while im not a particularly adventurous explorer at heart, i do enjoy stumbling upon places and unexpected things, especially those not within the itinerary :) i guess blogging is a little way of mine to recall all these wonderful memories and count my blessings over again :)

thank God for a safe place at Suan Phung that we can retreat to at the end of the day. While it is largely a quiet town, you'll be surprised at the little elements of modern, vintage and craft scattered across this place. one of the places that is a must-go, is a candle haven. i have no idea what is its actual name, but i'll let the photos speak for themselves :)

There is a small eatery right at the entrance of the place which serves yummy thai cuisine, ideal for lunch :) we ate our lunch out of tingkats. so old-school! :)

drinks were served in bamboo cups which we got to take home as souvenirs :)

near the entrance, there is also a small shop scattered with countless hand-drawn tshirts for sale :) after much gesturing and hand signals, we finally managed to communicate what we wanted to the lady, who drew 5 customised tshirts for us with the design we wanted, and our names :) this lady is very talented indeed!

in this place, candle wax is like the canvas on which the artist works on. everywhere you turn, you will find yourself intrigued by amazing wax sculptures :) apparently they have a place set up to conduct workshops or classes :) i do wonder if it's possible to sign up for one!

kettles of different-coloured wax!

an artist at work :) it was intriguing to watch him. the wax, and his hands, had to be kept at a certain temperature so the wax would be mouldable. it is definitely a skill that takes effort to pick up!

as we continued to walk on, we found ourselves in the most AMAZING candle shop ever!

this marks the entrance of the shop. i probably spent a good 5 minutes just outside, snapping pictures :p

here, you will find a huge array of assorted candles, all very intricate and unique. definitely one of a kind :) there are alphabets, hearts, and the list goes on and on. they also sell a variety of other souvenirs :)

i have countless photos but these are just a few to give you a glimpse of the place. my favourite feature? a little section that allows you to buy a postcard, write on it and mail it on the spot after purchasing a stamp from them :)

im not a big fan of candles but i thoroughly enjoyed myself. i was very impressed by how they integrated the vintage theme interior with their candles, and at the same time, the place was surrounded with greenery, giving the place a very unique "suan phung vibe" :) if you are there with a group of loved ones, you will plenty of photo-taking opportunities! there are swings, vintage vehicles and nice benches all over the area :) bring a tripod! it will come in handy :)

fitw is going to a bazaar again :)

2012-10-03T17:42:00.001+08:00

this will probably be the last in a long while :)

a birthday party with ♥

2012-09-29T00:30:00.001+08:00

what makes a fantastic birthday party? is it the theme, where people will find ways to means to dress up, get props, and bring out the theme as best as they can? perhaps it's the games, and the amount of uproarious laughter that emits from it? well, my nephew's birthday party was a memorable, lovely and precious time. not the theme, not the games, nor the children. it was a time of fellowship, and thanksgiving, and plenty of ♥ as we pondered on the blessings we had received and hoped for, for the cute little boy. quality time was spent as a family, as we shared and recounted God's blessings!

the thanksgiving time started with a gorgeous sunset, a testimony of God's providence and goodness.

im sure you will be able to guess the theme from the photos that are to follow :) here's our invitation :)

the little boy, wearing the hand-drawn polo, also don by his parents :)

a little note from us, to the little boy... of our hopes and prayers for him when he grows up!

we got rainbow-coloured brollies as door gifts! yippee! a note with a meaningful song on it (which we sang together) was attached to them :)

the boy LOVES balloons! animal balloons :)

look how happy he is with them!

can a noah's ark theme do without a rainbow? :)

his AMAZING birthday cake! made by Room for Dessert :)

he was SO enamoured by it :)

are you looking for someone to give you a hand in planning a party? as you can see, my very talented can-do-anything-u-can-think-of superwoman of a sister has done a brilliant job heehee ;)