Thank You Card

This is a card which the teachers asked the students to do for anyone they have in mind to thank. I'm privileged to know that she chose me.

Of all the things that Jayna wants to thank me for is drawing for her. Not the necklaces or things I make for her after she is already in bed. Not the painstaking caregiving that I usually do for her out of necessity. Not even the presents or treats I have bought for her. Nor was it the many fun places I've brought her to over the years.

It is for the seemingly insignificant and casual time I spent every afternoon, when the younger ones are taking their naps and big brother has gone to school, sitting beside her and drawing pictures as she dictates. Sometimes, it comes as a complete surprise what our children really appreciates of us and what we do which truly touches their hearts.

She has a treasured folder full of drawings I made and I'm glad that it speaks volumes of my love for her. 

Accessories Frenzy

No matter how hectic and difficult life can be, it is imperative that we have something as a hobby to help de-stress and restore our sanity. There are a few things which I enjoy doing and making accessories is one of the more affordable and practical things to do since I have two daughters and many friends who can appreciate the fruits of my labor. The best thing is that it merely takes a few minutes for me to make each piece so it is a fuss-free way for me to wind down after a hard day's labor. Here are just some of my latest work.

Snowflakes themed set

Snowflakes themed (kiddy version 1)

Snowflakes themed (kiddy version 2)

Stars themed necklace

Stars themed (kiddy versions)

Rose themed set

Rose themed (kiddy version)

Jayna arranged these all on her own. *beam*

Realised that my pony plushie
can make a very good
accessory stand. LOL

Gifts for my CG's children

Two of the kids were not used to
choker style necklaces so I lengthened
their Elsa necklaces for them.

Climbing Expert

Joram has started gaining confidence in climbing over obstacles and getting up the bed. Looks like it won't be long before we can let him sleep in the same room as the older ones. But first, I gotta teach him how to climb down the right way...

Frozen Inspiration

Thanks to the idea which I found at the House of Jewelox, I designed necklaces using patterns and colours inspired by characters from the movie Frozen. I made an Elsa necklace for Jayna and an Anna one for Jaide. They loved them to bits! The thought to dress the brothers up like Sven the reindeer and Olaf the snowman crossed my mind... Should I? Hee hee...

Elsa Necklace

Anna Necklace

Delighted wearing them.

Sisters unite!

The Parable of "Frozen"

Do you like Elsa or Anna? Many people like Elsa because of the pretty dress and the fun that magic seems to be. But do you know that there is an Elsa in all of us?

The harmful way of using her magical power is like sin. It appears like so much fun to freeze things without consideration but it can be very dangerous to play with ice. It can hurt and kill. It makes our hearts hard and cold.

Like Elsa concealing the fact that her powers were going rogue from other people, we try to hide our sinfulness from those around us. Since the beginning of time, Adam and Eve, too, hid from God when they first sinned and disobeyed. However, the more we hide our sin, the more it grows and becomes uncontrollable. No matter how much we want to “be the good girl [we] always have to be”, it is impossible for all of us to be “good” on our own. Finally, sin will separate us from God and from those we love. We are trapped in the “kingdom of isolation”.

Elsa sang that there was “no right, no wrong, no rules for [her]”. Yet, without the protective rules of love, she could never be truly “free”. She could only “let it go”, letting go of the chance to ever experience love and acceptance. Just like her, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we “don’t care what [others] are going to say” and console ourselves that others will “never see [us] cry”. In the end, we “turn away and slam the door” forever to true love. 

The good news is, Anna loved her sister. Just like God loves us and wants us to be with Him again. No matter how far we ran away from God, He sent Jesus to come looking for us and break the curse of sin and end winter. Ultimately, “only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart”. Anna sacrificed herself to save Elsa, just like Jesus died on the cross to give us salvation from the destructive power of sin.

The moment Elsa understood and experienced this marvelous love, her powers were brought under control and the cold winter ended. What used to be lethal and painful becomes something beautiful, like the ice sculptures and the skating rink. Similarly, God can redeem us and change our willfulness into obedience to the rules of love, bringing happiness to those around us. 

Like Elsa going back to her loving sister and her kingdom, we are reunited with God and enter the kingdom of heaven when we accept Jesus' act of true love which thaws our frozen hearts.

Disclaimer:
A parable is a teaching story which only has A FEW points of similarities between the objects of comparison. This is in contrast to an allegory or analogy which have multiple points of similarities. Please do not think that I am claiming that the story of Frozen is EXACTLY like the gospel. It is not a Christian piece of work in the first place. Thank you.

Flowers in the Hair

Flower hairdo

It is a little dream come true for me to have a feminine daughter to play dress up and hairdo with. Ever since Jayna's hair has grown nice and long enough for a greater variety of hairstyles, I've been having fun experimenting with whatever little free time I have. 

Happy with the new look

And since I'm at it, I planted a garden too....

On Joram's head!!! ROFL

Blessed, not Happy

I actually commented out loud that this has been the worse Mothers' Day for me. 

The week leading up to today had been absolutely crazy. I had two extremely fussy feverish children whom I needed to carry a lot despite my bad back. I was also down with the same virus which made me so weak that I fainted and hurt myself. The teacher of one of the kids called me nearly everyday to complain about dismal work performance. Another kid kept balking at the dietary restrictions that I imposed for the sake of the said child's health. I was struggling so hard to simply get through the week that I had not spared a single thought as to what to do for my own Mothers' Day celebration. 

Thus, despite the loving efforts of my MIL, SIL and BIL to take care of the kids so that I could have the afternoon off with my husband, I had nothing in mind to do which is a rare thing for a planner like me. We went to a restaurant I thought of randomly with a vague recollection of my friends' recommendations of it. Yet, I didn't get to eat much of what I liked due to some sort of miscommunication and I had an unhappy encounter with a stranger. The shop I wanted to visit had shifted and we had to walk up and down a street filled with second-hand cigarette smoke to find another place which didn't exist. My sensitive respiratory tract acted up and the green phlegm came back with a vengeance from all those pollutants.

The children made multiple selfish demands of me this weekend and were far more disobedient than usual. The rare weekly chance I had to have some decent adult conversation with my dear CG sisters was constantly interrupted. As an introvert, I already have to make conscious effort to engage in a conversation. Plagued with numbing mental exhaustion, I could hardly make any meaningful connection with friends I'm familiar with. I had to think very hard to remember the most recent happenings in their lives and I couldn't recall what I had really been wanting to share with them. I merely went with the flow of the conversation, responding to questions and chatting about stuff which I never intended to talk about. I felt so brain-dead!

Truly, I did not have a 'happy' Mothers' Day. Yet, I am grateful for all that I have: being loved and empowered by God on a daily basis, having such a supportive and loving husband, raising children who have no debilitating health issues, enjoying warm and encouraging fellowship with like-minded sisters-in-Christ and experiencing God's provision in all areas of my life. Life is extremely hard, but I do count my bountiful blessings. So, instead of wishing fellow mothers the typical "Happy Mothers' Day", I would say "Have a blessed Mothers' Day.

Celebration with my mum

Carnations for my MIL

Lilies and tulips for my CG sisters

Origami flowers for
my Mum, Aunt and MIL.

Gifts the kids made in school and church

Bought myself a new bag to be used solely for BSF
Now, I don't need to keep packing my one
and only handbag for different purposes! Yay!

Flower Dome

A CG mate has staff discount to the Tulipmania at the Gardens by the Bay and so off we went for a wonderful afternoon of flowers viewing. The big brother would have been bored at such a place and as a P1 kid, it is not a good idea to miss school for a garden visit so he did not go. The younger two were down with fever so they could not go either. Thus, it was a mother-daughter bonding time with princess Jayna. Thankfully, she, of all my kids, can truly appreciate and enjoy flowers. 

Although the place was supposed to be showcasing tulips, but there were also many other flowers to be admired. I once received a bouquet of daisies and it brought back fond memories when I spotted those very same humble flowers there. My personal favourite were the blue hyacinths. Jayna found some fallen ones and gave them to me in great delight. After that, she was on the hunt for more flowers on the ground to form a tiny bouquet for herself. Also, she kept asking me to take pictures of the flowers she liked. I was surprised that she even gave a gleeful squeal when she saw the red princess tulips. When it was time to go home, she almost didn't want to leave! What a pleasant trip for my elder girl.

The daisies of simplicity

My fav: Blue Hyacinths

Jayna's gift to me

Jayna's fav: Red Princess Tulip

Smelling the flowers she picked up

Mother-daughter Bonding

Happy with her CG friend

Her "loot" to bring home