He Will Carry You

The last few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for the girls on the floor that my fellow AHMs and I am currently overseeing. What with the stress of preparing and taking exams, getting back results, rushing to finish PW reports and presentations and then having to face the possibility of being relocated to another hostel in your final year and "start all over again".

I must say, while these girls are pretty tough and have taken everything that we have thrown at the them in this past year very well in their stride, this year end crunch is really coming close to being the hay that breaks the camel back. Even we AHMs feel it too for them and much as we wish we could do something MORE, some things are just out of our hands. So besides being there for them and offering them a listening ear, the next best thing we can do is to pray for them and trust that God is there carrying them through this tough time.

I was moved by this song that Aunty Chin Yee (one of the AHMs) led for Chapel last evening. It really spoke to me about the current situation we are in and reminded me that even when things seem impossible and difficult and or so turbulent, we are not alone in our struggles and that we have an awesome God to lead us through. And so I thought I would share this song to the girls on our floor to encourage them to look to God and draw strength from Him. After all, the One who "knows the plans [He] has for [us], plans to prosper [us] and not to harm [us], plans to give [us] a hope and future" (Jeremiah 29:11), will surely "never leave us, nor forsake us".

It is also my prayer that when Janine and her sibling(s)(and of course all readers of this blog!) come across this post in the future, they will similiarly be reminded and encouraged to "cast all their cares on Him for her cares for us" (1 Peter 5:3)

He Will Carry You

There is no problem too big
God cannot solve it
There is no mountain too tall
He cannot move it

There is no storm too dark
God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep
He cannot soothe it

If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my brother that He will carry you
If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my sister that He will carry you

(Bridge)
He said "Come, unto me
All who are weary
And I will give you rest"

Random conversations - Girl of boy?

As my helper was putting Janine into her high chair for her to have her dinner tonight, the conversation at the dining table somehow turned to "the baby in mommy's tummy" and the following exchange ensued:

H : Do you want mommy to have a boy or a girl?
J : (without hesitation) Girl!
H : Then what if the baby is a boy? Will you still love the baby?
J : (again without hesitation) Yes!

Awwwwww...how sweet :) I wanted to squeeze her silly after I heard that. A fellow mommy in the Hall had shared with me how her eldest didn't talk to her for 2 days after her no. 2 was born and this happened despite their efforts to prepare the girl way way way before hand. So I really wonder how our own little girl is going to take to her new sibling. Friends have asked me if Janine knows whether she is going to be a big sister and while we have told her, so theoretically she knows, I doubt whether she fully UNDERSTANDS the implication of it all.

Anyway, this question on whether she wants a baby sister or brother has been posed to the little girl several times and in varying forms and always, her answer has been a VERY FIRM "girl" or "baby sister"! Lol. Oh well, we shall see if she gets her "wish"!

Growing Expectations - No. 2 Says "Hi!"

The little peanut has really GROWN from three weeks ago! Little ARMS and LEGS that actually move and twitch (!) have since sprouted and is bearing more semblance to a baby than well...a peanut. Hahaha!

Here's a latest ultrasound snap shot of no.2 and it looks like he's (generic) giving us a "high five" from the womb!

While we can't exactly feel or see any changes exteriorly at the moment (though no. 2 IS making his presence known by making his mommy feel nausous 24/7!), it's so amazing and exciting to see the growth that is taking place inside.

No. 2 was really cooperative yesterday and the good doctor managed to catch a few good shots of the growing bub. We even got his face! Here he is doing, in my opinion, an impression of Edvard Munch's The Scream:

Since he was so cooperative we tried to see if we were going to welcome another princess to the fold or have our pair. BUT, the little one seem to know something was amiss and wiggled away from our "intruding gaze". So your guess is as good as mine on whether no. 2 is a boy or girl! Hahaha! I do have my theories, but I will share them in another post.

Anyway, another 4 more weeks to the next check-up (and maybe to ascertaining whether no. 2 is a "she" or "he"? Haha!).

Children's Day @ East Coast Beach

It was such a treat that Children's Day fell on the same day as Hari Raya Puasa (a public holiday) this year (or vice versa!). So what better way to spent our much needed break than to retreat as a family to East Coast Beach :) Here's the "monkey business" that we got into:

It would be interesting to point out that my uncles, aunties and even my parents had camped over night at the Bedok Jetty the day before to fish!!! Such happening people! For shame we, the younger generation, can barely keep up with their enthusiasm!

Nevertheless, we had a great time today with the extended family. It makes me wish for the return of those good ol' kampong days. Not that I had a chance to grow up in a kampong lah, but the taste of the whole extended family getting together, exchanging stories and experiences, doing things together in a relax setting is what I like and wish there was more of. UNFORTUNATELY, there are these rather distasteful things called Work and School which we have to return to tomorrow morning. Ack!