Thursday, December 21, 2006

new home and new neighborhood

we've been busy this week, cleaning up the apartment so we can move in next week.
can you imaging we live right next to a real river, a muddy river but with all the natural habitat.
a ten minutes walk right around the bend is the pony ride, and a great park where my boys used to bike around when they were little.
best of all the beach is just another few minutes walk away!!!

Thursday, December 7, 2006

beautiful feet

talk about good bye, i often wonder what's the good part?
jc said something like this:
we learn about God's heart,
and taste a little of His pain of our seperation from Him.
that was certainly a view from above!
so no goodbye but "see you later".

Saturday, November 25, 2006

a tropical thanksgiving

no turkey and stuffing but it was a great feast, and the best mashed potatoes i have had all these years!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

the grand old lady

was in town recently and we made a trip down the memory lane - we had a wonderful time!




Wednesday, November 1, 2006

so - we missed the SC statefair, HillSong and Casting Crowns...but we had fried oreos!!!
thanks to Ruthie for the recipe - it was sweet and comforting.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

"Hi, Mom."
my seventeen year old walked into the house, dropped his backpack on the floor and sat in front of the piano began playing.
for one who learn to play by ear, he never cease to amaze me!

later that evening as i walked pass his room he called out, "Mom, listen to this," with pocket pc on one hand, he handed me the other half of the ear phone.
"One of my favorites." he said. " Soundtrack from Anime Kenshin."
(not the one that he had been playing
all afternoon)

for a brief moment, mother and son sat by the edge of the bed,
lost in the beauty of "Her most beautiful smile".

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

it rained today, the long awaited rain!
it has been so hazy the last few weeks -
as we looked out the window
, everything was kind of blurry.

that was kind of like our situation since our return:
we still have no idea which schools the younger boys will be attending, and my seventeen year old received news that his studies has to give way to military service by next July.....and all the whys, wheres and hows.
but the sun is still shining in the skies - God is in control, He is faithful and Good.

Jeremiah 32:27 "I am the LORD. The God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"


Sunday, October 15, 2006

happy 15th birthday

it's nice to have friends over on your birthday!
they had a lot of fun with the electronic Taboo and we had a roomful of laughter.
the home-made pizza with spicy anchovy topping was my favorite even tho the tandoori chicken topping was very good.
we got a mixer so i can baked the birthday cake and m&m cookies, we have been craving for cake & cookies for quite a while already!





Saturday, October 14, 2006

profile of time - Salvador Dali

how to sum up the past three months in just a few words?
like my little one said, it was exciting at first:
we, like new comers were excited in getting to know the Garden City anew, moving around at ease with the excellent public transport system,
enjoying the greenery, and of course, the enticing food!

but the process of getting the boys into the local schools drove us to the point of exasperation!

my fourteen year old uttered, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
my seventeen year old said, " Excruciatingly *sian!!!"

*Singlish, means boring.

Friday, October 13, 2006

a trial run

we are having a pizza party for our fourteen year old this Sunday, my little one said,
"This is his golden birthday, turning fifteen on October 15!"
since this is once in the life time thing my better half is going to make a few pizzas with exotic toppings.

the trial run was a yummy success!

Monday, October 2, 2006

"Mon!"
I called out to a familiar figure rushing past the door as the Sunday service came to an end.
"Hey" She replied, a little startled.
"Can i have a hug?"
I walked up to her and stretched out my arms.
"Oh, sure!"
She put her arms around me and asked, "How are you?"
I blinked back the tears and said, " I miss hugs."

Yes. Hugs. That's what i miss most since moving back to the East.
You don't get any hugs unless you ask -
and you have to know who to ask for when you really need one.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Saturday, September 16, 2006

good food -

the key to a great holiday were satisfied stomachs at the end of every day,
especially with six hungry and growing boys.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

whatever happened to Nemo and Squirt?

this monkey entertained us in the sleepy afternoons, "catch me if you can"was his game; while Ali climbed from one tree to another -making monkey out of him!


this was just one of the many monitor lizard living in the compound, great swimmer too.
good fishing day for my better half and we certainly enjoyed the catch of the day!






Monday, September 11, 2006

when i said no to his request about taking the kittens home,
my little one said, "When i grow up, i will come back here and adopt all of them."
no no, not our new pets, these were the four kittens the boys doted on while we were on the island - my fourteen year old said,
"They are just too cute!"



Sunday, September 10, 2006

4 days 3 nights

2 families, 6 boys, 9 hours trip (taxi, buses and speed boat) ...we arrived at a remote part of Tioman Island....and we had a great time just doing nothing important.


Tuesday, September 5, 2006

yummy!!!

recently a few families from the mothers support group (and the play group) that was formed 15 years ago came together for a 10 course dinner - the toddlers of yesteryear are now well adjusted teenagers...there was a lot of laughter after the initial akwardness, but the food was great in the company of old friends.

Friday, September 1, 2006

orchid galore

both of my sisters are orchid lovers, so during their short visit here we took a stroll in the National Orchid Garden - we were mesmerised by the 2000 hybrids and over 1000 species found in the Garden's collection - the largest display of orchids in the world!

Friday, August 11, 2006

a great feast!!

a dear friend called up and said that she had ordered some durians for my better half to celebrate his bithday.
to our surprise she sent along a Durian Connoisseur!
Uncle Sunny sat us down and explained to us the four types of durian he brought:
here on the right you can see Uncle Sunny opened the "golden phoenix", bitter sweet with drier texture.

then he introduced us to "tekka" - the bitter type, rich and creamy, it was very good!

after that, the "merah" which was also very bitter, creamy and buttery, it was my favorite! (on the right was golden phoenix)
he said he saved the best for last, "kunyit" with a rich yellow flesh, was more sweet then bitter.
what a way to make a perfect birthday bash!