Neighbourhood Bike Trip

With Joram able to cycle, we went for a bike trip around the neighbourhood for starters. Joshua and I rented ofo bicycles to ride with our kids. As a safety precaution, I got everyone to wear yellow so as to be as visible to pedestrians and other riders/drivers as possible. I also made sure the kids wore gloves and long pants in case of anyone falling on the rough asphalt. When Joram becomes more confident with cycling, we'll venture further. So looking forward to it!

Doesn't he look like a minion? LOL

The bike which had its decal
transformed from green to red

Check out Joram's increased competence so soon after learning how to ride!

Remembering Jesus

We use sparkling grape juice to substitute wine

This is the first Good Friday when all the children have become believers in Christ. We have waited till now to start the tradition of having family holy communion because we did not want to put any undue pressure on the unbelieving child/children to accept Jesus just so as to participate in the communion with the rest of the family.

Now that all 4 kids have authentically received Jesus into their hearts, it would be appropriate for us as a family to remember what our Lord had done on the cross to purchase our freedom from sin on Good Friday, just as He had instructed us to do during the Last Supper. 

Mark 14:22-26

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

I was actually wondering where I could find gluten-free and dairy-free (GFDF) bread to use for the sake of my kid with eczema. God is so marvellous to have answered my prayers. A kind church-mate of mine was asking me this morning if I wanted to get from her some GFDF hot cross buns she happened to have baked for her family. As God would have it, I was scheduled to be on worship duty at the center just 5 min away from her place. The bun were even made without the use of yeast. This is as close to unleavened bread as one could get. I am simply amazed by God's provision!

Joram made the stain-glass cross in the above picture in school. How appropriate! And what is Good Friday without Easter when Christ defeated death and resurrected 3 days later? Just nice that I made these starry easter eggs with my elder daughter for her Girls' Brigade project. (Picture below) The eggs symbolise the new life we have in our Saviour who have the power to rise from the dead! Hallelujah!

Joram Learnt To Ride A Bike!

My elder girl had been complaining that she preferred to ride her big brother's bicycle because hers was getting too small but my eldest boy was unwilling to let her use it for more than a few minutes since he also wanted to keep riding. I got very fed up with all the squabbling every cycling session so I thought it was high time to do a systematic upgrade. We bought the biggest child bike we could find for my no. 1 kid. To convert his old one into something more girlish, I used red acrylic paint to go over the green decals on the bicycle. Instead of green and yellow, the brother's bike became red and yellow for his younger sister to use. 

I also unscrewed and threw away the dented basket at the handle bar of the pink bike my no. 2 used to ride and lowered its seat because it was a tad too heavy and tall for my younger girl to inherit. Thankfully, Joram was rather happy with the purple bike which I bought less than a year ago for his second sister. After I tore away the stickers which said "bella", it looked pretty decent for a little boy to use. 

At first, I kinda expected Joram to take quite a few sessions to get used to the heavier vehicle he just took over before he'd be ready to transit from "striding" it to actual pedalling. The good old strider was nearly half the bicycle's weight after all. To my great surprise and delight, he started cycling half an hour later after I gave him a few pointers. Wow! This makes him the earliest to learn how to ride a bike among all of my kids at 4 years and 11 months old. I'm so absolutely proud of him!

We can finally say farewell to the trusty blue strider which had been a crucial part of teaching all 4 of my children to balance and eventually ride a bicycle. It has served its purpose in my family and I will be passing it on to my brother's son. 

Check out a clip of one of 

Joram's first successful attempts

Gor Gor's new bike

4 kids' bicycles
in the shed now

By the time my oldest kid outgrows this new big kid bike, he would be tall enough to ride an adult sized one. I can now look forward to cycling trips around the neighbourhood with all my children in tow!

Joram is turning 5

The moment I came across the promotional video of Art Zoo, I knew that Joram would love to go. Even though Joram's actual birthday is in April, I decided to celebrate his 5th natal day there yesterday because the whole thing is going to be around only for 3 weeks. And since it's the March holidays and Joshua could take half-day leave, there was no reason to delay.

My darling youngest boy was absolutely thrilled with the place. It was such a joy to see him hopping from one bouncy castle to another with an eager grin on his face. Sadly, I had to permanently park myself under the shade of the ladybug installation after a while due to the sweltering heat. I have always been extremely susceptible to heat exhaustion. Thank God Joshua was available to be dragged around by the kids for the rest of the time on my behalf.  :P

Crossing the Helix Bridge

The place is huge!

Here we are!!!

Before the kids run off

The girls came up with this pose

Squeeeeeeze....

Reaching for the sky?

Grinning from ear to ear

Big balls galore

Boy in action

Hide and seek

I'm gonna punch!

Ball pit

Joram was calling out the colours 

while he changed it by hitting the ball

When the kids started to get hungry, we went to the Super Heroes Cafe for a sumptuous dinner. Joram totally loved their crispy chicken drumlets. For his birthday cake, he chose the rainbow cake. The restaurant staff even gave the children free lollipops and a Flash apron FOC for the birthday boy. How nice of them!

Daddy praying over the
birthday boy

Trying to act innocent

We purchased the tickets to Art Zoo online using Klook and they gave us complimentary credits to the carnival and that was where we headed to afterwards. It was apparently a special deal given only to certain customers much like a lucky draw. What a perfect birthday present from God! There was enough for each kid to choose two rides. Joram obviously wanted the car rides. Out of the two types, Joram definitely enjoyed the bouncing one more because he kept laughing throughout the ride. 

The apron is too big for him
so it became a decor instead.