Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

The other day, as I walked with Brie, we spotted this piece of leaf and I thought, it’d be nice if Brie made leaf patterns out of it.

And so we took it home, and we did this activity together.

Very simple.

What we did:

1. Stick leaf on drawing paper with scotch tape on its back

2. Show child ‘how to do it’, ie. Draw lines with crayons, all around the leaf

3. Child does it all by herself (while we give verbal encouragements =)

4. Once all sides are ‘covered’, child pulls leaf off the paper

VOILA.

You see colourful leaf prints! =)

Now, when it comes to our interactions with nature, my kids know that I always tell them to ‘leave things where they are’.

This means, if we see a beautiful flower, then sure, enjoy its beauty, BUT NO, do not pick the flower.

(ESPECIALLY, when there are only a few of them!)

Because, it IS beautiful when it’s still ‘attached’ to the stem.

BUT, once it’s picked and is in our hands, it soon withers and dies.

(Well, unless there are many, MANY MANY flowers out there, like if we see countless wild flowers or something, then go ahead, and make a bouquet too if you want! =)

This, btw, reminds me of a verse:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
John 15:4

A quick reminder (to our little family), that we need to stay ‘connected with God’ too, in order to have ‘life everlasting’, and to bear fruits (be a blessing to others).

Food for thought.

Sometimes, a pool and a bucket of toys, filled with a small spade and plastic bottles can keep a toddler happy and occupied.

As they say, simplest things in life are often the best.

…

PS: Happy to be shooting and capturing more family moments lately

(read: Not just with my iPhone camera =)

This is one of my favourite photos taken with my 93-year-old grandpa!

One that I know I’ll treasure for many years to come.

He likes to joke around and laugh.This grandpa of ours likes to travel.

He likes to joke around and laugh.

He likes to do the ‘V sign’ with his hand whenever we take photos of him.

Well, he unexpectedly fell sick towards the end of December though, and has been hospitalised for sometime now.

He is not doing too well, BUT thankfully there were good days too when he’s well alert, and it was on one of those good days when this shot was taken!

So glad that we managed to capture the moment!

Thumbs up, indeed!

…

Anyway.

I took quite a bit of photos during my 5 day trip to visit him in Hong Kong last week.

Hong Kong streets. Markets. People.

And I’d like to share them with you today.

(Btw, it was cold and windy when we were there. Like, 6 – 9 degrees celsius during the day!)

Hope you enjoy the shots! =)

It’s amazing how little children grow up SO fast.

(And they ‘grow up’ in the most obvious way when they are 0-3 years old, don’t they?)

The thing is, we spend time with them daily, but we’re often so occupied with handling our daily challenges, that we forget to enjoy their growth and our moments with them.

I know I’m easily prone to this too. Busy busy busy everyday.

Which is why I tell myself that I MUST post updates on our littlest, every now and then.

To remember her milestones, to capture her growth in pictures.

I remind myself that I MUST take the time to stop, and simply appreciate the blessings God has showered upon her and our family.

Now, Brie is 2 years and 8 months.

She talks a lot.

Actually, she talks like she’s a much bigger girl.

I speak with her in English and Indonesian, but she speaks mostly in Indonesian so far.

And she can now talk like this:

“Jangan dong, Mommy … Brie boleh makan roti pake Meses, kan? Brie laper loh …”

“Ngga mau ah, Mommy. Ngga enak …”

Hehe.

[Brie at 2.5 years, self-feeding at most mealtimes]

Brie loves pink.

She’d go for her pink fork and spoon, pink water bottle, pink plates.

[Brie loving her all-pink ‘Oxo Tot Starter Feeding Set’! Btw, they’re available in Singapore at Mother Works, and in Indonesia at www.yensbabyshop.com!]

She likes to wear something similar to what we wear (like, if Mommy and Daddy wear jeans, she’d want – insist – to wear a pair of jeans too!)

She likes to dress herself up too. Somehow.

Not necessarily wearing accessories or pretty dresses or anything. She just likes to grab new clothes from her wardrobe and put them on all on her own.

At times, when we’re already out and about, we found out how she’s already had 3 layers of pants on!

(And did we let her wear the 3 layers? Yeah, why not? With toddlers, we learn to choose our battles right, ie. If it’s not something ‘crucial’, learn to let it just be =)

Now. In the past few weeks, she’s been more emotional than usual.

Clingy and demanding.

Less friendly towards strangers and our friends.

And, even more melt-downs everyday.

Gee. Handling her and her tantrums has NOT been easy.

(Yes, we think she’s adorable and all, but NO, we do not wish to hear that much crying please)

Well.

But then we tell ourselves again and again, that THIS is part of her growing up.

Every child WILL go through such a phase.

Some will have it light and easy.

Some others will give their parents quite a headache for some time.

As for Brie, she’s learning to assert her wants, and discovering her limits.

(and exercising her vocal chords)

And, as we go through this phase together with her, we need to learn to persevere and assure her of our love and acceptance, while showing her that we are THE parents, not her.

Yes, we too are learning to be patient and firm and loving, everyday.

Not easy.

But it’s not impossible.

May God give us all the strength and patience we all need, to be the kind of parents HE wants us to be.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

It’s amazing how much about life you can learn and reflect upon within just five days.

Especially when this is my first ever encounter with an ill-stricken close family member whom we love dearly.

I was by my grandpa’s side, stroking his hair, saying goodbye because I needed to fly back to Jakarta in a couple of hours.

And it was hard.

I guess, because deep down I know there’s a high probability that I won’t be able to hold on to his warm hands again.

The thing I found interesting was, while I wish I have more time to spend with my grandpa, I know that my time in Hong Kong is up, and it’s now time for me to be with my husband and children.

To continue with my life, my work, my family, my ministry, my responsibilities.

As I held on to his hands, wishing that he knew that we’re there, I asked myself, how should I feel now that I seem to be ‘torn’ between the two?

You see, I wish I could stay longer in Hong Kong, but then I know too that I need to be in Jakarta and with my young children.

I pondered and reflected upon this.

And these were my thoughts :

Yes, I am sad to see our dear grandpa in such a weak state.

But I AM thankful about many things.

I’m thankful that I could still see my grandpa, though only for a few days.

I’m thankful that although his health was deteriorating, and that although there were many moments when he simply was too sick to recognise anybody, too weak to understand what’s going on, I still had the chance to see him when he was awake and alert.

I’m thankful for the moments when he could still joke around and tease me in his weak voice.

I’m thankful for the times when we even took a few selfies together.

I’m thankful for the times when I saw him tried to smile.

I’m thankful for the chance to whisper simple prayers near his ear, everyday before we left for the evening.

I’m thankful for the chance to tell him how much we love him, how much God loves him, and how Jesus Christ loves him so much that HE died on the cross for him.

I’m thankful for everything that I still have today.

Just like many things in life, we all have a choice.

In this case, I can choose to be thankful, or I can choose to be bitter with life, and everything else that doesn’t go according to MY wants.

Well, I choose the former.

Because I know I am blessed.

And in everything, I must learn to always be thankful to God.

…

It’s interesting isn’t it, how one got to ponder deeper and think about life in this way, when this life-and-death situation happened to our own close family member?

I mean, we most likely would NOT think about the shortness of life (and how we should live our life right before God), when we’re all healthy, convenient and sufficient in everything we need and want ?

Anyway.

I still have so much to learn about life.

And as I go through this, I’ll write and share a little more.

Soon.

…

PS: Have you gone through such experiences / thoughts / feelings before? You’re most welcome to share.

Never have I imagined flying to Hong Kong for a hospital visit.

But here I am, with my sister, to see our 93-yo grandpa who has recently fallen really sick.

We are here for a good five days, and I feel very blessed to still be able to see him, though only for a brief while.

(Please do say a prayer for him, for God’s mercy, and for him to find comfort, strength and hope in Christ, who too went through the greatest suffering on the cross to redeem him. Thanks for praying.)

…

My husband – who so wonderfully encouraged me to see my grandpa while looking after the three kiddos all by himself! – sent me messages earlier today.

And they’re verses taken from Psalm 90, which I’d like to share with you today:

We live to be about 70.
Or we may live to be 80, if we stay healthy.

But all that time is filled with trouble and sorrow.
The years quickly pass, and we are gone.

Who knows how powerful your anger is?
It’s as great as the respect we should have for you.

Teach us to realize how short our lives are.
Then our hearts will become wise.

(Verse 10-12, New International Reader’s Version)

…

Do we know how long our lives will be?

No.

Do we know how our lives would end?

No.

Indeed, compared to eternity, our 70, 80, or even 90 years on earth seem ‘nothing‘.

Our stay on this earth IS very short.

Yes, every one of us has an ‘expiry date’,

but what’s more important is how we count our days,

how we maximise our lives as blessings to others,

while always remembering how every day is a gift from above.

And.

As someone once said to me, rather than wondering about how our lives will end, it’s better to think about how we’d live our lives everyday.

I’d say, ‘Amen’ to that.

I looked at this picture and two thoughts crossed my mind almost immediately.

Number one : Gee, the man I married 12 years ago doesn’t seem to age!

(while I on the other hand …  *oh well*  Is it just me, or do we women age FASTER than men? What say you?)

…

Number two : Our littlest in the family has grown so big, so fast!

I mean, she’s turning THREE real soon!

And THAT basically means, she’s officially moving further and further away from her baby days!

*Yikes!*

No, I won’t stop her from growing up, BUT, having said that, I’ll really, REALLY, miss having a tiny person who speaks in a cute voice around our home.

(Anyone else feels the same way?)

…

Note to self:

Must. Treasure. Time. Spent. With. Kids. While. We. Still. Can.

A day spent with family and friends.

One that I’d like to record and remember for years to come.

So here are some photos of our family of five.

Hope your long weekend is wonderfully spent with your loved ones!

…

To everyone of you who celebrates this occasion, … Happy Chinese New Year! =D

(And our KungFu kiddos said HELLOWWW, too! =)