t:h:e W:U:I:S

So, after three years living in Atlanta, we finally saw some snow.... It was not as much as we liked, but enough for the kids to have fun. Brandon has been praying for snow since the beginning of winter. In fact, I remember last year when his teacher told him it was winter already he came home and asked me whether it was really winter already or not, when I said yes he asked where was the snow...

We were at Atlanta Swim Academy, getting ready to go home after Brandon's swimming lesson when it started to snow two days ago. I was so excited for them and told them to hurry up so that we could go out and feel the snow. I was afraid it would stop snowing. Brandon and Jerome were excited too and asked me whether they could make snowball or not. Well, at that time it really just started to snow, so it was really fine that we couldn't even feel it. So, they lost interest already. They probably thought what's the point snowing if they couldn't make snowball or snowman. After a couple of hours, the snow started to accumulate on our deck (not on the driveway or on the road though). So, I asked them whether they wanted to play with it for a short while or not. They were so excited when they saw the deck was all white. They quickly got their jackets, hats and shoes... (of course I forgot the mittens/gloves) and went to the deck, have a bit of a snowfight. While they were playing and screaming happily outside, I put Trisha inside to keep her warm. Hearing that her brothers were playing happily, she screamed and cried asking me to take her out of her bouncer. If she could talk, she probably would complain how come she didn't get to play outside... Well, if you must know, she's still recovering from her flu, so I just want to make sure she wouldn't get a rebound. But, she was happy enough watching her brothers playing from the window....

Well, we all hope to get some more snow tomorrow or maybe some other days. The kids have been praying for some more snow....

Our oldest son, Brandon, just turned 6 last week. Boy, how time flew so fast... So, a few months before his birthday, he already planned what kind of birthday party he would have, what cake, who would be invited and so on... He even told us what kind of toys he would like to get... Well, do we really need another toy in the house????

For a few months we'd been asking the kids to put aside toys that they didn't play anymore so that we could donate them to other kids who were less fortunate... (one of our friends is working with the refugees and collecting toys and clothes for them). At the same time, Brandon learned about contentment at the church. So, when we talked about his party, we asked him whether he would like to donate the birthday gifts to other kids or not. He said yes immediately, but of course he changed his mind a few times. When he finally decided that he wanted to do that, we browse on Samaritan's Purse and agreed to collect shoe boxes from his friends. We told all of his friends that were invited to his party to bring shoe boxes filled with stuffs instead of birthday presents for him. Well, he still got to keep presents from his aunt, his best friend and us. So, he still got three presents. Altogether he collected 20 shoe boxes for Samarintan's Purse.

Isn't that a reason to be proud? We love you, son... You'll make 20 kids happy with the shoe boxes...

If you met me nine or ten years ago, it would never occur to you that I could be a stay at home mom with three kids. I had a good job, well, the pay was not that great, but I enjoyed my work. I got to meet and work with a lot of interesting people, learnt about new things, fight with some people (hey, that's why I loved my job..) I was one of the devoted employees there. Well, some people called me stupid for working so hard (a lot of time I worked 10-12 hours a day) with a pay like that. So, when I had to resign from that company, my friends doubted that I would enjoy being a housewife or a stay at home mom. Well, I didn't really have a choice between working or following my beloved husband to move to another country. If you were like me, you would choose the same thing.

About 10 months after that we found out that I was pregnant. We got so excited but also scared. Scared that the baby would change our lifestyle, that we wouldn't have time for each other again, that we wouldn't be good parents.... and the list went on and on.... But when our first son was born, we knew that we were overreacted. It's true our lives won't be the same, but it's for the better. It's true that we might not be the best parents in the world, but we'll always try our best to be better parents each day. Raising our first baby was a challenge. The only help we got was from our church friends whom we met two months before we had our baby. God really showed us that He cared through all those people.

Now, with two boys and a baby girl, our lives are just so hectic. Yes the boys (who are three years apart) fight and scream and run around the house the whole day. Yes the baby needs constant attention. Yes I'm exhausted. But at the end of the day, no matter how tired I am with all those things, when they hug me and tell me that they love me and that I am the best mom in the whole world....I'll forget all the things happen that day and I feel that I'm the happiest person in the world. So, if you ask me today whether I regret being a stay at home home. I'll answer you without a doubt that I wouldn't trade it for anything..... Watching them grow, seeing their first smile, first step, first word and all that are just too precious to miss...

One week old... Wow, I hardly can believe that Trisha is one week old today. She had a second visit to the clinic today. Nothing major, just to make sure that her weight started to pick up. She lost about 8 % from her birth weight last week, but the she managed to gain 3 ounces over the week end... Good job, Trish. All the night feeding paid off. Yeah...

The whole week, we've seen how God's blessing is overflowing on us.  When we came home on wednesday, our neighbor already put up balloons on our mailbox and a welcome home sign on our door. Our friends and neighbors have been sending us food since then as well. Our neighbors had a meal plan for us for the whole month, for every other day. So, dinner is covered until September 1. Can you believe that? Amanda, our next door neighbor, who organized the meal plan and everything for us just sent the meal, complete with dessert... Hmmm yum, yum.

We are so, so thankful to God. He is just so amazing. His promise never fails. I remember about 3 years ago, when Darren told me that we were moving to Atlanta I started to pray that we could adapt easily and find a house with a friendly and nice neighborhood, but I never thought that we would live in this really friendly and active neighborhood. Everybody is ready to help each other. Really a safe neighborhood. By the way, if you are looking for a house, there are several houses for sale ;))

Trisha Elizabeth Wui

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Daddy, Mommy and Baby Trisha

She's here, she's here.... Trisha Elizabeth Wui was born Monday morning, July 30, 2007 at 7.45. She weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. The morning run etc. was quite a journey, but she's absolutely gorgeous..... I'm not kidding y'all.... She's the prettiest baby girl in the whole world... Sorry Russells ;) No hard feeling, Harper.

We actually decided to go ahead schedule the induction on the 9th. of August, but apparently she was impatient to meet her two big brothers. After a long fun weekend, she made up her mind to come out and see the world. So, I started to have contraction on Sunday night. With the drama of Jerome threw up on midnight, we went to bed around 1 am, still hoping that she would change her mind. But around 3.35, my contraction was about 2-3 minutes apart. So, there we are, calling the doctor, the hospital and our dearest friend, Ling, to come and watch the kids until morning, so that we can rush to the hospital. Thank you so much Ling. Don't know what to do without you....

Her brothers love her dearly and we all fell in love with her on the first sight. Had quite a number of visitors in the evening that made the room was sooooo hotttt, but we are so grateful that there are so many people that love us that much.

She's been eating, pooping and sleeping quite well. Let see how she goes tomorrow. Thank you all for the support, love and prayers. We love you all.

Tick.. tock... tick... tock.... The clock is ticking and we only have three more weeks to finally get to see our little girl... I'm so excited but also nervous, since we are not quite ready yet. We spent the whole night cleaning up her room last night, and still not done yet. At least the baby carseat is ready... And we've talked about who is gonna take care of our boys when I'm in labor. Yes, we have the plan. Whether we'll remember or not when the day has come, that's a different story.

We also have been talking about "our new baby" with Jerome, our 2 year old, to make sure that he understands what's going on. Looks like he started to get it. Of course until he really sees her, he wouldn't really know what's happening. He said he would play peek-a-boo with her and make her laugh...

Unless the baby comes early, we'll just gonna enjoy our last few weeks together and try to get some sleep.......

Last Night my indonesian bible study friends threw me a surprise baby shower.... That was really, really nice of them. I was actually being a jerk, by refusing to go (hey, I didn't know it would be a baby shower...). After a long day, I had a slight headache and backpain. A legitimate excuse to skip bible study. But my beloved friend Lily came and insisted me to go with her. Some of them also called me and made me suspicious. When I kept on saying no, Lily had no choice but told me that they had something for me.

Rima made a very pretty diaper cake and the food and the decoration were awesome plus of course the presents... ;))

Well, thank you, thank you guys... I'm so thankful that wherever we go, God always surrounds us with His faithful people. May God continue to use you all to be His channel of blessings to others...

Just came back from my ob check up. My regular doctor was not is today, so I was seen by other doctor. Based on my pregnancy history, he suggested me to have induction. I haven't really decided yet. The thought about being induced actually scares me a little bit. Jerome, our 2 year old, was supposed to be induced as well, but he came 1 day before the scheduled date....

Allison and Jason Russell just had their baby girl this morning. Actually with my big belly and all the things that happen around us, it would be nice to know for sure when the baby is coming. But I always want everything to happen naturally, unless there's a medical issue behind it.

Oh well, let's see what happens. I think I have a couple of weeks to think about this. In the meantime, I'm just gonna enjoy my last month of pregnancy.... Keep on praying for me, folks.