Living out Faith

When I was doing my nails yesterday, I was reading a magazine and came across an article about a lady who by the age of 18 lost both of her parents. It was a kinda sad article but this lady to a certain extent did well in her life but of course, she misses her parents heaps. And then, I started my morbid thoughts. Yes, me and my morbid thoughts. I was thinking, what if one day, either Babe or I go to heaven or what if both of us go to heaven and what would happen to Ba Ba? I remember on our way to and back from Maldives, I was kinda worried thinking what would happen if the plane crashed and Ba Ba would be left all alone. Maybe that might be one of the reasons why I was severely airsick on that flight. But as I thought further, I realised that even if God decides to take me or both Babe and me home, Ba Ba would be well taken care of. I've got to trust God on that. I've got a loving family that would take Ba Ba and love him. Ba Ba has wonderful and loving godparents in Singapore...

I had a fantabulous week! Mum, Joanne, Joe and JC flew into HK last Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, we went to Disney. We had a super duper time! This was the first time for the kids to Disney. Little JC was super excited. She's been watching Winne the Pooh for gazillion times and she was so excited when she took Winnie the Pooh's ride. And she had a blast watching Lion King too. She loves watching Lion King at home and when she watched the musical in Disney she was so entranced by it. Ba Ba was watching the musical quietly too and when it was time to clap, he clapped and squealed so happily! Then we went on my all time favourite ride in Disney, It's a Small World. Little Ba Ba was so intrigued by the ride. His eyes were everywhere. He was clapping and bobbing his head. I just wanted to hug and squished him when I was watching him. He seemed to have a great time at Disney. He didn't fuss or cry. He behaved beautifully even though he was tired. He did his run around...

On the 23rd of November, we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and adding the 10 years of courtship, we've known each other for 19 years. That's more than half of my lifetime. The truth is that, there were times that I thought that we may not make it. We're like any other couples that have arguments and then we get mad and we take time to make up. A marriage is never easy, I'll be the first one to admit. I wrote this on a dear friend's Facebook status, she was getting married that day, 'Enjoy the day. Remember the wedding is just a day or 2 event but a marriage is for a lifetime'. Yes, a marriage is for a lifetime. And sometimes it's hard. For those of you who know us well, you'll know that Babe and I have very different personalities. We're almost polar opposites. It takes a lot for us to make this marriage work out. It takes a lot of giving and taking. There are times that it takes a lot from Babe to try to coax me when I'm mad over lit...

Rachel, my ex-student, who was my flower girl, had this up on Facebook. When I read it, it hit the nail on the head! One of my best friends is my cousin. I call her Monster privately. Of all my cousins, I guess we're the closest. We've seen each other's highs and lows. We have an unique friendship. We always pick up where we left off and we're fiercely protective of each other and importantly, we've never judged each other but rather stand by each other. I remember I've called her when the going got tough and I needed someone to call to and she was all ready to listen. Thanks Monster for loving me. It means a lot to me. And yes, she was my bridesmaid too. I've always thought that everyone is close to their cousins. I used to think that it was natural for people to hang out and call their cousins best friends. But guess I was sorely wrong. Apparently some people hardly ever hang out with their cousins. Some people see their cousins once in a while, once in a ...

Was watching Being a Child on Channelnewsasia this evening and as I was watching, I felt really glad that little Ba Ba has dual citizenship at this point of time. The kids in the show were only about 5 to 6 year old and their parents or rather their mothers seemed to be pushing their kids really hard. And I keep getting this message from the mothers that if their children slow down or not attend enrichment classes, everyone else will catch up with them. They want head starts for their children. One mother commented that she wants her child to have money, contentment and happiness and another child said that he wanted to be a millionaire when he grows up. I can understand parents wanting the best for their children. I want the best for Ba Ba too. But what is this obsession with money? Couldn't that mother see the contradiction in itself when she said that she want money and contentment for her child. How can wanting money and contentment can never be in the same category? And with t...

Babe is on his way home from the airport. I'm excited because he's going to bring me some goodies! I know, I just had one whole chilli crab to myself and am just thinking and drooling over the goodies that he's going to bring home. Anyway, back to my thoughts. Sometimes, I worry over silly things about Ba Ba. My worry this time is about his university education. Wait, it's not the academic stuff that I worry about. But it's the university or college lifestyle that I worry about. Let me explain more. When I was in university, I was very busy. Yes, very busy working and partying and studying, honestly was at the bottom of my list. To me, as long as I passed and am not at the bottom, I didn't care. My social calendar was packed. I was out partying, drinking, smoking and basically was leading a very unhealthy lifestyle. If you met me then, you wouldn't recognized me. Yes, it was that bad, I was a totally different person then. Even some of my friends from uni co...

A few weeks ago, a friend took a photo of Ba Ba and put it up on her Facebook account. Her friend saw it and commented that I must look like Ba Ba when I was a baby. And I had to carefully think before I comment. And in the end, I wrote as it is, that Ba Ba is adopted. A few days earlier, I was on Facetime with Joanne, my sister and was teasing little JC to wake up. We joked that little JC has the Sim blood because she's like us, hates to wake up early in the morning. And then I mentioned that Ba Ba doesn't have the Sim blood because he loves to wake up at the crack of dawn. When I look at the physical aspect of Ba Ba, there's nothing that I can say he has inherited from us. Nothing at all simply because he's adopted. I can't be proud and say, oh look, he's got Babe's beautiful smile or face or whatever. But I've got to say that Babe and he does look quite alike. Then when I look Ba Ba, yes, he has probably some of our mannerisms because he obviously han...

I'm another year older which means, that's another year of blessings from the Almighty. This year, I'm super thankful for so many things that God has so generously showered upon us. I remember singing the hymn, 'Count your blessings, name them one by one.' For me, there's way too many blessings for me to count them one by one. I'm blessed. So very blessed that I can't ask for more. When I look back at the year, God has given me new eyesight again. Got lasik done and by God's grace, everything went well. God blessed us with Josias. Had family and best friends dropping by in Hong Kong when we couldn't leave the country. Babe got a job promotion, went to Maldives on a short break, went to Redang with mum, Joanne, JC, Eve and Reggie. And yes, Eve popped into Asia when I couldn't fly to her side of the world. Met up with Sharon in Singapore. E, B and L popped into HK for a couple of days. And there's probably lots more that I missed out. God h...

I thought for a while trying to figure out the title of this post. And finally, I decided, that 'listening' would be the most apt. I've got to admit, I'm not very good with listening at times. I talk way too much. A few weeks ago, Babe and I were having a conversation. We were talking about our future and what we like. I told Babe that I would like a biological child. My health insurance was expiring and we had to decide what we wanted. I wasn't going to pay for maternity insurance if we won't going to try for a baby. And for you folks wondering, yes, we've been using protection all these while. Babe told me quite seriously that he's happy with Ba Ba and he's not ready for another child and he doesn't want another child. The truth is that when he said that, I was sad. Wait, not just sad, I was devastated. I'm like, why? I know it's ironic isn't it. For the longest time, I didn't want a biological child and now when I want the biol...

I admit that forgiveness has never been my forte. Babe would know that very well. And I am very thankful that over the years he has tolerated me bringing up issues that have already been dealt with a million times. I love him for that. Anyway back to the point. There's another thing about me, I don't like to confront people unless these are friends that matter to me. I always tend to rather walk away. In other words, I walk away from the friendship. I've had ex-colleagues that became friends and when they crossed my path or stabbed me in the back, I ceased talking to them unless it's for professional reasons. Yes, I'm petty. I don't deny it. But I don't see the need of my feelings being hurt further. These were just colleagues who didn't mean anything to me because they're not related to me. They were just people that I worked with. That's the way I saw it. So when I left the school, my relationship of any sort ceased. It didn't matter if the...

One of my favourite channels on cable is Bio Channel. The shows that especially intrigue me are Relapse, Rehab, Invention and yes, you get the drift. Drug related or addiction shows. I don't know why but these shows fascinate me. These shows always start with someone who has some form of addiction, quite often alcohol, drugs or pills. Then you have parents who always he or she was such a great child. He or she was great in school, in soccer, baseball, and the list goes on. He or she could have been a doctor, lawyer or whatever. And then the famous line from parents, 'We don't know what went wrong.' And then we get sobs. Yes, I sound condescending. I know. But truth of the matter is this, I wonder if this could happen to little Ba Ba. I seriously wonder. If what the parents of those people in the show say is the truth, then it could very well happen to little Ba Ba. And yes, I worry. I worry very much. Every night Babe and I pray that little Ba Ba would just grow up to b...

When I look back at my life, I was probably the thinnest or the slimmest when I was at university in Gold Coast. But prior to leaving for uni, probably from the age of 15, I was very careful of what I ate. I didn't eat chicken rice for more than 5 to 8 years and it was the same with quite a fair bit of hawker food. I would go as far as the try to blot of the oil from the fried chicken at KFC or the fries. Actually to this day, I would never order a pack of fries for myself. I'll pinch off someone or Babe. Then when I went to uni, I wouldn't say that it became worse but I guess my lifestyle became quite unhealthy. I started to smoke. No that I'm very proud of it. It was great at that time. It curbed my appetite, there were days that I could survive just of smokes and coffee. Plus not forgetting I was clubbing and dancing almost like for 4 to 5 hours 3 times a week. Sure, I was slim but I was unhealthy. And at that time, I did question myself quite a lot. I was busy makin...

I stumbled onto this link while reading someone's blog. It got me thinking about choices in life and the judgements that we make. So it starts with Julie at 18 with an 8 day old infant and she's been infected with Aids in San Francisco. The photographer went through 7 years with her till she died. In that 7 years, she had maybe 5 kids, 4 of them were taken from her (if I remember correctly), had a couple of partners who were infected with Aids and were druggies. And the photographer even went on to set her up with her kid who was adopted and was with her in her final days. Reading the story, it was very easy for me to say, how stupid can one person get? And what? Can't even feed herself and look at the filthy room that she has put herself in with her baby. Look! No wonder her kids were taken from her. Good! She deserved it! And well, that's the life that she has chosen. Poverty, drugs, along with Aids and kids. Why couldn't she bring herself to pull herself out of ...

Two weeks ago, Babe, Ba Ba (aka Cha Cha) and I were shopping in Lane Crawford. There was a bag that I saw and I liked. Babe was asking me if I wanted to buy it, I told him, I'll think about it. A week later, we walked past that bag again and he asked again if I wanted it. And I told him, I'll think till next week and if it's there, then I'll get it. He looked at me and shook his head and said, by next week, the bag will be gone. And my retort was, if it's gone, it's not meant to be. Yes, I know, it's not very me. A year ago, I would have bought that bag in a second without thinking. But now, the thought process is taking a little longer than expected. Well, that's not just with bags, and it's extended to clothes and shoes now. I'm taking longer than expected to think if I really need or want that dress, bag, shoes and whatever that I want to buy. It's just not me anymore. I've got to think about Ba Ba. It's the same with lunching afte...

By the way, Josias is now known as Ba Ba. He loves being called Ba Ba. He bounces and dances when I shout, 'Ba Ba!' He simply loves it! Anyway back to the topic. When Ba Ba was in Singapore he went to Gymboree whenever I could bring him there. Sometimes 3 days in a row, he would be at Gymboree. When we got back to Hong Kong, the search for playgroups started. Maybe it's me being a typical Singaporean or a mother that just wants the best for her child that I wanted Ba Ba to have a variety of playgroups to attend. I knew that at this stage I want him to go for English, Mandarin and Music playgroups. So I searched and looked and went for trials. And yes, the poor kid and our wonderful helper travel to different places for playgroups. There's also soccer, rugby, swimming and many more that I want to sign him up for but he's too young at this stage. And when my colleagues asked if I've started looking or preparing him for kindergarten next year, I was like, what? Isn...

Time and time again, God has shown me that timing is always His and His alone. Be it late, early or on time, time is God's and He knows what's best for me. A week or so ago, I was on my way to Sanatorium Hospital to get my eyes checked, a regular check for Lasik. I left work on time, I gave myself enough time, or so I thought, to get to the hospital. However, because of traffic, I was running late. I hate running late. I was more than 30 minutes late. Finally got to the hospital and had to wait for my turn. And waiting and waiting and I was thinking, 'Gee! I'm already more than 30 minutes late and then still got to wait!' Anyway, I had to suck it up. While waiting I overheard a patient speaking to the nurses. He sounded upset and worried. I heard a voice in my head to speak to the guy. I'm like, what? I don't even know him. Just speak to him. No, I'm not! Then the guy walked out and I was relieved! But then he turned back. And that was it. I tapped him o...

When we went back during summer, JC's grandpa,( Joe's dad) was stricken with cancer. We found out about 2 or 3 weeks before heading home for summer that he had cancer. A week or so after we came back to Hong Kong, we had news that he went home to the Lord. I told Babe that it's kinda sad that JC wouldn't really get to know her grandpa or remember him. Babe turned around and said, what's the big deal, he never got to know his grandpas too. But to me, it's a big deal. When I look back at my childhood, I remember my grandpas really well. I had a great childhood hanging out with them. My maternal grandpa went home with the Lord when I was 10 and my paternal grandpa passed on when I was 18. My maternal grandparents have only 5 grandchildren and therefore we got more attention from them. I've more memories of my maternal grandpa than my sisters as I'm the oldest. My maternal grandpa probably gave me the love of animals. I remember hanging out with him in his b...

Time always flies when you're having fun! I've spent probably more than eight months looking forward towards summer and viola, it's coming to an end so soon. However, honestly, this has to be one of the best summers that I've ever had. And this is without me heading to States! Well, this is true because States came to me! Eve came and visited and brought shopping to me! So from my last post, we just came back from Maldives. A week after Maldives, we, as in mum, Joanne, JC, Cha Cha and me, left for Redang in Malaysia. We flew from Spore to Redang. When we got to Redang, honestly, I was disappointed. The last time, I was there eight years ago and it was beautiful then. The corals were alive, loads of fishes in the sea and at that time, I totally loved it. But this time, I stood there kinda saddened by what had happened to Redang. I never really took it seriously when I was doing my bachelor in hospitality and was told that tourism can kill the natural attraction. But wh...

Time always flies when you're having fun! I spent probably more than eight months looking forward towards summer and viola, it's coming to an end so soon. However, honestly, this has to be one of the best summers that I've ever had. And this is without me heading to States! Well, this is true because States came to me! Eve came and visited and brought shopping to me! So from my last post, we just came back from Maldives. A week after Maldives, we

The Seet family is back in Spore for a summer break. Haven't had time to blog. Been too busy with family and friends. We arrived on the 12th of July. Just Cha Cha and me. Cha Cha did perfect on the flight considering that it was his first time flying. Babe arrived on the 16th. Days were filled with bringing Cha Cha for Gymboree classes and then Babe had to fly to Bangkok for work. Cha Cha had great time hanging out with his cousin, JC. It's fun to watch them play and then get into flights. Totally hilarious! On 26th July, we left for Maldives without Cha Cha. Sure, we were worried, wondering if he's going to be fine without us. But thank God, he was fine. He had lots of fun hanging out with his cousins. He didn't seem to have missed us when we came back this morning. Anyway, enjoy the pics. We're about halfway through summer holidays. Dreading when it ends. Little Cha Cha slept through most of the flight. Did very little crying. Cha Cha hanging out with his cousin a...

We were at court yesterday with Cha Cha. It was probably the second most important day of my life. The first being the wedding. During the court hearing, I was kinda overwhelmed but at the same time, I had to keep everything in. Dana and Pauline were with us at the court. When I look back at the past six months. I must say that we've come a long way with Cha Cha. The past six months were kinda nerve wrecking as well because there were times that I thought that his birth mum might come back. Truth be told, if she did come back, I would surrender him to his mum and yes, will be sad but I know it's God's will. But thankfully, his mum didn't want him back. She did however leave a letter for him. Which we will give it to him in due time. The first few weeks when we had Cha Cha, it was really difficult to a certain extent because I've never really been a mum before. What do I know about raising a four month old? Thankfully, there was support from home. Mum and Jacqui flew...

Very often we get people who comment or tell us that Josias is very lucky to have us as parents. And very often we tell them, no, he's not lucky to have us as parents. And quite often, they give us the bewildered look. The truth of the matter is that we are blessed (I refused to use the word lucky because I don't believe in luck). When Josias' birth mum decided that she was going to give Josias up for adoption, there were lots of couples like us that are waiting for a child to be matched with them. We met and know a few couples that are waiting to be matched and they are all wonderful people. They are like us, they are able to provide him with a loving home and be able to provide financially for him too. So in other words, there's nothing special about us. He can be blessed (lucky) as much as being in another family. They might be even be able to provide more financially to him. Maybe in another family, the mum is a stay at home mum who is able to send him to every conc...

Last Sunday, was our first Fathers' Day. I was looking back and remembered last Fathers' Day I was on the plane back to Hong Kong from Singapore. How time flies. To a certain extent, I didn't expect that we'll be parents this year. Yes, at times I'm still in awe of it all. Can't believe that we have little Cha Cha now. Anyway, this post is for Babe. I must really give him the credit for stepping up to being a great dad. When Cha Cha first arrived, Babe was a little overwhelmed. The reality is that as much as we think that we're prepared to be parents, we were not ready at all. There were heaps that we had to learn and to adjust to. But these couple of months, Babe has been doing a great job. Babe travels and whenever he comes back from his travels, he never fails to want to spend time with Cha Cha. And I suspect sometimes, he tries to wake Cha Cha up when he comes home late. Sometimes I'll bring Cha Cha for dinner with my friends and Babe would call and ...

Let me first say this. After 5 and half months of being with Josias or parenting Josias, it does not make me to be an expert. That is number one. And secondly, these are my random thoughts and it may or may not be right. And yes, I've done my fair share of mistakes. And so before you start stoning me, just read and take everything with a pinch of salt. Over these couple of months, I've really come to realise that parenting is not an easy role. And in parenting there are several ways to see one thing and yet come out with a million other decisions and outcomes. What suits A may not necessarily suit B. And in parenting, there's always a dilemma. For me, it's time and opportunity costs. Every day after work, I tell myself, it's time for gym class but it's hard because I want to spend time with Cha Cha. Even now as I'm blogging, I know that if I catch the bus at 4.30, I'll be able to make it to gym class. But I'm thinking, Cha Cha is asleep now and when ...

When one is homesick, God brings her best friend to her. I've been feeling homesick for a while now. I think our social worker said it best 2 weeks ago. He was at our home for a home visit. He said that there's a difference between not being able to leave the country and choosing not to leave the country. That's right. We can't leave the country together because of Cha Cha and it is difficult for me. So as I was feeling homesick, missing family and friends, Stanley, one of my best friend sent an sms that he'll be visiting Hong Kong to attend a wedding with his wife. Sure, I was elated. I missed him. I missed being able to call him and meeting him for lunch. I miss those times that we'll meet for meals, coffees or cakes. Sure, we meet whenever I head home but sometimes it's hard as our schedules don't sync. Anyway, he came over the weekend and we had a great time hanging out. Oh yes, he brought satay for us too. Apart being my best friend, oh, he's on...

Last week, at church, I heard this phrase and I started to ponder upon it. It's quite apt for me. Waiting seems to be such a part of my life. I remember before Babe and I started to date, I prayed for him and prayed that he'll be the one and then the waiting. Then we started to date and yet again the waiting started. We dated for 10 years before getting married. After getting married, we waited upon the Lord to start a family. We waited upon the Lord for basically anything and everything. Sure, there were many times that I wished that I didn't have to wait. There were so many times with the adoption, I felt that we were ready and the timing should be now. It's always Lord, why not now? But when I look back, I understand the timing. Babe was working from home at that time. And looking back, I don't think he would be able to cope if we had a child at home and he had to work. It would have driven him mad. Then when he headed back to Spore to work, if we were matched, h...