A friend shared this article 'The Day My Son Gave Up on Me' from HuffingtonPost and it turned up on my Facebook feed. I think it's by no sheer coincidence that God is using social media to convict me. Every evening, after dinner and the cursory piano practices, I would be in a haste to start Dana on her bedtime routine and shoo her to bed. Sometimes I would accede to her request for a bedtime story grudgingly ("short one please, Mommy is tired"), because I have 1001 things that need my … [Read more...]
Parenting with Empathy…Even When It Feels Hard
Baby AJ turned 1 month yesterday. As an adoptive Mom, I'm not entitled to maternity leave* so the husb and I have been trying means and ways to juggle work and caring for the new-born simultaneously from Day 1. My Mil was kind enough to fly from Penang for 10 days to aid in the transition; my Mum comes over in the mornings on most days but from dusk to dawn (the dreaded witching hours and night feeds), we are all on our own. In our sleep-deprived and exhausted state, the patience wears … [Read more...]
Parenting an Only Child…10 Things we never knew…
I came across a testimony by a certain Singaporean Mom who was blessed with not one, but three supernatural conceptions and childbirth on her church's fb page. Even I wait upon the Lord on my unanswered prayers, I turned online in search of tips to parent an only child. The girl is at that precious age of instruction where she is starting to assert her independence and there are days when she exhibits angst and moodiness which we largely attribute to the fact that she is an only … [Read more...]
Princesses & the Forts…The Ingenuity of Imagination…
Boundless...Endless...Children sure can teach us a thing or two about Imagination.As parents, we sometimes belittle our own abilities and resort to packing the days with this activity or that enrichment to occupy our kids. In our busy-ness, we forget that we too, are all born with an innate ability to imagine. We fail to see that indeed the playground of our minds is far more appealing and creative than the array of toys we see everywhere. Here is one experience where we were humbled … [Read more...]
‘The Parable of the Lost Earring’…
We cling to what we value. We mourn when what we value is lost. We get elated when what was lost is found. I was aghast to discover that I had accidentally dropped one of my beloved diamond-studded earring yesterday. I had absolutely no clue or recollection when or where it could have dropped...I only knew it bore much sentimental value as it was one of the four 'dowry' items David bought me for our wedding...My heart was downcast as I retraced my footsteps in desperate bids to recover the lost … [Read more...]
Talkative Thursdays: Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child…
"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15).The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother - Proverbs 29:15As the Princess transits from an inquisitive toddler to a self-assertive preschooler, I find myself lamenting in exasperation to the hubs that I am clueless how a child can be so willful and disobedient. The hubs' cool reply made me ponder. His reply? 'Why are you … [Read more...]
Talkative Thursday: The Heart of Character Building…
My son, (or daughter) give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. ~ Proverbs 23:26 As parents, our primary focus in those early years of our children (0-5 years old) is to teach them to know that they are under authority. As they venture out of the home and into a more public arena - such as school, they will come into contact with many more situations than simple obedience can give them guidance for. Some parents will try to dictate their children's behaviour by … [Read more...]
Talkative Thursdays: Mommy, I’m a Big Girl now!
Photo Credit Our family was left in a limbo this week after the domestic help left at short notice. Even as we were scrambling to get daily childcare arrangement sorted out and going through the much dreaded process of screening new maid biodatas, we explained the situation to Dana and told her she might need to be a little more independent during this period of transition. The first morning, as I busied myself with the family routines, I was so relieved that … [Read more...]
The Origins of my Name…
When we knew we were expecting a baby girl, I wanted her last name to bear the same initials as her Daddy. Like other excited parents, we browsed baby websites trying to shortlist names which sound good and have good meanings. We used to worship at Evangel Family Church and our Senior Pastor's daughter was named Dayna. She was a very learned young lady, highly intelligent and a fervent woman of faith. When I proposed this name to the hubs, he liked it. It was one of the names we both … [Read more...]