Our Journey with God, Friends, and Family

How to handle life with newborn and toddler - Part 1

2012-01-28T01:40:00.000-08:00

After almost 10 months, Wesley is FINALLY sleeping through the night. Thank You Lord!
I came across the e-mails I sent to my friends with two kids or more for their input on how they handle life with a toddler and newborn. Below were their answers and some other tips that I found to be very helpful:

1. Accept the fact that I won't have good night sleep (at least for this season of life). The first month of his life, Wes woke up almost every hour. I remember being so tired and cried while rocking him to sleep. In my mind, I recalled my friend's newborn baby who slept 5 hours at time. Then in still small voice, God reminded me, "Kiki, you asked me for this child. Do you know how much tears some people shed to have what you have?" That settled the issue. It doesn't make me woke up cheerfully every time I hear Wes cry, but it does make me woke up with thankful heart. Although there are times when all I could do was asking Chris, "Can you please take this one?" I can't thank God enough for giving me such a caring husband.

2. Have a low expectation of how my day goes - this one is from my dear friend Elisse. Exactly the advise that I need back then. I don't have smart phone so I jotted down my goals, plan, schedule, to do list in a journal. Everyday (before Wesley birth) it's almost always full with lists. In the weeks following Wesley's birth, all I could do was wake up, nurse the baby, eat, and sleep. The pages in my journal mostly blank. Sometimes all I put on my To Do List was: Take a Shower! :)

3. Communicate to my husband what I need NICELY!
My husband can't read my mind. Well no body can except God even so He still want me to pray to Him. So anyway, I need to communicate to him what I need or feel not assuming he know it. I intentionally capitalize nicely because after giving birth, my hormone often cause me to be emotional so I need to be aware of this. Also, let him do things his way.

4. Soak in God's Words. When I was down with anemia and had postpartum blues/ depression; I started to believe in lies: If God loves me how comes he gave me headaches this bad?; My husband cares about his work more than me; Maybe I'm not ready to have another baby. and so on and so on. I cried a lot 'till one day I decided to fight the lies with TRUTH. I started to memorize God's Words starting from my list of Bible verses for labor and beyond.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, ... you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32

5. Count my blessings. I wrote down on my journal every blessing: each meal that my friends brought me, gifts, visit, kind words, prayers and encouragement. It makes a whole world different in my attitude and perspective.
"Do not be anxious in everything but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God." Ephesians 4:6

- To be continued

Artisan Bread

2012-01-27T00:58:00.000-08:00

I borrowed the book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from the library after hearing so many good reviews on it. Since then we have been enjoying homemade Artisan Bread. Yummmm so good!

The Secret is: Pre-mixed, pre-risen, high-moisture dough keeps well in the refrigerator. Mix enough dough for several loaves and store it in the refrigerator then use it over the next couple of weeks.

Artisan Bread
To make 2 of 1-pound loaves (half of the original recipe)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups luke warm water
3/4 tablespoons yeast (3/4 packets)
3/4 Tbs kosher salt
3 1/4 unbleached all purpose white four

Direction (the way I do it):
1. Warm the water
2. Pour the water inside the bread machine (or use Kitchen Aid with dough attachment), add yeast, salt, then mix in the flour. I use a Zojirushi bread maker, turn off the pre-heat option, then set it to dough option. Once it is done kneading (about 10 min if using Kitchen Aid on low speed),
3. Cover the container, let it rise (I just leave mine in the bread maker) for 2 hours then put the dough inside a lidded (not air tight) container in the fridge ( use it over the next couple of weeks)
When I am ready to bake:
5. Pull and cut the dough in half then shape a loaf see video on how to do it here,
6. Let it rise on parchment paper cover pizza peel ( I don't have pizza peel so I put mine on top of wood cutting board) for about 40 minutes
7. Preheat the oven to 500F for 20 min with baking stone in the middle of the rack and broiler tray on the bottom rack
8. Dust the top of the loaf with flour then slash a 1/2 inch deep into the top, using a bread knife

9. Slide the bread (with the parchment paper) on top of baking stone in the oven. Put a cup of hot water in the broiler tray (this is optional I think because one day I forgot to put this and the bread turned out to be better (according to hubby).
10. Turn down the oven to 400F (because parchment paper only allowed temp up to 425) then bake for 30 minutes.
11. Allow the bread to cool before cutting and eat it. I like to eat mine with balsamic vinegar.

Enjoy!

My Everyday Mess and Blessing

2012-01-23T01:16:00.000-08:00

These are two favorite books of my three years old:

He 'read' these books so often that he know exactly where is the humpback whale, bull frog, hippo, etc...

A peek into my washing machine. Bottles and baby toys occupies the top rack most of the time:

These medicines has been staying on our kitchen counter these past two weeks. Thankful that we're now healthy and I can put this away.

One day I put Wesley on the potty then went to rinse the dishes in the kitchen. When I came back I found him chewing Mr. Station Guard. Poor guy:

I read one day Ruth Bell Graham kept her Bible open at home for constant meditation. I want that but somehow my kitchen counter always full with other stuff. One day I accidentally spilled one of the cough medicine, which made me have to clean and rearrange our counter. I wasn't happy at that time but guess what I found at the end: a spot where my Bible can be opened at any times:

A friend of mine once e-mail me: asking how do you do it? cooking and baking everyday; keeping the house clean and orderly, and so on
My reply, "You don't see everything." My house is not always clean and tidy; sometimes I don't get out of my pajamas all days, and there are days I don't feel like cooking and baking.

I love orchids

But somehow I never manage to keep it alive

My kitchen table is a mess most of the time; at least 5 times a day when during meals and snacks times:

And sometimes this is what our living room looks like though we almost always manage to get it clean seconds before daddy got home:

Sometimes, my recipe trial turned out to be a disaster:

MoneySavingMom shared this post last week:…Never forget that what you see on the screen is not the whole picture.

Never forget that the people behind the blogs are, well, people…with unorganized cupboards, unmanaged time schedules, cranky children, painful stories, crafty train wrecks, struggling marriages, unpaid bills and burnt meat loaf. (Those are the examples I use, because those have all been me behind the scenes.)

Never forget that their story and their journey and their choices apply to them, not to you.

You are who you are for a reason. You are where you are a for a reason. Don’t do what I do and beat yourself up for not being where someone else is. It’s a colossal waste of time.

Appreciate everyone else’s outside, but embrace your inside. (Read the full post here)

Inspirational Blogs - Part 2

2012-01-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

6. The Pioneer Woman
I know there are great site to find recipes: allrecipes.com, America Test Kitchen, FoodNetwork, and so on but when i don't feel like cooking, thepioneerwoman is the site I go for inspiration. Her passion for cooking is contagious. Her photography is very inspiring too.

I already shared about these two Personal Finance sites below on the past:
7. ChristianPF
My favorite: 15 Ways To Cut Your Expenses

8. Bible Money Matters, I especially like his detail review on Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/2008/10/fpu.html

9.Woman Living Well
I love her heart, humility, love for God and people. One post that still resonate in my head is this one. She wrote free e-book: The Proverbs 31 Woman One Virtue At a Time

10. Last but not least is: Sally Clarkson's blog: I Take Joy
Sally wrote one of my favorite book on parenting: Mission of Motherhood
And I am so very excited with God's and my dear husband's blessing, I (and my two good friends) will be going to Sally's Mom's Heart Conference in Irvine, CA. I can't wait to learn more from this Titus 2 woman.

Inspirational Blogs - Part 1

2012-01-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

There are millions of blogs out there. Here are ten blogs that I love to read and subscribed at my Google Reader:

1. Simplemom.net
I found simplemom website when I was looking for information on cloth diapering since then I have been learning about many things from organization to motherhood, green living, and much more. She wrote an e-book, which is jam packed with a lot of useful information. Totally worth $5 in my opinion since a lot of her practical ideas eventually save me more than $5.

2. The Frugal Girl
I love her cheerfulness. My favorite is her posts on Contentment

3. Gracefullmama
Written by a missionary mama of 5, who live in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Every time I read her post, I'm encouraged to be a better wife, mom, sister, friend, and daughter.

4. A Holy Experience
Do you know someone who is really really good at something? Ann Voskamp is a very gifted writer. The truth is I don't subscribe to her blog. I visit her blog whenever my soul need to be refreshed. Visiting her site is like a treat for me like going to Farmer's Market or Fabric Store. She is the one who made me start my One Thousand Gifts' list. She wrote a book about it too:

5. Money Saving Mom:
Crystal is such an inspiration. She and her husband pay CASH on their house and give 100% of the profit from her blog and book: The Money Saving Mom's Budget to Compassion International. I know her site got a lot of deals and it can be overwhelming to read through all her posts so what I did was to subscribe to her site through Google reader, skim through the title of her posts, and read only the ones that fits my need. Especially love her posts on Time Management and Setting Goals.

I just realized after I wrote the above list that all of the above writers are homeschooling moms. :)

- To be continued

Seize Every Minute

2012-01-16T12:58:00.000-08:00

I was organizing our pictures and found these pics of Wesley on his early days. It seems like just yesterday he was that small. He is now tripled his birth weight, crawling all over the place, can protest by screaming out loud when his big brother doesn't allow him to play his toys, and so on and so on.
Every wise older women I know would tell me the same thing, "Enjoy every minute. They grows so FAST." They do indeed and I am enjoying and soaking every precious time I have with them.

The other day I stumbled upon this writing by Erma Bombeck. She wrote this near the end of her life.

If I Had My Life to Live Over

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ... But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

Update

2012-01-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

We took Wes to his pediatrician last Friday and he was diagnosed with RSV. Most likely I caught it from a trip to the library then the virus got to Wes and Max and finally daddy also catch it today. Aiyaya... It's a cold so flu shot won't work for this very contagious virus. Thank God for His grace and perfect timing. I already felt much better when both kids started to get sick. It takes a lot of work to take care of sick kids. Chris said, "having two sick kids is like having four kids." I think that statement described our challenge this week very well.

Nevertheless, the boys are handling it well not too fuzzy just need a lot of tender loving care. I'm so proud of them. Max especially now when he can understand better. We just give him medicine, he'll drink it. We asked him to blow his nose, he'll pick up the tissue then give it to us to help him do so. Way to go, dear.

O... and my dear husband has been such a trooper too. He wakes up with me every 1- 2 hours at night when Wesley cries due to stuffy nose. We'd then take turn to put him back to sleep. I don't know what I would do without this man.

Something also show up this week.

I was going to take picture of Wesley's new teeth but he didn't want to open his mouth. Max immediately came and do so without me asking. Surprisingly, Wesley didn't protest when his big brother hold his mouth.

Taa Daa:

I heard it's gonna be cold and windy this week. Maybe the snow finally shows up in Tahoe ;)

Have a blessed week, everyone!

Going Out

2012-01-13T00:38:00.000-08:00

Thank you for praying for us. I am feeling much much better while Wesley is still recovering. His temperature rose to 102 F these past two days but quickly went down after we gave him fever medication.

Earlier this week, I checked the weather and learned that it was supposed to be mostly cloudy 'till Thursday. Already not feeling well, I remembered Nana' sharing here so I prayed for sunshine (selfish I know! Fonda just reminded me that many people are hoping for snow in Tahoe). I was feeling very weak on Tuesday afternoon so I asked Chris to try to get home early to watch the kids so that I can rest. Bless his heart; he immediately went home. I took a long 4 hours nap afterward awaken by warm sunshine through the windows. GOD IS GOOD!

Then I read my bible passage that day from Ephesians 3, which is Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. Verse 18 stood up, " I pray that you, ... may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."

The next day, I was determined to get out and enjoy the sunshine.
My first born is an observant little fella. He will walk, then stop, point out to details that I would easily miss if I walk by myself

Like this tree, the only tree in our street that still have some red on it:

Meanwhile my other boy is also enjoying the walk:

I kept reminding him to not stay too close to Wes, who was sick, but it's too hard for him not to touch

or kiss his baby brother

"Mama, this tree has some nuts. Take a picture!" Max said. So I did:

May you also experience God's love today

My Poor Wes

2012-01-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

My little guy is sick again. He got the same naughty virus that has been bugging me these past 4 days so I know exactly how he feels. I've been coughing, having a sore throat, and runny nose. It's been hard even for me I can't imagine how hard it is for little Wes. If you read this, would you please lift us up in prayers? Thank you!

Counting My blessings

2012-01-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Frugal Girl's 365 Projects and gracefullmama's post: The Glorious in the Mundane; I started taking pictures of My One Thousand Gifts: anything from my daily life that make me smile, the sweet little gifts that God bestows each and every day:

...Christmas cards from friends and family. I used to think that sending e-card is fine untill I opened a photo card from a family that we haven't seen for 2 years or so. The joy it brought inspired me to make our own printed Christmas Greeting Card. We ordered ours from Costco $15 for 50 cards and envelopes.

...Max lined up all his toy animals to eat the giant carrot :)

...It's the law now in the city we live in: No more free shopping bag. I'm happy whenever I get to use these reusable bag:

Christ took the picture below:
...Clean plates belongs to my three boys, who happily gulped mommy's cooking.

...Free-Pesticide Local Food from Farmer Market always makes me happy. Also the boy who can pretend play with anything.

Snacking in the middle:

Back to business: he's about to launch the 'rocket':

Have a blessed week!

9 Months

2012-01-06T00:15:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it's been 9 Months since he came out of my womb:

Wherever mama goes, he wants to stay close. So when I cook, I give him blanket time:

He can pick up his own food and feed himself *yum...yum...yum...*

Since he can poop in the potty, he got cloth diapers as Christmas gifts. Yay!!!

Whatever Koko does, he wants to do it too:

Playing Koko's Piano:

Playing Koko's Doodle Pro

Our Not-So-Little-Explorer:

This is the cutest thing that he does lately:

Then Kiss *Mwaaaa*

Precious Moments with Max

2012-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

We were at the church playground after Sunday Service.

I told Max, "Let's go home."

As expected, he answered, "no mama... I still want to play."

I told him, "Come one, Max. We have to take a nap; you have Awana tonight."

He answered again, "No."

A middle school student who happened to be there commented, "he always say No."

So I changed the question: "Max, do you love mama?"

To my delight he answered, "Yes." :))

One afternoon while Wesley took a nap, I told Max "Max, mama's knee hurts after holding Wesley for awhile. I am going to rest up stair okay. You can play quietly while waiting for papa to go home in a little bit. " Max said, "okay." but then he followed me up stair. Playing quietly on the bed. Then he said, "Maxie boleh pray for mama ngak?" (=Can I pray for you, ma?)

"Of course." I answered. We both then close our eyes. *silent for a while*
Then Max asked, " "gimana pray-nya ma?" (= how should I pray ma?) *we both then laughed*
He didn't even know how to say the prayer yet he offers to pray for me. What a reminder for me to always pray for others in need.

I was about to parallel park our van in a tight space and wasn't sure if I could do it.

I talked to myself, "Hmmm can I do it?"
Then came an unexpected reply from behind, "You can do it, Ma!" :))
Thanks to Max's word of encouragement; I tried and successfully parked the car. Woohoo!

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Snapshots

2012-01-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

Picture taken at: Happy Belly Portable Studio
By: The Happy Belly Crews
Cost: Free - they do it out of LOVE

Thank you o so very much friends!

Max & Wes with some of the kiddos at church.

The boys & Koko Matthew

JOY

The Opposite of JOY

Sisterhood + our kiddos:

Max and Verity

Attention all husbands: Learn this move!

Our Family Picture

Freedom in Christ

2012-01-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was pregnant with Max, people start giving their inputs and opinions. From what I should or shouldn't eat; whether I shouldn't or should give my child pacifier, whether I should or shouldn't hold my baby; whether I should vaccinate or not vaccinate my child; whether I should or shouldn't have epidural; whether we should or shouldn't sleep with our baby to how I should discipline my kids and so on and so on. I understand they do it because they care but even for a selective listener like me, it can get overwhelming at times.

One of my favorite author, Sally Clarkson wrote on her blog today about this that has blessed my heart:

Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject to a yoke of slavery.” (especially stand firm in your ideals before God without letting someone else’s yoke slip around your neck unnecessarily.)

“And the work of righteousness will be peace and the service of righteousness quietness and confidence forever.” Isaiah 32: 17

...There is no “one right way”. Each of you has a different puzzle to solve–different children’s personalities, husbands and even a different personality yourself. Some of you are introverts and some extroverts. Some trained and educated in high spiritual values and some coming at it for the first time.

But the bottom line is, that as a wise woman, you need to figure out how you can best make it in the long run–loving God and loving your family, and finding ways to do this so that your own spirit is filled with life and joy.

You are just exactly the right person, the one who God picked to shepherd these children in ways that no one else could. So live in that freedom today and enjoy your own unique family culture. This is the day the Lord has made–rejoice in the moments and be glad.

I say, "Amen" (out loud) to that. :)

You can read the whole post here.

Sally books on Motherhood:

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

The materials:

Chris was cooking his Signature Chilli so I got to work with two kiddos:

One watched attentively

One got distracted in the middle

The dough before being baked

The eager worker working on the dough:

Make the holes using chop stick

Then put them into oven 250 degree F for 3 hours or 'till hard (I baked mine for 2 hours only)

Wait 'till cool then it's ready to be decorated with puff paint

My happy and faithful companion as long as I keep feeding him:

I got three kind of paints: white, silver, and glow in the dark

Wait for 4 hours 'till the paint dries

Then it's ready to be hang on the tree:

Max insisted to make these two:

Dinosaur

Truck

I found the tutorial on how to make the ornaments here

The materials:

Cookie cutters

1 cup of salt

1 cup of flour

water

paint (I used Max's craft paint from Ikea)

puff paint (I got it from Michael's in the Fabric craft section.)

Our Christmas Tree

2011-12-30T01:49:00.000-08:00

Pardon the lack of posts. I've been enjoying the holidays so much: having people over, going to friends' homes, eating meals together, singing Christmas carols, celebrating Jesus' birthday with our church family, staying on my pajamas all day. In addition, our desktop computer, which I usually use is having a little technical difficulty right now so that's another excuse for me not to blog :)

But I know you miss us so I am back :)
I don't think I ever shared our Christmas tree here.We bought it 2 years ago at Target when they have an After Christmas Sale. It costs us $20 something - 75% off from its original price. Last year we bought the shinny red and silver balls ornaments, which cost us $2. Here is Max putting on the ornaments:

And that's not me by the way, that's the lovely auntie Fonda:

We love you auntie Fonda *HUGS*

I think I was nursing Wes at that time. Chris took the above pics.

This year, we decided to add the Christmas light to make it more festive:

Chris bought the light on Christmas Eve so it was on sale for $3

I saw a blog post about homemade ornaments (I'll write more about it on the next post) so I tried to make that also on Christmas Eve (such a last minute person I am). And now this is how our Christmas Tree looks like:

Ta da:

Max cried the first time he saw me turning off the lights before we went to bed one night. I explained to him that it's dangerous to keep the lights on, our house may get burn, etc. Besides, we can always turn on the light the next morning. "Okay, ma" he replied. So that's what he has been doing first thing in the morning: turning on the Christmas lights. :) I didn't have the heart to tell him that we have to take down the Christmas tree sometimes next month. Maybe we just keep ours up all year long. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T14:11:00.000-08:00

From our home to yours...

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Hope you have a blessed Christmas!

Much Love,

Chris, Kiki, Max, & Wes

Make Him Smile

2011-12-20T04:38:00.000-08:00

Whenever I need to take shower, I put both boys in the crib so I can shower peacefully. Okay not really since I kept hearing Max saying, "Mama, are you all done?" about 100 times but at least I know they're fine. When I came out of the door, I was greeted by this wonderful sight:

I can't help but smile and be grateful. I wonder if this is how God feels when He sees us; His precious little ones living in love and harmony, joyfully expecting His presence. Thank you Max and Wes for teaching mama this. I want to make God smile just like you two make me smile.

From my devotional today:

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

Proverbs 12

2011-12-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

I was reading this passage of the Bible and some of the verses stood up:

¹ Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but whoever hates correction is stupid.

⁴ A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

¹⁴ From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,

and the work of their hands brings them reward.

¹⁵ The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁸ The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

²⁵ Anxiety weighs down the heart,

but a kind word cheers it up.

I love how straight forward the Bible is.

Cheap Phone

2011-12-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

I never own a smart phone. Chris does own a used iphone and we're in the market for another used iphone/ ipod for our ihome. So please let us know if you know anyone who want to get rid or upgrade theirs.

I'm currently using this Nokia phone, which cost $20 or so. One of the reasons why I like cheap phone is so that when it died (like in 2 years or so); I can take out the battery, run it in the dishwasher to sanitize it, then pass it on to my kiddo to play (or chew on) without any hard feeling. Wesley definitely prefer mommy's old phone way much more than his Sophie The Giraffe, which by the way cost us almost as much as my new cell phone. O well, lesson learned: my kids doesn't need expensive toy to be happy.

The Joy of Giving

2011-12-13T01:43:00.000-08:00

After church yesterday, Cici Annie (the girl on the middle), a six years old dear daughter of our friends was playing with Max at the church's playground. Max enjoyed playing with Cici Annie very much so I asked her, "Do you want to bring Max home and babysit him this afternoon? We can meet up later at auntie Kathy & uncle Richard's farewell dinner."
She said, "Are you serious?"
"Yes, if it's okay with your parents."
"I will pay you $20." I was just kidding but I really don't mind paying. I planned to do our biweekly grocery shopping afterward and having one kiddo is definitely easier than having two.
"I don't want to be paid." she answered
"O okay." I replied.

So she asked her dad, who told her to ask her mom. She went to her mom, who then told her to ask her dad. Finally, both parents agreed to bring Max home as long as Elianne promised to really watch him. She assured them she will.

So off we transferred Max's car seat to their car. When I kissed Max goodbye, Elianne again assured me, "You really don't have to pay me, auntie Kiki."

The reason I have no problem whatsoever trusting Max into their care is because this family is amazing. They are the ones who talk the talk and walk the talk. The one who people call whenever they need help; the one who will be there for others whenever they are in need; the one who put God first, others next, and themselves last.

When I was at the grocery store, I found a bag of cool chocolate coins. I got one for Elianne. I thought of buying one for Max too but one bag is too much for him and I knew that Elianne will share some of hers anyway for she is just that kind of person. What I didn't expect was what she told me at the end of the dinner. Just fyi, we had 30+ people at the dinner gathering.

"Auntie Kiki, I gave everyone one coin," she said cheerfully
The-frugal- money-saver-me automatically responded: "Oh no Elianne, then you will only have very little left for yourself. Do you know each coin is different? And there is chocolate inside? You got to save some for yourself."
The she looked at me puzzled, " I know auntie Kiki, but I have TOO MUCH, I like giving them away."

On the way home, I am reminded of this story
I know (and I bet the whole church will agree with me) that the reason why Elianne gives so easily is because not only she hears her parent preach about giving and serving but she also watches them put it in practice.
Thank you Elianne and the Tjam Family for your living example. We thank God for friends like you.

"There are only three ways to teach a child:
The first is by example;
The second is by example;
The third is by example." ~ Albert Schweitzer

Awana Boy

2011-12-10T00:43:00.000-08:00

Max started going to Awana at the church nearby our home last September. He loves it, and we love it. He loves the fact that he got to play with lot of toys before the program start; we loves it because he got so much out of it: the lesson, the activity, the love from the teachers and friends. In addition we got 2 hours break from having to respond to: "Mama let's play!"; "Read this book please"; "I'm hungry"; "I want to go potty"; "what are you doing, ma?; I want to see!"; "I want to help you, ma". It's all good but a little break is always nice. :)

One of the thing that I love is they give us a handbook that we have to go through with the kid at home so the parents are up to speed to what the kid are learning. So far Max has been learning about Creation, Sin, God's Love, etc. Click here to find out more about the curriculum.

Yesterday, the three of us were having breakfast (daddy went to work already). Wesley is in the 'screaming' phase, so whenever I put him on the booster and there's no food/ baby snacks for him; he will scream. When I am not quick enough to feed him his food, he will scream. This time is no different. That morning, before I could say anything, my three year old tell his brother, "Wes, wait! Don't be greedy. It is sin."

I smiled and nodded. There you go, the lesson of the day from my 3 years old :)

8 Months

2011-12-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

Now is 3:22 AM and Wes is wide awake refusing to go to back to sleep. So here I am typing while he is busy doing massive destruction on Koko's creation:

Wes loves his big brother, and his big brother love him so

We started him on potty training last month, just for the number 2. So far so good. Sometimes I catch it sometimes I don't.

We also just started him on sleep training. We couldn't due it earlier due to traveling and him being sick. Before I had him, I never knew a baby can cry and scream so loud and so long. Poor neighbors of ours.

"Are you sure you're talking about me, mam?"

No, Annie you can't bring him home

A Social Network Christmas

2011-12-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."

Luke 1:46-47

How I Get Free E-Books

2011-12-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Wesley, my lovely girlfriends + hubby gave me kindle as their gifts:

I'm in tears when I got it. I had been wanting to get one but kept delaying due to the price: $139 is not cheap plus I wasn't sure I like it more than regular books. Turned out I do! It has been my faithful companion when I nurse Wes. Thank you so much, gals!

My friend, Elisse, asked me this morning how I get free e-books for my kindle.

Some e-books are free for one or some days only. ChristianPF wrote an article on how to get free e-books here

However, since I don't have much time to browse the web for free e-books. I usually found out about free e-books from MoneySavingMom.net
I subscribe to her site through Google Reader that way I get updates whenever she post deals. I usually just open her post on 'deals' that I need and ignore the rest or 'mark as read'.
Crystal, the wonderful woman behind the site is a Christian, entrepreneur, and homeschooler. Most of the e-books were pre-screened by her. Of course, I don't download all free e-books that she posted just the ones that fit my need.

That's it. I thought I shared my answer here in case any of you need are interested :)