Rainbows

Some very spectacular rainbows & double rainbows. They are awesome.

Last day of semester 1

I made it!! Today is the last day of semester 1. It's been a tough semester. There were many personal issues to deal with and it affected me badly. At one stage I nearly threw in the towel. What stopped me were the support and encouragement from my lecturers and good friends. Classes are over. I have two more essays to submit in the next two weeks and then I will get a well deserved break.

Happy Birthday

Yes, it's my birthday. What would I like for my birthday? The list is too long.... so don't ask :)) As for now, good health for my kids and I (and please Lord, obedient and kind children, peace ocassionally :) - that's not too much to ask is it Lord?) and good results.

Smell the roses

Rock roses
Our mandarin tree

Our faithful rose bush
Our fruitful lemon tree

I call these our yellow daisies
A full bloom pink rose

When I first started full time studies, I used every available weekends to study and do my assignments. I did this for two semester. But this year I realized that I needed to balance my time between kids and home and studies. So for the past month, I have taken time out to do simple things with the kids (baking, cooking, play cricket). I have also taken time out to "smell the roses". I did some pruning, raking, weeding and even mowing. Today I took the camera out to capture a few things in my garden that caught my eye.

10th Birthday - King of the day

King-Li surrounded by his knights, Sir Justin (left) and Sir Ben (right)

10th Birthday 4 May 2008

King-Li (my youngest son) made his own birthday "chocolate fudge" cake. We iced the cake and decorated it with hundreds and thousands and sprinkles. Oh and he made frog in the pond and decorated it with cocktail umbrellas.

Baby Goh Jee Anne

This is Jee Anne, my niece. She is my eldest brother's baby girl. She's about two months old.

Act of Friendship

I have read this story many many times. I don't know if it's real or fiction. It is a simple story about an act of friendship that changed some one's life. Hope you enjoy it.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.' I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses; went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!’ There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friendsHe said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack ofbooks again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! 'He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.. When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great! 'He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. 'Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story. 'I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. ‘Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.' I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Happy Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Wishing all mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day.

Hope you all have an enjoyable day.

Rainbows and Double Rainbows

Rainbows and more rainbows

Rainbows

I saw some of the most awesome rainbows recently.
If I had a better camera these pictures would have turn out much better. Anyway, hope you enjoy them. I did!

Dream Big

DREAM BIG

If there were ever a time to dare,

to make a difference,

to embark on something worth doing,

it is now.

Not for any grand cause, necessarily --

but for something that tugs at your heart something that's your dream.
You owe it to yourself to make your days here count.

Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch.
Dream big.

Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easy.

There will be good days.

And there will be bad days.

There will be days when you want to turn around,

pack it up, and call it quits.

Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself,

that you are not afraid to learn by trying.

Persist.

Because with an idea, determination,

and the right tools, you can do great things.

Let your instincts, your intellect, and your heart guide you.

Trust.

Believe in the incredible power of the human mind.

Of doing something that makes a difference.

Of working hard.

Of laughing and hoping. Of lazy afternoons.

Of lasting friends. Of all the things that will cross your path this year.

The start of something new brings the hope of something great.

Anything is possible.

There is only you.

And you will only pass this way once.

Do it right.

Author unknown

10th Birthday

My youngest son turns 10th today.

Happy 10th Birthday my son.

He had two special friends come to our house to spend the day with him. There were sword play, light saber fights, jumping on trampoline, cricket etc

Pizza for lunch and then we went to the movies to watch Spiderwick. They had popcorn and drinks and fortune cookies. The movie was good. We came home. Lighted candles and sang birthday song. Ate some more - cake and frog in the pond. More play. Played on super mario dance mat. Lots of fun.

All in all it was a wonderful birthday.

Friends & Forever Friendship

Sometimes in life,
you find a special friend;

Someone who changes your life
just by being part of it.

Someone who makes you laugh
until you can't stop;

Someone who makes you believe
that there really is good in the world.

Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door
just waiting for you to open it.

This is Forever Friendship.