School of Tots

School of tots has been lots of fun. The tots are enjoying themselves. There is still the occasional wandering and crying but in all, it has been great fun for the mommies and the tots.

There is big jie jie Sarah clapping along with the wind blowing in her hair. Haha

Hannah "Praising the Lord"

Samuel who is just thrilled to be part of the fun.

Baby Jojo getting some help for "Stand Up & Shout It"

Playing with their Grand Godpa

The kids enjoy playing with Grand Godpa aka "The man with the bow tie" whenever he pops by the house because he literally lets them explore whatever they want; from pens to markers to magnifying glass to binoculars to the steering wheel to anything...The kids find that particularly liberating and stimulating compared to the restraints of mommy and her cries of "Be careful!" "No!". 

Running Nose

This is little Sarah earlier in the week when she was down with a running nose. Thank God she is well now. I thought this is a nice 'norman rockwell' kind of picture:)

Postcard to Godpa and Godma

Dearest Godpa & Godma,

How are you all doing in UK? Hope you are not feeling too lonely without us:) We miss having breakfast together at our favourite breakfast hangout. Looking forward to doing so when you come back for a holiday. 

Godpa, are you taking good care of Godma and bringing her for walks, sightseeing and spending time with her? Don't leave all the housework and cooking to her. Godma, we bet your cooking is getting better by the day:) We miss you & hope to see you all soon:)

love 

Sarah and Samuel

The Rebirth of Our Garden

Finally, the months of noisy work outside our place is done. The new lift and a new walkway is up & its pretty luxurious to have a personal lift. This means, our garden is ready to sprout yet again & bid welcome to the birds, the butterflies and the little playful children:)

School of Tots Updates

School of Tots has been operating as usual and our posts have been updated on a website in the making. But it is more difficult than we have imagine. Well, here are some of our previous posts. We have made it till "V" and we have 4 more to go before we are done with the alphabets. 

My mommy turns 60:)

We celebrated my mommy's 60th birthday in a simple fashion cos she wouldn't have it any other way. Here are some pretty rare shots of my parents cos everytime I yank out a camera, my mom goes into hiding or smiles too momentary for my camera to capture it. With a change of camera and parents who are more accustomed to their daughter's snapping antics, I am happy to have these pictures on record.

My beloved Daddy and Mommy who went through some emotionally painful times last year when they tried to grapple with the reality that their daughter had cancer.

This is the classic look that my Daddy always gives me when he realizes that I am up to no good.

 

Sammy in a rare moment of aggression

Ama & her beloved grandson.

 Blessed birthday Ama!

An Afternoon with Great Grandpa

It's been a while since we spent some family time with the children's 'Zeng Gong Gong'. It was a nice afternoon of catching up. 

Samuel turns 16 months!

Our beloved Samuel is really a little big boy now. Let me count the ways:

• He has been toddling since 13 months and he does a pretty good waddle nowadays.
• He enjoys birthday cake, the birthday song, candles, blowing candles and all things birthday!
• Besides Papa, Mama, Bibi, Rarah, Grandpa, Grandma, his other favorite words and objects are "bear", "clock", "egg".
  
• He loves to stuff his fingers into his baby seat latch and calls out "stuck" thereafter. 
• He can protest whenever he is left out from the big jie jies' activities.
  
• Whenever he hears "Let's go", he would brave his way resolutely to the front door and point to his shoes that are sitting in the shoe cabinet.
• He knows how to 'fight' back when Sarah conveniently takes his toy away.
• He loves to play with Sarah and chuckles so happily when she plays peek-a-boo with him
• He simply loves egg yolk. 
• He loves fire extinguishers.
• He loves all things gadget & digital.

That's our little boy:) and we love him so much.

Sarah - The Playground Warrior

Since Sarah was barely a year old, she has developed a keen sense for ALL playgrounds. I can't really remember when she has ever exhibited a fear for these structures. As she grows older, she continues to sniff out playgrounds & enters all playground with grit determination and seeks to conquer it with her bare hands and feet, much to the dismay of the older generation. Mommy has quit gasping or trying to call out "Careful" because mommy just cannot keep up with Sarah. Haha...I can almost hear her war cry from these photos? If you listen carefully, you can too:)

Did I forget to mention, that Sarah is the bravest warrior when it comes to exploring inanimate objects and mastering skills? But when she is greeted by an animate object or environment, she turns into a sqeaky mouse. Well, I have come to recognize that it is quite hereditary:)

A Walk down Memory Lane

I thank God for all the friends that God has brought my way since I was a teenager. It has been an amazing time of catch up..and that it all happened in one week. 

A Tassel - A Bookmark

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.” Numbers 15:37-41

The faculty of the mind is crucial for creator man to draw close to their creator God. A mind that is exercised in godliness through the remembrance of God's word & a mind that remembers God's deliverance in each crisis would help us transcend above the desires of our heart and the longings of the eyes. This was God's caution to the Israelites. Remembering God's Word and hiding His precepts in our hearts is God's solution for our straying hearts & our craving eyes. This is truly contrary to the sayings & philosophies that we have been exposed since young. The apparently liberating phrase " Follow your heart" masks in reality, its trapping and deadening consequence - and its stands in stark contrast to what God states in the verses above. 

With dark eyes, we will view God's commandments as stifling and life choking. But with eyes enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we will come to see that it is His great love for us that prompts the penning of His laws, precepts and commandments, which He only meant to protect, to guide, to lead & to eventually reveal to us who He truly is.

The law of the Lord is perfect, 

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise  the simple;

  

 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

  

the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

 

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

 sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

 

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

Psalm 19: 7-11

Let these verses be a tassel - a bookmark in our lives and for our generations to come. 

Our Trip to Jurong Birdpark

It was not painstakingly coordinated - but all 3 moms and 4 tots made it to the Birdpark thus making it School of Tot's first official excursion of the year. Cool weather, great friends & cute kids...it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip [my 1st to the nation's birdpark in a long time]. 

Our tots trying to find their way in the Birdpark...haha, they really look the part.

Tots were armed with sunhats, sunblock [both of which was not really used:)] and a cute coloring bird book that was hurriedly prepared 15 mins before we left home. But it came in pretty handy as they identified the birds that they saw. This link has got in my opinion the cutest birds on the block - www.birdorable.com

Jan & Jojo at our 1st stop - Birds & Buddies Show. 

Chiao Chyi & Hannah on the panorail.

Minus Sarah and her mommy, the rest enjoyed the parrots coming up close at Lory Loft. It is a really fascinating enclosure and a real fun one for bird lovers like Jojo and Hannah. 

This has got to be everyone's favorite - The Penguin Exhibit. It is strikingly similar to what Sarah reads in Curious George. The enclosure, the transparent tank which allows us to see the penguins dive underwater, the feeding of the penguins etc. A definite crowd pleaser. 

I personally found the new discovery centre fascinating. It is aesthetically appealing and very informative. Kudos to the person who designed this particular section of the birdpark. 

I have a strong feeling that School of Tots will return to the birdpark for more adventures. We will be back - when the mommies  have recovered from the long albeit enriching trip. 

Seven Blessed Years and more...

We never got around to celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. I think I was still recovering from post operation complications of a messed-up intestinal system and a very bloated stomach. This year, things are exceptionally normal. And it truly is a blessing when life has a chance to fall into routine. I am quietly thankful that God has heard and I am still praying: that I will be around for my family, for my husband, for Sarah and Samuel. Just the other day, Sarah looked at our wedding photos. She saw Daddy, Mommy & virtually all of the family. But she had a look of incredulity on her face. "Where is Sarah?" she asked. 

Hahaha...our dear little Sarah just wasn't used to seeing Daddy and Mommy without Sarah. "You are there. In Daddy and Mommy, " I replied. "God had already created you since the beginning of time. You were just waiting to come out." 

It seems like nothing has changed, but everything has changed. Looking at our wedding program again and the songs which Daniel selected with much prayer for our wedding, I love every of the songs and they mean even much more today. God has been our source and strength when all else seems to fail and we pray that He would draw us closer to Him as the years go by. 

Till death do us part.

31 Aug 2002