the last mile

so finally, I've hit the 36th week mark! My gynae cautioned that it could be anytime now that my baby will make an appearance. I'm thrilled beyond words! Worried - yes, but trying to remain as calm as possible.  Guess the way to a successful labour is to just remain calm and go with the flow... I'll have another 1 more week to go before 37 weeks - when the baby will be considered full term. So, keeping my fingers crossed and praying that everything will be alright!

The journey thus far.....

Began with the home PKT early Nov 2010... yeah, had to test and retest, just to be sure, especially, when it was least expected :)

Still delusional about the additional weight I put on for this pregnancy - total of 13 kilos !!  OMG!

Oh yeah, well meaning strangers and friends and their common question... you know, I wished I could tell you EVERYTHING that I'm going thru.... all the pukings, pains, migraines, discomforts, body aches, ugly stretch marks,  trips to the loo in the middle of the night, the crazy snackings at 3 in the morning - boo hoo! 

  

How true! Everything seemed to increase in size except for my poor bladder! Not only searching for a toilet became a priority at shopping complexes and pratically everywhere I went, but I had to get up 3 -4 times a night to empty my bladder - grhh!!! can't sleep at all....!!!

Apart from physical changes, my appetite grew too, towards my 2nd tri.  The 1st  tri, I had very bad nauseous, so couldn't eat much except for dried "wan tan noodles" which I had pratically for breakfast, lunch and dinner :(  Can't explain this unnatural phenomenon.  Thank God, my liking for food changed after my first tri.  Of course, I was also very careful with what I eat. Having made sure all milk, juices are pastuerized, no half boiled eggs, no 'strange cheese' , no chinese herbs, no pineapples, no too cold or cooling food, etc....

Another memorable event:  attended the antenatal classes with hubby. This included a tour around the hospital - just to familiraize ourselves with the hospital  and the cost of the rooms and  facilities....while I swore I heard the distant wailings during child birth, I was so sure we heard the sound of money we had to spend, too...

... ka ching $$$!  ... ka ching $$$!

My 3rd tri onwards - kinda uneventful, usually, just the couch, ice cream and tv / books. Felt  tired all the time from 34 weeks onwards....

Oh yeah, one of my problems during my 3rd tri - iron deficiency! Had no choice but to take iron supplements. However, it kinda contributed to my constipation. Blah! had to endure the constipation as the iron is more important for the baby. Grow baby, grow!

And finally, hubby and I joked about how it will be like when we will have to rush to the hospital for labour! We'll certainly try to remain CALM, but we'll never know :)

Do keep us in prayer!

What a life! What every women should be prepared for!! 

Above all these,  I pray and trust God to give us the grace to sustain us through it all.

Kg Bakok

I found some old pictures of our mission trip to Kg Bakok. These pictures were taken from a trip that was made a couple of years after our first trip(think first trip was back in 2002 or 2003). I'd always remembered the first trip we went in to this village. The place was ill equipped. There were no toilets ready - save for a shack with 3 pieces of zinc as a makeshift wall and a hole in the ground.  The first five of us who went (Uncle Vincent, Gary, Ivy, Sai Hoong and myself) had a memorable and wonderful time getting to know the people there, establishing our ground work with our limited language capability.  God certainly has His plans for His people in this place for the entire work grew by leaps and bounds and till this day, we are still serving Him in this place.

This trip was made many years after the first trip - i think back in 2006. We went in with another cell group and it was a good mix of old and young group of people.

 The old "living room" space where we worshipped and slept at night.

Singing songs with the children as soon as we arrived. Some children are still on the way here as they've just heard that we've arrived.

 

The villagers- building a new place together for worship, ala "gotong royong" 

The infamous river - the Bakok children like to bring us here to have a fun bath time together! We'll come with loads of shampoo & shower gels for the kids.  

Lesson time - usually a short parable and a song after that.

 

More song sessions.... yup, the children there loved to sing! And, my, they can really sing!

They could memorize the lyrics by heart!

Fun time - we taught the children simple jump rope games (made of rubber band)!

Lesson time - this time outdoor style as the adults are occupying the space for their Sunday worship session. 

The "sanctuary" for adults to worship ..... usually the adults will occupy this space on Sunday mornings and we will take the children to the outdoors.

One of the great finds ~ a unique flower given by the children~

Lesson and song time

Distributing sweets at the end of the lesson....

All of us together now!

need a hug

I don't know why, but I suddenly felt like I need a hug! A big bear hug! One that squeezes me tightly and lovingly.  Perhaps it's the cold weather, coupled with rain?  Or perhaps it's because I am sitting alone waiting for my hubby to come home from work?  Perhaps it's just the fact that I just needed some encouragement. I do feel down and I'm sure a hug will certainly lift me up again. A warm, comforting arm around me, assuring me that everything will be alright - that'll be the simplest of all miracles in keeping joy in my heart :) 

have a nice weekend

Just a short blessing since weekend is just around the corner! have a nice weekend everyone!

today can be a masterpiece

I was greatly encouraged by John Maxwell's "Today Matters".

If I can make the right decisions and do the right things today, then I only need to spend the rest of my life managing those actions and decisions that I have made. Well, of course it's easier said than done. We all have plenty of decisions to make everyday. Trivial and major ones, but neither one can we commit lackadaisically. ALL decisions made today will carry an importance of tomorrow. How then, can we truly say that we made the right decisions today?

I believe, we need to stay focus on what matters to us the most. Our priorities such as family, marriage, health, ministries will top the list. Different seasons of our lives too, will require us to prioritize differently. A young wife may make it her priority to focus on her husband and a young mother may focus on her new born child. Their decisions will be centered on what's best for their spouse and new baby respectively. This will require some adjustments to attitude, actions and even sacrifices to ensure that spouse and baby receives undivided attention, love and care.

I remembered when I decided to quit from my career after 13 years. As a performing sales person, there was a lot of money in terms of commission earned at stake if I were to leave my job. But, I did it so resolutely that I even astounded myself! Alas, I will be lying to say that it was a breeze deciding on leaving! No! It was one of the toughest decision I've ever made. I remembered struggling with finding the joy of staying at home instead of meeting clients and closing sales. And, boy, do I struggle too with my self-esteem and that sense of worthlessness of not being able to earn your own money. It didn't help that I constantly garner sympathetic smiles from people I meet in social functions when I told them that I am no longer working but am a homemaker now.

But, the joy did eventually return, after much reflection and prayer. I learnt to adjust my attitude towards staying at home. I trust God that this is the right thing to do at this time of my life. The fun did return too, so much so that I enjoy every day now learning new things and preparing myself for motherhood. I learnt to look forward to the other things in life God has created and to take it all in as life's inspirations and motivations to me. I am determined to making each day memorable as it is a masterpiece!