Dear Lord,

Just as the change of seasons refreshes the Earth
May the new year bring renewed hope and strength
that comes only from You such that the year will be a good one.
One that benefits me in spite of trials or obstacles
And one that lets me witness God's hand upclose in my life
Such that I'll end 2010 knowing that You have walked every step of the way with me.

Amen

In a while, we'll bid 2009 goodbye. Perhaps we can just slow down, quieten our feasting and partying hearts and reflect on the year past; His grace that came along with those challenges, His mercies that was new every morning, His love so steadfast, so unconditional, His providence that was always more than we needed.

May your 2010 be one filled with God's abundant love and blessings!

Blessed New Year!

In Loving Memory

Nine years on . . . still fondly remembered as the
"Finest BB Boy we've known"

Its my hope & prayer that I can be to my CG, what my Uncle Jimmy was to his 49th Company.

Teachers Plant Seeds of Knowledge . . .

... that will last forever.

Last night the CG met up at my co-leader Eugene's place for a post-Christmas gathering. It was a small gathering cos some were away and some were at another youth's house for a separate party. It was a cosy gathering, I brought the wii along so the guys were up against each other in a game of boxing and tennis. We chatted over pizza and chicken wings, talked about our plans for the new year. As I watched them bond over good food and the bottle of wine they smuggled out of the supermarket (well, some of them are 18 so that's legal) I felt God telling me 'these are the fruits of your labour and love' - I was happy.

Gideon found time to join us yesterday. Having left CMC for a year now, he's happily settled into BRMC and I praise God for the work He's doing in Gideon's life. He wasn't an easy youth to mentor and he went through some pretty rough times during his time with us when he had to cope with the expectations of being a pastor's son. He also lost his sister during that time and leaving CMC was a way of putting that chapter behind him. He gave me a card yesterday and a magnet with the words "Teachers plant seeds of Knowledge that will last Forever". The card was my very first from him after all those 4 years of being his CG leader. In it penned some of the most sincere words I've ever heard from a 18er. He finally recognised the effort taken to nurture him, the support he got from the rest of the CG during what was his lowest point. He now understood why God told me not to give up on him and how God knew back then - 2 years ago - that He was using me and the CG to fulfill His plan for him. Next year, Gideon will be taking on the role of CG leader to a group of 14ers in BRMC. The work that God is doing in his life is amazing and I praise God for that. I take heart that God had used me as a vessel to help plant that seed along the way.

Every year around this time, I reflect on my Ministry with the youths and year after year, I ask God for affirmation that this is where He wants me to continue serving in the new year. Next year will be my 6th year with the CG. Every year I see new leaders emerging, and God seems to be telling me now - through Gideon - that even if I don't see some of them rising up now, they may do so in the future and my responsibility is to help nurture them so that God's plan for these young people may be fulfilled one day.

Its a great responsibility since the intention is to raise these youths up as future leaders of the Church. I feel unequipped sometimes and there's so much more I know I can do to mentor them. I can only pray for that empowerment, strength and grace for God to continue using me as a mighty vessel to make a difference in lives of the chosen generation.

Pray with me.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Blessed Christmas Everyone!

The best part of Christmas amidst all the presents, feasting and sweet treats is basking in the love of family and loved ones! Chets, Jude & Sophie being home has made this Christmas extra special! I hope you too had the chance to spend this Christmas in the company of your loved ones! Have a truly Blessed Christmas!

Love, {me}

Busy @ Christmas!

All that caroling practices and late nights from the card making left me with a really bad throat yesterday! By the afternoon, I was running a high fever - on the day of caroling of all days! But I really didn't want to disappoint the CG so armed with whatever voice I had left, I led the CG to the two homes we were assigned to visit!

When you honour God, He honours you in return! My fever miraculously subsided as I was singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing at the first home. I could literally feel the heat lifted off my body! Praise God! We had a good time! I was really happy that Gideon found the time to join us, its been a year now since he left for PLMC but he knows this CG always welcomes him back! The hubs was our photographer and videographer for the night - if only he could tweak videos the way he does photos than I may consider putting up a clip of our singing!

Thank God I was well enough to get my baking done today! This year's Christmas creation for the colleagues - Chocolate muffin with Vanilla buttercream frosting! Finally got to use the stash of baking deco I got from London! The final product - a pretty sight to withhold and muffinlicious to the bite!!

Can't wait to celebrate Sophie's first Christmas with her! Stay tune for my Christmas posts!

Sophie - LIVE!

After months of thinking we're just cartoon characters that pop up on her Daddy & Mummy's Mac, Sophie finally got to see her YiYis and Uncle Piao LIVE in person! We on the other hand finally got to pinch that chubby cheek of hers, kiss that cute adorable face and were well introduced to her all powerful lungs - this 4 month old, 6kg little peanut no more *can* scream and she'll make sure everyone knows that!

Since her coming back, the house has turned into a playground. For once, Grandma isn't nagging at the mess and no attempt has been made to tidy up since it'll only be messed up again. Pacifers lying here, towels there, socks on the table, teething toys on the sofa, mattress on the floor etc - thanks to Sophie, all this is OK with Grandma (for now)!

5 things you should know about Sophie:
1. She can so flirt! After a 23 hours flight and at 2am in the morning, this young lady was giving out sweet smiles and killer looks with those angelic eyes!
2. She can scream with a capital 'S'. No, actually, caps it all! When she screams, its like crying murder! No amount of '1-2-3' and 'Yeah Sophie' that she loves will calm her down!
3.She's has yet to understand the concept of 'Saving the Earth' - the number of diaper changes she goes through a day is enough to burn a hole in the ozone!
4. For some strange reason, she loves chewing on animal heads. Her top faves at this point - giraffe and bumble bees!
5. She is so A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E, you'll forgive her for all the killer screams she lets us. In her father's words - "Lucky you cute ah!"

Of sushi, mickey and shrines . . .

Tokyo is one H-U-G-E city! If the number of subway stations we visited were anything to go by, I don't think we've even covered 1/4 of the city in our 5 nights there!

Its my first time in Tokyo. Before this, friends tell me that everyone who visits Tokyo will fall in love with it and they were confident I would love it too! I had no doubts about it. I mean sushi afterall is one of my favourite food! And I never say no to Japanese strawberry shortcakes so how wrong can Tokyo go? What's more, I'm a sucker for all that kawaii knick-knacks and stationery you find at Kinokuniya! Well, the food sure didn't disappoint, the strawberry shortcake so good but soooo darn expensive and all that cute knick-knacks were kawaiiness with a capital 'K'! But I'm not sure if I like Tokyo as much as London and I'm not sure if I would want to go back there so soon. Not as much as I wanted to go back to London immediately after my first trip there in '97 (which I eventually did just 6 months after). Well, not that Tokyo has been a disappointment but let's just say I thought I'll like it more. I was pleasantly surprised by Kyoto though and that will be a city I'll like to return to again before Tokyo!

Anyhow, it was in all a fantastic trip! Praise God! He kept us safe and well throughout the trip! Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly though the hubs and Sam found themselves having a massive nasi-lemak craving by the end of Day 10.

The top 10 highlights of this trip for me:
10. Visiting Disneyland! Nobody is too old for Disneyland! I short of Eurodisney in Paris and Disneyland in Anaheim and I would have visited all the Disney resorts! Orlando's still the best so far!
9. Visiting Studio Ghibili! The musuem was an animation playground for the young and old! Not forgetting the gift shop that sold everything Kawaii! Thanks chets for helping us get the tix! They were priceless!
8. The warmth of the Japanese. Read: when you ask for directions, its not just 'go straight, turn left', its either (a) take out pen and paper from brief case, draw you the map or (b) walk a good 1km or so with you and personally take you to the place! That happened a good 3-4 times! We S'poreans have a LONG way to go!
7. Soba @ Yabu-soba! For the first time, I really didn't want to share my plate of noodles with anyone! In the end, I guess I love the hubs more. But i *really* wanted to finish it all by myself! Even my mum cleaned up her bowl of tempura soba. My mum *never* finishes her noodles.
6. Being mistaken as a Japanese countless of times in the shops and even at the airport! When talking to us, the salesperson will rattle on to me in Japanese but to everyone else, they'll attempt English immediately. It was quite funny seeing the surprised look on their faces after they realise I can't speak Japanese. They must be thinking what a disgrace I am!
5. The Japanese service standards. Never once was I handed my purchase over the counter. They personally step out from the cashier area to hand us our shopping bags. Amazing!
4. Our ryokan stay @ Kikokuso. The hospitality of the host was heartwarming- she sent us off and continued bowing till the cab took a turn and was out of her view, the comfy futons and the oiishi dinner. And not to forget the 42 degC hot bath - so relaxing!
3. The Shibuya crossing. I'm not surprise that its the busiest street crossing in the world and has the highest density of cell phones than anywhere on Earth!
2. Lunch @ L'osier. This 3 Michelin star French restaurant was truly quite quite magical! That dessert trolley - I felt like I was like L in the Japanese manga - Death Note.
1. Surviving the complicated subway and JR lines and figuring out the transits from one line to another without getting too lost.

Here's Tokyo in photos. Enjoy!

Of temples & traditions

Kyoto was a lovely city. I {heart}! Our first night there, we put up at the quaint little Hotel Monterey which was a nice walk from the Gion area. The main Shijo-dori road was lined with little shops selling traditional Japanese items from cloth bags to bowls to tissue blotters! Expensive tissue blotters for that matter. The Nishiki market that we visited was fascinating to say the least! Tofu donuts, bonito flakes in every possible grade, tamago like we've never seen before etc etc . . . dad was of course the happiest person at the market. In his state of greediness, he bought a stick of we-know-not-what, bite into it and literally had to spit it out. He says that remains the only culinary disappointment on this trip thus far!

The highlight of Kyoto will have to be our stay at the Kikokuso ryokan. Its the first for all of us - a ryokan stay that is and we left the inn wishing we had stayed longer. We had the entire family room to ourselves - like a camping trip tatami style! Needless to say, the dinner was culinary art at its best! Our host lady ended up calling my dad - Papa! It was really quite funny!

I left Kyoto wishing I had more time to discover the quaint little city. The hubs promised we'll be back and I'm looking forward to it already! . . . The big Tokyo city next! Stay tuned!

The Land of takopachi

We're having a fantastic trip!! Like the hubs says, we're like on an eating expedition. Daddy is hungry every 15 minutes! The only time we heard him say he was full was after the bowl of to-die-for Ippudo ramen!

Osaka is a big city. The Swissotel Nankai where we stayed was conveniently located in town near the Shinsabashi shopping district and Dotombori food paradise - the perfect location to meet the needs of my still-growing father and Sam's and my shopping needs! Mummy on the other hand discovered Takopachi on this trip! She really loves that octopus ball of yumminess drenched in all the mayo and sauce topped with bonito flakes! The hubs - as usual - happy as long as his camera's with him!

We're in Kyoto now and I'm liking this city alot more than Osaka. Will post more in the next post!!! Till then . . . Ja-ne!

30 Reasons Why I Love You . . .

I totally {heart} all the presents I received this birthday. There was that Tiff & Co ring from the hubs which I have been eyeing to replace my tarnished beyond redemption old ring. That lovely personalised pottery ring plate from my sis which I had wanted to carry our wedding rings last year but didn't get in the end cos my 4 year old page-boy's mum didn't trust her son enough to handle a fragile ring pillow and Love gift from my parents who believe at this age, ang pow was the best present.

Amongst all these great gifts, one present stood out and that was the handmade scrapbook card my dear sister took time to make for me while in the midst of her 'O' level exams. It was one present that no Tiff & Co will ever create, no Etsy seller could make and no amount of money could buy.

30 Reasons (for every year of my age) Why I Love You
30. You always smell nice
29. You're special
28. You know how to be crazy and mad
27. You still call me mei-chan when I'm 16
26. You love God so much
25. You feed me well
24. I look forward to dinners when you come home
23. Without knowing it, you teach me about life
22. You always give me the bigger slice of cake (not that you complain)
21. Your pasta!
20. You know how to screeaam!!!!
19. You buy me pretty clothes (even though I don't need them)
18. You laugh at my lame jokes
17. You respect me and my nonsense
16. You always talk to my friends like you're 16 too haha. I think that's cool
15. You're always concerned for me ... and I take it for granted
14. Your wedding made me cry cuz I felt I lost you
13. You know what love ...
12. Is all about
11. You make me laugh
10. You give and give and give and give oh and give
9. I know you'll forgive me for wasting one reason in #12. And this box too
8. You always give me treats
7. You're willing to listen
6. You're amazing
5. Its always fun with you
4. You make it a point to always come home just to remind us you love us
3. You teach me to be fit
2. You love me so much
1. You are everything a sister could ask for .... and so much more

I love my mei-chan.

One Year On . . .

"And above all this, put on love which binds them all in perfect unity"
Colossians 3:14

Can't believe it has been a year already! The journey has been beautiful. In his love I've been secured. In his strength, I've been humbled. And in our prayers, our love and faith have been strengthen.

And so in celebration of our 1st year, the hubs packed us off for a 2 night getaway at the Four Seasons Hotel. Brings back memories of that biggest dinner banquet we'll ever throw! Till today, we still have friends telling us how much they enjoyed themselves that night and loved that memorable dessert! ... In the true spirit of the Four Season service, we were warmly welcomed back.

We spent the morning chilling by the pool, something we didn't get to enjoy the last time thanks to the rain. We've got a spa session in a bit before taking in the Orchard Road Christmas light-up! I'm having a totally chill weekend!

Turning 30!

And so, with the blowing out of the candles and a bite into my favourite Pattisier cake, I turn 30!

But really, turning 30 ain't all that bad. I'm surrounded with so much love. I have parents who still think I'm a little gal (which isn't always a bad thing), a sister who thinks that at 30, I'm not too old to receive a birthday present (even though this being my 1st birthday married, I'm told I have to share my present with the hubs), a teenage sister who thinks that I'm still cool enough to go shopping with her for her prom dress, a beautiful niece who loves her pacifier the same way her yiyi loved hers 29 years ago and a husband who loved me when I was 26 and loves me even more today! Who loves not just me but the people around who mean the world to me!

To top it all, I've a God who thinks I'm worthy enough to be His jar of clay, storing up treasures within me so that others may know that this all-surpassing power I've been blessed with is from God and not myself.

I'm 30 and loving it already!

How to Aces the 'O' levels

While studying, have next to you:
1. A Mac
2. Freshly squeezed orange juice
3. Ipod
4. Mobile phone
5. Lucky charms, lucky charms and more lucky charms
6. A picture of Sophie

The Cutest Little Lady Bug Ever!!

You are a bunch of cuteness Sophie!!!

My husband . . .

. . . my best friend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY dearie!

Alabaster Jar

This alabaster jar
Is all I have of worth
I break it at your feet, Lord
It's less than you deserve
You're far more beautiful
More precious than the oil
The sum of my desires
And the fullness of my joy!

Like you spilled your blood,
I spill my heart as an offering
To my King
Here I am, take me
As an offering
Here I am, giving every heartbeat
For your glory take me
The time that I have left
Is all I have of worth
I lay it at your feet, Lord
It's less than you deserve
And though I've little strength
And though my days are few,
You gave your life for me
So, I will live my life for You

Worthy, worthy
You are worthy
Worthy is the Lord

Sophie through the month . . .

The little peanut turns one month old and is peanut no more!

We now call her the susu monster! See how much she's grown thanks to her susu-ness!! How can any baby be this cute?

Happy 1st month little Sophie! Sorry yiyi is 4 days late with this post.

Top 10 signs that the Koh parents are away . . .

1. We cook FRIED rice with FRIED chicken wings and FRIED sotong balls for dinner cos that's the kind of food 16ers like to eat.
2. The cans of beer in the fridge are left untouched.
3. The husband does the honours of rolling down the chicks in the garden and changing the light bulbs (jobs usually undertaken by our Father)
4. We stay home for lunch on a SUNDAY and whip up a platter of cold cuts, sundried tomatoes, cheese and freshly baked foccacia bread (the kind of meal that doesn't excite my Mother)
5. My teenage sister and her bestie sing online karaoke in the room and no one is complaining. Did I mention they're auditioning for the 2011 Singapore Idol.
6. We queue in line for 40 minutes to have dinner at Sushi Tei. Something my folks won't do though they'll wait 1 hour for Bak Chor Mee.
7. No one fills up the ice cube tray in the freezer (yet another job faithfully done by our obsessed Father)
8. My already neat dresser is not as neat as it can be cos my dear Mother isn't around to 'find things to do'.
9. I no longer wake up in the morning wondering which house I'm in - I get to move back home permanently!!! Yipee!
10. There is a $15 carton of Horizon ORGANIC milk sitting in the fridge next to our usual $3 Farmhouse milk. (There *is* a difference - we've put it through a vigorous taste test)

Well the last I heard from my dad was that we were gonna start eating organic food after they get back so we thought we should start getting use to it!

Sophie Inspired!

About 3 weeks ago, I mentioned about my Sophie Collection thank you cards and gift tags. That was in celebration of the birth of the cute little peanut! Who would have thought that those kawaii tags would make it to the Etsy Treasury! And my very first Treasury for that matter! An Etsy member created a Treasury by making a search of her daughter's name - Sophie - on Etsy!

The Etsy Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whatever they like. The Treasury is to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. Etsy’s staff often choose whole or partial exceptional Treasury lists to promote to the featured, handpicked items on Etsy’s home page so it gives your shop heaps of exposure!!

I'm really happy to be featured all thanks to my darling niece!! Thanks Sophie darling!! Only 4 weeks old and you made yiyi's day!!! BIG huggies!!!

Three Generations

We had lunch with the grands today and just thought this shot was blog-worthy!

Aging Gracefully

We celebrated Mummy's birthday last weekend over a delightful Robatayaki meal. Food was extremely fresh - that grilled ginko nut and purple sweet potato - out of this world! Don't even ask about that $35/skewer kobe wagyu beef that literally silence the hubs and Sam. Definitely one of the best meals we've had in a while. We left imagining going back again when my sister comes back for Christmas and with little Sophie in tow!

My mum doesn't look the least bit her age. Young genes runs in the family - thankfully. Come that time, I hope I'll grow old gracefully too - just like her.

Happy Birthday Mummy!!

Akanoya Robatayaki
1 Tanglin Road
Orchard Parade Hotel
Reviews here

Love Gift Box

Fairylovingcreations just turned 2 months old. Well I'm not making huge amounts of sales but I'm encouraged by the humble 11 sales I've made in the past 8 weeks! That's averaging a sale a week!! My creations have been going places. Since my very first order that went to a Seattle wedding, I've shipped to UK, Italy and even Ireland! My latest custom made order of my Love Gift Box was shipped off this morning and is finding its way to Massachusetts!

Fairylovingcreations was not meant to be a big profit making business and I never want it to. Its just an avenue for me to do something I enjoy and bless someone with my creations in return. Its just very gratifying to know that out of thousands of Etsy sellers, people notice my work and like them enough to want them at their weddings or us gifts for their loved ones.

And as type, I've just received a request for my wedding fan programs and placecards to grace a wedding in Palmerton - Pennsylvania!! . . . I leave you with my latest creation - My Love Gift Box!

Hic-cups!

She's just too CUTE!

Husband, Father, Grandpa

Daddy turns the BIG 60 today!!! Little Sophie, who dictated her own arrival time, couldn't have chosen a better time then this! Seems like she too wanted to join in the party and make sure she got to wish Grandpa H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y too!!!

August is typically a celebration month for this family. Its dad's birthday, mom's birthday, our god-brother and god-sister's birthday, the nation's birthday and now the baby of the family says "me too me too I want to join in the fun" Celebrations started days before today. Dinner at Harbour Grill was simple, cosy and refined. The dozen of oysters and that lobster brisque soup poured from a tea pot in front of us was simply divine! Dinner that night revolved around little Sophie who thankfully arrived just hours before that, giving Dad and Mum a peace of mind to enjoy their dinner. Dad received a big present from us all. A classy Prada wallet that I picked up. Its always a chore buying my dad a gift - he's got shirts spilling out from his wardrobe and enough golf item to last him a life time. Get him another watch and my mum will probably disown me. It took me and my sis a while to settle with the Prada wallet. In between that were ideas of an iphone and lap top of which we concluded our dad just wasn't savvy enough for.

Met up with the grandparents and godbrothers for dim-sum over the weekend to continue the celebrations - chinese style - with the obligatory longevity buns or "shou tou" as we call them here. Mum's simple homecook dinner tonight together with little Sophie's, Chets' and Jude's 'presence' (thanks to Skype) plus that lovely cake from our favourite Pattisier wraps up this one birthday Dad's not gonna forget for a long time to come!

From Husband to Father and now Gong Gong . . . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY Daddy!

kawaii!!

So with the excitement over little Sophie's arrival cooling down just a teenie winnie bit, i finally got down to working on some new creations. To celebrate the arrival of the little cute peanut, this weekend's creations are aptly named after her - The Sophie Collection - of my kawaii (that's "cute" in japanese) "Thank You" cards! You can read more about them at fairylovingcreations.

Its received some views since and {hearts} too! Hopefully they'll find an owner soon! Sigh . . . the long weekend is just about coming to an end but we've got some exciting months coming up ahead for us! Stay tune to this blog to find out more!

Hello World . . .

"Every good and perfect gift is from Above"
James 1:17

Sophie En Yew, born 08.08.09 weighing 5lbs 12 oz.
In the words of her proud parents: " She's a peanut and B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L"

Love you so much already Sophie, my lovely niece!