Thankful List 2012

1. My Heavenly Father, Savior, Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Living Water, the Source of my strength, peace, and joy. "In God is my Salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." Psalm 62:7

2. My diligent husband, my better half, the super daddy


3. The privilege to be mama to my two precious blessings

Why Camping?

Answer:

Blessings Captured

For the sunny day, when we can enjoy the sun and your beautiful creation, Lord... we thank You!


For the rainy, cold, and cloudy day, when we got to enjoy the breezy air and are reminded to be thankful for the shelter your provided, Lord.... we thank You!


For Wes' sweet smiles,

My Everyday Mess and Blessing

These are two favorite books of my three years old:


He 'read' these books so often that he know exactly where is the humpback whale, bull frog, hippo, etc...


A peek into my washing machine. Bottles and baby toys occupies the top rack most of the time:


These medicines has been staying on our kitchen counter these past two weeks. Thankful that we're now healthy and I can put this away.


One day I put Wesley on the potty then went to rinse the dishes in the kitchen. When I came back I found him chewing Mr. Station Guard. Poor guy:


I read one day Ruth Bell Graham kept her Bible open at home for constant meditation. I want that but somehow my kitchen counter always full with other stuff. One day I accidentally spilled one of the cough medicine, which made me have to clean and rearrange our counter. I wasn't happy at that time but guess what I found at the end: a spot where my Bible can be opened at any times:

“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” Hudson Taylor 

A friend of mine once e-mail me: asking how do you do it? cooking and baking everyday; keeping the house clean and orderly, and so on
My reply, "You don't see everything." My house is not always clean and tidy; sometimes I don't get out of my pajamas all days, and there are days I don't feel like cooking and baking. 

I love orchids

But somehow I never manage to keep it alive

My kitchen table is a mess most of the time; at least 5 times a day when during meals and snacks times:

And sometimes this is what our living room looks like though we almost always manage to get it clean seconds before daddy got home:

Sometimes, my recipe trial turned out to be a disaster:

MoneySavingMom shared this post last week:…Never forget that what you see on the screen is not the whole picture.

Never forget that the people behind the blogs are, well, people…with unorganized cupboards, unmanaged time schedules, cranky children, painful stories, crafty train wrecks, struggling marriages, unpaid bills and burnt meat loaf. (Those are the examples I use, because those have all been me behind the scenes.)

Never forget that their story and their journey and their choices apply to them, not to you.

You are who you are for a reason. You are where you are a for a reason. Don’t do what I do and beat yourself up for not being where someone else is. It’s a colossal waste of time.

Appreciate everyone else’s outside, but embrace your inside. (Read the full post here)

Counting My blessings

Inspired by Frugal Girl's 365 Projects and gracefullmama's post: The Glorious in the Mundane; I started taking pictures of My One Thousand Gifts: anything from my daily life that make me smile, the sweet little gifts that God bestows each and every day:

...Christmas cards from friends and family. I used to think that sending e-card is fine untill I opened a photo card from a family that we haven't seen for 2 years or so. The joy it brought inspired me to make our own printed Christmas Greeting Card. We ordered ours from Costco $15 for 50 cards and envelopes.


...Max lined up all his toy animals to eat the giant carrot :)


...It's the law now in the city we live in: No more free shopping bag. I'm happy whenever I get to use these reusable bag:


Christ took the picture below:
...Clean plates belongs to my three boys, who happily gulped mommy's cooking.


...Free-Pesticide Local Food from Farmer Market always makes me happy. Also the boy who can pretend play with anything.


Snacking in the middle:


Back to business: he's about to launch the 'rocket':

Have a blessed week!

Thankful List 2011

I'm thankful for:

1. My Savior, the One who loves me and gives me the reasons to live.


2. My best friend, lover, and the father of my children.

Wesley is Here

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Our second son, Wesley was born almost two weeks ago:

One Thousand Gifts continues...

Photo taken by Nana

Click here to see the previous list of my one thousand gifts - watching, recording, and naming all the sweet little gifts that God bestows each and every day

One Thousand Gifts

I'm so grateful that I started the list of my one thousand gifts - watching, recording, and naming all the sweet little gifts that God bestows each and every day - two weeks ago.
I found myself smiling and rejoicing instead of complaining last week when:
Chris injured his ankle when he was playing basketball. Then we found out our water tank leaked and got to be replaced. In addition, our kitchen faucet broke and as a result I got to wash our dishes in the bathroom - not so fun with my big belly and back pain. 
No wonder apostle Paul told us to: "Not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

My list of one thousand gifts continues as I give thanks for:

Blessed

I'm about 30+ weeks pregnant now. Haven't feel like myself lately not sure if it's due to pregnancy hormone or having to deal with constant back pain that has been bothering me but God is good as always. He reminded me through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 this morning: to be content and thankful for everyday gift that God has blessed me.

Matthew 5 (The Message)

You're Blessed

 ³"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. ⁴"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.  

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for praying for Max. In case you are wondering, I did go to the retreat on Thursday while Max & Chris stayed at home. We thought it would be better for Max to stay at home and rest rather than spreading his virus to other kids. I had to go on Thursday because I was assigned to teach the nursery kids that night.

Thanks to Fonda's family who invited Max & Chris to their family dinner, my hubby and son were able to eat delicious Thanksgiving meals & enjoy the companion of a loving family. Chris and Max then joined me at the retreat the next day.

Here is the list of things that I'm thankful for - not in particular order:

• God, Jesus, & Holy Spirit, the One who give me reason, strength, peace & joy to live.
• Hubby, the leader of the family, the love of my life, the handyman who can fix anything.
• Max, my noisy, smiley, and lovely 'kaypoh' kid, who brought so much joy into our life
• Friends: new & old friends, mommies friends, family friends, mentors & my dear small group sisters.