Ms. Lonely

My heart just breaks for my Li'l girl.

I think aside from the fact that my Li'l girl is sociable ( like her Appa) she must also be in the stage now where she wants to play with kids her age. For many afternoons now, we've been going outside the house for her to 'play' with other kids. Everyday she will be looking out in the window and wait for her 'friends'. Our neighbor's kids are mostly grown up (age 7-12 years old) and they're all usually outside during the weekends.

So yesterday afternoon, a few kids were biking outside the house and my Li'l girl asked me if she could go out and ride the bike with them. Baby Lyle was sleeping so, I told her she could'nt go out because I couldn't watch her outside coz Lye's asleep. It's dangerous for her to be on the street with her bike because cars and motorbikes come and go. "But I'll just go to the side when there are cars and motorbikes, Amma", she reasoned out. Yes, my Li'l girl is very good in reasoning out, it's like I'm already raising a teenager when she's barely 4 years old! "No, Trish, it's still dangerous", I repeated and gave my reasons. "I'll be careful Amma.", she reassured me. But I remained firm and told her "NO". Then she started to cry. With tears in her eyes she said, "How can I have friends Amma if I don't go out?"..then it hit me, she badly wants to have friends.

I remembered a few nights before when we were outside. Our neighbors had children visiting them and Tricia went to the group to play with them. When she started to talk to them, they all ran away and tried to avoid her. Actually, this happened a lot of times with other kids too. Anyways, their Mom told me that they're shy to speak English. She was encouraging the kids to still let her join their play even if they could'nt understand or speak to her, but still the kids did't want to include her.

Then there was also a time when one of our neighbor's kid tried to mimic Tricia in a jest. Of course, it was okay for Tricia but as a parent I didn't like it that she was making fun of her just because she doesn't understand her. It's good that they are some kids who still try to 'talk' to her and include her in the group.

I don't know if it's just age gap ( as I said the kids in our neighborhood are much older than Tricia) or mostly language barrier.... But anyways, from yesterday afternoon I realized that I have to do something for my Li'l girl. We've already set up actvities for her so she won't get bored but most of these activities are with us or with her Teacher Jun ( read: all adults) BUT I think what she needs most is FRIENDS her age whom she could play with and have fun.

I'm still going to let her play outside with our neighbors kids (coz maybe then she could pick up the language).We've thought of letting her have Thai lessons. Our neighbor is willing to teach her but I'm not sure how long she'll last. But then we'll still have to give that a try and see. For her to truly assimilate in this place and make Thai friends , she must learn the language. But for now, I think I'll have to seriously set a weekly playgroup with other foreigner kids for her to fully play, be herself and enjoy.

Stage MOM

Yes, I admit it. I am a certfied stage Mom and I just can't help posting videos, photos, updates and blah blah blah about my kids. hahaha!

Before I got married and had children, I couldn't relate with some parents who talk endlessly about their kids' seemingly 'significant' developments, their milestones, how cute they are, what they can do and etc.and etc and etc. Yes, I would listen to them still but at the back of my mind, I would say, "so, what's so special about that?" hahaha!

And now, here I am a member of the club...hahaha!

Anyways, enough of the long introduction. Let me direct you to the latest videos of my kids. hehehe!!

Check it out at My Li'l Princess Diary and My Li'l one.

I hope you'll have fun watching and be amused as I am..hehehehhe!!

The Chosen Son

Supposed to be posted last night.:)

Last night we went to a friends' house to celebrate the birthday of their 12 year old son. The son's name is Sam. Actually, he's not their real son nor January 3rd is his real birthday. Sam used to live in the streets ever since he was small. He doesn't know who his real parents are , as he and his siblings (who are all missing) were abandoned by their parents when they were young. Sam doesn't even know when is his real birthday. They just celebrate January 3rd as his birthday because that's the date when our friends got him, brought him home and treated him as thier own.

When I asked my friend why they decided to adopt Sam, she said that they want to share their blessings to others and they can do this by loving and taking care of a child who has never have a chance to experience all these in life. And I was just so touched and impressed by the way they show God's love, it's something that you could say that's for real and not just for show. Everytime we see this family with Sam we're just so blessed as how they treat him equally and even more special than the other children. His siblings extend their love and extra understanding to him too. He has a totally different background, worldview, value system and even maybe many traumatic experiences. The whole family had to make a lot of adjustments in their life, routine, finances and etc to welcome Sam in their lives.

I could just imagine, what if no one ever found Sam? He could still be in the streets now. What if they never came to a decision to accept him as he is and make him as their son? He could be involved with other things now and live a wasted life. He couldn't have experienced how it is to be loved and to be cared for by a family. Most of all, he could'nt have experienced the life changing power of our Lord, Jesus.

It's a blessing to see Sam changed. He's a totally different person now from the first time we saw him several months ago. He used to be very timid, shy and insecure. Now, he's very confident, secure and his joy is just contagious. He's quite a smart kid too. He hasn't experienced going to school or studying for the past 11 years in hus life. But when my friend taught him to read, he learned it fast and now he's reading everything from books to street signs.

My Hubby asked me this question again and again for 2 years now: Can we adopt a child? It's also his desire to bless other children. My answer would be," if God tells me so, then I will. " But honestly, I think I'm not ready for this kind of call. I know it entails a lot of adjustments, a lot of sacrifice and etc. Or maybe I'm not called to serve in this way. I don't know. But as what I said, if God tells me, then I will do it for I know if He calls, he will enable. But as for now, I'll have to pray for more strength and grace to take care of my two kids. Even as of now, I would want to say..huhuhuh! Two is enough! It is finished!...hahahah!!

Party Pictures

Tricia with her 'grown up' friends

The birthday boy. When his Mom asked him who he wants to invite for his party, he specifically asked our family to be there. So sweet of him!

Tricia with David ( Sam's brother). They said they're going for shopping.

Sam's Dad, Mom and sibling..and oh, that's my son they're holding. :)

By the way, please pray for Sam's processing of documents too. The process is a bit complicated since Sam is considered "invisible" in Thailand as he doesnt' have any documents and his parents are nowhere to be found. It's a challenge for the family and they even have to sacrifice going back to US as they don't want to leave Sam alone. They can only go back home to US once Sam gets all his paperwork is done.

The Christmas Story

When I was putting my li'l girl to sleep, I read to her the Birth of Jesus from Favorite Bible Stories by CLiff Richards. It was the first time I read the story from this particular book to her since it has been missing for quite sometime.

Anyways, the book was very well written and the birth story was described well that while reading to my girl, I was also touched and teary eyed. It brought me back in time.

What would have God felt when His only Son was born in a smelly, stable with no people to witness but just the lowly animals?

What would have God felt, entrusting HIs only SOn to 'inexperienced" parents, Mary and Joseph? Mary was very young at that time.

What would have God felt knowing the future of this baby, His Son, the King of kings and the Lord of lords to be ridiculed, tortured, and crucified 33 years later?

As a parent, I somehow felt what could have been the natural feeling of a parent. With a two month old baby, I couldn't imagine my baby being born in a smelly stable with just the animals, I couldn't entrust my baby in the care of inexperienced caretakers, I couldn't bear even the thought of my children being hurt or be in any pain. Of course, God could have felt all those feelings as a parent. But what did He do? He sacrificed His Son, Jesus. It must have also been very hurting for Him to do this. But He did it. He gave His ONLY, begotten Son, because He loves us. So that you and me might have eternal life if only we BELIEVE. Amazing love.

What is man that You are mindful of him.

And the son of man that you visit him?

For you have made him a little lower than angels.

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands

You have put all things under his feet. Isaiah 8:4-6

I'll forever be grateful to you, my Lord, my GOD.....

Keeping my girl occupied

This blog was supposed to be posted last night ...

_____________________________

I think I have a 'bored' kid in the house and I'm the one to be blamed for it. :) Before Lyle was born, all my attention would be with Tricia, we would play together, do some coloring, writing and other activities. But after the birth of my 2nd baby, things have changed. My 100% attention for her has only become like maybe 40%?? And I ended up just letting her watch cartoons ( not good!) while I take care of Lyle and do other things ( not to mention, internet..hehehe!). Sometimes, she goes with her Appa in the office which is good since there's a lot of toys in the children's room and there is this volunteer who likes her so much and really is so patient spending time with her and playing with her. But most days, she's just in the house looking bored (pity her!) .

It was just yesterday that I just realized that she must be so bored in the house. I saw her daydreaming and staring blankly on the wall. When she's not daydreaming then she plays and talks to herself, imagining Mowgli or Alladin with her. So, finally I decided that I need to keep her occupied again and let her do some activities. And today is the 1st day for such..:) Even if it entails more work for me since I'd be juggling between the 2 kids, but it's for the good of my daughter and maybe me as having a bored kid in the house isn't easy to take care too.

So, DAy 1 is baking day! After her short nap I told her she's going to help me bake some brownies. And immediatly her eyes widened and said, " I like that, Amma!"..then on the way to the kitchen she was hopping and said, "I'm so excited!".

Good thing I still have some cake ingredients left and even the butter was barely enough. So, I tried the Brownie Recipe from Hershey's kitchen. When we were baking she said, "Thank you amma for letting me help you". Hmmmm...so sweet of her and made me want to do more for her. Then, I just prepared all the ingredients and let her do the pouring and mixing. She was quite good in following instructions but...as curious as she is, as soon I turned my back from her she would do all the other 'illegal' things like licking the cake mixture and experimenting on her own. Hmmm,, have to always keep watch as things get messy real quick when she's on the 'loose'.

After we mixed all the ingredients together and put the brownie batter in the oven, she also helped me clean up and wipe the table. Hope she'll be this helpful even when she grows up. Then,we waited for the brownie to be baked but she was just so excited to see 'her' work that she asked me every 2 minutes, "Is the cake, finished already?", "Is the cake finished, already?", " Is the cake finished already?" Arrghh...help!!

Tricia bringing the used bowl and utensils to the kitchen.

Yes, she can wipe the table nowntoo. This isn't 'illegal' child labor, ok? :)

Frosting time!.As if she really knows what she's doing..

Eating time!

Our brownies...

looks yum but I think my sister's brownie recipe still taste better.

So, there goes my DAy 1 Activity for her. Tomorrow we will all be in the office for a meeting so, it'll give me a chance to do some lessons for her (when Lyle is asleep) as there are a lot of kids' materials available there.

So, I already planned out activities for her in the future. Next week, she'll have formal classes (twice a week) with Teacher Junjun. Then, we're trying to check out the cost of gymnastic classes at the public stadium (yeah, gymnastics, she just loves it! all the jumping, rolling and etc). Last year, we heard it only costs about 300-500 baht a month (unbelievable!) but she was only 2 years old then and they only accept kids from 3 onwards. She might have gymnastic classes once or twice a week. Then, I'll try to teach her piano lessons, twice a week (once she gets a small electric piano, the cheap one of course..hehehe!) . I've read at the Baby Center that once you teach the child how to play the piano as early as 3 years old, they will be good in maths and logic when they grow older. I was never good in maths even if I had piano lessons, but maybe because I was already about 9 years old (?) when I had my first lesson. Too late huh? So better try it out and start early with Tricia so, she won't be like her mom who cried in college coz she almost failed/dropped Math 11..hahaha!!embarrassing!

So, there goes the schedule to keep my 3 1/2 old girl busy. I just hope everything will turn out well; gymnastic classes will be cheap, we can get a good quality electric piano for a cheap price ( not the disposable one..I mean the one that gets broken after 1 use) and I'll have more time and motivation,( coz I can get lazy at times and just end up putting cartoons in the dvdplayer) to let her do some other activities. All the best for me and Tricia! :)

Ano ba talaga, Amma/Appa?

We are fickle minded parents, that's what I realized today. :)

Just a few days ago, we saw this 15 seater commuter van and my Hubby told our 3 1/2 old daughter, to pray that God will give us a van like that. We have been really desiring..(or maybe dreaming?) to have a van for the 'work' since a lot of people and visitors come over and it's quite difficult to transport them, aside from the fact that we always cross the neighboring country bringng a lot of things.

So, back to the day when they saw the Commuter Van parked at the basement of the mall. The van was left opened, so they saw how spacious it was and it also had a TV inside. Tricia just loved the TV and so when my hubby asked her if she like to have a van like that..she immediately said "Yes" and prayed.

Then just this evening, we went to Tesco to buy some breakfast and other stuff for our coming visitors who'll be staying for 3 days. We bought quite a lot of stuff since we have 21 visitors coming ( yes, that's why we'll really need a van!) and as a result we got more than 10 raffle coupons for a Nissan Triton Pick- up truck as the first prize! So, while my hubby was filling up the raffle coupons, he was becoming lazy and I had to urge him to go on writing because, what if we might win the 1st prize?hehehehe!!..So, that made us thinking that having a Pick-up truck ( instead of a Van) won't be so bad at all.

So, after the coupons was placed inside the box, My Hubby and Tricia made a trip again to see the Pick up truck that's to be given away as the 1st prize...so, he asked Tricia to pray for the pick up truck...but surprisingly, our little girl, retorted, "No, I don't want that because I already prayed for a Van!"....hahahah!! See this, children can be more consistent with what they want and be so sure of their prayers...but Amma and Appa can be fickled minded somtimes..hehehehe!

My Little Assistant Part 2

( Wrote a blog about this last night..but unfortunately it was deleted while I was trying to put the slideshow..aiyyooo...)

My Little girl has been quite a help around me these days. The latest 'chore' (but actually more of a "play" ) for her is setting up the table for meals. A few months ago, while we were doing her activity book on Moral Values, there was a portion on how to help the moms at home and one of these is 'setting up the table'. From then on she kept asking me if she could help me set the table. I would just often ignore her offer and tell her that she can do it when she's bigger. ..I was more afraid of the 'damage' her help can bring than good..hehehe! yOu know, the glasses and dishes might end up getting broken and the mess it will make...heheh!

But a few days ago, she asked me again if she could help in setting up the table..but when she asked, she was already ready holding all the spoons and forks she got from the drawer. So, I told myself, why don't I give it a try. So, I put all the glasses, and plates on the main table and asked her bring it in the living room ( which has a lew "japanese table' and within her reach). So, I just left her alone in her task and I saw her happily going back and forth the dining and living room bringing the dishes and utensils while I finished up my cooking. When I went to the living room, I was quite surprised by her 'work". She indeed made a great job! The plates are placed at the middle and the spoon/fork are each side of the plates, the glasses are place on the upper right/left of the plates! She even designated a seating arrangement for us!..hahahah!!

So, for a few days in a row now..that will be her share of help for Amma in the home. I'm quite proud of the level of independence that she now has and also she can share a bit of help for me and her Appa.

Here is a list of her "development" in the "helpfulness" area ( hehehehe) :

1) She's the one who usually closes the gate everytime we come back home. Everytime we get back home she instinctively gets down from the car, runs to the gate and closes it. She loves to do this..you know why???because she rides on the gate while she closes it!

2) We can easily ask her to get anything we forget to bring downstairs from her diapers, milk bottle, her appa's glasses and etc. She happily goes upstairs and bring down what we ask. This one is really a BIG help for me specially I feel so lazy and tired to go up and down with my BIG tummy.

3) Throwing any trash in the trashcan is also her favorite.

4) Now that she's pottytrained. She goes to the toilet all by herself during the daytime. So, she washes her hands to after everytime she does her business. But I need to constantly check her on htis cause she usually ends up playing witht he water and she gets so wet at times.

5) SHe can bathe herself now..but still we don't let her do this often because..it's WATER...and she really loves water and ends up playing..playing..and playing..

6) She cleans up..after she plays..that is putting al her toys inside the basket, her crayons inside the box and etc. This is one task that I think she dislike because, it means that her playing time is over..so, she really procrastinates doing this.

6) Then the latest, she can sleep in her own room now. We still read stories for her and be with her before she dozes off...but after that she sleeps all byherself in her own room and jsut see her in the morning. :)

Ok..that's all for now..how i wish that on my next list I could include : She could wash the dishes..she could iron the clothes...she could clean the house..hahahah! just kidding!! I'm not a slave driver...I'm just trying to help my girl develop in this area, but according to her own timetable and as long as she's having fun! Coz anyways, she still is a child. It's just amazing to see how my little girl is growing up so fast and being a little help to me even at this stage.