"Pretend Vacation" Lunch

It's high noon and the only time of day you're guaranteed that no one else is going to be at the pool so we packed up our lunch and decided to pretend we were on vacation somewhere.

It was blindingly bright out but it was very comfortable at the table under the giant umbrellas. Zac made pizza bread and I prepped salad and a few other accompaniments. 

Think we all liked the change of scenery and that we were doing something outside of our usual routine. I find myself getting boxed in by routine and The Schedule so making the mundane special really shakes things up and slows things down enough to appreciate where we are now.

All Dressed Up

 

Photo taken on 14 February 2020

With nowhere to go.

Covid restrictions are still on and the government is allowing for a maximum of 8 visitors per day per home. You can only dine with 8 others at a table with no inter-mingling which certainly makes reunion dinner less than a reunion. Opa had the food we booked at Crystal Jade sent to Auntie Elan's and to our place so we could have family dinner on a smaller scale. It was really good to have Debbie and Jeekoh over after more than a year of not being able to have Saturday dinner together.

Flowers from our landscaper at Nyee Phoe

The accidental suckling pig that was supposed to be a duck.

初一was spent more or less like this:

Served with a platter of this for breakfast:

Kueh lapis from Benagwan Solo and 年糕

Still, we have to admit that the break from routine was nice and we got to spend time together just hanging out.

The outtakes:

Happy Niu Year

At Paragon reluctantly striking a pose with the decoration

Chinese New Year celebrations in school mean early dismissal for the kor kors which translates to lunch out with the cousins and a lot of sushi.

Saturday Dinner Hangout

When the boys don't let you in on the game

Just your average Saturday night with the kiddos making themselves very at home on our bed.

 

I am a BB Boy

 

First official parade event: 12BR Enrolment Ceremony

He was just one of 6 boys to march in the parade and one of 3 boys selected in his year to attend the ceremony. He was very pleased and so proud that he would have that opportunity. 

I am so delighted how he's grown in his love for the Boys' Brigade. While initially surprised that he would want to pick a CCA that would take up half of his Saturday, I see that it was God's influence at play to bring my son into a community of fellow Christians. While 2020 seemed to have wiped out the good foundation that seemed to be in place with IGNYTE at church, God still had a plan to make sure that Zac would have a consistent avenue to be around other like-minded people, to be moulded and guided with Christian principles, and to have mentors who would groom him into a fine young person.

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect,

but I press on to make it my own,

because Christ Jesus has made me his own."

Philippians 3:12

Back to School!

 

Primary 5-er and Sec 2-er

Morning hair, puffy faces - it's back to school we go again! (masks off for a quick and necessary photo to mark the start of the school year)

Praying for God to reveal to these young men His good and perfect plan for their lives and the purposes He has in store as they go about their day-to-day. I always have mixed feelings when I send them off into the big hamster wheel of school life. On the one hand, I am so excited to finally have some peace and quiet to think and do the tasks that have been on the back burner for a while. On the other hand, I will miss hearing their voices, feeling their presence and being able to hug them whenever I fancy. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and perhaps school helps maintain the fondness we feel for our younglings who would otherwise make us a little nutty!

Welcome 2021!

 

It feels like we have turned a chapter with the close of 2020 - the year that never was.

With open arms, we welcome a fresh new year heavy with the hopes that each day we encounter will be full of new beginnings and the desire to live more gratefully. 

Christmas Morning Madness!

 

I have to hand it to the kids. They managed to sit through Christmas service via Zoom AND a family photo before digging into their presents. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

This Christmas is so different from all the others but yet we choose to celebrate despite the imperfection!

The announcement was made that Phase 3 would only begin on the 28th of December, so we weren't able to have Jeekoh, Debbie, Denise, and Darren over as we usually would. We were fortunate that Mel's household of 5 was still able to come over to spend Christmas with us. 

Even though this year's gatherings and the feasting was scaled down, the meaning and message of Christmas were even more pronounced to me. This year seemed bent on robbing us of hope but the truth of the hope we all hold is really in us through Jesus. As we celebrate everything bright and beautiful in a world that'd gotten that much darker, I pray that we will each keep reaching toward better tomorrows for ourselves and for the ones around us too!

A blessed Christmas to all!

The boys have set Santa up for a healthier Christmas.

Times and Tides

It's our first time doing an inter-tidal walk with Young Nautilus. It felt like an adventure since we were out there on the beach around the time we would normally be calling it a day. Armed with torches (and Zachary with his net and stick) we walked the beach with our guide to find out what the tide left for us to find. 

This was Daddy's first time with us and we were so glad to have him there.

Sea cucumber: you can only tell which is the front when it sticks its tongue out!

Out of the four of us, I think I was the most enthusiastic about spotting the creatures and knowing what they were. The boys were most enthusiastic about spotting their friends who were being guided in their own family groups. Even though we signed up together, safe distancing measures had to be enforced so separate groups and staggered timings were the next best option. Still, we did manage to take just one quick photo before grabbing a really late dinner.

 

Simple Pleasures

 

Zac is on his year-end break way earlier than the other 3 kiddos but this means he gets to do what he normally wouldn't be able to, ie pick the cousins up from school!

I suspect this gives him the chance to see his old kindergarten. Even though he doesn't remember it clearly, he misses the sense of being that little and carefree. I miss him at that age too.

Lance Corporal ZKP

Congratulations to Zachary on getting promoted this year at the last parade of 2020! 

The change in rank not only captures his growth within Boys' Brigade but also incorporates the growth he's experienced as a young man this year. We are so proud of him and are so blessed to witness the glimpses of the person God is fashioning him into day by day.