Ethan's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Ethan's 1st birthday last Sunday which was May 10. Ethan's actual birth date is May 13, but as it falls on a weekday, the nearest weekend was last Sunday which was also Mother's Day and also the first time I celebrated Mother's Day as a mother, so all these made up the special occasion :)

I wanted to make this birthday party simple yet special,as if it was my own birthday simply because my dearest lil one was turning one. So this non-artistic mummy tried to make her own birthday invitation card, birthday poster, birthday deco, party giftaways with See Mun's help.

We invited few close family and church friends over for the party which started at 330pm at Family Heritage Cafe. The cafe owner is a friend from my old church, so thanks to the couple who have willingly agreed to reserve the whole place for my party and gave very good price and good food for the catering. (this is free advertisement for you :D)

We also decided to dedicate Ethan during the party itself since that was a special day, and we wanted to take the commitment and pledge to raise Ethan up in the way of the Lord. So we started off with Mike leading some worship songs, followed by Ps Les who gave some sharing and conducted the baby dedication. Ps Rebekah then prayed the opening prayer and jeng jeng jeng..food was served!

Everyone had good time fellowshipping with one another. Ethan was also in extremely good mood that day as he let everyone carry him, and smiled whenever he knew he was on candid camera. This is what we call baby's instincts, they know how to act when they're in the center of attention, hahaha

It was a memorable event, thanks to all who were present, not forgetting my dear photographers Jacky and Jenny for helping to photograph these beautiful moments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!


Miki at the entrance of Family Heritage


Some of the dishes served on that day


It's tea break time..Alan picking his choice of food


Ethan's birthday cake


Short worship led by Mike


Ps Les sharing


Pastor Les praying for mummy, daddy and Ethan during the baby dedication


Wan Sin, Miki, Ethan & Mummy


the family in red ( I like this pic so am making it the profile pic too)

Ethan called me Mama

It's been a longgg time since I last blogged, haha. And considering that this is in fact my first blog of the year..been so busy and lazy ;) But we're still surviving, Ethan has been growing well and he's already 9 months+. Time really flies, but this morning I was filled with joy when I heard my precious son call me 'Ma Ma'. Yea, I didn't hear it wrongly it's 'Ma Ma'! :) For an instant, that made me the proudest 'Ma Ma' on earth!

Will try to upload some of his latest pics later. Sorry lil Ethan, for your MaMa's laziness to update your blog...meanwhile, we're also looking forward to papa Len's return tomorrow. He has been travelling extensively lately, went to Germany for 2 weeks, 2 days later went to Phil for 2 days last week, and this whole week he's in 'money-lar' again.

Blessed weekend everyone :)

Blessed Christmas & New Year

It's the time of the year again, where people are busy buying and wrapping gifts for their loved ones, while some are reflecting upon the moments of the year and making resolutions for the new year.

As I grow through the years, I've come to feel that Christmas is not just about buying or receiving gifts. It's not just about sending greeting cards and wishing people 'Merry Christmas', but it has become more Christ-masly important than the festival itself. Being a Christian for many years, I'm still apprehending the true meaning of Christmas, appreciating its true meaning and holding on to the best gift that our Father has given us - Jesus.

This Christmas is special for Len & I as we have our precious lil Ethan to celebrate with us. It'll never be the same again having an additional member to our family, as the world was never the same after Jesus came.

I just read a beautiful story written by Sharon Jaynes, imagining herself as a shepherd visiting Jesus at His birth - the night He was born. For one moment, imagine yourself as the shepherd writing this letter to his brother, Matthias..

Dear Mathias:

As I am writing you this letter, my hand is still a bit shaky. I'm not sure it will ever stop. But I must tell you about an incredible experience that happened to Matthew, Simeon, Levi, and me, two weeks ago. As usual, we were watching our sheep on a hillside east of Bethlehem. I was on the night watch and the others were sleeping. There was something unusual about the sky that night. I can't explain it, really. Like heat reflecting off the desert sand, the stars seemed to be jockeying into place, fidgeting and restless in their usual stayed positions. Diamonds danced on the inky backdrop, rather than standing sure and still. Even the sheep seemed to notice the heavenly mirage.

Then it happened. As if a curtain was pulled back, I saw what was stirring the stars....angels! Yes, angels, angels, everywhere. Immediately, the others awoke to the celestial lights, flapping of wings and the resonation of indistinguishable singing.

At first, only one spoke. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Then, the curtain was drawn back even more and the sky was filled with angels! "Glory to God in the highest!" they sang, "and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."

The flapping of their wings stirred the air, whipped our hair, and blew our tunics in all directions. Amazingly, the sheep were calm during this majestic occurrence. It was almost as if this were nothing unusual happening. Perhaps this was not the first time they had seen an angel. Who knows? We, on the other hand, were awestruck. Tears streamed down our dusty cheeks. We fell to our knees, marveling at the beauty of heaven displayed before us.

Then quietly and slowly, the curtain returned and the angels were no more. We rose to our feet and began to run in the direction of Bethlehem to see this babe. How did we know where to go?

Mathias, the only way I know how to explain it is to think of my relationship to my sheep. When I am grazing in a field with several of my friends and their flocks, our sheep get all mixed together. Sometimes five different flocks can be mingled together at one time. But as soon as I call to my sheep, they separate from the others and follow me home. They know my voice. Each and every one of them can distinguish the voice of their shepherd and they know whom to follow.

That's how it was that night. It was as if a shepherd had called my name. I knew his voice and he called me out from among all the rest.

Where did we go? To a palace? To a temple? To a stately manor? No, we went to a stable. But isn't that where a shepherd would call his sheep? To a stable?

What did we see? A burning bush like our ancestor, Moses? Writing on the wall? A vision? No. We saw a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger -- just like the angel had said. He didn't speak, but somehow he called our names. He is the Christ, Mathias. The one of which the prophets spoke.

Do you remember the prophet Isaiah's words? "He tends his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." When I saw the babe (who later his parents told me was named Jesus), I knew this was the one of whom the prophet spoke. And didn't the prophet Micah say the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? It all makes sense to me now, and yet it is still a mystery.

Why me? Why did God choose to send the angels to announce the Savior's birth to me -- a lowly shepherd? I don't know the answer to that, my friend. All I know is that one starry night, I was a shepherd. And then God spoke my name and I became a sheep. Now, my friend, God is calling your name as well.

I don't know what will become of this baby in the manger, but I do know this...the world will never be the same again -- nor will I.

Shalom,
Your brother, the sheep.

Blessed Christmas and New Year, everyone!

Ethan is 7 months big!

Today marks the 7th month for lil Ethan who was born on May 13. Looking back, he has grown much, not only in terms of physical but also his motor and communication skills. These days he has learnt to demand; anything that fancies him he'll want to grab hold of it, and he'll complain if he doesn't get what he wants. He has also learnt to recognize people; resistant to letting strangers or whoever doesnt seem familiar to him to carry him. He has improved on his motor skills - his grab is pretty firm, and he can hold two different things with both hands, or pass one thing from one hand to the other. He's also able to sit on his own for some moment. His communication skills are also getting better - when we ask him something, he'll answer in his universal tone 'HUH'.

So this is Ethan, our darling boy..


Ethan playing his tambourine


Ethan with his tambourine and teething toy



Ethan sitting with 'tauke' style

Cousin's Visit

Cousin Cheng Chuan and his family came over to Melaka from Singapore for a 2-days trip. His son, Kai Ce has grown much since the last time I saw him. A Christmas baby born last year so he'll be 1 year old this coming Christmas. I feel guilty that Len and I weren't able to spend much time with them as we were busy preparing for new maid's arrival. Thankfully they were smart enough to scout out the nice makan places and be their own tour guides :p Cousin, I promise the next trip I'll make up for this!


From L-toR : Len, Lis, Ethan, my nephew Kai Ce, cousin's wife Zhang Ze, cousin Cheng Chuan


Cheng Chuan, Lis, Ethan, Zhang Ze, Kai Ce


Kai Ce, Zhang Ze, Ethan, Cheng Chuan


Ethan, our new maid Naome, Lis

Wonderful Surprise

I received a wonderful surprise this morning. My cousin fr Singapore called to inform that there's a cheque for me from the Inland Revenue (IR). For those who're not from Singapore, IR is where we receive and pay our income taxes to. The amount of cheque is exactly the amount that I've paid to IR early this year - total taxable income for year 2007. I still can't figure out why is this cheque 'returned' to me - I was considered a foreigner (not yet PR then therefore the taxable income is higher) so my gross income (although not that high lar but still reach the taxable limit) should have been taxed more. It must has been God's favour!

This reminds me that He is our Jehovah Jireh, our Provider at all times. Even during this economic season of winter, I trust that He'll continue to provide for our needs as all things work for good for those who love Him and live according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Praise The Lord for His faithfulness :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ethan's Shots

Managed to capture some nice shots of Ethan today, so jeng jeng jeng...:)


Lil Ethan smiling away as his daddy tickles him


Cool father and son pose


Lil Ethan sticking out his tongue


Ethan: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..


Yes, my two front teeth..

Ethan is 6 months old

My baby turned 6 months 2 days ago (13 Nov 08). That's another major milestone for an infant. Ethan has grown much over the past months, not sure how heavy or tall is he now, gotta find out from next visit to the paediatric. His 1st tooth is out - saw the tiny white cap appear 2 days ago. Hence have started him on semi solid food - cereal and rusk biscuits mixed with milk/water. I've also stopped bfeeding him as supply is getting lesser and I've also reached my target to bfeed Ethan till he's 6 months. So after this, I can jaga my diet - no more excuse liao, haha.

Will update more of Ethan's pics later as I haven't been taking any recently. Lazy bum me is simply too lazy to blog nowadays. Well, times are bad now. There's economic slowdown everywhere, and my company will be shutting down on weekends and Christmas and CNY week. So all employees have to take forced leave for that 2 weeks, which would mean negative leave for those newly employed like me. Hmm I guess I can't complain much as I'm thankful to be employed at this moment. Will take this opportunity to travel back to Sibu with Len & Ethan to spend some time with my family there.

Oops, my baby is awake now. Till next blog, happy weekend everyone!

Visit to PK's

Len, Ethan, myself and Seok Wee visited a close friend, Pei Koon, at her place in Selandar yesterday. Pei Koon gave birth to her lil darling, 'Xiao Rou' on 21 Sept, and she has just competed her confinement couple of days ago. We delivered a whole lot of goodies for the baby - 5-tier drawers, baby clothes, mittens, botties, pampers, carrier bag...haha, thanks to the contribution from our ex PE colleagues.

'Xiao Rou' was sleeping soundly when we were there - no noise seemed to be capable of waking her up! Babies just look so sweet when they're in their dream world.

Alas when we were about to chao, 'Xiao Rou' woke up after pee-ing on her daddy's shirt, haha. And it happened that both babies (Ethan and 'Xiao Rou') cried together as both mummies (PK and I) posed for candid shot..

Like Father O Mother?

Took these pics this morning before we went to church. So who does Ethan look more like now? I'm beginning to get some comments that he looks more like me, however most still say he's daddy's product. Anyhow, he is and will always be mummy and daddy's darling :D

Ethan's pics at 5 months

As promised...


Haircut by mummy (Ethan : I dare not see myself..)


After retrim at saloon (Ethan : Now I look better..)


He's much chubby these days ya... (Ethan : Am I cuter now? :D)

At 5 months..

It's been a while since I last blogged. Been getting busier at work, and after work, I'm lazy to use pc as most of my time in office is spent staring at pc. In addition, my laptop wasn't able to start up for some reason, so one reason or another leads to my slack in blogging. Arh..enough of excuses lar, nevertheless, thank God today is Friday again :)

Ethan is growing well, he's going to be a big boy soon, coming to 5 months in another 3 days. Yesterday I took leave to take care of him as my mil had to go for check-up at hospital. Cut Ethan's nails and hair, the fringe is crooked so my parents-in-law had been laughing at him since then, said he looks like 'anak sarawak', haha. It's ok, he's also partially anak sarawak mah, and his mom is not a qualified 'hair-cutter' also mah. Nevertheless, my baby still looks as cute and sweet as ever, no discount for that. Will take some pics of his modern hair-style and upload later.

So what are the checkpoints for a 5-month-old? Let's see..

Sitting up on his own
By now, Ethan's physical developments are coming fast and furiously. When on his back, he'll lift his head and shoulders. He may even sit momentarily without assistance -- he likes to sit up and watch tv, behaving like an adult. If I block his sight using my hands to prevent him from watching tv, he will turn his head up and down, or left and right to catch the vision! If you support him under the arms while letting him balance him feet on your thighs, he'll bounce up and down. He's also capable of bringing an object to his mouth for oral exploration.


Repeating his favourite sounds
I realize Ethan is adding new sounds to his language repertoire, and he likes to do the 'making bubbles' sound, especially when he mengamuk (complaining, hehe).

Strong enough to feed himself
Usually before I feed Ethan, I'll ask him 'where is your bottle' while shaking the bottle in front of him. He'll extend both hands to try to grasp the bottle (I take that as an indication that he wants to drink). Guess he'll be better able to sit up by himself and grasp small objects sometime after six months. Ethan is also showing more signs that he's ready for solids -- from a lessened tongue-thrust reflex to a keener interest in the foods that we are eating. Can see him chewing or licking his lips when we eat in front of him, haha. However, we'll try to start him with solid food only after he reaches 6 months.

Honing in on sounds
Ethan now realises where sounds come from, and he'll turn quickly toward a new one. He seems to recognise his own name too, so I alternately call him Ethan and Yong Shen (his Chinese name) to stimulate his attention. When we adults talk to one another, Ethan also listens intently as if he understand what we're saying, hehe.


A growing range of emotions
Before I carry Ethan, I'll extend both hands and ask if he wants to be carried. He's starting to respond by raising his arms, and sometimes he looks sad when Len or I say 'bye bye' to him - as if he knows that we're leaving for work. He still laughs nonchalantly when we tease or tickle him - that's the best laughter one can ever have man, hehe. Ethan also likes to listen to songs, esp when I sing 'Jesus loves me this I know', he'll stay calm and stare at me innocently. Sweet child of mine..:)

For many parents, this is when the fun begins. Seeing him grow each day simply amazes me and reminds me of God's goodness and love for us. God is good! =)

Can I Borrow $25? (commented)

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door..

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Wanted to comment about this yesterday but didn't have time. Talking about time, even a small boy knows how to buy time from his father. Yes, the 2 things I would really pay to buy in this world are time and freedom. During my time in Singapore, I have come to terms that time is indeed money. Take transport for instance,the $ one pays for is measured by the travelling time to that destination. You can take bus if you have lots of time to sell, or pay slightly higher for mrt to buy some time,or pay even higher for taxi to buy more time. Even for bus itself, they have the 100m-a-stop and express types which you can gauge which one charges you for purchasing time. Some Malaysian peeps choose to save $ by selling time to travel to JB to purchase their bus tickets to go home. And the list goes on..

Time and tide waits for no man. Time seems to tick away faster the older I grow. Sometimes when it's hard to fork out quantity time, we have to ensure it's quality time that is spent with our loved ones. For me, if I can't spend enough quality time, I will buy more quantity time to do so, so that I won't regret in future..

Till then, have a pleasant time this weekend, everyone :)

It's Monday again

It's the start of another new week. Mid-autumn just passed, Ethan turned 4 months last Sat, Len and I had our simple 3rd 'paktoh' anniversary at Nadese last night (2 days belated, hehe). That was weekend.

Something unusual happened in the company I'm working for this morning. Some 500+ employees (technicians, operators, engineers, managers)went on strike to protest against the forced retrenchment of some 30 employees. From what I heard, HR called these employees to their office, took away their badges and had them escorted to guardhouse whereby they were listed as no-longer-Infineon-staffs. The ESS (employment separation scheme) was offered last month, but I guess these are the group of employees who haven't intended to take this up, either that or they're not satisfied with the forced procedure. This reminds me of a rather similar scenario in my previous company in Singapore, just that the 'victims' there were more just-follow-law type, or maybe because this is too common there. Over here, this is the 2nd time such incident occurred. 1st one happened 20 years ago. Reporters and police came later, watch out for this news in tomorrow's paper.

Our country is also in a topsy turvy condition with the recent arrest of RPK and tkok. I wonder what will happen tomorrow (Sept 16) or a couple more days from now. Seeing these happenings make me feel sober, reminding me how limited we are, and how God is in control. I just need to rely on Him more and more, while learning to be still in the midst of life's turbulence.

Hide me now under Ur wings..