Josiah has arrived!

Introducing the latest addition to our family - Josiah Lee Yi De. He was born at almost full-term (39 weeks and 5 days old) and is the biggest of my 3 babies!

Vital Statistics

Birth Date: 09/09/10, 10:40am

Weight: 3.72kg

Length: 51cm

Head Circumference: 35cm

Praise God for a smooth pregnancy and delivery here in Sydney! And the best part is, everything is free of charge - we did not have to pay a single cent (other than for the additional ultrasound scans that we requested for) even though I went for an elective caesarean. It was truly a joy to see Josiah coming out of the womb rosy and chubby. The midwife said he has "thunder thighs" for a newborn! He has a really loud and hearty cry and sends our hearts melting with his cute little expressions and antics. We may be biased, but we think he's the most beautiful baby boy ever! 

As for me, I am feeling the effects of having a 3rd caesarean in less than 5 years (4 years 8 months to be exact). The recovery seems to be taking longer this time round and more painful. Thankfully our parents are all around to help out with the cooking, household chores and handling the kids, if not I can't imagine how we would survive!

Janelle and Janine have been absolutely adoring sisters to their little baby brother. Janelle loves to carry di-di and cuddle him, and she always coos "he's so cute!!". Janine loves to kiss and touch di-di, though we are a bit wary because she tends to forget how strong she is in comparison to a little newborn! We thank God for our family and for this new bundle of joy 

"For you created my inmost being; 

       you knit me together in my mother's womb.

 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

       your works are wonderful, 

       I know that full well."

- Psalm 139:13-14 -

The Long and the Short of It

http://www.ethankong.blogspot.com/

Flower Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the very first time, Janelle and Janine were flower girls at a friend's wedding today! We felt so privileged to be part of this wedding procession and for our girls to be asked to be flower girls. The night before the wedding, we prayed really hard that our girls would really walk down the aisle, knowing how young children can get frightened on the actual wedding day when they see the crowd. Thank God (and thanks to gummy-sweet lollies) our girls did a fabulous job and made their way down the aisle. Doesn't matter that they forgot to throw the flower petals as they walked down - they were still applauded for their excellent performance!

I felt so proud of my 2 beautiful girls today, and call me biased, but I think they looked most gorgeous in their matching new dresses and shoes that I bought for them! I really loved their dresses and even if they didn't manage to walk down the aisle, at least they looked good enough in their outfits. Haha :)

We were so blessed to have the girls' childcare teachers (left to right: Maria, her daughter Meena, and Jasmyn) come and give their support too! The teachers wanted to come just to watch our girls walk down the aisle because they played a very important role in helping to prepare and train our girls to be flower girls! While at childcare, they did countless 'rehearsals', especially with Janine. And today, when our girls actually walked down the aisle, childcare teacher Maria was moved to tears and as she was wiping the tears off her face, she asked me "How can you not cry??" because she herself was so moved and proud of our girls! Well, I was feeling more of relief at that point in time because we didn't know whether our girls would eventually walk down the aisle when the big church doors open on them! So I was feeling more of "phew!!" rather than "oh, so touching!!". Later on though, when the worship began, an overwhelming sense of pride as a mother of 2 beautiful flower girls swept in!

The first worship song sung at the wedding was "Light of the World" which incidentally was also one of the worship songs we chose to sing at our own wedding. It felt like just not too long ago that we were at our own wedding singing that song, and to think that now - 6 years later - we are at another wedding singing that same song, the difference being that it is not us, but our 2 daughters, who are part of the wedding procession! Strange as it may sound, this experience gave me a little glimpse into how it would be like in future when it is my own daughter's turn to be the bride. I think it will just be simply too emotionally overwhelming!

Praise and thank God for this honour and privilege to be part of a wedding held here in Sydney. We have been to countless weddings in Singapore, but to be attending our second wedding here in Sydney - with our girls as first-time flower girls - is indeed such a privilege! We wish Douglass and Lina (the bridal couple) God's richest blessings upon their marriage!

The worldview of a 4-year-old...

Incident #1

We were traveling home in the car late one night and when we thought the girls were already falling sleep, when Janelle excitedly exclaimed, "Hey! The moon is following us home!!". Both Royston and myself smiled to each other, amused at how a child sees things differently from adults.

 

Janelle then went on to say, "How come the moon is following us home? But the moon can't sleep in our house. It can only fly in the sky, like a bird."

 

 

Incident #2

I was going to a friend's baby shower one day (baby shower is a celebration that takes place before the arrival of a baby where the mother-to-be and baby are showered with gifts and blessings), and was just informing Janelle that "mummy is going to attend a baby shower". She looked at me with big curious eyes and asked "Are you going to put the baby in the water???"

Janelle is 4!

Janelle turns 4 today! Can't believe my little baby has grown up to be a big 4-year-old now! It does sound ridiculous but it just felt like moments ago that she was being cradled in my arms as a little baby, and now she's turned 4.

 

We had a little outdoor BBQ party for her on Saturday and she absolutely loved it! Plus, the cake was simply beautiful - made by her best school friend's mother who's a genius at making cakes. And she had a pretty fairy dress bought by Louise as a birthday present, which she proudly wore for her fairy princess party.

 

We thank God for this little girl who has grown up to be a very sensible and charming girl. She absolutely dotes on her little sister Janine and when told that daddy was going to take her out today for something special just to celebrate her birthday, she asked how come Janine wasn't coming along! And she added that she would like Janine to come too because "Janine is so silly and funny" (quoted by Janelle). Still, I shall leave Royston to spend some special one-to-one moments with Janelle since it's her birthday.

 

Janelle is now 4, able to write, loves drawing, and has a tendency to be extremely organized, systematic and meticulous. I wonder who she inherited this trait from? We are thankful for her being just the way she is - uniquely and wonderfully made!

 

Happy 4th Birthday Janelle :)

One and a half years

Time flies. It's been 1.5 years since we've moved to Sydney! We arrived here 2 July 2008, and now it's end of 2009 already!

Praise the Lord for His goodness and grace in our lives! It's been so evident how He has provided for our every single need. It's just too much to list down everything, but more recently, the following changes have taken place:

SEPTEMBER 
- I went back to work full-time 5 days a week. Both girls are at the childcare full-time now that I'm working. We are thankful for this childcare centre where we can be assured the girls are in good care! It also helps that the girls both love going to 'school' (as they call it)!

This is a picture of the Christmas present the childcare made for us parents:

 

 

 

OCTOBER
- We moved house! Bought our own place and happy to live in our own place rather than a rented property. Praise God for His miraculous providence of this house (that in itself is another story). Now that we have moved house, the girls' childcare centre is just walking distance from our new place. Amazing how it all turned out huh?

We also tried our hand at gardening (for the very first time) since we now have a garden. Considering the fact that we don't have very green fingers, the plants are surviving pretty well!

 

 

DECEMBER
- Did a 5-hour road trip to Young to pick cherries. It was lovely!! Fresh and beautiful cherries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- I started a new permanent job at a different company. Wrote a testimony about how God provided for this job in my church blog site: http://www.ilife.org.au/index.php/2009/12/who-gets-hired-in-december/

- It's also Janine's 2nd birthday tomorrow (31 Dec). Time flies! She a really cheerful and cheeky girl with a loud voice and cry!

Janelle & Janine absolutely love playing together. They both keep each other entertained annd can play together for hours on end. This makes life much easier for us as parents, which we are extremely thankful for! 

Feeding the ducks

Or rather, this is an attempt to feed the ducks. Maybe it should be titled "Chasing the ducks" instead of feeding them.