1st Anniversary!!!

Can't believe it...it's ONE year already! It seems only yesterday that we were dreaming and planning to move to Adelaide....and now we've been here for one year in this new country we call home now. It amazes me that this place which I've not been to previously is now clearly more home to me compared to the place I was born and grew-up in for the last thirty plus years. Of course I miss my family and friends there..........but this past year has clearly shown me and hubby and kids that Adelaide suits us much better!

13 September 2009 - at LCCT in Sepang waiting for our AirAsiaX flight to Melbourne. Sending us off were our dearest parents, siblings and their spouses and kids. It was a night full of emotions....and though we really didn't want to see anyone crying, we were nonetheless touched when my mother-in-law's eyes started to tear up as we said farewell and prepared to enter into the departure gate. It got me and hubby teary too....while Erica and Isaac just can't wait to board the plane then, couldn't quite understand why the adults were getting all emotional for! However, when Isaac saw the airplane he was shocked by the size of it and refused to board it.....it was such a struggle trying to carry a crying squirming 2-year old up the steps to the airplane!! The bigger struggle though were to try and get him to sleep!! He just napped for a couple of hours here and there.......and there we thought it would be better to take the night flight so that we don't have to entertain them for so many hours! If I have my ways it will be day flight in the future when we travel.......

14 September 2009 - 8 a.m. so near yet so far....that's how we felt on the morning when we touched down in Melbourne. So excited that we reached Australia, yayy!!! But...it is Adelaide that we need to get to and it was another 8 hours before our connecting flight from Melbourne to Adelaide :( ...And there wasn't much to do in the airport and kids were tired from the night flight....so it was napping time for the kids but it seems like an endless wait for me as I'm just not the type who can sleep anywhere........ 5 p.m. time to board the plane to Adelaide....7.30 p.m. Yippee!! We had landed in Adelaide Airport! "Hmm...wonder where is Cheah waiting for us?"...that was my thought and were we shocked to see him at the domestic arrival/departure lounge waiting for us! But our shock was nothing compared to his shock when he saw our luggages!! haha...seems like our friend had forgotten that we're not on holiday but migration!

For the next two weeks, it was a real hectic time but.......THANKS to our dear friend Alicia and her husband Cheah, we managed to get the things (at a bargain) we need to set up our new home in Glenelg.... THANKS to Ally's mom Auntie Joyce's babysitting, we were able to go around without having to bring along the kids or worrying about their food/general well-being....THANKS to Ally's kids Isabel and Gabriel, our kids got friends immediately after reaching Adelaide....and thanks to them we had good satisfying meals at their warm, cosy home on that cold cold spring!!

The Beginnings of Dreams

What better way to revive a sleeping blog (one put to sleep for such a long time that I wonder if the two co-creators of the blog remember it?) than to have a post about Beginnings of Dreams??

Dreams...those that you do while you sleep and those with glazy dreamy eyes in the bright of day...and for the dreams that I'd like to talk about, I've no idea which they were or maybe they were a mixture of both. These are dreams about starting anew in a foreign place, dreams about leaving a place you were born, raised and lived for more than 3 decades of your life, dreams about making a new country home....yes, I'm talking about migration. And yes, I know migration is as old as people are alive on this earth but amazingly, it was something that came as quite surprising for people who knew me and that includes not just friends and family but my partner! When I first told Eric that I had this dream to migrate and later it became more than just a wish, it became a need, he was kinda shocked. He knew that I would love to travel to lots of places but to move away from Malaysia? And what is more shocking is at that time when I broach this subject with him, I've never even been to the country I said I would love to live in....AUSTRALIA! Would you believe that?! Okay, even I couldn't fathom when and why I set my mind on Australia.........

Was I glad that we talked about this subject before he got this job with Termguard....It just seems that God has an awesome way of answering prayers but He loves to do it in His time (unfortunately that's one lesson I have the most difficulty learning!). It was God's blessing and timing that Eric got a job with Australian bosses and it was with this job that he brought us to Brisbane and Gold Coast for a holiday in 2006....and let me just say, I definitely LOVE it in Australia though it was very little that I got the chance to see. What can I say? I was met with fresh air immediately after landing and then it was just the safety and security I felt. I was perfectly happy with getting around the city with my then 2.5 years old daughter by myself as I felt safe (Eric had a conference to attend). It just made my decision stronger that I would love to live in Australia...and Thank God that Eric felt the same way the more he travels and things happening back home certainly helps! So we have now migrated to Adelaide since September 2009 and that's the Beginning of Dreams coming true!!

Revival? Hope so.....

I am so bad when it came to blogging. Started this blog in 2008...2008 mind you! My God and I only had 4 miserable posts. Have always said that I'll blog about this and that especially happenings in my kids' life but as always, LAZINESS reigns supreme....sigh!!

OK, enough of self-bashing...it's time to make amends and try to revive this blog.

Erica's First Ballet Concert - Part 2

This is Erica's first taste of performing on stage to the public. We are very proud of her for having the courage to perform in front of hundreds. Although being the youngest, the whole Baby Class performed beautifully.

Below are some photographs of Erica in her First Ballet Concert Performance. It is held in Civic Hall Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 7 October 2007 by her ballet school, Dua Space Dance Academy.

This is also the first time the family watches a live ballet performance together. Besides me, her papa and her then less than 4 month-old brother, Isaac, her grandpa, grandma, Grandma Lim (my mom), Aunt Pui Geok (papa's sis), Uncle Steven (papa's 2nd bro), Aunt Pei Pei (Uncle Steven's wife), Uncle Michael (papa's youngest bro), Steph Jie Jie (Uncle Michael's girlfriend), Aunt Rebecca (my eldest sis), Erica's cousin sisters San Jie Jie and Yoke Jie Jie were also there.

Her performance was titled "Happy Birthday" and coincidentally my birthday falls on the 9th while her cousin San Jie Jie birthday falls on the 8th October, so it was a very unique memorable birthday present.

Above are taken during the performance; it was difficult to get good shots as we did not own a high-tech camera that allows clear shots to be taken while she is dancing.

These are photographs taken after the Concert. All of us went for a good Chinese dinner in Sam You Restaurant in PJ State.

Erica's First Ballet Concert - Part 1

Below are some photographs of Erica prior to her first ballet concert. This concert is held on 7 October 2007 at Civic Hall Petaling Jaya.

These were taken at home before she went for the rehearsal one day earlier.

These were taken right before the rehearsal in Civic Hall. The lady in white shirt and grey pants is her ballet teacher, Ms. Ko.

This was taken while she's awaiting her teacher to do the eye make-up for her outside the hall. She had just finished stone-painting and is holding the end product in her hand.

You Are Who You Are For A Reason

This is a poem that I fell in love with because it reminds me that it is not only OK but it is meant to be for me to have single eyelid, flat chest, big hips and....... the face and body that I have. It is not easy to see and know that is beautiful especially when seen using the standard of the world, hence my love for this poem that reaffirm that we are all beautiful at least to our Creator. I sincerely hope that I'll hold true to these words and pass the message to my children. I want them to know irrefutably that they are beautiful at least to me, their dad and to God.

You are who you are for a reason.
You're part of an intricate plan.
You're a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God's special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You're just what He wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones He chose,
And no matter how you may feel,
They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind,
And they bear the Master's seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow.

You are who you are for a reason,
You've been formed by the Master's rod.
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!

Poem by Russell Kelfer.

Creativity

"I believe music releases a creativity that stays blocked otherwise. And not just listening – but singing. Yes, I believe everyone ought to sing! " -- Dan Miller

I am not sure if music releases the creativity in me but I sure love listening to music and at times, singing along to songs that I am familiar with. Music has been an important part of my life since I was a teen (which is ages ago). Still remember that I would always have my radio on or the earphones of my Walkman (that would give you an idea how long ago this is...no such thing as iPod back then) to my ears whenever I was doing my schoolwork. Lots of people, especially the older generation, had questioned the wisdom of listening to music while studying but it worked for me and still works for me. I am still in the habit of listening to music while I work.

So, did music releases the creativity in me? Perhaps, if I look at creativity in all its wonderful glorious aspects. For a long time the word "creativity" always make me envious because I saw it as the ability to draw, to sing, to play musical instruments, in another word "artistic", abilities that I don't believe I have. Now, I start to understand that "creativity" encompassses so much more than that. Being creative means having the ability to produce or bring about something wholly or partly new and useful whether or not it is related to arts. It is also the ability to imagine new possibilities and the ability in seeing or performing something in a manner different from what was thought possible or normal previously. And this includes things as grand and great as inventing something new in the medical arena to small but significant everyday things like teaching babies and toddlers, playing with them or even persuading the pre-schooler to try new food. So perhaps there's hope for ordinary people like me to feel bursts of creativity now and then.

Though knowing that creativity is not confined to just music and art, I still very much want my children to be able to play some musical instruments, preferably piano and violin. This is because I believe music helps a child to develop both brains - the right and left brain - simultaneuosly when they are learning (this is another topic worth pursuing next time) and playing music. By this, it will help in their problem-solving skills, analytical skills and of course their creativity. And I will be overjoyed if they are gifted with a great voice to sing too. Not that I want them to pursue a career as a pianist, violinist or singer but I have always feel that music is a great way to express one's feelings. Just as the quote say, "Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" -- Red Auerbac.