We Miss You Daddy, Big Time!

Dearest Pappi,

We really miss you and we are counting down the days till you return. But in the meantime, we are busy having lotsa fun too. Playing with Belle Belle, Hannah, Josiah, having our hair cut, baking gingerbread man for our BSF teachers, spending time with Grandpa and Grandma and Ahgong and Ahma and making Mommy angry when we throw our toys around. We looking forward to the many toys you will buy for us. We love you Pappi!

There's An Owl in the Neighbourhood

Daddy first spotted the owl when he strolled around the neighborhood at night. He said he came face to face with it and it flew away. 

The next night, the family was out in full force. Sarah and Sammy were in their double stroller and Daddy and Mommy walking quietly beside. Daddy spotted it again, perched on top of a little barren tree. As he walked nearer and attempted to take a picture with his phone, the bird took flight just above Sammy and Mommy's head. Sarah was hiding in her double stroller with covering her ears tight. 

Just last night, we went for our owl hunt and spotted the owl perched on the same barren tree. This time, the kids were more experienced and so was mommy. Sammy was quiet and he whispered, "Daddy, take a picture". Mommy tried an owl call. The owl moved and turned its body a few times. Sammy and Mommy approached neared and tried the owl call together. Then without warning, the bird flew away into the night. 

We [minus Sarah] were all wowed. 

We Got Tickets to Libera!

Since last year, we have been enjoying selected music from Libera. Sarah and Sammy loves 'All Things Bright and Beautiful",  "I Will Sing Forever" and "Going Home". If I had a choice, I wouldn't mind sending Sammy to Libera:) He looks like an angel ....but is as naughty as an imp!

I was just faintly hoping that during our November trip, we would be able to catch them. It was a faint hope as we would be travelling to Chateau D' Ox Switzerland, then a short stop to Paris and then London. It would mean that Libera has to do a homecoming after their performances in Philippines and their act would have to coincide with the London leg of our trip. Well, the unbelievable happened. We ARE catching  their One Day Christmas performance! Woohoot!

We are all looking forward:)

The In-Between-Time Nowadays

In between our usual schedule, is the planning and logistics for our trip in Nov. 

Footwear - I would rank this as one of the most important logistical equipment for a comfortable holiday. The first time, my shoes gave way in UK, I was survived only by my crocs slippers. The second time, a last minute buy gave me blisters and made me walk around the streets of paris in a far amount of discomfort. For the kids, Sarah had only a pair of slippers due to some rush and her feet were literally black when we return to the hotel room everyday in Paris. This time, thanks to Yixiang [I think she didn't know what hit her], I manage to grab some snowboots from crocs USA and had it shipped to her while she was there for her work. I think they should help us survive the cold fairly well.  Somehow, I am quite convinced that crocs should wouldn't split on us. Haha.

Fish Pot Dinner

After accumulating lots of fish bone from my wet market buys, I made a concentrated fish soup base and cooked the snapper fillets in a broth thicken by some cornflour [I try to avoid cream]. Top it up with ready made puff pastry, and it became our easy after-swim-dinner. 

Look Who Just Moved In!

What are the chances of our immediate neighbors becoming our good friends? Pretty high. But what are the chances of our good friends becoming our immediate neighbors? Pretty rare I suppose. 

We think it is a great blessing for our good friends to move right next to us...and our kids are especially excited about it. Almost every morning, they are hollering at the top of their voice for Jojo to come and play with them. And it's great, to go for our evening runs together, head down to the pool, hit the gym, as well as head to our favorite eateries. 

And best of all to be able to watch out for one another and pray for one another. 

Samuel and his Reading

This little boy is jumping around most of our lessons and he runs his own schedule and often gets a good scolding from mommy...but boy, can this little boy read. I can only conclude that he has a natural infinity towards languages. Just yesterday, he was peering over someone's shoulders as the person was reading the papers and he read, " Special School for D.... kids planned". Everything was pristinely pronounced. Except for the "D" word - Dyslexia. If he could read that, I think I would just about flip backwards twice over. That's our Sammy - a special boy in his own right.

He would easily put my secondary students to shame [to any ex students who are reading this] because he almost always pronounces his consonants 'd' and 't' and 'k'. And it is quite fascinating to hear each word so well pronounced by a three year old without any nagging. 

Just today at the pool, he saw the word and said 'GYM" and he went on to read the rest of the directory.

I think for Sammy, its perhaps time for us to proceed to spelling and more advanced reading. This boy has got mommy's genes:)) Haha...right, Daddy?

What We have Been Up to...

Well...it has been a while and life has rolled on with much things. We have had many stay over visitors, my kids have been playing and playing and playing. Hahaha....but they have been learning and learning too.

With our learning from Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading, I also bought a Reading Eggs Subscription for Sarah and Samuel [www.readingeggs.com.au]. I had an added motivation because the annual subscription was going at a 75% discount. It's repetitive but I think at this stage, repetition is a good form of discipline for my very active kiddos. And I especially like the printouts accompanying each letter. Because I hope for Sarah at least to practice writing her letters consistently. She likes it very much. Samuel...well, he is interesting [next entry]. 

Since Sarah practiced writing her numbers, it has freed her to do her counting exercises. And I am glad to see her making advances in this area. The pages in her colorful activity maths book were done all by herself. Momma just sat there and reminded her to check her work. 

My Newborn Nephew - Joash

[announcement card done by mommy CC]

Chiao Chyi my sis in law just delivered a healthy bundle on 15th Aug and we rejoice at the new addition to our family. Little Joash:) We praise God for a safe delivery and a beautiful baby!

Clowning Around

They always start out well. Sitting obediently, observing, responding...but almost always, our homemade lessons end up with them clowning around. Haha...that's part of what it is to teach Sammy [in particular]. Sarah is always the good student. On this particular occasion, it was both of them trying to count how many legs a spider has. Both have successfully counted 8 legs but then they just couldn't resist armlocking each other in the process. 

Well...but I won't have it another way....it's truly a blessing to learn and grow with them.