Wonderland 2011

Allen with his friends, Tommy and Aidan

at the 3D Theatre at Wonderland.

This ladder was the nemesis of the day.

All three tried to conquer this ladder.

Hubby spending his day off with us.

We enjoyed the rides and waterpark too.

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My young man at his 1st Banquet

Our son went to his 1st banquet last night. He actually really didn't want to go (he actually didn't even tell us!). We found out from one of the parents and so we made him go. lol. My hubby and I knew he'll enjoy himself but he just needed to take risks and put himself out there.

He really is growing up. I still remember going to banquets in high school. Has it really been that long? I guess so!!! LOL! He enjoyed himself and I'm so glad that he wasn't too opposed to me taking a few pictures. :)

Our boy is looking all grown up. :) Love him!

Lovely young ladies!

Two of these girls, I've known since birth. Can't believe how fast they grow!

It's soooo NOT easy being a parent! I used to think parents get to do everything. They get to boss you around AND do whatever they want! N O T!!! That is sooo not the reality! This morning, my hubbs and I had to make a hard decision to teach our young man a lesson about being responsible for his time and how he manages it. Lately, we've been struggling with him in the morning to get ready in a timely manner and not have to drag him or get mad at him. Most days, I'm already at work when he is waking up for school but Fridays are my mornings with him and I look forward to them. Well, this morning, he really just was not moving. I kept calling him but nothing. I decided though that I wasn't going to start yelling at him instead I told him that since he was not moving and doesn't think getting to school on time was important this morning, he would have to find his own way to school (which isn't far at all... it's a 10-min. walk but it's a lot when you're already late).

As I watched him angrily walk/run to school, I felt bad and guilty but I knew that he really needed to learn to take responsibility for his own actions in managing his time. Watching my son make his way to school this morning caused me to think back when I was a young girl. There were many times (as I was a stubborn lil' princess) when I would find myself frustrated or angry because my Mom was giving me a "hard time". I used to think that she didn't care and that it was me who was suffering/hurting and not her. We, parents, all know that isn't the case at all! It hurts us too, even more at times!

It made me think about us and God. How often God wants to spare us the unnecessary pain of learning the hard way but, in most cases, we just won't listen. So He has to allow us to learn by experience. How many times have we blamed Him or think how can He allow this hurt to happened. So easily we forget that it was our choice not to listen and to follow His steps. And what we often don't see is that when we hurt, He hurts too... just like a parent hurts when her/his child is hurting.

Firsts

My young 7th Grader's 1st day at his new school. He's a bit camera shy now-a-days so didn't get to take lots of pictures of him. lol. This was taken in front of his locker... 1st time having lockers. :) He's sporting a new hair cut and new glasses. :) Looking like a young man... a handsome young man, I might add. :^

He's adjusting well so far. Keeping in touch with his teachers to make sure he is making the transition well. There's quite a difference this school year already. He's much more responsible. Praise God! Isn't that what we parents aim for... raising responsible adults. :) Looking forward to the victories our son and his Lord will conquer together this school year! May he experience more of his Father's amazing love and grace this year!

This picture was taken in Missouri during one of our many family road trips. During our 3-year stay in Michigan, while my husband was in the Seminary, we were able to spend wonderful time together. I can't believe that the 3 years are done and we are now back in Toronto! lol. I sometimes find myself thinking if in fact it took place and was real. lol. It feels like it was only several months ago we were packing to move to Michigan. Now, I'm unpacking memories of those years.

I remembered feeling excited as I packed for Michigan years back. Excited to be a stay-at-home Mom and living outside the city. I was looking forward to spending my time with our son and getting to know the person he's become. I was looking forward to doing all the things I wished I could do with him like taking him to school and being there when he got home. I was excited to work on projects together and help him with homework (although I have to say I DISlike homework! lol.). I was looking forward to family time unrestricted by work. And I did! I did enjoy every moment of those unrestricted time with my husband and our son. We talked, laughed and played together. We did all the things we wanted to do together and more!

It, of course, wasn't always sunshines and pink roses for me as a homemaker. I learned very quickly that being a stay-at-home Mom was no easy task!!! Work never ever ends... there's no 9-5... it's just all the time. lol. I have truly found greater respect for all the women who stays at home! You ladies are just absolutely incredibly awesome!!!!!!

God has truly blessed me with my time at home. I learned so much in those years... about myself, my husband and son. I learn more about my Father and how incredible He is. I learned who and how God wanted me to be... how God wanted families to be. I count myself so blessed and I thank God for that precious gift of unrestricted time with my family!

Now that we are back in Toronto, I will no longer be staying at home, not full-time anyway. I'm slowly switching gears. I can't help but feel a little sad... sad at not being at home to send our son off and be there when he gets home. But I am most grateful for the time the Lord has given me and look forward to more quality time the Lord will continue to give me with our growing son. :)

Answering His call

For the past year or so, my 11-year-old son has been asking a lot of questions about baptism and what it means. He's been thinking about getting baptized for several months now but he's been hesitant because he didn't like that it was so public. He's very scared about being in front of a congregation. So for the past 6 months, he's been conflicted between his desire to fully accept Jesus Christ and be baptized and his fear of being up in front of the entire church. During many altar calls, he would say that he's not ready mainly because he's scared to go to the front. We didn't pressure him and knew this had to be a decision he needed to make on his own.

Well, this past Sabbath, my husband was singing at Pioneer Memorial Church (PMC) which was the University campus church. It's a very large church around 1,000 people every Sabbath. Anyway, so we (my son and I) hopped from our home church to PMC to be with my husband for Divine Worship. The preacher at that particular Sabbath was wrapping up the theme for the Week of Spiritual Emphasis. He spoke about how we needed to be wise about how we spend our time and how we need to spend time with God on a daily basis. Anyway, at the end of his sermon, he made an altar call for anyone who'd like to commit themselves fully to Christ and make that a public commitment through baptism. I noticed my son was paying careful attention to the speaker and, after deliberating for several minutes whether I should say anything, I asked him if he wanted to go and that I would go with him. He said that he wasn't ready but I noticed this wasn't the same "I'm not ready" that he usually says. He seemed to be really conflicted. So I started praying. Praying that the Holy Spirit continue to call to him to set his fears aside and answer the call of Jesus. The Pastor kept speaking... making the appeal then a vocalist in front started singing "Come to Jesus". I would look over to my side in between prayers to sneak a peak at him. I watched my son minute by minute moving ever so slowly... inch by inch toward the aisle. I continued to pray for him and others that Lord is calling to him. Just when the song was about to end, I looked over to my side and saw him gone... he was no longer beside me. I looked up and I saw him standing in the front with his Dad beside him!!! Oh I couldn't hold back my tears of joy!

My husband later told me that he too was praying. He said that he noticed that our son moving closer and closer to the aisle and so he stepped aside to let him through. He was equally surprised when our son took his hand to go with him up in front. =)

I've never been so happy for him. So happy that he experienced following Christ even if he's so scared. It was proof that the Holy Spirit is stronger than any of our great fears. To think this was no small congregation but a huge congregation. The Holy Spirit moved him so strongly that (as our son later explained) he "just had to go up there".

What a blessed Sabbath morning that was! Praise be to God!

my perfect gloves

Over the holidays, we visited my family in Toronto. We had finished our Christmas shopping a month in advance so we didn't have to go shopping but my Mom hadn't started hers yet and it was the day before Christmas Eve. My son wanted to go shopping too because apparently, he didn't appreciate how we (his Dad and I) bought gifts and put his name on it when he didn't buy it! lol. I told him that it was from our family not just Dad and I. He insisted that he had $20 and he wants to go shopping with my Mom and I (and he hates shopping... like me! lol).

As we made our way from store to store, different malls and shopping places, he patiently waited for us after he finished browsing through the stuff in case he wanted to buy something. When we got to Walmart, he wanted to buy a remote-controlled car for his baby cousin but he didn't have enough money. He asked if I could help him out. I asked him what happened to his $20 because that would cover all of it. He said he had only $14. I suggested that he find something within his budget (we had been teaching him how to budget his money so he'll only spend what he has). He was really disappointed because there wasn't any cars that was remote-controlled that was less than $14. I couldn't take seeing him so sad and, in a moment of weakness, I agreed to help him out (didn't help my Mom was giving me looks to just give in!) but I reminded him that we (as a family) are putting into practice principles that are important and he needs to keep in mind when he goes shopping what he can afford.

Well, what I didn't know was that at one of the stores we visited earlier that day, he had bought me gloves! He knew that I didn't have gloves and so he wanted to buy me one. I was so surprised and touched on Christmas morning when I opened my gift from him. It's the best Christmas present I've ever received! I told him that I loved my gift and that it was extremely thoughtful of him. He told me that was why he didn't have $20 for his cousin's car. =)

!What a blessing it is to witness such kindness and generosity in spirit

my sunshine

11 years ago this fresh ray of sunshine came into my life! And it's never been the same since. He's a constant sunshine in our lives. A GREAT blessing he is!

What a joy to watch him grow. So gratifying to see Jesus' love in him!

I'm so proud of this kid. His strength, perseverance, positive attitude, compassion, and happy nature constantly amazes me! His ability to bounce right back when life hands him a blow is a gift only God can give.

This precious child is a constant reminder of God's mercy... of His great and undying love... and His blessings.

I pray that he continues to find strength and wisdom from God. That he finds his value and true identity in His Saviour. And that he be used greatly for His Maker and finds success in the eyes of God and not man!

It continues to be an incredible privilege to be this child's mother. To witness a miracle daily.

Praise God!

Temptation...

"...temptation is powerful and so hard to resist but God is even more powerful!" My son said these words as he wrapped up his Children`s Story yesterday at Church.

He shared a story that was once read to him as a little child. It`s a story about a little girl who was given instructions by her mom not to snack late at night. However, one night, she was quite hungry but it was already way past bedtime and she knew what the rules were. But she pictured the juicy, sweet grapes sitting on top of the dinning table waiting there for her and it was just way too tempting. So she crept down to the dinning room and silently grabbed the grapes that were in a bowl. But all of the sudden, she froze for a few seconds and returned the grapes, uneaten, on the bowl. What this little girl didn't know was that her mom was watching her. When her mom saw that she returned the grapes, she hugged her daughter and said, "you won over temptation tonight". =)

You see, this wasn`t just a random story my son picked. He was adamant to share this story to the other kids at church. And the reason for this he said was that, "I too won over temptation today, Mom". =)

It had been a very tough day for him. His Dad and I finally decided to take his DS and Wii games away especially the ones he was quite addicted to. It was a hard decision for us to make as we both know how much our son enjoys playing these games. We explained to him our reasons and told him that we would keep only sports and educational games but nothing else. He was extremely upset, as you can only imagine. In fact, he was so upset that he requested us to give him time alone.

Listening to him sobbing broke my heart. I finally went to him when he asked if I could hold him. I too couldn't stop my own tears from falling. I`m as guilty or even worse because as his Mom, I allowed this to happen. He got so addicted to these games. He was even more inconsolable when we told him that we would sell these games. He was begging us not to sell them, to just keep them hidden. I told him that there wouldn't be any reason for us to keep it. It will just serve as a temptation for him. He might not see it but knowing that it's around the house... it would be a huge temptation for him. Temptations are so strong and it order to fight it, we have to get rid of it. The entire time he was sobbing, I just kept praying that the Lord would give him the comfort that he needed. I was calling upon the Lord to cast the devil away and his hold on my son!

Later that afternoon, he finally made the decision to go ahead and sell his games. I know for sure that Jesus helped him win the battle over the devil and his hold on him through these games! Praise God!!!

This was why his little children story was so important for him. It wasn't just a story. It was a testimony that he shared with this little girl. They both won over temptation!!! What a testimony and I pray that he doesn't forget how God delivered him that day!

What a lesson we can take from these children! Though their temptations might seem a trifle thing to us "adults", it was equally as powerful as our temptations. And if these precious little children can win over their temptations and break satan's hold on them through Jesus Christ, so can we!

My Brave Goalie

My son, Allen, with his left hand in a brace and sling. =(

He injured himself while playing goalie at soccer. He blocked a goal and won the game but fractured his arm. His coach said it was at least a beautiful save. lol.