What's Up ?

I can't believe it. It's almost end of November . Where have all the days gone? Swallowed up by work, cooking and cleaning and more work and cooking and cleaning.

The 1st half of the year , we were busy with the new house. Then we moved in and adapted to a totally new lifestyle. Not long after that my father-in-law and brother-in-law came to visit. We had a good time catching up on family stuff. During the visit, we realised that we spent a lot of time eating and eating. My father-in-law enjoys the food here. That's saying a lot especially for someone from Penang. Hubby always says Kuching food is no match to Penang's. Brother-in-law likes the lifestyle here. I guess it's more laid back compared to the fast pace in Penang. We took them to church and it was the first time our church friends saw the brother and all invariably commented how alike both brothers are in their looks and there were guessing who was older as they couldn't tell.. That was a bonus point for hubby coz he kept telling me that this is pure confirmation he is not aging as his brother is 3 years his junior!! Perasan !!!

All in all we had a relaxing time with them and my kids love the models given to them as gifts by their uncle and the Penang delicacies which their grandpa brought for them.

I am glad school is closed and I hope it will be a quiet time in the office ...no unexpected suddenlies that make me scream “AARGH” . “AARGH “ should be added in the Oxford dictionary as a new word coz it simply sums up how I feel when I have a bad hair day.

With the long break , I am not even sure what stuff to do with the kids apart from going to the library to stock up more reading materials. This is Heather's joy but Jordan's nightmare. Reading a book is akin to punishment for him.

Hubby already knows what he wants to do with the kids. Playing football with Jordan and taking both of them swimming. His recent addition to his “to-do” list is to learn to bake. My bro-in-law gave us a cake mixer. He lugged it all the way from Penang. Hubby is thrilled. He felt baking is something up his alley. We will see about that. All my cookbooks are ready . I just hope they won't be too many “disasters” or “ burnt offerings”. Maybe I should be more positive …. after all he does make good bread !!!!

As I glance at the calender , I feel the rest of the year is going to zoom by pretty fast. Our family will be busy with the usual Christmas dinners, Christmas shopping and church activities. On top of that we are expecting hubby's friend from Ipoh so that will keep us busy and happy. And before you know it, it's 2011 and school will be in full swing again.

Yahoo . We Made It !

We've conquerred Mount Santubong ! Few of us in the cell group had set our goal on climbing the tallest mountain in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu next year, and we planned to embark on some fitness training so that we will be fit for the climb next year. Our first stop was Mount Santubong, a relatively small mountain about 40 minutes from the city. It is said that Mount Santubong resembles a woman lying on her back. This mountain is renown for it's “single rise” steep slope, very intimidating especially when you are near its summit. We started climbing at 7.45am in the morning, and it took 2 1/2 hours to reach the peak, slightly ahead of our predicted 3 hours schedule . Well, the climb was tough, very steep, but we thought if we were to make it to KK, we had to overcome the fear and physical exhaustion of conquering this mount. With a lot of prayers and encouragements within the team, via Alvin's state of art walkie-talkie, I am proud to announce that WE MADE IT TO THE TOP ! The scenery at the peak is simply amazing, beautiful beyond words ! Alvin, Alex and me , feeling on top of the world ! One of the many obstacles we met along the way..... The fantastic view at the peak plus the cool temperature up there is enough to make you forget all the hardships of climbing. We praise God for the protection throughout the entire journey and thank you Alvin and for the great photos.

Change …. Embrace It !!!

Many times we are afraid of changes but if we are honest with ourselves, we can't deny the fact that in this world “change” is inevitable. Sometimes it can be a pleasant experience... like our family always enjoy going away for a holiday eventho some of our trips are short but the change of routine and scenery bring a lot of therapeutic benefits. At times when changes occur, it can be upsetting or even painful.

When our cell group got really big, word was thrown around about splitting into 2 smaller groups. The initial reaction was “ouch”, but since the beginning of 2010, we have settled into 2 groups of 5 families. Recently , Philip and I felt that the Lord wanted us to venture out some more … in building His Kingdom by empowering more people with His word. Sometime early next year, we will move out from the current group and find new people to share our lives with.

We really don't know what to expect but we felt this is what God wants us to do. We feel sad about leaving the current group as we have been together for so long and they are really such a blessing to us. Yet we feel God tugging at our hearts' string to answer His bidding. It will be a big change for us...but we know that when God calls , it is best to obey. After all, we have dedicated our home to God and opening it for another group of friends to come and study the Word and fellowship together should be no problem.

Philip and I strongly believe that the Word of God can transform people's lives. To be able to make a difference in someone's life is what every Christian should strive for. It is not about personal fame or looking good. It is about blessing someone so that they can in turn do likewise , hence creating a rippling effect. God's children should be able to bring positive changes wherever they are. We should walk the talk and change the world .

PUMPKIN & TOMATOES

Earlier in the week, the fridge was running empty and as usual, I made a marketing list for hubby. However, he forgot to bring the list to the market and had to depend on his memory .Upon reaching home, he realised that he got most of the stuff but forgot the pumpkin and the tomatoes. It wasn't a big deal as he could always buy them on another trip.


But “strange” things began to unfold. A couple of hours after returning from the market, Alex rang hubby telling him that he was coming over to the house to pass him something. Guess what ? Alex came and handed a lovely pumpkin to hubby. Hubby was bewildered and amazed.

That's not the end of it. The following day , I was hanging out the laundry and the neighbour's maid called out to me. You guessed right!!! She gave me a bag of tomatoes.


Hubby and I are really tickled by this incident. God provides even the littlest things and He has again open our eyes to who He is.

RELAX

Our cell group had this fervent wish to runaway from work and the usual round the mill activities so our leaders heartily agreed to go to Sematan. 6 families managed to breakaway and boy did we have fun. The weather was excellent for kite flying, cycling and just sitting around doing absolutely NOTHING.

Beautiful scenery to relax . Fun at the beach.
Fun in the pool.
Football mad. World cup fever still raging at Sematan. Hungry kids devouring the food at dinner time.
Food & more food. Our master chef Alvin hovered over the BBQ pit the whole nite to make sure we were well fed. We had sooo much food we were giving them away to the people in the next BBQ pit. Talk about being a blessing wherever we go!!!!


There was much laughter especially when we played the “James Bond” game introduced to us by Al. We were screeching with laughter. I was wiping away my tears from laughing too much. I believed we all had a terrific time. Word is going around that we are to head for Sabah for our next CG outing. The guys are talking about climbing Mt Kinabalu and snorkelling. So start saving!!! Now lets see where I kept my piggy bank ???

Thanks to Steven for the excellent photos.

FAQ & FYI

We have been asked many questions regarding the house so we thought we might address some of them in our blog.

Q: How did you find this house?
A: In a nutshell... Philip was taking a detour while on the way to pick me from work and he chanced upon this house with a “For Sale” sign on the gate.
Q : Who designed the house?
A: Well... a lot of the ideas came from magazines, Jac & Alex's house, picking Alex's brain and above all .. we prayed for ideas to come forth. We are receiving very positive comments about our house and we PTL for that. People are also casting admiring glances at our car porch ceiling. All credit goes to Alex.


Q: Where & when did you get all your furniture , lightings etc? A: Over the last few months we were scouting around the city for good bargains and we are happy to catch many good ones. It saved us a lot of money. We bought the house in October and subsequently we took advantage of the Christmas , Year End/New Year, Chinese New Year, Mega Carnival and Gawai Sales to purchase whatever our household needed. That was a huge bonus for us. Actually some of the furniture was from the previous house. Mom did not feel like having so many stuff around the house so we transported them over. Q: So do you still go back to your parents (in-laws) place ?
A: Of course we do and frequently too, though due to work , Philip and I go at different times.

Q: As your house is so near your workplace ….do you walk to work?
A: Are you kidding me ? All the way there in my heels ???

Q: Do you use your music room for teaching?
A: Yes , Philip conducts music lessons at home only in the mornings. He will be at the studio in the afternoons.



Q : Yunno... your house looks small from the outside but how come it doesn't feel that way from inside ? It's really spacious.

A: Er... don't know how to answer this kind of question ???

King of Glory

King of Glory

King of Glory, I worship You
You are awesome, Mighty and true
King of Glory, I adore You
All forgiving, Ever loving

O let me live in Your awesome Presence
Everyday I'll shout Your praise
I want to give You my best in everything
Your every Word shall guide my ways.



Our God is worthy of our utmost praises. This morning I was just so amazed at His creations as I jogged along the waterfront with Heather. As I praised Him, He put this new song in my heart, and I am so delighted to share this song with all of you !