Time with God

When we were childless, we prayed that God would bless us with children, now that we have children; we prayed less to God and spend less time with Him. There was one occasion that a voice in me prompted me to think “When God bless us with children, He does not mean that children and family take over our time with Him” which triggers me that being a mother does not give me the right to reason that now my hands are full, God will have to take a back seat.

I also understand that mothers are born with the nature to attend to their families’ needs but I realized this should not be done at the expense of our quality time with our Creator. I thank God that He made me to realize I need Him even more for the roles He entitled me to be in - a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a teacher. But before I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister or a teacher, I’m first a child of God.

God has been gracious to me that He gave me a wonderful and understanding husband, additional hands through the unconditional care of my mother-in-law and my lovely children. They gave me rooms to be alone and wings to reach my Heavenly Father.

Raya @ Taiping - Part 2

I believe for those who have been to Taiping Lake Garden would totally agreed with me that the place is a nice spot for photo shooting with its rich lush greens, ponds and well kept environment. No doubt that it is also a popular place for couples to take nice cool walks and have long conversations.

So this is what we did... (it all started by a picture that a friend took using hubby's camera, all agreed that it was a nice shot with the perfect angle). We decided to rewind 10+ years back and created below shots.

In the beginning...





Time past and soon we realized it's time to commit our lives as couple in everlasting union....


Then... time flies, soon we produced a flock of..........


Yeap, you are right 8 of us produced 9 PRINCESSES, can you guess who belongs to whom??

Ha ha ha, we had fun, hubby and I even make a shot of a romantic scene just like what you would see in a typical Bollywood movie... (I'm not releasing the version here... those who are interested may contact me personally for the copyright..)

Yvonne Foong

I’m here reaching out to all of you in the cyber world out there who have been accessing my blog and facebook to venture into Yvonne Foong’s blog and see if you are touched to do something for this young, brave, hopeful and gutsy lady. As a start I suggest you ordered her books and explored some of the products she’s selling on line not for the sake of making profit but to raise enough fund to regain her sight. Please put your time online doing something worthwhile and let your humanity visible by putting your care in action. Thank you all… and thanks to Daphne who leads me to her.

Games that we played..

Games that we played as a family:

1) Building blocks – we will build anything and hubby will ask each of us to tell a story out of the things that we have built, during this process creativity sips in and Emily is real good at this.

2) The stack – stack them up, remove each block at a time to increase the height, this test our patience, motor skill and create some tension during the course of the game.

3) Dance – hubby will play fast music and we will dance our heart out with really funny and ridiculous moves… (only for personal home viewing, lest we will be labeled as psycho!)

4) Act it out – hubby make it an effort to lead in weekly family devotion, tells a story and teaches biblical values, we take turns to act out the story, I always have to act the “bad/naughty” character…

5) Guess what am I? We think of an object/animal/type of food/anything and describe the item, the rest take turns to guess… builds imagination! The girls can’t wait to tell us the answers!!

6) Outdoor – Hubby loves nature and always bring us out either for a stroll, cycle, beach…anything outdoor

7) Memory card – We arrange the cards/patterns in a matrix, memorize them for a minute, flip the card over and find the pair by opening one card at a time, the girls always win… our brain cells are depleting each day… got to accept that!

8) Badminton – Mummy play with Michelle, daddy play with Emily, change partners and mummy play with daddy under the car park below our condominium.

9) Soup boiling – Mummy bring out all the ingredients, children clean them, mummy cuts them, children place them into the pot, add required portion of water and mummy takes care of the rest…

10) Colourful sticks – I played this more than 30 years ago, we group all the sticks in different colours together and hold them vertically, release our hands and let the sticks fall free, each takes turn to remove individual stick without touching other sticks nearby.

11) Scrabble – I end up forming all the words, Michelle and Emily arrange them on the board, Emily helps to draw the tiles, (we’ll improve on that later…)

12) Scrapping – this is new, we went out, find a spot and scrap whatever that is in front/around us….

How about you? What are the games that you play as a family?

Help Yvonne regain her sight!

I'm touched to lend my helping hand to Yvonne and read about a book review on her life, I'm ordering one and if you are touched too, please go to this website to understand more and how you could be a part of the project. Let us who have sight not forgetting those who have not or in the threat of losing it... God keep Yvonne and watch over her fund raising to a better life.

Note: Added information, for those who are interested to get the book, please write a cheque out to FOONG MING NIANG and mail it to

Yvonne Foong
166 JLN SS15/7
Subang Jaya
Selangor 47500,
Malaysia

The book costs RM20.00 plus a minimum fee for normal postage, blessed is he who give without expecting any in return... :)

Raya @ Taiping & Kuala Sepetang - Part 1

We went for a 2 days 1 night trip to Taiping and Kuala Sepetang with three other families last Monday and Tuesday. It was a fun-filled trip packed with delicious food, educational tour, water fun time, lots of laughter, jams, sweat… you name it we experienced it.

If you were thinking how on earth do 4 families with 9 girls managed the trip and achieved so much, come tag along on our adventure trail…. Followed by pictures later ya!

Day 1
8.00 -9.00 am – Dim Sum at Pekaka Square
9.00 – 10.00 am – Journey to Taiping with songs, quizzes in the car packed with 4 talkative girls
10.30 am – 12.30 noon – Taiping Zoo
12.30 – 2.00 pm – Lunch at the hawker center, near Taiping market, they served fabulous Koay Teow Soup…
2.00 – 4.00 pm – Check in at Taiping Golf Resort, swimming and water games (the men are rough!)
4.00 – 5.30 pm – Rest (Super tired!)
6.00 – 9.00 pm – Dinner at Siong Leng restaurant (the food plus the bill were a total disappointment! Bad recommendation!!)
9.00 – 10.30 pm – Chatted…
10.30 pm – Completely knocked down for the day

Day 2
8.00 – 9.00 am – Breakfast in the hotel
9.30 – 10.30 am – Taiping Lake Garden for photo shooting and a stroll around the lake, superb view and nice weather
10.30 – 12.30 noon – Back to hotel for a dip in the pool again…
1.00 – 2.00 pm – Trip to Kuala Sepetang (Port Weld)
2.00 – 3.00 pm – Lunch opposite the KTM Port Weld signboard (A hut selling superb curry mee, Loh mee (Penang one much better), Chai Kueh (this is good), Curry Puff (thumbs up too), Cucur Udang (we saw many people ordered this but too full to stuff in anymore…)
3.00 – 5.00 pm – Mangrove Forest Boat Ride (Sun bathing.. the kids enjoyed it)
5.00 – 6.30 pm – Early dinner at “Restoran Tepi Sungai” (We ordered octopus dip with grated nut chili sauce, deep fried baby crabs, deep fried shrimp, buttered prawns, siput, steamed fish, stir-fry lettuce, char mee and bihun (for the kid’s table), fried egg, 6 bottles of herba tea, guess how much is the bill???)
6.30 – 8.30 pm – Back to Penang…

I extracted below photos from some of the website, ours one yet to be downloaded..
From top left and in clock wise direction... mangrove forest, Taiping Lake garden, Port Weld curry mee, Taiping Golf Resort (where we put in).


From top left, deep fried shrimp, octopus, stir-fry mee, buttered prawn..


Stay tune for more photos in Part 2.

Renovation Idea

Been looking into websites to get inspiration for our humble new home (in a couple of months, by God's grace)..... anyone out there can recommend reliable, reasonable quality and cost effective suppliers/contractors within Penang/mainland?? We'll be sticking to most of the original design (cost saving) and try to modify by adding our personal touch here and there...this is a home where we will dedicate to the work of the Lord....

Garden Assignment

Hubby gave me an assignment lately, the details as below:

Duration: 2-3 months?
Cost: Minimum
Specification: As below pictures
Scope of work: Backyard landscaping/gardening

To turn this (Before)




To something like this (After)




So that's why I'm so busy nowadays, gardener at work, must come up with a concept (theme), design and finally the physical work. Hubby in return is responsible for the fencing, lawn and whatever dirty work required... he he he

We are visualizing great family time at this area, the kids blowing bubble, playing badminton, me reading a book while sipping a nice cup of lavendar tea while hubby working on the weeds (ka ka ka).

Think Big!

I’m currently reading a book entitled “Think Big” by Dr.Ben Carson, not into book reading lately except academically based but one sweet church sister (our church librarian) shared that I must read the book, got it delivered to me personally, I was touched and in order to show my appreciation to her I got to read the book which is due on 20th Sept.

This is an autobiography of the author blended with elements of parenting, keys to success, trusting God, miracles, real-life struggles and triumph. Two-third into it, am going to finish it by end of the week.

One of the section that caught my attention is how his mother (a single parent, black and uneducated woman) encouraged Ben from the last among his class to an outstanding student through faith in God. This is what her mom told him and his brother every time they need a booster from life’s trial..

“If others can do it, you can to do it too except that you will learn to do it better”

Well, hubby is suggesting that it’s high time Michelle learn how to cycle (just with 2 wheels on). However we have one little problem, you see, Michelle has always been more intellectual (good memory with above average academic performance) rather than the sporty type (clumsy like the mummy with below average motor skills), also she’s the “kiasi” type.

First session was… well… second session was…. hmm…some improvement (at least she knows how to prevent herself from falling by using her leg), third session still unable to place the other foot on the pedal… you see she got a little bit discourage… then I remembered what Ben’s mother said and I said the same thing “you see, others can do it, you can do it too and mummy believe you can cycle one day”. I’m not sure if it was those words, the next day, she is eager to cycle and this time she managed to get her the both feet on the pedal but still unable to balance herself. I would consider a major improvement.

Thinking that our condo corridor might not be a good place to practice, I brought her down to the common area/”outdoor hall” near the pool area so that with the ample space she’s free to cycle and the probability of hitting the wall or columns would be lower.

I took a brisk walk along the perimeter of the space, Emily strolled (or stormed) with her scooter and Michelle was free to roam. To my surprise just after 10 minutes or so Michelle managed to balance herself and not long beginning to cycle from one end to the other end of the open hall! Wow what an accomplishment and I can see the joy in her face and Emily’s too. She fell from the bicycle but got up and cycled again.

Last Saturday we went to the hall again, this time she could balance and even make a U turn. I’m astonished by how she progressed, my clumsy girl has finally learned to cycle (in less than a week). That’s the power of positive reinforcement

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Above passage is extracted from the Bible, Luke 12:13-21 (New International Version). It is a reality that most of us toiled day and night to gather riches on earth, some for basic livelihood some for more. We all know that life is so fragile; we could be here today and gone the next minute. We often hear this “life is short, live to the fullness, be happy and merry”.

To me, it is really amazing that God’s word is so relevant yesterday, today and in the days to come, that proofs God understands human so much that nothing that we say, think or do is beyond His comprehension. He even knows what we are about to think, say and do. In the above passage God warns us not to store up material richness for ourselves but instead be rich toward God, in other words we are to store up richness in heaven where no thieves can steal away from us. The richness in heaven is in the form of saved souls and everything that pleases God, now you may ask what pleases the Almighty God? It’s all written in the word of Life….

As a Christian it’s so important to feed upon our daily bread (God’s word) for it is the source of all the nutrients required for our soul, for those who have a Bible and it has been keeping dust, maybe it’s time to get it out and see what God has to say to you, for those who are reading the Bible daily, God continue to speak to you….I attached here a link to get you started, come taste and see that the Lord is good, it’s my daily dose of God’s word to get my day going. God bless you as you discover His richness.

Bargaining Power

Yesterday, while I was in the bathroom, Michelle stood at the door and asked if she could watch just 2 songs from the bonus edition of High School Musical 2. House rule is no TV after 7pm from Mon – Thur, by the way I lost count of how XXX times they have watched the CD. While shampooing my body, I answered “yes” and continued with my business, a few seconds later came Emily by the door and asked if they could watch 3 songs instead of 2, below was our conversation:

Emily: Mummy, can we watch 3 songs?
Me : No, just two
Emily: Ha, three ah? (I think she act stupid and pretend hearing “three”)
Me: No… jeh jeh asked for two, I gave permission for just two
Emily: Hmm… three lar…
Me: Two means two, you either watched two or not at all
Emily: Aiyah..two lar two lar.. (walked away)

Recently they employed a new tactic and that is to nag and repeatedly plead in their poor thing look and voice. Sometimes this mummy falls into their trick and at times managed to come out of their spell and insisted on my decision.

Mama Lunch Outing

I planned a “mama lunch” last Saturday contrary to the “mama dinner” last year. The setting is quite similar, get all mama out, away from the kids and hubby, just have a good peaceful lunch (young mothers would know what I mean, not being mean to the daddies out there ya!), chat and chart the course of our “mama group” next milestone. This time we went to OXO restaurant near Queensbay Mall. I’ve been there once, the setting is quite comfortable with couches set up as seats, smooth background music and pretty lamps hanging from the ceiling. We ordered set-lunch from the menus recommended by the chef, the portion was just nice and most importantly we had a fruitful session.

We decided to start a prayer partner group, plan to meat twice a month with some family activities in between that involved the whole family and topical discussions. The ultimate purpose is to support one another in love and in truth with God’s word as our foundation for knowledge and wisdom. We hope to build closer relationship through the prayer partner activity and support each other through the word of God.

Though our membership/attendance is not very consistent (mainly due to family commitments), we thank God for supportive husbands and sure we did talked about our kids and hubbies, it’s true politics and careers are not our cup of tea but rest assured they are not gossips but means to share a part of our lives. I still remember clearly our Pastor’s wife advice to all mothers the last time we met which I think it’s very true… “God does not give us a perfect husband but He gives us the man just right for each of us” How profound…. In the same way we are not perfect mothers and wives but just the right mothers and wives for our children and husband.

Thumbs up for mothers ya! And not forgetting for daddies too…

Lil Isaac, a blessing and channel of worship

How can a bedridden boy who don't even know how to exercise his own body muscle be a channel of worship and glorified our Lord. Little Isaac is hospitalised for uncontrolled fits again and being a parent it is very heartbreaking to see a child lying on the bed and being helpless about it. We could hardly understand how the parents feel BUT I know for sure how Isaac in his condition right now serve to be an instrument of worship that glorifies our Lord.

His life taught us that men has limits, God is all powerful and able,
His life taught us the power of prayer, the power of unity through prayer,
His life taught us that life is so precious, God give us life to enjoy things around us,
His life taught us how beautiful each of us are wonderfully made,
His life taught us about patience, dependence and unconditional love,
His life taught us to be humble, thankful and hopeful,
His life taught us about things we could not have learnt in any other way,
His life is truly a channel of worship that glorifies our Lord.
So lil Isaac, I believe you are in good hands, the battle belongs to our Lord.