What is the Blessing Box? Check it out here The Blessing Box – January
Some thanksgiving I’m sharing include…
– Mammogram Results
– Walking the Green Corridor
– Mission Foods Netball Championship
– Visiting the Singapore Coins and Notes Museum
– Camping out on Rebecca’s Birthday
– NE Show
– Science Festival 2011
Mammogram Results
* I went for my yearly mammogram at the end of June and saw my doctor in July. I was so happy to see the surgeon. He’s SSSOOOO busy and so it’s not easy to see him at all. But he’s really a very detailed, compassionate and encouraging doctor who cares for his patients. You should see him come and go – he moves around very stealthily; now you see him now you don’t. He said I shouldn’t be seeing so many doctors (actually only 3 of them) but I told him I really enjoyed seeing them:-) It’s like giving me a break of sorts and keeping touch with what’s new in the area of breast cancer treatment etc.
Ok now the mammogram results…it’s good. There are a couple of microcalcifications spotted. Otherwise it looks normal. I thank God for keeping me well and also for all of you who are praying for my healing.
Walking the Green Corridor
* We finally took a walk along the green corridor. It was a different experience. Not quite easy to walk with all the stones and all. And we found the Bukit Timah Station – I never knew that existed!! My history must be very bad!
The animal photos were taken by John – who loves photography.
We saw a few breadfruit trees too. And we thought we couldn’t find it in Singapore. Read about our first encounter with the breadfruit here…
All About the Breadfruit
A Riddle
Mission Foods Netball Championship
* The children’s netball coach had 2 complimentary tickets to the Mission Foods World Netball Championship 2011. After much consideration in the morning, I took it up, packed water, snacks and dinner, drove us to the Indoor Stadium and paid for 2 more tickets (thankfully they were only $12; students had 50% discount). We were extremely eager to watch our FIRST live games at the Indoor Stadium.
The games were very exciting. We saw how the various teams played – New Zealand, Australia, Jamaica, Bostwana, Malaysia and Singapore. I even postponed their classes that evening so we could catch the matches at night too. The children were so appreciative that they thanked, kissed and hugged me almost instantly. It made me wonder if I had been depriving them….So that day, we talked about netball – the rules, the players, the umpire, 4 quarters and scoring.
A little girl came by and gave us 2 sets of clappers after asking if we were supporters of Singapore. After thanking her, Rebecca and Li-Ann quickly took them out, wanting to play with them. I believe it was the children’s first encounter with clappers and they were really thrilled, especially LA. She certainly used it appropriately and clapped very well. When NZ and Australia played their final game and when we knew of the score, we figured it must have been a very impressive game, although we didn’t catch it. When we first watched those teams beating the others in the preliminary rounds, we saw how excellent the players were in stamina, skill and stature. It was an exhilarating experience for us.
Visiting the Singapore Coins and Notes Museum
* We were blessed with complimentary tickets to the Singapore Coins and Notes Museum It’s not a big place with 2 galleries. It will soon move (probably within the next 3 months) to a bigger place and there will be 3 galleries, according to the staff there. We were told of the history of the notes and coins, understood the difference between coins and medallions, saw the 2 series of coins and 4 series of notes in Singapore’s history. It’s so nostalgic for me to see the Bird series of the notes we used to be using before the Ship series and the polymer Portrait series came into circulation. They were probably the ones I learnt how to count/use when I was in primary school. Incidentally, the first series of notes Singapore had was the Orchid series. Now I wish I had kept some of those old coins and notes for John, who has taken an interest in them. He revealed that my mom gave him some of her precious collection. Thank you grandma!!
We also saw the first hologram coin and many commemorative coins Singapore minted. The process of how coins were minted were told through a short video clip and the various moulds/dies used were displayed to give us an idea of the tremendous amount of work that each coin had to go through before it is finally printed. I particularly enjoyed learning about ALL the security features on our polymer notes. There were so many to minimise counterfeits.
Camping out on Rebecca’s Birthday
* We celebrated Rebecca’s birthday this month. She wanted to go camping for her birthday so Da Da dearest took two days leave and off we went to East Coast to pitch our tent!!! I believe it was either our 3rd or 4th camping trip. They were all very excited. Rebecca quickly volunteered to come up with the checklist of what we needed to bring, including food – coz that’s very important to her.
Although we got to East Coast only in the late afternoon, we managed to get the tent pitched up by evening when the sun was still bright and hot. It sure was a hard fight with the winds to peg down the corners but we did it!!! In the tent, the children and I pumped up the 2 inflatable beds – it was our first time trying it out. Outside, CM took out our portable BBQ pit and began preparing our dinner. We bought it at Cold Storage. It came with everything that would help us start the fire. So CM began with the beef patties, then the corn (which Rebecca buttered, salted and wrapped at home), nitrate free sausages, some veges and portabello mushrooms. The children enjoyed their dinner.
Nearby, there many vocalists screaming their lungs out, trying to be the next XXX Idol. In spite of that, we did manage a few hours of sleep in the breezy night. Maybe it was the comfortable mattress…John and Rebecca also had their share sleeping on the hammock, taking further advantage of the coolness in the wee hours of the morning. I totally forgot to bring any diapers for LA and I kept reminding her to tell me if she needed to use the bathroom. Thankfully she only wet her shorts and I had extra clothes for her to change. Perhaps there’s hope that she’ll be off her nappies at night!!
The children woke early the next morning, eager to jump into the sand and sun. We had to hold them back with breakfast and also a time of family devotion, especially on Rebecca’s birthday, and saying a special birthday prayer for her. What a wonderful way to spend our time with our Princess Rebecca!
The children’s fun digging the sand was short-lived as a park warden came and told us to keep our tent. Yes, I forgot to mention that we were not aware that we pitched our tent at a non-camping area. We were also not aware that we had to get a permit for camping. So we packed quickly, reminding the children to give thanks that we were not told to pack and go in the middle of the night, and promising them that we may rent bikes after lunch.
It was a good deal to rent bikes on weekdays – it’s 1 hour for 2 hours free! John and Rebecca took a bike each while CM and I were on a tandem bike with LA in front of CM on a child seat. Off we went after applying out sun block. We cycled further than Bedok Jetty and saw places that we usually won’t go to. It was good exercise after a heavy lunch. After a ice-cold dessert break, we had to head for home. The children were already talking about the next camping trip…
NE Show
* We were so grateful that the homsechoolers had a chance to go for the NDP rehearsal. CM went with John and they had a great time.They even had pizza and chicken wings for dinner. John shares about NE in Happy Birthday Singapore!
Science Festival 2011
* The Science Festival at Suntec City was fun for the children.It was a good thing a friend told us that there are many free activities for the children – shows to watch, experiments to try out and many things to learn. She even told us what we should see first. For me who was pretty swamped, I was glad she helped me make that decision.
I Can Do It! 
