It's a bird! It's a plane! It's super-mystery!

The long thingy you see is the spinal cord

We're excited to go for the gynae check again. It's always such a joy to see how the baby has grown and the activity inside the womb.

Baby is growing well at 11.41cm. Mommy only gained 0.5kg in the past month. Usual weight gain should be around 1.6kg so i'm falling short. Probably compensating for the large weight gain i had in the first trimester. But i'm eating well and baby is growing fine so it's not a cause for concern.

Doctor started scanning the baby to check for the gender! Alas, baby had the back on us and all we could see was the spinal cord?! Legs were tightly "kiap" together and wasn't able to see if there was anything "in-between"! We actually waited for quite a long while, shaking the tummy a little, but baby just won't budge and showed only the bottom to us ^_^

It's kinda hilarious because we were pretty excited to find out if baby was a 娃娃 or eric junior, but baby seems to have fun staying mysterious ...woahaha ... baby already has a sense of humor NOW ^_^

So, for those of you also eager to know, sorry have to wait another month for the detailed scan in the 5th month. You can try to make a guess though and see if you get it right ... hehehe

My symptoms:
- No morning sickness
- Eat a lot
- Feels tired in the afternoon need to nap
- Some people say i don't look pregnant from behind
- i don't have a swollen nose
- i don't have breakouts
- i don't have mood swings
- i don't have cravings

Soya Bean Tart!!

Smooth filling and crunchy crust! Really tasty tart!

Egg tart? Yes you've eaten that. Pineapple tart? Ok you get that too once a year. But Soya Bean tart?? It's the first time i heard about this!!

Our dear Brother Marcus and Sister Wee Ling was so kind to get us soya bean tarts on Sunday. I'm a super tart lover and was so looking forward to have a go on this new thingy.

I had a great surprise when i had my first bite ... the filling had a faint fragrant taste of soya bean, ultra smooth, melts in your mouth. The crust was just at the right texture, and you won't find crumbs falling all over unlike the conventional tarts. It is also not too sweet so you don't feel gelat at all eating the whole thing! To add on to the testament, eric who doesn't like sweet stuff, could not resist a second bite when i offered!

To tell the truth, i had two tarts in a single evening ... woahahaha. This is sold from a bakery located along Cambridge Road. I'll try to bring some into the office someday! Stay tuned!!

Reno Progress

Woohoo! ~ The hacking is now all completed and the house looks truly empty, except for the debris waiting to be disposed. Electrical works will begin this week.

We spent any spare moment we had last week checking out toilet fixtures . Found a decent looking American Standard WC for $252 at Hoe Kee. Store assistant says the pump is very good and durable. Anyone has any tips??

Reno Begins!

Hack hack hack!! Yes hacking begins early morning today and we were there even earlier to catch some shots of the place in its "original form" before it got faced off. It's exciting to know this is the first step in building our new home!

Of course, there are still many details to attend to, and we continue to choose colors, doors, make various decisions of all sorts. It's kinda a role reversal because usually i would be the project manager driving others but now i'm the one being driven to provide decisions by certain datelines! hehe ~~ now i understand how much stress i give to others!

Hacking will continue through this week before they do the electrical works next week. For a sneak preview on the flat, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/erkuan/SengKangHome?authkey=w3RJ1oWJMhk

We Got the KEYS!!

So many choices!! We are our own designer hehe ^_^

Finally finally after many months of patient waiting, we got the keys to the new house today!! I can't tell you how excited i am just thinking of this impending day. In fact i was just too thrilled to sleep last night ... hehe ... imagine being a REAL home owner?! YES it's coming true!!

As we look back on the entire procedure, we really thank God for His provision. Whether it was the finances, the location, the environment, timing, everything, the Lord has been so gracious to us in every way.

Just as the author says in Psalm 116:12-13 "How can i repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord." Indeed we want to dedicate our home to God, that our Lord Jesus will be the Head of the household, and that we can effectively use the space for His ministry! Amen!

Renovation will begin tomorrow, and we are right now caught up with having to decide all the details: color of the walls, texture of the floors, what tabletop, what cabinets, what doors, what design etc. It's quite fun being our own designer but at the same time there's high risk that everything will come out very "sa-la"!! haha ~~ OK we'll see ^_^

Bible Quiz

I was asked to help lead the bible quiz in the youth camp. We have many young believers in the group and so i developed the following questions. Have a go at it (without the bible of course!) Answers will be posted shortly or you can email me your answers :)

1. As recorded in Genesis, what is the first creation of God?

2. In Exodus Chapter 20, how many commandments did God give to the Israelites? Please list three of them and name their order.

3. How many books are there in the bible?

4. Which Israelite tribe was selected to serve in the tabernacle? Why did God choose this tribe?

5. How many years did the Israelites spend in the wilderness?

6. After Moses died, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land?

7. How may sons did Jacob have？Please list three of the sons' names.

8. In Numbers Chapter 22, there was a man where his donkey started speaking to him. What is the name of this man?

9. Who is the first king of Israel?

10. Who is the first priest of Israel?

11. Who is the author of Proverbs?

12. Our Lord Jesus performed many miracles while He was on earth. Name three miracles.

13. Jesus said, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false". Which disciple is He referring to?

14. Which festival falls on the day after Passover?

15. How many books in the New Testament was written by Apostle Paul?

Updates

Ah, have been out of touch lately .... here's a quick update ...

1. Getting busier at work as projects start to ramp up. Resuming my weekly night tcons every tue and wed.

2.It's the Young Adult (YA) revival camp this week and have spent some time last week preparing for parts of the program amidst busy working schedule.

3. Baby is good and have not given me any discomfort at all. Continue to eat a lot but seems like appetite is getting smaller than first trimester (surviving with 4 main meals instead of 5 in the past days). Have read in the book that this is normal. Ok i guess it's good for me too ^_^

4. Thank God we are notified that we can officially receive the keys to our new flat on 6/25. YAY!! When i got to know this a great sense of joy just overwhelmed me. Are we REALLY going to have our own place soon? After waiting for almost half a year, this reality suddenly seems delusive. I have to tell myself "yes it's true" every morning for this joyous news to sink in.

The focus now is to ensure the renovation goes on smoothly and quickly so we can settle in nicely in the new place. Pray for us! :)

Acts of Love

Yummy Bak Chang handmade by Tai Tai Cass! ~

Seaweed flavor pokey sticks from Mel!!

Recently i received gifts from my dearest sisters that really warmed my heart. Coincidentally, both are foods (i think they knew how much i eat nowadays and thus helped in the mission of feeding me .. woahaha).

On dumpling festival, cass gave me two bak chang which she made herself!! Ah our domestic goddess, what else does she not know how to cook?? She meant one for me and one for eric, but it tasted so good that i ate one immediately that evening and saved the other one for following breakfast ... hehehe ... poor hubby ... wait for next year la ~~

I love strawberry pokey, but have you ever heard of seaweed pokey? Indeed there is such a thing, apparently from Hokkaido!! Mel thought of me when she saw this and got me a pack. The packaging is so nice that i haven't bear to open it yet! So photos for you as a sneak preview ... already looks yummy right? :)

Thank you dear sisters. In fact this is just one of the many examples of your acts of love to me and all those around you. The bible taught us in 1 John 4 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for loves comes from God. This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Thank you for living out this truth in your lives and being an encouragement to us always!

Time to Slow Down

Was at the gynae this week and baby is growing well on the scan. At the same time, mama is "growing well" too, which is not exactly a good thing haha.

Over the first trimester, i had put on total 7 kg. YES 7KG!! Your eyes read this correctly. No joke. This is probably 3 times more than what an average mom-to-be will gain in the first 3 months. But this should come at no surprise. All the food that i have not eaten in my past 30 years i had gobbled in my first 3 months.

The main culprit being high intake of carbohydrates. As i feel hungry so often, i tend to down much rice, noodles, hor fun, bee hoon so i feel "full" and satisfied. Doctor said so far i'm still ok in my weight but certainly i should stop eating like this otherwise there will really be no turning back!

The advice moving forward is to snack on wholemeal products, fruits and vegetables instead of plain white rice. So i guess the next time the hunger pangs come i should give the wanton mee a miss and just grab a digestive biscuit ...

As some kind of comfort, i also read from the baby book that moms should not be depressed with their new "shape", afterall we are not fat, we are just PREGNANT!! Haha very Ah-Q but it does work for me .... woahahaha ~~~

HOS East Malaysia Concert Tour

Ah have been out of touch ^_^ Was in East Malaysia (Bintulu & Miri) over the weekend with the HOS choir on a concert tour. Was quite a tiring trip for me so the past days were spent recuperating!!

If you look at the itinerary you would understand why i was pretty dead beat: Met at 5am on Sat > coach to Senai > Fly from JB to KL > Fly from KL to Bintulu > Coach from Bintulu to Miri > Fly from Miri to Senai > Coach from JB back to Singapore arriving 9pm on Monday.

I am really really really thankful to the Lord for this great opportunity to serve Him with the choir. I also got to know the choir members better. Though the schedule was tightly packed, the Lord protected me and the little one, and as usual i was hungry and ate all the time hehe. Yes thank God they provided supper. YAY! ~

Catch the many pics below on all our action!

Queueing up at Senai Airport to check in

Transit in KL.. Aiyoh how come got "extra" behind?!

Of course the first thing to do is EAT! This pasta costs us RM$20!!

Just one pasta is not enough for me la ... Part II is MacDonalds ^_^

Finally we arrived at Bintulu and it's time to eat AGAIN!

Delicious "ngoh hiang look alike"

Our first concert ... see i'm singing VERY seriously .. don't play play ah

Ok i earned my keep ... supper time! There was noodle, fish, tofu ...

Day 2 - streets of Bintulu ... looking for breakfast!

After worship service, it's food time again!! I'm thrilled!

Tried their local "Foo Chow Special" - Chicken Mee Sua ... the soup is very very delicious!

Another local dish laksa .. quite different from Spore style

On the way to Miri we did a pit stop at "Batu Niah"

Wonder what made the chicken wings SO RED??

Time to go home!! A rounder version of me in just 3 days! Hah!

Hai .. quite bored waiting for the flight ...

High in the skies ... home sweet home! Thank God for the wonderful trip! ~

Choir presenting "Many Colors Paint the Rainbow" (Chinese Version)