Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

I was browsing through my blog’s photo archives the other day and i was drawn to some particular shots from the past.

And so I thought, why not I put these together in one blog post?

[There are actually heaps more which I personally like, but if I were to narrow it down to just ten, I’d choose these ones below]

Hope they’ll inspire you to treasure and capture more precious moments of your own. Especially those of little children, for they’ll only be this little, once.

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23 July 2007 : Mommy smiles cheek to cheek when …

Anya was 3 years and 4 months old here, and she was such a sloooowwww eater. I mean, it could take 1.5 hours (sometimes longer!) for her to finish her meal by herself. Of course it could be much faster if I just spoon-fed her, but I was training her to finish her meals herself, and gee, those months were emotionally draining!

After those challenging few months, she showed positive progress (phew!), and the clock, the time, the big smile, the empty mouth, and the newspaper ‘mat’ (used in those days as a faster way to clean up the messy table afterwards) are all summed up in this picture!

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25 February 2008 : My late lunch and me

Vai was 1.5 years old and his mealtimes were getting ‘better’ (read : he’d want to self-feed, using his fingers most of the time!)

And when I say mealtimes were better, I think you should check how bad it was when he was about 7.5 months old :

Vai’s shocking mealtime and Mealtime Mess!

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26 May 2008 : Food. Please?

Vai was 1 year and 9 months old and he’s eating rather well at this stage. We were at a friend’s son’s 3rd birthday party (notice the party hat?), and it was DINNER TIME.

I love his expression here, and how his plate was … upside down! heh.

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19 July 2008 : Spending time today before it slips away

This photo was actually taken sometime in 2006, when Anya was still about two years old. I still remember how I took it during our crafting session together back then.

This photo is part of my 400-or-so old blog posts that are YET to be manually transferred to this site (I did my blog in HTML prior to May 2008), and really, I don’t think I could ever finish transferring ‘everything’. When oh when.

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16 July 2008 : Yes we’re siblings

Anya was 3 years 4 months and Vai was 1 year 11 months.

I love their spontaneous laughters here! (They’re playing on the floor and I had to stand ‘over them’, with my legs wide open, looking down towards them to get this shot)

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7 July 2008 : Enjoying the moment

Anya’s colourful bed sheet adds a happy feeling to this shot, I think.

And I love this one because it projects a feeling of happiness and spontaneity, which are part and parcel of being a child.

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5 September 2008 : Right here with you

Anya was 3.5 years old and we were getting ready for her ballet class. I just love the overall feeling of the shot.

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3 November 2008 : Loving You

We were all just downstairs near the playground when the shot was taken. And I love the loving feeling captured and how Vai was still short and chubby here, hehe.

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21 March 2009 : The art of staying cool and away from scorching sun

Vai was 2 years and 7 months, wearing my cousin’s sunnies, and we’re all dressed up and ready for my (other) cousin’s wedding in Perth.

I love the brick wall background, the pose, the smile and the blue sky reflection!

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17 June 2009 : Loving Kids’ Tennis moments

This is the most recent one out of the ten shots. Vai was 2 years and 9 months and I love how he intently watched Daddy (the shadowy figure in white top) play tennis over on the other court during his Tennis camp’s break time.

It’s like, lil Vai was inspired by what he saw.

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I wonder, which ones are your favourites?

Every Friday night our family goes to a church fellowship together, and what was delivered last Friday in particular reminded me of so many relevant things. And I feel I need to share them with you too.

[I know I won’t be able to share ‘everything’ in detail, so I’d just share a few points with you today]

It’s about juggling work and leisure in life, and the common problems that are associated with them.

And today, I’ll share with you more on the impact of today’s Technology Revolution in our lives.

– Technology is supposed to help get things done faster, but whether we realise it or not, today’s technology tends to cause us to feel more ‘rushed’ every day.

– Today’s technology also changes family’s lifestyle, as work and other things tend to ‘invade’ our home too. In the days when there are no mobile phones, blackberry, or ‘internet-on-the-go’, when people leave their office, the works were left behind.

Nowadays, people tend to check on their work (and others like, their emails, facebook, and twitter) wherever, whenever. People get absorbed in front of the computer and in what they have in their hands, when they’re supposed to be spending time with their family, eg.

– Technology is supposed to ‘save’ us time because it helps in getting things done faster. But the reality is, it is now more ‘time consuming’ when it comes to our interaction with ‘technology’. Because we’re somewhat unconsciously ‘inclined’ to spend ‘more’ time with it.

A quick check would be, to ask ourselves these questions:

How much time do we spend on our mobile phones, blackberry, and the computer each day? (our television included).

Has it changed and affected our family lifestyle? In a good way or in a negative way?

Have we spent MORE time with the technology we have than with others, like our friends, family and kids?

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As I heard these points being elaborated and discussed, I feel as if these reminders were meant FOR me.

And I tell myself, I must always bear these in mind whenever I go about doing my day to day things.

Because I know, technology can work to our advantage, but it can also ruin and takes us away from what’s actually MORE important in our life.

God, help me.

Now here’s a really nice coincidence.

On our way back from the Indonesian Embassy last Wednesday, we were warmly greeted by a nice young Indonesian lady.

And we found out soon after that she’s Kunjung Whitaker, a Finalist in the Singing Competition – Anugerah 2009 – by Suria Channel!

Now for those who’re not familiar, let me tell you a little bit more about it.

Anugerah 2009 is something like the American Idol. Or, if you’re talking in local context, the Singapore Idol. The only difference is, Anugerah 2009 is an annual Singing Competition organised by the local Malay TV channel here in Singapore, the Suria Channel.

I personally have heard about this singing Competition, but I’ve never watched it before since I rarely watch TV at home too.

And this is where the wonder of YOUTUBE comes along! Heh.

I get to watch past episodes of Anugerah 2009 on youtube and I am WOWED by Kunjung’s powerful voice! Love it!

Click HERE to watch her jazzy performance in Anugerah 2009’s episode 4.

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We both clicked because we see ourselves being on the same boat.

We both are Indonesians, and finalists in the competitions that we’re in right now.

She’s the only Indonesian finalist in Anugerah 2009, the top 6 female finalists. And I’m in the top ten ‘Best Photography Blog’ category, and also the only Indonesian (and christian) blogger in the Singapore Blog Awards.

Anyway.

Tomorrow is the big day where the semi-final voting closes (Tue, 14 July, 6pm) and only TWO female singers will be chosen out of SIX.

Comments from the judges for Kunjung’s performances have always been positive, but just like the American Idol and the Singapore Idol, winners are completely determined by public votes.

Go and check out her videos and see if you can lend her your support too ya …

To vote by SMS : Text ‘ANU 6’ to 73388

Or call : 1900-112-7706 ($0.60 per vote)

If you ask us, she already has our votes. Not because she’s an Indonesian, but because she’s got talent and a powerful voice that deserves to win.

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To check out her website, go to http://www.kunjunglive.com

And click HERE to read more about her struggles when growing up, and why she entered the singing competition!

First of all, if you’ve voted for me, I’d like to THANK YOU so very much!

Because of your votes, my blog is now in the TOP THREE finalists in the ‘Best Photography Blog’ category! Wow!

[The chance of this blog actually winning something seems a little more real for me now!]

The last day to vote is on 31 July, but hey, I happened to see this notice today when I went to the Singapore Blog Awards’ website:

And that means:

YOU CAN VOTE FOR MY BLOG ONCE EVERY SINGLE DAY, FROM TODAY TILL 31 JULY!

Now that’s new! (well, at least for me, because I never knew about THAT before!)

So, I’ve decided to once again be shameless and ask you to VOTE VOTE VOTE for me!

*blush*

If you have never voted, I’d really really appreciate it if you please vote *big smile*

And if you have voted before, please do login and vote again (… and again and again and again please?)

*super blush*

Okay. I’ll stop my shameless (yet super sincere) plea here …

Ah frankly, I really don’t know how the whole competition will turn out for me and my site.

But, I sure hope I can win, if winning means my blog – and its content – can reach out to a bigger audience out there, and thus inspire and make a bigger positive impact to the society in Singapore and beyond.

Because that’s really what I really hope to accomplish through this site.

Anyway.

Looking forward to your support, guys!

Here’s another huge THANKS from me! And, err … a little ‘silly face souvenir’ from Vai, hehe …

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How to vote :

Click HERE to sign up for free before you vote.

And click HERE to see the ten award categories (To find mine, simply click ‘Best Photography Blog’)

… AND those bits of chicken rice stuck in between! Heh.

PS: Notice how getting chicken rice on your teeth can look ‘acceptable’ on little boys, but not on men? Haha.

Gee. I just checked. The last time I posted an ‘Arts and Craft’ post was way back in May!

Not that we stopped doing arts and crafts stuff at home, because we still do. But somehow I think there seems to have been so many other topics that I wrote about and I simply didn’t get around to sharing more about the crafting stuff we do.

Oh well. Anyway.

Here’s one quick-yet-great crafting idea that you can try and make!

Milk Carton Buildings!

What you need :

– Used milk cartons

– Coloured Paper

– Glue, scissors, crayons

What we did :

– Cut the milk carton (see top picture), leaving the top part a little longer than the bottom part

– Cover the sides with coloured paper (to create ‘different buildings’ use different coloured paper)

– Glue the ‘buildings’ to each other (see the picture above)

– Cut bits of different shapes and stick them on as windows, doors, etc

– Cut out the ‘doors’ so they can be opened and closed

– If the child can already write, let him/her name the kind of buildings they’ve just made

And THAT IS IT!

Anya created a house and a museum, while Vai … well, he’s just happy enough to have created buildings where he could drive his little toy cars in and out of the doors!

[The banner basically says, ‘Use your voting rights! Let’s make this election a successful one’]

You may have heard about it.

Today is Indonesia’s Presidential Election Day, the day when you get to see thousands of Indonesian citizens head towards the Embassy to cast their votes.

It drizzled a bit and it was all balmy and humid, but people kept on coming in groups. They drove, walked, and took buses and taxis.

And just like the rest, we too were amongst the crowd! (the three of us went after Anya went off to school)

We got rain on our heads and joined the snake-like queue (to get our names registered) for about … an hour!

And as we waited, I observed everyone around, and it really was an interesting mix of people. I stood behind a young woman with tattoos on her neck and ears. I saw giggling teens in school uniforms, domestic helpers, well-dressed professionals, polished and posh women, parents with kids and even babies in prams.

And I thought to myself, regardless of what we do and who we are, we all have the same rights. Those who are materially better off, who socially are more ‘convenient’ than the domestic helpers for example, receive no special treatments. They all queued and they all voted.

I like that.

[Vai had to do quite a bit of standing around and he occasionally asked to be carried, which really wasn’t an easy thing for us since he now weighs 16.5kg!]

Anyway, after queuing and getting our names and details registered, the rest went fairly fast!

I think it took us less than 7 minutes, from the time we got our ‘voting ticket’ to the time we left the voting hall altogether!

Okay, now just in case you’re not familiar, this is us showing us our little inked pinky, THE (traditional) proof that you have indeed voted and that you can’t vote TWICE! (well, unless you can totally erased the purple ink off your fingers and nails!)

Haha … and this is Vai and his ‘clean’ little pinky. No ink yet, little guy … but if you’re still an Indonesian citizen in FOURTEEN years time, you’d get to vote too like Mommy and Daddy!

To top it all off, we had yummy Indonesian lunch with our friends at Ojolali Restaurant (at Lucky Plaza). We had Grilled Chicken, and Vai tried out their Chicken Noodle. Yummm …

And I like Vai’s little expression in that last shot! It’s as if he’s saying, ‘Errr … Mommy, is the chicken supposed to be THAT black?’ Hehe.

Anyway.

It felt good to have been part of the Presidential Election crowd today!

This is my Facebook status today :

… and so today marks the day when I’ve gone through thick and thin with the same man for EIGHT years … and they say, it’ll only get better!

[and hey, … to those who took the time to leave us your messages, here’s a BIG THANK YOU from us!]

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Yup, it’s been eight years for us! And just like all other couples out there, our eight years together were full of ups and downs.

Times when we laugh and tease each other silly. Times when we feel so mad with each other that it’s better to not (read: postpone) utter any words than to say anything that we’ll regret later.

Times when we feel the other half needs to be more appreciative. Times when the other half shows love, support and help when they’re least expected.

Times when we have to remind and rebuke each other. Times when we have to swallow our own pride and apologise for our mistakes.

Anyway.

Since this is a ‘relationship’ post, I thought it’d be timely to share some ‘relationship reminders’ for all couples out there too today (extracted from the family seminar we went to last month – ‘Christ, the Lord of my family’, by Rev. DR. Stephen Tong).

And here they are :

– RESPECT and APPRECIATE our spouse, because this is one key reason why two different individuals can love each other and be together for many many years

– Don’t expect too highly of your spouse, because he/she is not an angel, but a sinful human being

– Learn to FORGIVE and learn to willingly sacrifice for each other

– Balance in the family is derived from differences found between the husband and the wife

– Before one is married, he/she tends to view everything from a ‘ME’ point of view. But once one is married, he/she will start seeing things from a ‘How about you?’ perspective.

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It sure takes TWO to work on a marriage.

And if you ask me, I’d say it sure needs a LOT of effort and sacrifice to make one’s marriage work.

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As for us, well … it sure has been a blessed eight years and we look forward to many more years together.

And, we can’t thank God enough for everything that HE has done and showered upon us and our family.