trippingdifferently

February 2, 2014February 5, 2014

Love Notes 2014… #01…

It’s February – the month of LOVE!

Valentine’s Day is just round the corner. Now we are all familiar with the idea of giving Valentines; expressing your love to the special loved ones in your life.

Reece’s Rainbow is offering some real special for Valentine’s – you can give Love Notes this Valentine’s. Make that special gift extra special and give your loved ones the chance to give to children who have almost nothing in this world – special needs orphans. Check it out here! (This gift can be redeemed right through the whole of February.)

And to help you pick which child to bless this Valentine’s with a gift of love, i will be highlight 10 children with some special need or disability every 7 days for the whole of February.

Today please allow me to introduce 10 children with hearing/vision impairments. Listed by ages (oldest to youngest). Please click on each of their names/pictures to go to their profile pages.

Wesley

i have been shouting out for my sweet Wesley for quite a while now. He is said to be sensible and polite and gets along well with others. He has albinism and related vision issues. He ages out August 2014 (when he is 14 years old), after which he will not have a chance at having a family anymore. We hope a bigger adoption grant would encourage a family to step forward for him.

Shane

Shane is also another boy we have been shouting out for some time now. He is an extroverted boy who loves to sing. He has albinism and related vision issues. He ages out August 2014 (at 14 years old) and if not adopted by then, he will carry the label of orphan for the rest of his life. A little extra in his adoption grant would hopefully encourage a family to step forward for him.

Danny

My heart goes out to Danny. He has such a lovely smile. He is deaf (may have Hep B) and is said to be clever and outgoing. He is only available for adoption until August 2014 (he would be 14 at that time), after which he is not adoptable anymore. He is a newly listed child and needs as much exposure as possible so his forever family might find him.

Charlie

Charlie is a talented and caring boy who is able to read Braille and has recently started using a cane to help him get around. He is a newly listed child and needs much exposure so that his forever family might find him. He ages out of the adoption system in July 2015.

Reid

Reid is an active child with a ready smile. He has albinism and related vision issues and is said to be a smart, lovely boy. He has been listed for a while now and still he waits for his forever family. He ages out of the adoption system in December 2015.

Lenny

Lenny is deaf and knows sign language. He has a great sense of humor, is a gentleman and is very helpful. He is said to be very good with computers and likes cars. He will age out in June 2016.

Jason

Jason is an active boy who likes helping other kids. He has albinism and seems to have a sensitivity to light (mild vision issue). His mental development could be a little behind his peers. He will age out in October 2016.

Vanessa

Vanessa is a quiet girl who likes jumping on the trampoline and listening to music. She has albinism and prefers to play indoors due to her sensitivity to light (mild vision issue). She ages out in February 2017.

Andrew

Andrew is a bright boy who is shy in front of strangers. He helps his foster-mother with the housework and is a good student. He has albinism with related vision issues which has not affected his daily life. He ages out in August 2017.

Richard

Richard has such an amazing smile! It is estimated that he is 9 or 10 years old. He is deaf, his carers believe that he could have some hearing. His hearing will have to be evaluated by a specialist once adopted.

Please consider growing the adoption grant of one of the above children or a few of them. Please do pray for them, for their daily needs and especially for a forever family to step forward for them. Do also share their stories with all you so that more people can help and somewhere out there their forever families might find them.

Please also visit other advocates’ blogs who are also shouting out for these precious ones – here and here and here.

Thank you.

syc

February 1, 2014

Gong Xi Fa Cai…

… i think i have never actually devoted a post to Chinese New Year!

i have looked at the archives and have not found one post on this – which is strange considering how much i like the festivities of celebrating Chinese New Year. A celebration which traditionally lasts 15 days, but of course, in these modern fast-paced times, no one stops for that long to celebrate anymore.

When i was growing up, it was a huge thing. My mum started preparing 2 weeks ahead for Reunion Dinner (the eve of Chinese New Year), where all the extended family came to us for dinner. There is this special dish she makes only for Chinese New Year – Ayam Buah Keluak (Black Nut Chicken Curry) because you need to soak the nut for 2 weeks. Then crack a tiny slot in the hard shell, remove the flesh of the fruit, mix half of that with minced meat, stuff the mixture back into the nut and use the other half of the fruit-flesh to make the curry. So much work!

Then there is all the yummy Chinese New Year goodies – pineapple tarts (i LOVE these), Bak Kwa, Love Letters, Kueh Bangkit and so many other ones, along with all the mandarin oranges i could peel and eat as well as roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds and sweets. Also Yu Sheng – Fish Salad which we toss for good luck. Not to mention the kids all got red-packets (ang baos, filled with a small amount of cash).

We would spend 2 whole days visiting family and friends, exchanging greetings and blessings for the coming year. There are some people we only get to see during this festive season so it is indeed a special time.

Now that we have moved to a “western” country which doesn’t celebrate Chinese New Year and we no longer go back to Singapore for the celebrations (logistically not practical now with the school term), i miss them.

The dishes we had for Chinese New Year Dinner.

This year i decided maybe it’s time to highlight some traditions again, now that my boy is bigger and understands more. He really only remembers collecting the Ang Baos and not much beyond that cos he was so small when we did go back to celebrate with family.

So while i didn’t make Reunion Dinner, i did make a 1st Day of Chinese New Year dinner for the 3 of us. Cooking one of my favourite Nonya dishes – Chap Chye, and Cantonese Steam Fish as well as Stir-Fry Ginger Beef. It was a tiny affair but still…

And this year we also gave my boy an actual Ang Bao when normally it would just go to his bank account. He was glad about that cos now he gets to actually spend it, instead of mummy putting it into his bank.

So here i take the opportunity to wish one and all a very Blessed Happy Chinese New Year – it’s the Year of the Horse so may you gallop into peace and good fortune.

syc.

January 28, 2014

Two Words…

At the beginning of the year, i wrote about looking ahead and having a quote which i would like to keep in mind for 2014…

Then i read what my dear friend, over at Wide Awake Family, wrote about what God told her to do – to Let Go…

And i thought about it but didn’t come to any firm idea about what God (not just me) might want me to focus on.

Then i hit a rough patch last week and couldn’t shake a sadness which surrounded me. Now people who know me, know that i am the eternal optimist – always seeing the silver lining behind every dark cloud. So this inability to shake a sense of sadness was new and scary to me.

i wanted to pour all this unhappiness onto my dear husband, thinking it would make me feel better… BUT on the day i decided that, God spoke – He told me that isn’t it… He reminded me what He has been teaching me in the last 6 months – Be Content!

Now i didn’t think i was discontent. In fact, i know how very blessed i am to live this life i am living now. i lack nothing and have excess even. So i was being content, or wasn’t i?

God’s contentment is something else – it has to do with resting in Him. And that is what i need to do more. Be Content In The Lord! Not content with the material things i have or content with feel-good emotions. But CONTENT IN THE LORD!

How do i do that? What does this look like practically? i don’t know yet. However, i do know that my heart is much lighter since i recognised what the Lord would have me focus on. i pray He will show me the next steps in this contentment journey with Him. And i will share as He reveals more.

What is contentment to you? Care to share?

syc

PS: Choosing kind is still something i want to be mindful of, especially for those closest to me, who tend to be on the receiving end of my temper many a time.