The end of a decade - A recap of our past 10 years!

We went to church last Sunday where the pastor preached about how we are not only at the dawn of a new year but a new decade! 2020. The 2010s are going to be over in less than 24 hours.

I had to think about how old I will be when we are done with the 2020s. Yikes. I'll be in my late 40s!

He went on talking about how we need to be intentional about our time. Prioritising our important goals before mindless scrolling of social media (for myself). As I'm typing this, it's the 30th of December and I saw a couple of my friends' book list for 2019. I'm ashamed to say that I have yet to finish reading one book! One of them, a mom of 5 read 50 books this year. That's 4 books a month! 1 book a week. My first thought was, "How on earth does she carve out the time?"

But it really all boils down to priorities, doesn't it? If I'm honest with myself, if I was intentional with my reading, I would bring my book to the playground when the kids play and read on the bench. Or to the Family Centre downstairs where the kids play quite independently anyway.

I thought what better way to commemorate the past 10 years than to have a little recap! I inserted some links to my blog entries, so feel free to have a read!

2010 - God answered our prayers and we got pregnant with our first babe! 

After struggling to get pregnant for 1.5 years, we finally got pregnant at Christmas! I won't mince words. I was teaching for 3.5 years and somewhere somehow, I lost so much motivation because I didn't like the work environment. I kept toying with the idea of changing jobs but somehow didn't have the peace about it since we were also trying to conceive and I really want to have some maternity benefits. That meant though, that I was quite miserable for the 1.5 years that took us to get pregnant.

But guess what? God really rewards perserverance! That's because I could continue to claim maternity benefits with my school for up to 3 children! I didn't have to pay insurance (since I was insured by the state) and when the school shut down, they paid me more than 8 years of compensation even though I technically only taught for 3.5 years! It's truly God's providence! - Even if I only saw it at the end.

Little Sam was already growing in my belly in this pix!

2011 - I became a first-time Mom to Sam! 

Our first family photo as parents!

Oh boy, were we clueless! Like massively clueless! I had nooo idea that a newborn wakes up every 2-3 hours to be fed. Can you believe it? I kept praying for baby to sleep longer and was shocked at how frequently baby woke up and needed a diaper change / feed!

Motherhood hit me like a rock. It was / is the most challenging, rewarding, crazy and mad adventure I've ever been on. The first year after Sam's birth, I just knew I had to cling onto God every single day for strength and grace and more grace.

2012 - I got pregnant again! 

We were told to wait for 1 year after Sam was born by caesarean. So being the obedient people we were, we waited!

And once he turned one, we tried to get pregnant again and were gobsmacked when it worked out immediately! Funnily enough, we found out we were pregnant with Gabriel while we were on holiday in Teneriffe, Spain and while drinking (a lot) of wine. Sam and Gabriel have a 22-month old age gap and boy oh boy, 2013 was interesting!

Our photo shooting in Teneriffe when Sam was 1 and I was 4 weeks preggy with Gabriel

I turned 30!

I ushered in the 30s with a fabulous P-party! P for "Priscilla" you see. Every guest had to come dressed in a character that started with "p". It was the first time I had a costume party and I totally loved it! Everybody was so sporting and came dressed to the nines! It made me realise that after 6 years in Germany, I do have friends!

2013 - Gabriel, our second boy was born! 

Our first photo of the 2 boys together! 

Gabriel's birth was a story of healing. I had a traumatic birth with Samuel that resulted in an unplanned C-section, so I was sooo scared to give birth again to my #2. My heart prayer was that I wouldn't have to be cut up again and can have a natural birth. Gabriel's birth was such a healing experience for me!!! Thank you God! I don't know if I would have a 3rd, let alone 4th baby if I had more than one caesarean.

2014 - The Lord blessed us with a place of our own! 

We are so thankful we got a place of our own after renting for about 8 years. We moved into our new place with 2 children and are going to leave our current place with 4 children!

2015 - I got pregnant with Liam! 

Our birth announcement that confused so many people! Somehow for each pregnancy, the Lord gave us a special verse for each baby. This was the verse we had for Liam. It was so apt because we had a pregnancy scare with him. It resulted in us changing my gynaecologist because I wasn't happy with her bedside manners. She was discussing "exploring our options" (ie. abortion) even before we knew whether Liam was healthy or not. I held on to the verse we got for him and prayed God's protection over him. It all turned out to be a scare and Liam was born a healthy baby boy in March 2016! 

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." Ps 16:8

2016 - Liam was born! 

I thought I had a good birth with Gabriel. Liam's one turned out even better with me not needing epidural. I experienced the full-blow of a vaginal birth and it was one of the most empowering experiences I've ever had. I had / have so much respect for the body God has given to me and I'm so in awe that God used me to birth 3 boys!

2017 - The year I worked from home! 

I started my own work-from-home business selling beauty products to slim, firm and tone the belly and to lose weight / get healthier. It was a wonderful experience when I learnt a lot about social media marketing and how to use Instagram to earn money! I loved all the products I used / sold and realise there's huge market potential to explore! When I got pregnant with Isabelle, I realised I needed to take a break because it was too hard having a pregnancy and taking care of 3 toddlers. It was a great experience nevertheless and I learnt so much!

2018 - I got pregnant and gave birth to our first girl, Isabelle! 

After 3 boys, I must say that I had ZERO hope to be a girl-Mom. I always desired to have a baby girl and I had a very girly childhood growing up with an older sister, but I really didn't know if I could have a baby girl. 

Gabriel was the one who prayed for a baby sister specifically. Don't ask me how he had the faith to do so. He just did. And before we knew it, Isabelle was conceived on 1.1.18 and born on 25.9.18! It was such an answered prayer! 

I had a smooth birth with Isabelle but I must have injured my tail bone during the birth that resulted in months of physio, chiropractic, osteopathic treatments. I'm still trusting and praying for 100% recovery. 

Isabelle is such a dream come true though. Her 3 brothers adore her so and she fits in so well playing with the boys and yet adding her own feminine touch with her constant need to hold anything with a handle and pretending that it's a handbag. 

2019 - We are building a house of our own! (no photos yet)

Oh yeah, that's our next big project! We've been living in our current apartment for 5 years and felt the need to have a bigger place. God opened the door for us to buy our second home 10-mins from our current place. It's still a huge work-in-progress but we are trusting God step by step to see this project to completion! 

And that's our last 10 years!!! Phew! I did it! It's such an eye-opener (even for myself) to see how the Lord has guided our steps for the past decade! I think that's why we, as Christians should read the Bible regularly so that we are encouraged by the progress and experiences of other Christians who have gone ahead before us. But we all serve the same God who is able and willing to help us through every single challenge in our life and to guide us like a personal shepherd. 

The Bible verse for 2020 is "I believe, please help my unbelief" Mark 9:24 

We pray that as we enter into a new year and a new decade, may we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who has gone before us, to pave the way for us. He is our Shepherd, our deliverer, our Master and friend and our Eternal Hope. 

How my child's "near-death" experience changed Good Friday for me

(Warning: Long post ahead)
We are finally out of the woods since the kids fell sick recently. Sam & Gabe caught the most nasty virus that caused both of them to have 40 degree fevers and chills! Our house was like a dead town for those 7 days! The boys would wake up, eat a little bit for breakfast and crash again on the sofas. I kid you not. They slept as much as newborns!

Despite our best efforts to protect the littlest one, poor Liam still caught the virus. I would consider myself a somewhat seasoned Mom in having to deal with sick kids. But nothing could prepare me for what we experienced.

We brought the kids to the paediatrician and as expected, the doc said its a "virus" and we just have to let it ride its course. In Germany, only temperatures above 39 degrees celsius is considered a fever and doctors recommend giving paracetamol only when there is a fever.

The anxious Mom in me didn't like the "relaxed" approach at first, but after 12 years in Germany, I've come to appreciate that a fever is a body's natural response to fighting infections. And we should give the body time to fight the infection and not resort to fever-suppressing drugs as if the fever were the enemy. It's not!

That said, we don't want our children to boil through the night, so we do check their temperatures regularly and give them fever medicine when we feel that we'd rather they be comfortable. It's a matter of weighing out our options.

That night it happened, I remember feeling Liam's forehead when he was sleeping and he felt fine. Just a bit warm but not too hot.

While ironing some clothes, I suddenly heard the weirdest sound! It sounded like someone was trying to cry but the cry was muffled. I wasn't alarmed but thought I should check on the baby, thinking that maybe he just couldn't get comfortable.

Honestly, its impossible to recap this experience without feeling all teary. I saw my kiddo lying in bed with his eyes wide open but not responding. His body was stiff and I couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not!

I quickly grabbed him and tried to shake him to "wake him up". But it was to no avail. This was when I screamed at the husband to get out of bed. Poor hub, who was also sick, took the baby and tried to "resuscitate" him. He actually said, "Oh, Liam's fine!"

But I looked at Liam and he still looked as lifeless as when I handed him over to Stephan. My thoughts went from "OMG, do I still remember how to do CPR?? Is there a doctor in our block? Is this the last time I'll see my baby alive?" What on earth am I supposed to do??!"

I told my husband, "NO, Liam's not fine. He's still cramping up!"

So we did the next thing we thought to do. We brought Liam to the bathroom and tried to splash water on his face. We realised that his teeth were tightly clenched so Stephan tried to put his finger between his teeth to wrench it open.

I don't really know what happened, but suddenly Liam woke up. I was sooo relieved! But my thoughts wandered to, "Did he experience brain damage? Was he even breathing all this time?" We tried to keep him awake, cos he was sooo drained and sleepy!"

We rang our immediate neighbours' doorbell to ask them to babysit our 2 older kids while both of us rushed to the A&E of the nearest children's hospital. It was almost 11pm when we left.

You know, I may complain about things about Germany but I will never ever complain about the healthcare industry here. There was NO queue at all. We registered and were the next in line to see a doctor.

The doctor gave Liam a thorough examination. Here's what we learnt:-

1. Fever cramps are not as dangerous as it looks. 6% of children get it and they usually get it when at least one parent has a genetic disposition to it.

2. Cramps usually last for about 2-3 minutes. If they last any longer, one should bring a child to the hospital. 

3. NEVER ever pry the mouth open. One could end up breaking off a tooth and the baby might swallow the broken tooth which would cause it to be wayyy more dangerous than leaving the mouth closed

4. It's hard to prevent a fever cramp because its not dependent on how high the body temperature is but how quickly the body temperature changed.

We were given the option to let Liam be hospitalised or bring him home to recuperate. We opted for the latter since we felt relieved enough by what the doctor said and she also gave us her approval to bring him home.

We are sooo thankful for God's protection! We even messaged our prayer warrior friends to pray for Liam when we brought him to the hospital. It was so traumatising. We even second-guessed our parenting decisions, thinking that maybe we didn't give him enough fever meds.

This is such a potent reminder that everyday is a GIFT! It's not a given that we will see our kids grow old, have kids of their own and lead an adult life. I'm reminded of the fragility of life and how not to take any day for granted.

In the monotony of being a stay-home Mom, I sometimes wish that I have more adult interaction or just people who check in on me to find out how I am. But in this day and age when everybody is busy, it's hard! And I'm reminded that I just need to TALK TO GOD! I need to hear His voice and allow HIM to be my constant companion throughout the day. I can only parent from the fullness of LOVE that God pours into my heart.

I must say that when the kids were so sick, I felt so empty! So zapped of any strength and positive energy to encourage my kids. One day, I just took out my guitar and started playing worship songs. My kids had no energy to sing or jump around, but just listened to the music that reminded us that the Holy Spirit is here and He's as close to us as our very breath. Some days, the only prayer I could muster was "Jesus, please help me. Help my kids to recover".

And somedays, I literally had to pray a warfare-type of prayer that the virus can no longer continue! Each kid had at least 2-3 temperature dips when we thought the worst is over, only to have them have a worse version of the fever and vomitting the next day!

Of course Liam's episode with the febrile seizure was the worst. I remember thinking that I'm not ready to say goodbye to any of my children. That's when I had an epiphany.

You know, I grew up hearing about the Good Friday message. Jesus dying on the cross is not new news for me. Listening to Bible stories was part of my childhood as much as learning ABCs was part of my school life.

But now that I'm a Mom, I'm struck by the immense love of God! God loves ME & You so much, He sent His ONLY son to die on the cross for our sins. For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Is this the biggest love on earth?

Yes, I believe it is. I'm a Mom. And I would NEVER ever want my children to suffer. I would rather suffer myself than to see them suffer. God sent Jesus as a blameless sacrifice for MY sins and He (God) had to watch His son (Jesus) suffer in agony for hours while He was tortured and life slowly ebbed away from Him. And this was God's choice!! And Jesus' choice too. This fact still dumbfounds me. I don't think I'll ever be able to send Samuel or Gabriel or Liam to suffer and die for someone else. And that someone else may never even acknowledge the death of my child on his / her behalf. Get what I mean?

I'm so humbled. 

God gives me hope. 

That when this life is done on earth, life STARTS in eternity. 

With no suffering & pain & illness & heartbreak. 

That death does not separate me from me and my loved ones

I will see my Mom again. 

My kids will see me again 

And I actually get to see this Jesus whom I've read about and experienced in bits and pieces IN REAL LIFE!!!!

And can you imagine, seeing GOD???? Seeing the one who made you and me, and the universe??? And being able to see God without dying? Cos I receive a new body and a new spirit and because I'm adopted into the family of God because I receive Jesus as my personal Saviour? 

I'm going to see Abraham, David, all the beautiful women of the Bible and all the spiritual giants I've read about in the Bible.

God is REAL y'all! We are made for eternity! Life does not make sense if death is the end of life as we know it. Our life on earth is to prepare us for life in heaven.

I'll leave you with this video and song that I've been meditating on.

What Good Friday means to me

We went to church today and I was very touched by the Good Friday service. I've been a Christian all my life (sort of), but today I was so reminded of the type of death Jesus died for all on the cross. He didn't have a painless death, he had such a painful and excruciating death that disfigured him so badly that he was beyond recognition.

Jesus could have come down from the cross to rescue himself cos he was without sin. But he could not save himself AND mankind, so he sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind. The wages of sin is death and someone had to pay the price.

In  my reality, I don't know anybody who can possibly do that except a parent. Only a parent could possibly possess enough love to sacrifice his/her life for his/her child(ren). I certainly wouldn't be able to do that for someone I do not know or do not love. I probably wouldn't even be able to do that for a friend! Ask me to give up a vital body organ for someone who's dying, but that would mean that I would die on his / her behalf. Hmmm.... no?

In this light, it makes sense to me that for God to love the world so much such that He would sacrifice His only son on the cross for the redemption of the world, means that God treats all of us like His children! To God, we are just as important to Him as Jesus is. That explains why He loves us and why Jesus died for us. 

It made me ponder about the gravity of sin.

That there is no difference between a big sin or a small sin, because a sin is a sin. An evil thought is a sin as much as a murder is a sin. Sin separates us from God. Separation from God cannot be defined as a 20% separation cos of a small sin or a 100% separation cos its a "big" sin. A separation is an either or issue. Either one is connected to God and has a relationship with God or one is separated from God and has no relationship with Him.

The whole gospel hinges on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

I'm just so moved that Jesus chose to die for me. He didn't have to. He had a choice. And he exercised that choice to die on my behalf, so all I have to do is simply to accept that gift of free salvation.

I saw this video on Facebook and thought I should share it here.



May this long Good-Friday-Easter weekend remind you that you're precious and your life has been bought with a price. And what a price that was.

Our Christmas this year (2014)

I can't believe that we are a day from the end of the year!

This year has gone by even faster than the previous year!

I'm so thankful to have my little family that I love and an extended family with grandparents and a sister-in-law who care for us!

There are 2 public holidays over Christmas in Germany - the 25th and 26th.

In the past, we would spend all 3 days from 24th to 26th December with the entire Tews clan - ok, there's only 3 other family members, so that's not exactly a "clan" but you get the idea.

For the past 9 Christmases since 2006 (when I relocated to Germany), we always had a guest(s) over for Christmas.

It all started with my Brazilian classmate, a 50-year old guy who stayed on in Germany after the World Cup to learn German and reorientate his life.

I felt that it would be a pity if he had to celebrate Christmas alone in a foreign city so I invited him over to join Christmas with the Tews family - after consulting my in-laws of course.

Since then, we somehow always had a visitor over Christmas. At its peak, we had 5 Singaporeans and 4 Germans at the dinner table before!

This year was the first year since I got married into the family, that we actually had Christmas just by ourselves.

It was so cozy! And small! And very relaxed!

And it was our first Christmas at our new place!! Such a blessing! We love our house! 

On Christmas eve, we went to church in the afternoon for the traditional nativity play. I actually sat on the floor with Gabriel right in front of the stage since that boy insisted on marching all the way to the front! And oh boy, was he enthralled by the play, music and all the sound effects! I hope he understood the Christmas message of Jesus' birth too!

We went home by 6pm and got ready for raclette with the extended family. Dinner was ready by around 7pm and we all feasted on scallops, prawns and a couple of servings of melted raclette cheese on cold cuts of meat.

We also decided to cut down on presents this year.

The kids only got presents from us and little gifts from their grandparents. I made a personalized photo calendar for my family and in return, we got some home-made jam. There was some money which we have put aside.

I'm all about not buying stuff for the sake of having presents because it's such clutter! We don't have unlimited space at home and neither do we want to transform our living space into a mini playhouse. So we have to be pretty selective about what we buy for our kids.

And to be honest, I didn't have a lot of toys growing up. One learns to be creative and find different ways to play with the same toys. Or one makes toys! I remember transforming the bottom of my study table to a little grocery store!

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to be able to bless my kids with presents but not raise them up to think they should be entitled to everything. Such a delicate balance!

We got Sammy a remote-controlled toy car and Gabriel got a Brio engine which he can now use on his Ikea train tracks.

Seriously Gabriel was actually shocked that the train could move by itself! He was actually a bit scared at first! Like "How can this be?! My train is alive!" I wish I took a video of it!

It was such a lovely Christmas. We hope you had a great one too, filled with joy and being surrounded by those you love.

Above all, we thank the Lord for sending Jesus in the form of a baby for the salvation of mankind. He truly is the reason for the season.

 Our first Christmas tree in the new house!

Gabe was so hungry, he was the first to eat!

Raclett - basically you BBQ either on the hot stone / grill or you make your little pizza with toppings and raclette cheese

In his new pullover before he removed it cos the living room got so warm

LOVE his "caught-in-the-act" expression!

The happy guests

Still looked like we had a lot of presents huh!

A couple of the snail mail Christmas cards we received!

Sam went straight for his present from us!

It's so nice that Sam is at an age where he understands the concept of presents

Before he went crazy with his toy car

 Gabe needed a bit of convincing to open his present and when it was opened, he was too skeptical to take it!

We gave my Mom-in-law her first Chinese wok

Doing the obligatory pose next to our tree

That's what babies are for! Endless snuggles! Ahhh... Gabe still has his very delicious baby smell!

He has a thing for necklaces! As a matter of fact, he broke mine (and I had to repair it) that evening!

Dear Sammy - 3 years update

Dear Sammy

You've turned 3 already! I haven't done an update in ages so here goes!

Your biggest milestone is that you've started preschool! You're currently in your 2nd week of preschool and you took to it like a fish to water.

Daddy sends you to preschool around 7.30-8am, while Mummy picks you up around 12.15 - 12.30pm. This routine works very well for us since that means that Gabriel and I can have a leisurely morning together. 

Each time I ask you what you did today at kindergarten, you would give me the same reply, "Fußball" (football). And I would try to engage you in a little conversation about whether you've made any new friends, or whether you like your new teachers and you would only give me monosyllabic answers of "yes" or "no". You're such a typical boy!!!

However, when we are hanging out together in the afternoon with Gabriel, you would chatter with me incessantly. You have a penchant for excavators (or "bagger" as you would say in German) and planes. You would spot a plane immediately in the huge skies and whenever you hear an excavator making a loud noise, you would ask me "hear that?"

Your list of vocabulary and words now is such a far cry compared to when you were two. Back then, Mummy was going crazy that you refused to talk, no matter how much we encouraged or "bribed" you to!

While Mummy is happy that you've officially begun your life as a preschooler, it was hard letting you go! Afterall, you've been my full-time baby for the past 3 years! Mummy has absolutely no regrets waiting out 3 years before enrolling you in school because those 3 years would never come back again!

Having you 24/7, spending every.single.morning.afternoon.and.evening with you. Planning things to do together, lazing on the bed in the mornings, letting you and Gabriel roam in the house with absolutely no agenda, but just enjoying our time together. These are memories that money can never buy. And I would do it again in an instant.

Mummy is quite thankful that Gabriel is only 15 months so that means I still have him at home with me for a good 1.5years more! *phew* 

You're completely toilet-trained in the day time. I can't remember when that happened, but it should have been around your 2.5 year mark. We're so proud of you that you hardly have any accidents and you don't need any help going to the toilet anymore! You still use diapers at night but that's all perfectly normal.

Oh you love buttons. You would always race me and Gabriel (in the stroller) to the lift while yelling "Sammy push Sammy push". Poor Gabriel is no match for your speed, but that day will most definitely come when you two "fight" to be the first to get to the buttons!

Whenever you hurt yourself, the first thing you'd want me or Daddy to do is to blow at your finger and pray that God will heal it. I don't even know how you realized that prayer helps to alleviate the pain, but once I forgot to pray for your finger and was about to leave when you reminded me to pray for you!

Our hope and wish for you is that you will know that God is always by your side and He's as close as a prayer away.

We see the hand of God's protection on you. Recently we went to the Oktoberfest in Stuttgart with some friends. Out of the blue, an ambulance drove through the crowd at high speed because of an emergency. I was trying to pay attention to you and your friend when both of you decided to run in separate directions. I couldn't see where your friend was going anymore, so I turned to look for him and in that very second, you disappeared from sight too.

In that spilt second, I realized you actually disappeared in the direction of the siren of the ambulance! My heart almost died before I saw you running back in my direction again. Only God knows how close you actually got to the ambulance but I know for sure that God's hand protected you from harm! And of course I was angry that the ambulance would rush through a crowd full of children to get to an emergency!

You're a true-blue independent soul. You're so confident playing on your own at the playground that you don't even need to be around your friends / me. On one hand, it drives me crazy because that means that you don't care about being lost in a crowd since you never bother to look for your parents but on the other hand, that also means that you're not afraid to be different. To stand alone.

We pray that God will be your rock and you will know that when you stand on God's side, nothing can stand against you. Rest in confidence that God loves you so much and He will always be fighting for you.

You have become such a great eater! 

Gone are the days when I had to crack my brains for recipes to conceal vegetables while trying to make the meal taste non-vegetably! These days, you would ask to eat our salad - complete with fresh leafy greens, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and even raw carrots. You snack on huge chunky pieces of raw carrots! YAY!

What a huge relief this has been to us! My boy has developed his taste buds for healthy vegetables! As much as you eat much more now, you don't overeat. You would say "Mummy, enough. I'm full." when I try to persuade you to eat more.

Your tactile abilities and motor skills still continue to astound us.

After riding your balancing bike for about a month, you started asking Mummy for a real bike. And judging from how you are able to ride your bike without putting your feet on the ground, Mummy knows that you're all-too-ready for the big boy's bike.




Your favourite phrase these days is "Mummy, I love you!" You say that ALL the time! You would be in the middle of a tantrum and Mummy would be trying everything to get you back on your balancing bike so we can make our way home. You would be all frustrated and sitting on the ground, but instead of engaging in some verbal fight, you would just say "Mummy, I love you!"

And I would say, "Yes, I love you too. But please get back on your bike." And you would cycle for a few more metres before the whole saga started ALL.OVER.AGAIN.

It's hard to be really angry at a kid who keeps telling you he loves you over and over again, isn't it? But trust me, it is possible!

One more thing before I end.

Before we started Kindy, we asked you why are you looking forward to Kindergarten.

You answered, "To read the Bible". 

And there and then, you totally melted our hearts.

You somehow realized that Sunday school is where you go to read the Bible and learn about Jesus. So you figured that Kindergarten is going to be similar to Sunday School - which it is, since this is a Catholic Kindergarten and they do tell you stories about Jesus too.

But your answer totally melted our hearts because we always thought that you enjoyed Sunday School for reasons such that you get to see your friends, or play with the toys etc.

But oh man, you actually enjoy Sunday School to read the Bible.

Such a humbling lesson for me. May the Lord continue to use you to teach me truths about Himself. Simple, enlightening, heart-warming truths.

It's all about God.

We love you son. So so much. Thank you for enriching our lives in ways we never thought was possible before we had you.

Mummy & Daddy

At cuddly and squishy at birth

All cheeky (and still chubby) at his first birthday

Getting his first bike at 2

Looking all grown up at almost 3 years

Learning to embrace change

We'll be moving in a week's time.

And I completely underestimated how stressful it is to move.

With TWO kids. 

It's not just the physical packing up of boxes. Or the kids running amok while you're trying to create some sort of order in the chaos. Or the finding of new owners of belongings that you've held dear for the past 8 years.

It's actually saying goodbye in my heart to little things that I didn't even know that I had an attachment to.

To share an example. I'm having a hard time saying bye to the baby swing in the playground near our house.

It's the baby swing where Sammy figured out how to sit upright while I pushed him. Where he finally progressed to the regular swing so that I could put Gabriel in the baby swing.

The swing where Gabriel would break out into a wide grin when he sees me walking toward it. Where he would laugh out loud and giggle with such gee when I push him higher and higher.

It's the slide where Sammy figured out how to climb up the ladder so that he can slide down with ease.

It's the playground where memories were made, friendships were forged and many long afternoons (and mornings) were spent.

I knew that I would regret not using our garden more often. We have a garden just outside our house. But it belongs to our landlady's parents and they made it very clear that we could see the garden but not use it.

Until Sammy started walking and running that is. That boy loves balls and he would kick a ball all by himself at any opportunity.

We haven't used the garden very often because we felt that we were trespassing on private property. But during the rare occasions when we did allow Sammy to kick a ball or two, it was superb!

We won't be having a garden with our new apartment where we'll be moving to. That was another series of misfortunate events too. To cut the long story short, we had no idea that it was possible to buy an apartment with a garden - which it obviously was.

It's not too bad cos there's a huge playground just next to our block. But there is no baby swing there and I haven't seen any baby swing within walking distance from our place.

But that's also why I'm getting all sentimental about the baby swing at our place!

I'm just not the pack-up-and-leave kinna gal. I'm the say-bye-to-everything-and-leave type of person but once I've packed my bags and left, I'm much better. And I dare say that I adapt quite fast too. I did afterall leave Singapore 8 years ago and 23 years of memories to make new memories in a country halfway across the world with people who speak a different language.

I'm REALLY looking forward to:

- Having a place to call our own... finally!

- Having supermarkets within walking distance and on level ground! No more walking uphill with a ton of groceries in the stroller or having to bribe a toddler during a meltdown cos he refuses to walk uphill anymore.

-  Having more space! We're gonna have 3 bedrooms instead of 2! Yay! 

- Having the subway within just 3 minutes walking distance from our door compared to 20 minutes in our current place.

- Having the hubby home earlier.... hopefully! His travelling time to work should reduce by a-third, so we're hoping to be able to do dinners earlier.

- Having a new open kitchen, new sofa and a new dining table and chairs. (Our current ones were second-hand).

Having a proper television. Yup, we've lived without a TV for the past 8 years in Germany and I've gone without one since my university days.

- Oh oh oh! The best for last. We're gonna have floor heating and much MUCH better insulation. Adios to cold feet and floors and an apartment that doesn't get warm enough no matter how much we heat it!

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 

"Help me Lord to embrace change well. Teach me to trust you more. Help me not to look backwards but forwards. Thank you for Korntal, the place where we've called home for the past 8 years and also my first home in Germany. We pray you'll expand our hearts to embrace new friendships and neighbours. I pray that we will grow new roots in our new home and neighbourhood quickly and help me to remember that no matter where we are geographically, as long as we remain rooted in you, we will continue to bear fruit. We love you Lord with all our hearts. Amen"

Role-playing a businessman making an important phone call in a box

And YEAH! Deal closed! Nice working with you!