Happy 5th Birthday Mya

5 years and 9 months ago, I landed my favorite "job" of all time - being a mother. And today, my firstborn is 5 years old. Happy birthday sweet Mya!

Looking back this past year, 5 of my favorite memories are -

1. Last October, i went back to Singapore for Daddy's (or Gong-Gong's) surgery. It's the first time that I'm away from the whole family for 2.5 weeks. Mya remembers this and asks to pray for Gong-Gong's heart surgery and Grandma's knee surgery every now and then! Praying she'll grow up to be a mighty prayer warrior!

2. Mya and Elliot's conversations - in the car, in the playroom, in the bedroom, when they are playing outside. Most of the time, she's telling him what to do; and she likes him to say yes to her. And when he doesn't, shrieks and whines ring out loud and clear. Yet, it's so sweet when he repeats whatever she's saying and following her around! Thank you God for siblings!

3. Pinkalicious! It's Mya's first live musical, and is one of her favorite album to play on Alexa. She can pretty much sing and recite the lines of the entire musical. What's a good one to take her next?

4. Moving house has been tough on Mya. Witnessing her attachment to our old house and her tender heart. I hope we've taught her to say goodbye well.

5. Bedtime stories - the last thing we like to do on most nights, is for me to make up a bedtime story. I'm going round the world with this series, we started with Kanga and Roo in Australia; Baozi in China; Xiaoli in Singapore, Sakura in Japan, Chandra in India, Mr Fettuccine and Tortellini in Italy...

Dear Mya, we pray that you'll never lose your wide-eyed wonder, delight in the small things, joy in relationships, tender heart that feels so deeply and silliness. And may you grow in your love for God and His Word, in your kindness & generosity to others, in your patience when waiting, your strength in character and ability to read all the stories in the world!

We love you sweetie pie and look forward to the year that God has in store for us. We love you very very very much!

Birthday 2013; 1st Bday 2014; 2nd Bday 2015; 3rd Bday 2016; 4th Bday 2017
5th Bday 2018 - TBD

1917 N Spruce Terrace

It was unexpectedly emotional when the “For Sale” sign was put up in front of our current home – 1917 N. Spruce Terrace, AH IL 60004. I was not there when they did it, but tears streamed down my cheeks when Arthur called to inform me. Had I been there, every inch they sunk the peg into the ground, would have been an inch a nail was hammered into my heart.

It was again unexpectedly emotional when our realtor texted us that the couple who bought our house are excited about it. The house closed today. I was not there when they signed the papers, but tears welled up in my eyes. I felt every ounce of pain that Mya had within her when we said goodbye to the house. She was inconsolable, hugging our favorite tree, kissing the last wall before we walked out the door, for good.

This is the first house Arthur and I “owned”. I remembered vividly praying that God would use this space that He has blessed us with, and He answered that prayer in ways more than what we could have asked for. Families coming for months or a weekend, friends here to hang out or stay for a while, strangers becoming friends, friends making this home their own, gatherings, lunches, dinners, life group meetings, birthday parties. God has blessed us with much rich fellowship, laughter and tears in this little home. Memories made and deeply treasured. We are humbled that God has entrusted this space to us for the last 4 years.

This is the house in which Mya lived most of her life to-date, and that’s the only home Elliot has ever known. This is where they learnt to walk and talk, dressed-up and played make-believe, rode kitchen chairs trains and cardboard boats, got time-outs and spankings, read countless books, somersaulted, straddled on the ceiling, fought and giggled, laughed uncontrollably. They fell in love with playing outside here – swinging and kicking balls in the backyard, riding their bike, car and scooter on the sidewalk, playing with the water table, going to the park, climbing trees. God has blessed them with so many moments of fun in the neighborhood. We are so thankful for that.

We will remember our neighbors – Nancy, Wendall and Rosalee. Even though they’ve really enjoyed having us (especially Arthur), they will spur us to be better neighbors in the future.

This has been quite a journey for us. Leaving behind what we once loved, moving forward to a place unknown (kinda), learning anew what is temporal and permanent, cherishing what we have and had. We pray the same prayer that God will use our new space for His work and His people, that it will be a place of rest and refreshment for the sojourners and that we will steward it for His glory!  

10 years

We started our journey as husband and wife, walking down the aisle to “At the beginning”. And now 10 years later, memories flood back as I sing the song –

We were strangers {2006, a Singaporean and American meeting in Zhongguancun Beijing}
Starting out on a journey {July 12, 2008 in marriage}
Never dreaming what we’d have to go through {small spaces, hard places, surprises}
Now here we are {2 continents and 2 kids later}
And I'm suddenly standing {10 years went by in a blink!}
At the beginning with you {I love every day with you}

No one told me, that I was going to find you {uh-uh, my friends thought I was crazy}
Unexpected, what you did to my heart {you know and see me like no one else}
When I lost hope {not with my heavenly and earthly husbands!}
You were there to remind me {you’re always pointing to and modeling Christ}
This is the start {together!}

And life is a road I wanna keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is road now and forever
Wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

We were strangers {in our pre-marital survey, only our faith was in common}
On a crazy adventure {Tio Man, Macau, Jamaica, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Quebec, and so many more less crazy adventures…}
Never dreaming that dreams would come true {thank You God! even with the smallest of signs}
Now here we stand unafraid of the future {next house, next city, teenager? Come what may!}
At the beginning with you {I would choose to do life with you, everytime!}

And btw, I love a good duet...