you are the reason

My dear Jonie girl,
You are the reason that mummy's still celebrating life.  Since your arrival on 16th June 2011, what a blessing you have been!

On the day when mummy's water broke unexpectedly early (3 weeks earlier) at 5am, mummy had little or no pain till 8 plus in the morning.  That's when mummy ordered an epidural and right after that mummy even slept while waiting for the 7cm dilation to happen... But, you were eager to meet mummy and daddy, so by 12noon, mummy was already well 8cm dilated. Doc was called in, mummy started pushing at 1pm and by 1.50pm, you came bouncing out!  What a little angel you were! So delicately made. So tiny that mummy was afraid that mummy will break you if mummy held on too tightly.  Mummy remembered the time when you were laid on mummy's breast... you looked around with those big eyes, bewildered with the new surrounding and looking into mummy's face adoringly.  When mummy first looked at you, mummy knew then that you were the best gift God has ever given to mummy.

Since you were born prematurely, docs whisked you away to the Neonatal ICU for monitoring of your body temperature and sugar level in your blood.  Thank God you were OK. But the separation made mummy anxious to see you.  When mummy finally visited you in the ICU, you cried pitifully, as if telling mummy " why did you take so long to come see me?" ahh... it broke mummy's heart and mummy vowed never to leave you unattended for too long again. Mummy has kept that promise thus far....

Mummy had to learn everything about you in such a short time. Your likes, dislikes, what your cries mean, how you want to be held - wow, so much to learn! and mummy is still learning now. Especially when we first shared our breastfeeding experience, mummy was plagued with uncertainty - did mummy latch you on properly? how long should you be drinking? did you have enough to drink? how often should mummy put you to the breast? if mummy had sore and cracked nipples, how can mummy feed you? How can we overcome this together? so many questions that only both you and mummy can discover the answers together.

Mummy thank God for giving you to go through this journey with mummy. Your smiles and coos and whatever little responses to mummy, made all the sacrifices worth while.  Mummy will continue to persevere and be the best mummy to Jonie.  Help me, God, I pray. Let me understand my daughter. Let me be able to meet her needs. Let me be able to nurture her with great patience, wisdom and kindness.  Let me be the Mummy that you intended me to be for her. Amen.

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!