“Do not be happy for a few minutes and be sorry for what you’ve done earlier for many decades later”.

Many people commit sinful deeds, and they ignorantly do wrongful things, like stealing, lying, extra-marital affairs, even doing things that put others at a disadvantage.

But when the fruits of what they sow are reaped, even decades of regret will not be enough.

Loss of reputation, honour, self-worth and possession. Loss of a family’s trust and respect. Unimaginable consequences of one’s deeds.

God has given time to every one of us.

And if we can use our limited time to continually produce things that are good and righteous, and share with others things and values that last beyond our lifetime, then we’re using our time more wisely.

As for Rev. Stephen Tong (who shared all this - and so much more - in one of his sermons), he shared how he made a decision to use his limited time to preach the Word of God to as many people as possible. To him, if people listen to a less-than-two-hour sermon and be blessed for many decades later from what they’ve heard and learned, then he’s using his God-given time responsibly. And that’s what he has chosen to do with his life - to work hard and dedicate decades of his life for the glory of God, the Creator, and share with the world the good news and eternal values that can bring blessings to human kind for hundreds and thousands of years later.

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A little something to think about :
How have we used our time so far? Have we used it wisely, for the good of others, and for things whose values do last beyond our short time in this world?

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During our recent trip to Jakarta we went to my cousin-in-law’s wedding. And it was all beautiful.

Love her gown, her make-up, her hairdo, the decor, the classy live Jazz band, and the yummy buffet spread.

[Captured by Wilson when we're all at the wedding suite before the dinner started]

The kids dressed up too that evening. Anya put on the little cute dress she wore when she was a flower-girl at a friend’s wedding last year (yes, STILL fits!), and Vai wore a matching bow tie, vest and pants.

Now, I don’t know if it’s just a ‘boy’ thing (because Anya is hardly like this), but you see, these days Vai likes to pull a silly face whenever we’re taking photos of him. Covering his face with his hands, pouting, shutting his eyes and smiling away for some ten seconds or so, and doing some silly gestures with his hands or body. So yes, taking a ‘proper’ group photo with him can be a bit hard at times.

[With their cousin, Keira]

[This was when Vai casually played with his toy train on the floor while we're all trying to get him to take a group photo with his grandparents during our pre-dinner photo shoot. We managed to get a nice shot in the end. Yay!]

We were at the wedding dinner for a good three hours or so. And frankly, at first I thought the kids would be bored for staying around for THAT long at a wedding dinner, but hey, they proved me wrong. The whole ambiance was nice and casual, and we had a spacious area at a corner to ourselves.

They sat, ate, roamed around, giggled themselves silly, ran in circles and rolled on the ground. They kept themselves very well entertained! They were happy, and we happily let them be.

It was all good.

[Wilson spotted a really nice mirror at the hotel and so we took turns taking self-portrait shots of ourselves!]

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Our Everyday Things is in the running! For the very first time!

The Blogger’s Choice Awards is back again this year, and basically it is a site that lets people VOTE for their favourite websites. And winners are determined by the number of votes received.

[Click HERE to check out the 2008 winners!]

There are quite a lot of categories and Our Everyday Things is in TWO of them : Best Parenting Blog and Hottest Mommy Blogger! Voting will be closed next month!

Now I don’t normally say this, but I’d love to ask if you can spend a bit of time to VOTE for me ? Please please? *smile*

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Here’s more info on HOW to vote:

1.  Go to their website http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com

2. Click ‘SIGN UP’ at the very top right corner to create an account (you need to create one to vote)

3. Fill in all the boxes.
a. You’d need to provide a real email address (each email address entitles you to one vote)
b. You can choose to NOT provide a photo
c. Don’t forget to UNCHECK the ‘keep me up to dates with latest news’ if you don’t want to receive such mails from them

4. Click ’save and submit’

You’d then get an email from them (like, within a minute or so, for my case), and when you click on the link on their email message, you’re logged in!

5. Find a ‘SEARCH BOX’ at the top right hand side of the Blogger’s Choice Awards page, and type in ‘oureverydaythings’ and my site’s voting page will appear!

6. Click on the drop down category and the two categories will show. Click on one of them, and then click on the YELLOW VOTE BUTTON to vote! To vote for my other category, just click on the category name (on the same page towards the right) and do the same!

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Here’s another ‘more straight forward’ way to VOTE:

1. Log in after you’ve created the account

2. Click HERE to go directly to my ‘Best Parenting Blog’ voting page

3. Click HERE to go directly to my ‘Hottest Mommy Blogger’ voting page

4. Click on the YELLOW VOTE BUTTON!

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Frankly I have no idea how this whole thing will take off for my site as there are thousands of websites going for the awards as well.

But I really really do love to see your votes there!

And here’s me THANKING YOU in advance for taking the time to vote! Thank you!

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Saw a pile of old photos at my parents’ place AND found this!

Me and my Mom, sometime in the late seventies!

I can still vaguely remember how it was when we all went ‘fishing’. Somewhere.

My sisters had a go at it with my Dad and being the youngest at the time, perhaps I simply found the whole ‘get-a-fish-on-a-stick’ activity too boring.

Or, perhaps it was nap time and I obviously wasn’t too happy about it.

Anyway, in that photo, my mom was around my age and I was around Vai’s age right now, I think.

…

As I held the photo in my hands I thought, hey I think Anya and Vai sort of look like me here.

A little bit?

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Source: Focus on the Family (Canada)

Whether you’re newly wed or married for years, busy lives can make going out a challenge, let alone going out with other people. However, making time with your spouse to connect with others is important.

Spending time with different types of married couples helps bring new perspective to your marriage and affirms you’re not alone in your marital ups and downs.

Older couples have a wealth of wisdom from their own marriage journey, offering valuable, seasoned advice.

Couples who are in the next stage of life can counsel you on issues concerning the near future, such as the decision to have children. No matter the age of your married friends, you can still benefit from their company.

Armed with others’ encouragement, perspectives and stories of hope, you’ll be better equipped to fend off marital troubles and experience a lasting, fulfilling marriage.

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Okay not really.

But our little guy IS fond of all kinds of mic. And he simply couldn’t resist the temptation to check one out at our cousin’s wedding recently!

…

Captured by Wilson.

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If I were to quickly name two things (what I like and don’t like) about our recent trip, they’d be:

LIKE the beautiful scenery (from its beaches to the mountains!) and DISLIKE the zillions of mosquitoes there (they gave me many many huge and super itchy bites!)

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Been to Bali too? What do you like and don’t like about it?

[Photo info]
A deserted beach at Nusa Dua and one of the many paddy fields we saw while we’re there.

Both photos were taken by Wilson.

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Click HERE to see more captured moments, under ‘photography category’.

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Checking out Batur lake and mountain.

Breathtaking view.

Simply refreshing.

…

Captured by Wilson.

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> Vai now talks a lot. He expresses his wants and feelings rather well. Some of his words are not yet clearly pronounced though, and I think so far Anya and I are his best ‘language decoders’, hehe.

> These days he can really whine. He can also tell us how he wants certain things to be done (or NOT done).

For example, if my hand is rested on his shoulder, he can frown and say to me, “Mommy, tangannya jangan taro disitu dong …” (Indonesian for : ‘Mommy, don’t put your hand there please’). Or when we are inside a car and I lock the door, he can complain and whine, telling me NOT to do it because HE wants to lock the door himself.

> His phlegmy cough still lingers and his runny nose (all started some three weeks ago and has gotten better when we were in Bali) has made a comeback too. The bad weather here doesn’t quite help, I guess. Vai’s temperature went up and down, for a good four days, when we came back from our Bali trip. Thank God his temperature didn’t soar too much though. Didn’t go past 39 degrees celsius, and he’s still his happy and active self most of the time. Which is a good sign, I guess.

[We went to see a doctor and he said that for cases like dengue fever and typhoid, one needs to be feverish for about five to six days before you can take a blood test to confirm. The infected person will most likely be weak physically too]

Anyway.

Our 27 months with Vai has been full of ups and downs. But we thank God for all the strengths He faithfully provides everyday, because without Him, we can never raise a child. Let alone two children whom He entrusted in our care. So yes, we definitely thank God for everything.

PS: The photo above was taken a day before we left for Jakarta. He’s so much slimmer now though, having lost some 0.8kg over the past 10 days! He’s now 14.5kg.

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