Parenting on Purpose

A story my boys have been asking me to tell them over and over again is the one in which my Chinese teacher threw my Spelling book out of the window and I had to sorrowfully go out to retrieve it at recess time. The story well encapsulates my subsequent experiences with the Chinese language. Let it be said that it was a hate-hate affair. I went on to fail my "AO" Levels twice before passing finally, I'm sure, due to my desperate prayers out of fear of having to attend Chinese Camp before my entrance to Uni. Fast-forward 30 years, and I find myself at home with two young boys who are looking to me to teach them the same language I struggled with for so many years. It soon became clear that I needed some help, especially when my older boy recently went into a phase of constantly asking, "What is ______ in Chinese?" and I was forced to Google translate most of the answers. I have been trying various approaches to our Chinese lessons. I use a lot of kinaest

This blog post originated from a eulogy delivered at the wake of the late Madam Diana Wee Soo Guat (10 November 1920-30 November 2015). My Amah and Me - Celebrating 95 Years of God's Faithfulness. It is now early in the morning; the day when I will say my final goodbye to my grandmother, who passed away earlier this week, at the grand old age of 95. I recall the events of the past week, and I am thankful that the tears of yesterday have given way to the smiles of today. My grandmother, Wee Soo Guat, has lived a full life, and I am happy that she has now gone to a better place; one without suffering; one without pain. I choose to remember Amah through the food that she cooked; something that all our family members have talked about and something that all of us will remember as long as we remember our Amah. Indeed each of the food items she cooked represents one aspect of the Tan Family matriarch. My Amah and Ah Kong loved each other dearly; and she was the wife

One of my main quests on my journey of motherhood is figuring out a way to reach the hearts of my boys. Mark and I believe that winning their hearts is the only way to ensure that we will be their first line of defence as they get older and face a world which is confusing yet alluring; we pray that we will always be one of the first voices they seek in the midst of relativism and blurred points of view. As Christians, we believe that knowing their hearts will pave the way for them to know the most important heart of all, their heavenly Father's heart. I have been pondering a great deal about the centrality of relationships in parenting, largely due to our very feisty 3-year-old who has been a completely different kettle of fish to parent as compared with his big Kor Kor. Our spirited one who does everything with thrice the amount of energy and enthusiasm as the rest of us; whose emotions are as fickle as the weather in England; whose main struggle at the moment is expressin

Essential oils have become part of our family's everyday routine. We diffuse Lavender in the boys' room at bedtime for a good night's sleep.  It's been a few months since we first began our journey into the world of essential oils by Young Living . Although I haven't had the time to blog much about the oils, they've pretty much become part of our family's life since then, and our go-to remedy for almost every ailment our family encounters.  I'm actually very happy with the way it's turned out, as it's much more appealing a thought to be applying some therapeutic-grade Lavender or Thieves to counter a headache or soothe a sore back than to be popping a Panadol or some other pain-relief medication.  And, believe me, as a tired mother of two extremely active and precocious boys, I have been needing all the help I can get! Yes, our two boys who keep us on our toes from dawn to dusk, 24/7! It was of great interest to me that

Suppose you go to bed tonight as usual, and while you are asleep a miracle happens, and the problems that you have are solved. But you are asleep and do not know that the miracle has happened; what will be the first small signs when you wake up in the morning that the miracle has happened and that the problem is solved? I am coming to the end of my first year of part-time studies for my Graduate Diploma in Counselling. The past few weeks have been about writing term papers; about transcribing client interviews for analysis and coming up with a personal model of counselling that I could use on myself as a client. It has been hard work. But I feel I have learnt so much; and much of my reflection has been about my own life - how my childhood affects the way I relate to my family, and how it affects the way I relate to my children as their parent. The Lim Family. My counselling studies have made me think of how I relate to my family, and I have been very thankful for their role in

Pixar's latest animated film Inside Out  has taken the world by storm. The movie, about five tiny emotions that live inside a person's head, has swept box offices across the world with its portrayal of how the human psyche is controlled by the interplay of five emotions, and how these emotions control how people act in the real world. As a counsellor, I was drawn by the interesting premise of the movie; so I took Sue to watch it on her birthday, as part of her getaway day in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. To our horror, the characters started speaking in Cantonese... and there were no subtitles! So that was how we had the most romantic experience of watching our first Cantonese movie together... (For the curious and uninitiated, you can view the Cantonese trailer here . Do also note that the post contains spoilers for those who have yet to watch the movie! ) Official Poster of Inside Out . Photo credits: http://pixartimes.com/ Language notwithstanding, both of us enjoyed the mov