The Laws in France

Counting down

2010-11-27T03:04:00.003+01:00

Soon and fast enough, Mathilda is 2 months old. With God's grace, she is growing and getting stronger everyday! She is sleeping well, waking up for her feeds once or 2x in the night even though she can fuss and cry non-stop some days, she is a wonderful girl, a blessing to us.

As for Matthew, he had officially completed his "2nd" pre-school final term and had "graudated". Soon, he will be moving on to Grade/Primary 1 wehre it's going to be a totally new environment.

It's going to be a great challenge for us as we will be going through a whole series of changes and transitions - going back to France with the 2 kids, packing/moving for China, housing-hunting in China, school-hunting for Matthew and starting him in a totally new and unfamiliar environment where he will be "lagged" behind for almost 2 terms. I can foresee the "stress" that we're going to face in the coming months to settling down in a new place with the 2 kids, especially since Mathilda is so little and DH will be still travelling for the first 4 months.

It had been almost 1 month since DH went back to France. I'm counting down for the trip back to Clermont in about 1 week time to join him in the preparation for the move. Getting Matthew ready for the big transitions and getting myself prepared for this "stressful" moment. I'm trying to relaxed and enjoy my last week here with family's help. DH tells me not to get too stressed as it's not good to my pre-diabetic condition. There are plenty of things to worry about but I can only entrust them to God who will carry me through. He has always been there for me and prepare the ways before me. I love God and I love my family. I prayed for peace, protection and blessing for our family during this transition period. Thank you our Mighty God!

She's one month old

2010-10-26T07:29:00.003+02:00

It seems like yesterday but the one month passed in no time! In Asia, it's a norm to have confinement after delivery. We have to be confine at home for at least one month, not leaving the house or doing any work. It's a month for us to recuperate. Some will hire a nanny to help with the baby and doing all the household chore that include cooking and feeding.
As for me, I have my wonderful mum to help me with all these. She cooked for me, bathe for Mathilda, bring Matthew to school and even help me with the feeding.

For me, of course, I didn't stay at home all the times. Mathilda was hospitalised due to the high level of jaundice. She has to be put under the light (photo therapy) for 2 days. I had to deliver the milk to the hospital and end up being very tired. But I'm glad she is better now. She is still quite "yellow". The doctor did a blood test and the liver was functioning properly. She is having breastfed jaundice and it will go away eventually. Thank God for that!

She has been quite a good gal, growing well and she wakes up 2 to 3 times to feed at night. Hopefully she will be able to sleep through soon. These few days she had some serious case of baby acne eczema. She had rashes all over her face, head and back. It is not harmful but it's just very irritating to have all these itching rashes.

Here some photos taken during the first month of her life!

She's here!

2010-09-29T12:38:00.011+02:00

After 9 months of waiting, she has finally arrived! My previous post mentioned about the Dr's visit and true enough, he decided that it's time for her to come and wait no more! :P

He suggested that I would admit to the hospital the very night and will be induced by the next morning. I was a little shocked as I have program planned for that night and the next as it's Matthew's 6th b'day! I was caught off hand as I don't know whether to go ahead or not but the gynae said, it's better not to delay anymore, so I guess I had to heed his advise.

Decided to go ahead with the gynae's suggestion, I give DH a call and he was supposed to be doing his last day audit (presentation) the next day. Thank God, it still went on well.

The sad side is that we couldn't celebrate Matthew's birthday with him. I had planned a little birthday celebration for him in school. He had chosen a cake himself and prepared some goodies bag for his friends. I think he had fun even without us. He is pretty excited about little sister's arrivals too.

Before getting ready for hospital, we went ahead with the dinner plan for that night. We met up with friends we haven't seen for years. They were back for vacation from Australia and it was good to see them and we have a good meal before getting ready for "action".

The whole process went on well. I was admitted to labour ward at about 11pm and getting all the preparation ready, I managed to sleep a little before they induced me at 4am. By then, I was about 5cm dilated. The gynae came to break the water bag at 8.15am and told me it won't be long. Before I know it, I was fully dilated by around 9.40am. The gynae came and with the midwives' help, I started to push and with just 2 pushes, she is out!
I was pretty shocked by how fast she came and how petite she is! She is very small as compare to Matthew. She is like a tiny kitten, weighs only 2.715kg/ 5lbs 15oz. Matthew was 3.75kg/8.14lbs. But she is a great gift from God, a little angel, a blessing to our family.

Let the journey begins...

2010-09-22T05:15:00.002+02:00

The nine months of ups and downs are almost over. DH is back for work but at least he will be here when the baby is out. We're getting ready for the little one to come.... waiting can be killing. The endocrinologist said I can't wait for too long but my gynae wanted to wait. The 2 conflicting proposal are making me confused too. Anyway, I think there's nothing I can do but to wait patiently and I believed that God's timing will be the perfect time!

Not too long ago. I was diagnosed with thyroid nodules. There's a big lump on my neck and it's quite big according to the Dr. I can't imagine I have a solid mass of the size of a table-tennis ball in the thyroid gland. Thankfully, the blood test came back to be negative (benign. Most of the time, it should be non-cancerous but the Dr wanted to make sure so the rest of the test and biopsy can only be done after baby is born. I'm worried but I will just have to leave all to God who is in control. I have been through so much and God has always provide a way out for me. He is the only one who can make miracle happens...

I will be going for another check tomorrow and hopefully my gynae will give me some light when it's going to end... or I should be saying when will the next journey begins. All of us are getting excited.

Matthew will be turning 6 in 2 days time and he is ready to be a big brother. He will prayed for us everyday and even said that maybe little sister will be born on his birthday. I prayed that God will help both my children to be strong and healthy, giving them wisdom and love, helping mummy to teach and guide them. Thank God for your graciousness upon our family... We love you GOD!

Month of August

2010-08-18T07:24:00.002+02:00

Wow... time just flew by in seconds. It has been 3 weeks since DH is back with us. He just went back yesterday nite and Matthew misses him the very nite without daddy. I can't imagine how badly affected it can be for Matthew! He feels so upset and even cried in his sleep...it's the first time ever. He must have enjoyed daddy's company since they were together everyday for the past 3 weeks. They did so many activities together - from fetching him to and from school and music class, jogging and swimming together,watching movie, visiting the parks and having short trips to Malacca. Daddy has been taking very good care of him since mummy needs her rest. I guess he will be better in a few days times. But it still sadden my heart to see him upset.

As for myself, I'm getting bigger, heavier and more tired than before. My blood sugar is not well-controlled. I have to increase my dosage to twice a day and sometime it still get out of range if I don't watch my diet. I'm quite frustrated with the need to watch my diets so carefully but on the other hand, I know it will be over soon. I'm almost 34 weeks now and according to the doctor, I might need to be induced by the 38th weeks as the placenta tends to deteriorate after that. I'm not very keen to have a Cesarean section so hopefully all will be under God's control and blessing!

DH will be coming back again in mid-Sept for an audit (business trip) and hopefully he will be back in time to be with me during the delivery...I'm quite worried to be doing it on my own since it was 6 years ago for the last one.

I'm praying for the condition of the baby and myself. I need to be careful of my diet during this last month. Also need to prepare for the arrival for the little one but not neglecting Matthew at the same time. I prayed that everything will be well-planned and controlled.

It's been almost 3 weeks!

2010-07-10T08:21:00.002+02:00

I couldn't believe it! It has been almost 3 weeks since we are back. Everything seems to be in place and we are more or less back in our routine now!

Matthew as usual did so well on the flight back home. He enjoyed the movie, game and slept quite well unlike me who only managed to have a little sleep as the position is not very comfortable.

It feels so good to be home (mum's house). Everythings from big to small are well -taken care of. Thank you to my wonderful mum who took good care of me and Matthew. The only problem is my blood sugar are really out of control. The food here are easily available but not good for my condition now. I have to watch my diet and count the calories which I'm not used to... I'm still trying to find out what are the food that I can or can't eat. There are days where my level is so high that I can feel the tightening/contraction... I know that's not a good sign but I'm trying and hopefully I could resist the temptation of the "goodies".

Matthew has started school in Singapore for the first time! It was a challenge for both of us as we are really lost on the first day! Not sure which class to go, what to bring and who to meet but Thank God, all turned out well for Matthew.
It's 4 hrs school for him and he performed quite well on the first day even though he didn't know anyone and it's an unfamilar environment for him. I'm very proud of him even though he might not be progressing the same speed like the rest but he adapts very well and seems to enjoy it very much. I also think his classmates are nice kids and he is quite well-accepted in the class.

Matthew also enjoy the company of my family. He has more people to interact with and seem to be more sociable now (though it's still quite difficult during the first week). He attends Sunday school, enjoys it and requests to go back again. He eats so well that he seems to put on a little since he's back. Maybe my mum is a better cook than I do or it's less stressful for him here? He finishes the snack he brings to school everyday unlike in France, he hardly wants any snack even though he played a lot and expands lot of energy.

As for myself, life isn't as interesting for me here as compared to France. Maybe it's because I don't drive now and it's difficult for me to walk for too long when I'm out... that why I'm quite relunctant to get out of the house except walking Matthew to school and going to doctor's visits. But I'm sure I'll get busier when the baby arrives so it's good to be at home resting now!

Time to go??

2010-06-15T16:17:00.007+02:00

IT's really time to pack up and leave... oh mine! Time has gone by so fast, I can hardly have time to rest (esp last week). There were too many events, farewells and "partying" going on last week. We had farewell for Kelly who will be leaving for Ireland on Monday.

Kelly's family and our family came in 2007 and we knew each other since then. She is a very nice and outgoing lady who make friends so easily. A lot of people will miss her and her family... especially since ASM (the rugby club in Clermont) won the Championship this year. They had been in the Final 11 times but never won any title but this year... it was a great present for them as Kelly's hubby is the coach of the team... and it's been 3 years! It's been a long wait for the Clemontois! Everyone was crazy and celebrating, rejoicing, crying... it's a good memory for us too!

Tuesday was a farewell coffee for Christy, Amy and myself. We also came around the same time in 2007 and it's been 3 years! They got us each a very special gift and we had a great time saying Goodbye.

Thursday was the last session of the Chit-Chat group. We had a party at Jessica's house in the countryside. She has a beautiful house. I always enjoy the group as I can learn and practice my French. The ladies were fun and kind and it's really good to know so many people from around the world... I think we had people from 11 countries this year, mainly French and American, also Spanish, Irish, Indian, Romanian, English, Dutch, Italian, New Zea-lander and of cos me from Singapore! It was a great experience getting to know people from different countries!

Corrine giving me a farewell gift from the Chit-Chat group!

Friday was a busy day as well. We had the Ladies bible-study group's coffee cum farewell. This group of ladies will be most missed because we had been through a lot together. We prayed for each other, learning the word of God together, minister to each other and being there when someone is in need! This is really a special group and all of them are so kind to me. I'm so grateful that God has sent these ladies into my life for these years and May God continue to use them to minister to more ladies out there! They had a mini baby shower for me too. One of the ladies made a cake especially for me as I can't have sweet dessert.. she make the cake without sugar but still taste good... Thank you, Daria!

Ladies from Bible Study group

The no sugar cake that my friend make for the baby's shower!

A traditional Gien teapot for those who are leaving.

Saturday was another long day. Matthew has swimming class in the morning. Kermess (school carnival) in the afternoon and Farewell dinner with Mr et Mrs Renault!
Matthew enjoyed himself so much this year at the school carnival. He danced well, played well unlike the previous year.

We had a church pinic on Sunday. It was the usual summer picnic before the summer vacation but the weather wasn't very "summer". It was cool and Thank God it only started raining when it's time to leave. Meanwhile, Matthew had totally enjoyed himself at his friend's birthday party at Kizou.

The week was busy but full of interesting events... it's really time to pack up and get ready to go home very soon!

Doctor's visit

2010-06-10T15:30:00.001+02:00

Doctor's visit went well so far. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetic again and this time the blood sugar level was pretty high. I was referred to an Endocrinologist to prescribe me with the proper diet's advise and insulin treatment if needed. And as far as I wanted to control my blood sugar (avoiding sweet altogether and cutting down carbohydrate/starch), the level was still high in the morning. The doctor said it's not too serious but I needed the insulin shot every morning as it might pose risk to the baby. I was a little disappointed but to think about it... it's better be safe than sorry. It was really difficult for me to come to this stage and I really prayed for all to go through well the next few months.

I also went for my ultrasound scan last week. Getting to know the gender of the baby make me feel so excited. Matthew and DH both hoping for another boy while I wanted a girl (of cos). The scan went well and long... about 45 mins. Beside checking the basic stats, we also have a 3D scan of the little one. It was the first time for DH to see "pop pop" (little nickname for the little one as she popped a lot).
The gynae had a hard time trying to get a good picture as she really move a lot. She said at one point, "Can you stop moving?" We all laughed as we can see her moving and waving at us. It's God's creation and it's beautiful!
By now, you should have guessed it! Matthew's going to have a baby sister. He's a little disappointed but I guess he will still love and take good care of her. :)
Thank God for His protections and blessing that have been showered upon us...

This is God's wonderful creation!

We can clearly see the eyes, nose, ears , mouth and hands!

South of France

2010-05-20T19:58:00.000+02:00

We had a very long weekend last weekend and DH was planning to visit our friends in Chamonix and then a visit to Milan but turned out that we have to change our plan as our friends have some visitors for that busy weekend... so in the end, we decided to go to Cote D'Azur area in the South of France.

The weather forecast didn't show good weather but we went ahead with our plan. On the first night we left at about 5.30pm and the night was cold and long. The first stop is Montpellier which is about 3 1/2 hrs away. It was a wet night... the wind was strong with heavy downpour. It was quite difficult to drive and the temperature was about 5 degree C. It was freezing for me and it was tired for Matthew. Finally we came to the hotel. It was in downtown Montpellier. It's a small local hotel with basic essential but the staff was quite friendly and helpful. We were very tried and sooner than we know, we were asleep.

We woke up pretty early as Matthew is an early bird recently... Around 7am, we were all awake. Getting ourselves ready, we are all set to explore the town. It was a quiet morning, we left the hotel at around 9am and most of the shop are still closed. Nice and peaceful, we have a very nice morning walk to the Cathedral, the market place and Place de la Comedie. Next we went on the tram that take us to the Polydone and Antigone and before we know it, we had reached the Esplanade de L'Europe.

By the time, we finished our lunch (we had subway sandwiches for lunch), it's about time to leave for Marseilles. The weather was great... unlike what the night before. Marseilles is a well-known port and with good weather, it's pretty. We took the petite train all the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral at the top of the hill... it was a nice view from the top but the journey was a little bumpy for me!
We had bouillabaisse for dinner... a well known Provencals fish-stew that originate from Marseilles' port.

On the following day, we had a scenic drive along the coastal area - the Famous Cote D'Azur. It was indeed very Scenic and with good weather.. it was prefect!

We arrived at Cannes that night... it happened to be the Cannes Films Festival... but of cos we didn't have the ticket and didn't see any celebrities but we did took picture at the "red carpet". We left for Nice the same night as most of the hotel are either too expensive or fully-booked.

After a restful night, we drove to Monaco from Nice the next day. Along the way, there are some pretty site too.

Monaco is having the Formula 1 car racing that weekend, so it was packed with fans all over... it's quite common to see luxury sport cars like Ferrari and Bentley. Again, we didn't have any ticket and we just happen to be outside the race track...

We had our dinner at Old Nice which is pretty nice...

On our way back to CF... it was a long drive with the strong wind and the heavy traffic... it took us about 10hrs to get back from Nice - including lunch break and many pit-stops!

The famous Milau bridge on the way back...

An adventure month??

2010-04-26T14:31:00.008+02:00

It's almost end of April... it seems like time passes faster when we're on vacation. Having the spring break is definitely a good time to rest but most importantly - good family bonding!

April is a month full of mystery and adventure for us...firstly, I'm officially into my 2nd trimester. The first appointment with the new gynaecologist turned out to be great despite the long waiting time. She did a very detailed scan, measuring the size, heartbeat, length, age of the baby and etc. All the result turned out to be good... I feel so blessed and thankful to have come to this stage! God always do amazing things in His way...

Another big event is the vacation in Egypt. Initially, I was quite worried as there's always warning about going to Egypt - water, food, safety, especially since I'm expecting. But it turned out to be the most relaxing tour we had so far. That's the difference when you joined a guided tour with a private driver and a personal tour guide, being taken care of everything. It's just meant for the 3 of us. It's no doubt the most expensive trip we had so far but I think it's worth the price. DH enjoyed a lot as he doesn't need to drive around in the crazy traffic of Cairo.

Being able to visit the Pyramid is a dream come true for DH!

Matthew enjoys riding the camel with Daddy. It's a wonderful experience riding the camel in the desert! I would love to do so too but the guide said the ride might be too bumpy for me.

Taking the cruise on the River Nile is a very relaxing experience.

View of Cairo and River Nile

The food is not fantastic. We almost had the same kind of food everyday that we all agree having McDonald is a better choice!

Having McDonald meal while waiting for our train.

The overnight Train ride to and fro Aswan and Luxor was worse than the turbulence in air. It took about 11 - 13 hrs and I can hardly sleep

Overall the trip was great. We had a few days of extremely hot weather 40 degree C/ 104 degree F. I almost got into heat exhaustion at the valley of the kings, having signs like nausea and dizzy and feeling breathless. Matthew and I had to stop after visiting only one tomb while Daddy and the guide continue with the rest. It was even too hot for the guide but Thank God, we survived!

Here are the rest of the photos if anyone is interested!

It was a long tough month!

2010-03-22T15:52:00.002+01:00

Praise God for His protection! All have been good so far even though it was tough. Having those sleepless night and the morning sickness wasn't fun and it really drained me out. The pain wasn't that great too. I was basically resting and doing nothing most of the time. Thank God Matthew has been very good, playing on his own and letting me rest as much as I need. I had a doctor appointment last week cos I was having really bad pain. Again, thank God for His blessing, everything seem ok. I had an ultrasound and the doctor showed Matthew the baby's legs and arms... he was amused and of cos very excited about it! We're overwhelmed by His miraculous touch and can't stop praising Him

As usual, DH is away... but soon he will be back. And hopefully he will stay around for a while without having to travel so much. He did help me with the housework that he had never done before... I'm thankful for him and love to have him around to lighten my workload. Matthew misses daddy very much as I can't do much with him now. We have been counting the no. of days left before DH is back! :)

Pretty soon, I will be entering into 2nd trimester and I'm looking forward to having my energy back. It was tough but definitely a good start!

It seems like a dream...

2010-02-23T20:41:00.002+01:00

We're having the winter vacation but we can't go anywhere due to my condition. I need bedrest most of the time and can't walk for too long. That's a very tiring task for Matthew as he has to bear with me at home practically doing "nothing". On top of that, DH has so many trips these 2 months... he's not at home all the time. He was in Russia 2 weeks ago and is now in Brazil and will be there for 2 weeks and will be back for a week before leaving for China again. But good news is there won't be much travel for the next few months. :)

Right now, I'm into my 8th week. I feel tired all the time. 10hrs of sleep is never enough for me and sometimes with the queasy feeling, it makes me worse. I haven't been feeling good and had some cramps... it always freak me out, especially when I see the spotting/bleedings. It was all well until 2 days ago, I was bleeding again... more this time and DH is away again...I was very discourage and upset, don't know whether is it going to happen again. I tried to keep my mind at peace and rest as much as possible. I know I have an appointment with the doctor today and waited patiently.

And guess what??? I saw it this morning!!! There's someone in there.... the doctor smile as she said it to me! She is very concerned too as I was bleeding abnormally but when she saw the flutter on the screen, she said it is good. I was very excited as she showed me the screen... I couldn't believe my eyes, there's a heartbeat and it's fluttering. This is the moment when I know it's HIM... Thanking and Praising God as He is the only one who can make this possible.

I can't thank all those who have been praying for us...I'm really excited to share God's blessing with you. I love you and May God's glory and blessing be with you too! I know it won't be easy for the next few months but I'm sure He will see me through! AMEN!

The Power of Prayers!

2010-02-05T09:35:00.004+01:00

Do you believe in the power of prayers? Yes, I do and will always do! So many friends have been praying for us for my situation, even my Matthew has been praying for me and the baby to grow well. He's such a sweet and tendering child. I strongly believed that God's working on me! God is good. He hears us and He is doing miracle on me!!!

Remember the blood test that I'd mentioned? I did it and it was postive again... and of cos doubling... that's a good sign according to the doctor. What a joy that God's giving me in the midst of the struggle. But the scary thing is - I was still bleeding/spotting even till now. I woke up on Tuesday morning, noticing the increased amount and the cramp, it really freaked me out. Trying to stay calm and hope for the best, I carry on the day. The clinic called to inform me of the pleasing result and when I told them I am still bleeding, they said otherwise. The doctor ordered another blood work to be done on the following day. That night, I could hardly closed my eyes, I was so worried and cried and cried and thought that something bad is going to happen again.

the result came yesterday... Thank God, it was still good and doubling which is a very good sign. I will have my first appointment next Tuesday at the doctor's office. I'm hopeful and still praying for the best to happen this time round. It's really getting my nerves as the last 2 miscarriages were only diagnose after the 8th weeks. And now, I'm only in my 5-6th weeks. It's really too early to tell if everything will be alright but I'm praying and I believed that God will see us through this time round.

Will you join me and pray for us?? Do not underestimate the power of Prayers.... It's wonderful!

Is it going to be a false hope again??

2010-01-31T14:58:00.004+01:00

A month ago, I have started the new hormone treatment instead of the hormone drugs that doesn't seem to work for me. The procedure is not as tedious as IVF but bad enough as the injection needs to be given everyday for 15days or more depending on my reaction to the drugs. I can't imagine it can be so hard to get another baby. The pain and traumatic experience that I have to go through... I really can't describe. But thank God for His Faithfulness and never ceasing Love and words that encourage me to keep trying.

I'm currently doing a Beth Moore's Bible-study on the "Living Beyong Yourself" that explore on the Fruit of the Spirit. It's helping me to renew my faith and strengthen my spiritual walk with God. It's really good. It reminds me of the difficulties I face and How I can entrust God in my situation.

My doctor ordered a blood work done yesterday to check if it was positive. I didn't really have much hope as I was bleeding...but the result came back and it was positive. I need to do another tomorrow to check if it's doubling (to see if the fetal is growing). I'm praying very hard for a positive result despite the fact that I'm still spotting. I really need God's miracle on me and I know only He can make it happen.... Please keep me in your prayers! Lord, touch me with your healing hands and give me your blessing with the miracle, Thank you, God! A-men.

Time for snow!

2010-01-20T11:23:00.005+01:00

IT was freezing cold since we arrived at Clermont... it was -5°C and there's lots of snow... but this time round, we were ready for it unlike in the first year! However it was hard as the weather in S'pore was hot and humid 30 °C so it was still very cold for us.

Trying to get Matthew dressed in the morning is a big struggle as we always don't how should we dressed him... but better to be safe than sorry... here's our snow adventure!

Night view from Matthew's room

Day's view

Snow fight - Father and son

Aiming at the camera "man" - mummy

He almost got it!

nice one...

Trying to go up the slope with the luge

Going down on the luge

Mr. Yves Renault (DH's ex-boss in S'pore) giving them a push!

Brother's wedding

2010-01-06T10:58:00.000+01:00

My brother's wedding on Boxing Day!
I was pretty busy helping mum to prepare brother's wedding, running errands and helping with the guests list...happy event despite the busy schedule!

Matthew getting ready for the event

Matthew with Dad and mum, grandma and great-grandma!

Waiting patiently for the dinner to start!

March-in

Signing the paper

Cake-cutting

Champagne-pouring

Our Family and Uncle's at dinner

Our Immediate Family

The Fours!

Congrats to my brother and sis-in-law on this big day... May God bless them with Love from this day on...

Night Safari

2010-01-02T10:57:00.000+01:00

A trip to the Night Safari - too crowded but Matthew enjoyed it!

A month back Home...

2009-12-30T10:06:00.001+01:00

It was a busy month of Dec! I was ready to get home for Chilli crab, simple fare and all the delicious food that I missed so much. It was unusual for us to take SQ this year...they were having promotion on the new flight A380... pretty excited about the new flight, we were ready to go home (me and Matthew only).

child meal on the plane

Enjoying his treat with the entertainment system on

Lots of fun and shoppings, eating and gatherings was done in this month... I wasn't very diligent in taking photos when DH wasn't here, so not much to show!

1st gathering on the 2nd day of arrival in conjunction of friend's birthdays!

X'mas Celebration:
X'mas tree at Place de Jaude before going back to S'pore

Orchard X'mas lighting and decors + shopping trips!

X'mas gathering at Bernie's house

Matthew preparing goodies bags and presents for friends!

Matthew opening the presents!

Matthew has gotten 3 remote-controlled cars this year... this is one of them!

Waited so long...

2009-11-23T18:57:00.002+01:00

It's been almost a month since I had the car accident. Finally, I have gotten it fixed last week. I had waited more than 2 weeks for the appointment but Thank God I don't have to pay anythings for the repairs! I had left the car in the workshop for a week and was given a rented car to drive. It's a very new car and it's the same model as the one I have... which made it so easy to drive!

During the week, I bought Matthew to Kizou for playgroup with his friend. They have fun playing together and we have lunch at the newly opened KFC. To my surprise, I heard someone speaking to her daughter that have a very familiar accent, sound like she is either from Malaysia or Singapore. Furthermore, she speaks both English and french and she doesn't look like she is from PRC. Determined to find out, I approached her with a "Bonjour" and started a conversation. As expected, she is indeed from S'pore...and have been living in Clermont for the past 2 years. She didn't have the chance to meet any other expats' wives as her husband is a French and he is not working for Michelin. She is so excited to meet someone as she was quite deprived for the past 2 years, not being able to know any Asian friends (not to mention that we are from the same country).

Her name is Pamela and she has a daughter, Victoire, who is 3 years old. Somehow, Matthew and Victoire clicked off really well as they both speak the same languages (English and French). We had a great time chatting and Victoire can't even bear to say Goodbye when we are ready to go...she was really sad and wanted to go with us! it's really surprising for me to meet S'porean in Clermont after living here for almost 3 years (except co-workers from S'pore office). We exchange contacts and I even invited her to join me for activities like chit-chat group and silk-painting. She was thrilled as she didn't know where to go and what to do after being in Clermont for 2 years. I'm really glad to meet someone who share the same culture and cravings for shopping and food in S'pore! :P

I had an accident again!

2009-10-22T13:50:00.003+02:00

Remember not too long ago, I had a little accident where the car bumped into the side of my car door while he was reversing and 2 days ago, I had a bigger accident! This time round, it was with a BUS! Yes, I was hit by a bus! Err, maybe not me, it's just the car :P Anyway, I was very upset and angry when it happened.
It was really scary as my friend and her baby was in my car too. It happened too sudden and was too shocking. BUT it's not my fault!

Let me describe a little. Both the bus and me were trying to enter an roundabout where he's in the bus lane (already green for him) and when my light turns green, I started to move on, with the bus at my side. Everything was okay until he decided to turn right (he was going straight initially but saw the road was closed due to some repair works), he somehow decided to make a right turn with a tight angle. He was really near to me. I slowed down my car and wanted to let him go first but there he goes - turned and bumped onto my car. I said to myself... oh no that's it! We both stopped at the next available spot where I get down to inspect the car. Then I realised that the font bumper and the side were crashed while he only suffered a little scratch.

Feeling lost and frustrated, I really didn't know what to do... I know I can claim from insurance and I needed to fill in an accident form but I was too scared that I've forgotten everything! We exchanged contacts and he drove off.

Later that morning, I consulted my friends when I go for my bible study. As I tell them what had happened, I started to cry realising that it was so closed! I think I'm still in shock and really need an outlet. People who knows me know that I'm very emotional. I can't stop crying as the thought of the bus hitting me really scare me. If the bus were to swayed a little more, he might just hit me. I really thank God for His protection, it's only the car that was damaged and no one was hurted! I feel grateful as there's friend to help me with the communication. She was kind enough to follow up on this issue. I can't deal with the french with my limited vocabulary and the worst is DH is away till end of the month. I can't wait for him to come back. It needed to be settled within the next 5 days!

So I have my friend to call the company and the driver. We met up with the bus driver the next day to fill in the "Constat" - a form for accident. No police report was needed as there were no injury. And without any disagreement, he knows it's his fault and was very apologetic. Unlike his company who seem to shift the blame to me!

This morning, I went to the garage to have the photos taken to be examined by the "expert" of the insurance to determine whether it can be covered by insurance. I was nervous about it...and asked how much it's going to cost and he told me it's going to be 2,000 euros ! Oh man, it's so expensive! I'm really speechless and I really prayed that the insurance will cover it! Otherwise, DH is going to kill me. It's really a mishap as accident always happen when he's away and that give him lots of stress!

I hoped that I would be more careful next time and thank God for His mercy and protection!

Someone's here!

2009-10-17T16:28:00.016+02:00

We have been in Clermont for about 2 years and 9 months and this is the first time someone is visiting us from Singapore beside Michelin's co-workers and family.
Hilda (our friend from home church in S'pore, esp DH since he has known her for more than 15 years) is having a 3 weeks vacation in Europe - Munich, England and France and decided to pay us a visit since she's alone. After much communication, we decided to show her around on the weekend as DH is very busy with his travel schedule.

Last Friday evening, DH returned from Grenoble, about 3 to 4 hours drive away from Clermont. Then I picked him up at the car rentals and off we go again on the road! It's about another 3 hours drive to Blois train station where we're suppose to meet Hilda. I drove for the 1st hour and decided to pass over to DH since it was raining cats and dogs. I can barely see anything! It's too dangerous for me to drive. By the time we got to Blois, it about 9pm. Finally we met up with Hilda and we then head for the hotel which is about 30min drive.

On Saturday morning, we visited 2 castles at Loire - Chambord and Chenonceau. These are the 2 most interesting and popular among all the castles of the Loire since we have very limited time.

Chambord, never fails to impress!

At the top of the castle

Another view of Chambord

Chenonceau - it's a pity they are doing some repair work

Another side of the castle

Huge pumpkins found in the vegetable farm beside the castle

Feeding the donkey some hazel nuts off the ground.

We set off to Bourges at about 5pm. It's another town and it's where they are famous for the cathedral. We had dinner at this cosy French restaurant that evening and had enjoyed the time we spend together.
It took us about another 2 hours drive to Clermont. By the time we reached home, we were all very tired - after the long walk and drive, who's not tired.

On Sunday, we somehow have a very relaxed morning as we thought Hilda might need the rest before taking the train back to Paris that evening. By the time we get out of the house, it's almost 12 noon. DH took Hilda to the Notre dame (the black cathedral of our town) and walk her a little in the town centre.

Main Cathedral in town

Place de Jaude - Main square that's very near our appartment

A very typical alley - this was named after Blaise Pascal

Another church in town - notre dam du port

This is a view of clermont from a high viewpoint and there's the black Cathedral that can be seen from far.

This is the landmark of Puy de Dome

Puy Du Dome - famous dormant volcano

Volcano crater and chaine of Puy at the background.

Look! the wind was so "strong" and it was very cold that day.

We had a really good time with Hilda but I wondered who else would come visit us here in Clermont??

Birthday's celebration

2009-09-30T18:04:00.000+02:00

Playing musical chair at Sofia's birthday

Having William (Matthew's best friend) over to celebrate Matthew's 5th birthday

Can you spot Matthew?

This is Matthew's class

Taking medicine as he was quite sick for more than a week!

Matthew's 5th Birthday!

2009-09-23T14:38:00.001+02:00

How fast time past? Matthew is turning 5 tomorrow! This is the first year Daddy is not around for his birthday. Nevertheless, Daddy got a new Mickey's backpack for him as a birthday present and he loves it!

We went to playground this morning despite the "not so good" weather. Matthew had fun with Michaela's kids. On our way back home, Matthew had an accident! He was running down-slope with Daniel and they run so fast that I couldn't catch up with them. Being very clumsy, Matthew had a fall and hit his forehead quite badly. I almost fainted when I saw him with his blood-covered face...I thought he could have hurt his eyes as there was blood all over... it's really scary!

After questioning Daniel, we knew that Matthew hit his head against the corner of the sewage's cover. I was really panicking and dunno what to do. It doesn't seem too bad but it's painful enough. I bought him to the pharmacist and ask if he needs to go to the doctor. She said it should be okay but there's a hole/cut and it's still bleeding. I'm worried and decided to call the doctor to see if she can give Matthew a check. Thank God, it was okay... the doctor had the wound cleaned and made sure there's no infection. He gave us some solution for his dressings and he would need that for the next 3 days!

Isn't it a frightening day with DH being away and Matthew's accident? What a surprise present for him on his 5th Birthday!

Trip to Disneyland in Paris

2009-09-08T20:51:00.007+02:00

What a tiring trip we had over the weekend - a trip to Disneyland in Paris! As usual, we started off by driving to our Hotel near Disneyland on Friday nite. It was crazy... we got lost, we couldn't find the hotel and it was almost 11 pm and it was really cold outside. We decided to call the hotel and found out that we're really lost, we were at another town which is about 20 mins away. We couldn't find the address on our GPS which made us panic as we got no map. The receptionist told us the way and DH tried to follow her direction. It was pitch dark out there, we could hardly see anything and we had to look out for direction sign. We felt so relieved when we found the hotel finally. It was out in the country side in a chateau.
Here's the pic of the Hotel. It looks so different at nite!

Disneyland in Paris wasn't great.. it's too expensive if you don't have the annual pass. It was supposed to be cloudy with shower which made DH thinks that the crowd might be lesser... but nevertheless, it didn't stop all the tourists and the locals. We were struck in queue with cars even before we reached the toll/parking gate.

All the queue for the ride were so long. We had to queue 60 to 70 mins for a 5 - 10 mins ride. The wait really kill us. It was so tiring but Matthew did enjoy himself watching the shows and the knowing the Disney characters.

Here's some of the picture taken:

First Day of School

2009-09-03T20:28:00.001+02:00

It's time to go back to school after the long summer break. I always wondered whether Matthew is aware of what's going on in his life? He has grown so much during the past one year and mature in his speech and behavior.

It's not always easy on the first day of school. He was ready for school thinking to see his friends, having the same teacher, being in the same classroom despite me telling him there will be changes. But unfortunately, the school has more changes than expected this year - he's not going to be in the same class with his best friends, W, and that upsets him a lot. He wasn't willing to stay and wanted to go home. He cried and when I left the classroom, he cried even louder. That made my heart aches.

Nevertheless, I guess Matthew's adaptivity has improved over time. When I get him for lunch, he was happy and the teacher said he was doing okay. I guess he has really grown.

Oh by the way, he has crossed another milestone. He had learned how to ride a bicycle on 2 wheels without the trainers... that's a big step for him! We're going sign him up for Taekwando and swimming classes this year... hopefully everything will turn out well!

Home Sweet home...

2009-08-30T17:30:00.002+02:00

After a 3 long weeks of driving and traveling, we made it home at last! This was the longest trips we have taken so far... I mean it's really far, about 8,000 km and we are driving most of the time! Wow.... it's an adventurous but tiring trip. Matthew as usual was a great traveler - thanks to all the in-car entertainment that kept him occupied.

I must say Norway is the best among the 3 countries however it's the most expensive! We had hamburger and fries almost everyday as it's the cheapest which is about 15 euros per meal. Somethings that I noticed after looking at the photos... I gained much fat toward the end of the trip... thanks to those Coke and fries ~~~~@@@@@~~~~ really depressing... need to work out more when Matthew is back to school.

Anyway, Norway had many beautiful fjords...the driving was eventful - meeting cow, sheep, goats on the road and of cos many pretty scenery!

Take a good look at the photos of the pretty fjords taken by my brave Hubby as he stood under the rain to capture all these pretty shots. All these are taken in Norway - Oslo, Lillehammer, Geiranger, Bergen and Kristiansand.

I will post more photos of Sweden and Denmark...

A little update on the vacation!

2009-08-12T19:39:00.006+02:00

It's been a relax but tiring trip so far! We are now in Lillehammer, a little town in Norway where they held the 94' Winter Olympic. Weather was somehow cloudy with little drizzle and rain.

It's been almost 2 weeks and we have been to Malmo, Kalmar, Oland, Stockholm, Uppsala and Goteborg in Sweden and Oslo in Norway. We'll continue our journey in Norway with the famous fjords cruise.

Here's some photos for a review!

Changing of guard at Denmark's palace

The Little mermaid

One of the ride in Tivoli garden

One of the many castles

One of the most spectacular buildings in the world - 90º Twisted Building - a skyscraper in Malmo,Sweden

A square in Stockholm

Vasa - a warship that was sank on her maiden voyage and was salvaged after more than 300 years.

One of Matthew's Favourite - canon

At Uppsala museum

The largest hemispherical building in the world and at the same time the largest scale model of the solar system is the Ericsson Globe

It's on one of the many islands in sweden

One of the many cravings during the Iron age - it's an Unesco site

Hitting the grand vacances!

2009-08-03T18:45:00.002+02:00

3 days ago, we started our long vacation of the year. It's time of the year where we have 2 months of summer vacation for school and 3 weeks of break from work during summer. And this year, DH has decided to take a big adventure trip - to the Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden and Norway). It's an exotic place where it's not so common and we are going to drive ... do you know how far it is? I think maybe a few thousand KM away but don't know how far, all I know is it's very far away from France.

As usual, we set off on Friday nite...drove for 5 hrs to Reims in France. We were caught in a traffic jam in Clermont, took almost an hour to leave Clermont... can you imagine how bad it is? I was taking the wheel and with a manual gear, I almost have leg cramps, it's bad!

On sat morning, we set off at around 9.30am, knowing that we would be in the car for the whole day, we had some movies ready for Matthew. We were heading to Hamburg, Germany and it took us about 10hrs to get there. There was one moment when we drove across a few borders in 5 mins...although there's no need to stop but it's was interesting to cut across 3 countries in these 5 mins. There were many road construction which slowed down the driving. It's tiring but overall was manageable. As it was late, we took a quick stroll around to get our dinner. DH somehow lost his way and we accidentally hit the "red-light district". It's not as prominent as the one in Amsterdam but it's not a nice walk.

Finally on Sunday, we are hitting Denmark - Copenhagen, officially starting our tour. We drove for about 5 hr from Hamburg to Copenhagen which include a ferry ride of about 45mins. Finally got to the hotel and head to the very first sight - the Little mermaid. The statue of little mermaid were right off the shore and it's where the fairy-tale story begins. Next we hitted the Tivoli garden, it's a garden and it also an adventure park with all kind of adventure rides. To my surprise, Matthew who used to be so afraid of even the merry-go-round, loves the park and took many of the interesting and scary rides... I think he's ready for Disneyland!

Today's weather wasn't as good. It's drizzling and grey the whole day. We went to see the changing of guards at Amalienborg palace... not as grand as the one in Buckingham palace. We also visited the stoget (longest pedestrian street for shoppers), round tower and have our lunch alongside the canal... just like boat quay area.

It's still very cloudy as we get back the hotel.... we are now going out for our dinner .... will update again soon!

Why is this happening again???

2009-07-10T16:18:00.002+02:00

WHY? WHY? WHY? Why do you have to give me hope and take that joy away again? About 3 weeks ago... I realized that I was expecting, I was overjoyed. DH was away for business trip and I told him the good news. He was so happy as we had been waiting for this for almost 2 years since the last miscarriage...

Things ain't as smooth as we would pray for... I had cramps and spotting, called the doctor's office but as usual, they asked me to wait as it's too early. I did a blood test and it shows positive. Happy and I tried to rest as much as possible and so far have bled once since then. I was praying for the best this time round but it just didn't work out. I can tell you, as I'm trying to write this, my tears can't stop rolling down. I can't believe that it's happening to us again! I'm really angry and becoming very bitter with myself. I'm devastated and feel like knife is stabbing me... it's so painful... really very painful!

DH is away in China this week and will only be back tomorrow. I had an appointment this morning with the gynae as I had spotting and cramps during the last week. I was asked to do a few HCG blood test to see if it's doubling. The clinic called and told me the results... it's low and it's a sign of miscarriage. I was asked to wait for it to happen naturally in the next few weeks. I'm wordless and burst into tear once off the phone. I sent a sms to DH (on his way to the airport) but still can't believe that it happened to us again! I can't imagine how DH is going to handle this... He had always wanted another child but things just ain't right for us.

DH called just a few minutes ago.... I can tell that he is as devastating as I am or might be even more than me. We are going through this painful moment again...
Dear GOD, pls help us! Pls heal us as we go through another traumatic lost. Pray also for my little angel...and Matthew who knew the existence of the "baby" comforting me, asking me not to cry because he is here. Isn't he such a wonderful child, shouldn't I be contended with just Matthew??

School's carnival - kermess

2009-06-23T17:51:00.009+02:00

June is a busy month. It's the end of the school year and so lots of events. Firstly, there's farewell for ppl who are leaving Clermont, then there's lot of school events like carnival, outings, and shows (spectacle).

The theme for this year is dance so all the classes in school are putting up a dance show. Matthew's class did an African dance... and here's a video clip on it if you can spot him!

Family's visit

2009-06-03T17:26:00.000+02:00

May is a month full of vacation and holidays! We just came back from a 2 weeks tour when my family came. We had a great time together even though it was tiring. We managed to cover 5 countries in just 2 weeks - France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It was very good... My sisters had a great time... it's their first time in Europe and it's a long journey here! The trip was way too tired for my mum but she enjoyed spending times with Matthew... same go for my sisters!

I couldn't thank DH enough to have the trips so well-planned despite his busy travels and schedule. He had the itinerary planned and the hotels booked and of cos he was the one who drove us around... He's such a wonderful hubby, isn't he?

Here's are some places we had been:

Mont St-Michel(France)

Chateau de la Loire(France):

Geneva (Switzerland):

Yvoire(France):

Venice(Italy):

Innsbruck (Austria):

Schloss Neuschwanstein (Germany):

Zurich, Luzern and Rhinefall (Switzerland):

Jungfrau-Top of Europe (Switzerland):

Too many good photos to show... I will have to do a slide on these!

Life is unpredictable

2009-05-14T15:00:00.002+02:00

Yesterday morning, I got the news that one of our friends passed away losing the fight to cancer. My heart was heavy. She's such a lovely wife and a mother of 4 and had been very optimistic and positive about the illness but after all, she had gone home to be with the Lord.

I'm in such a dilemma, should I be happy or sad? Someone might said,"What's wrong with you? How come you be happy?" People who know the Lord will know what I meant. It's just the physical body that's dead, the soul will ascend to heaven where our Father had prepared a place for us! That's the only place where there's no sickness, sadness, worry... only have love, happiness and joy! So why should we be sad if we know that after death, you will be in such a lovely place! Jesus had suffered death for our sins and only through Him, we can be redeemed and saved. And we can be sure where we would be heading after and eternally!

Life's really unpredictable, DH has a old classmate who was diagnosed with last stage cancer when she was getting a pre-martial health check. She didn't have any symptom before and when the news was announced, we were all so shocked. She got married and fought bravely with the illness, however, she had also gone home. We were sad too... she was only 36 and she was so active in children ministry and mission work but I guess she had fulfilled what God has planned for her!

I don't know what will happen tomorrow but I know God has a purpose for all of us in our lives. We should be thankful for who we're and what we've and praising God for His grace and mercies He had given us each day.

Long Weekend...

2009-05-05T20:32:00.003+02:00

Labour day falls on a Friday this year. Usually around this time, many ppl will start to travel to enjoy spring. I love springtime... it's getting warmer with the pretty and colourful flowers, it makes me feels happier. Clermont is well-known for it's gloomy weather... skies can be quite grey, so whenever the sun is shinning, I will take opportunties to walk... it's pretty nice!

Talking about travel... we did some travel to Belgium and The Netherland over the long weekend. We drove about 6 to 8 hrs for 3 days visit... it's crazy and tiring but worth the trip. We'd been to The Netherland during the 1st summer here but we didn't manage to visit the Keukenhoff garden (the world most beautiful garden- they claimed it andd I agree too). They are only opened for 2 months annually...what a great blessing to be able to enjoy these!

On the way to Keukenhoff, we drove by Belgium. We decided to visit Bruges and Ghent where many ppl recommended. Indeed, it was beautifully. We took the horse carriage in Bruges and waited 40 mins for the ride. It was a nice experience for Matthew...first time for myself and DH too.

Here are some photos we have taken.... enjoy!

Taken in Bruges and Ghent (Belgium)

Taken at Keukenhoff (Holland)

Easter break...

2009-04-25T19:33:00.006+02:00

wow... time really went by so fast.. it's end of April now. We haven't been doing much in the month of April... as DH was in China for 3 weeks and Matthew was on Easter holiday. We did some visit at Annecy, east side of France. It was a pretty town with mountain surrounding a lake. The weather was good and we had a good time. here are some pixs:

Field trip to the pottery workshop

2009-04-19T20:21:00.005+02:00

The school had a field trip today. They visited a pottery workshop or rather a museum at the countryside, about 40 mins drive. The teacher and the assistant together with 16 little ones and 5 parents had a fun time at the museum.

The guide explained about the different type of pottery, how they come about, the process of making pottery and some ancient artifacts. All these are done in French. I could understand most of it but those 4 almost 5 years old french kids got plenty of questions for the guide and was talking non-stop. I don't think Matthew can do that...it's pretty interesting.

At the end of the tour, all the children were given a chance to make somethings out of clay... Matthew as usual not into crafts making, simply refuse to do it or perhaps because I was around. He is usually very uncooperative when I'm around which puzzled me!

They did a picnic in school after the trip...(they usually either eat in the canteen or lunch at home)

Here are some picture of the little ones:

8th Wedding Anniversary!

2009-03-26T13:03:00.008+01:00

I went for chit-chat group this morning. The topic today was about wedding/marriage. This group of ladies are the mums from Matthew's school with a mixture of mainly French and American with a few others from England, Japan, India, New Zealand and of cos Singapore. I enjoyed this group as they talked about different things/cultures in their countries in French and English. It gives me the opportunity to speak and hear French.

Anyway, back to the topic - wedding. In the group, we shared about the different traditions in the respective countries about how they prepared the wedding, the making of the wedding gown and some brought along their wedding albums. Unlike us, most of them don't have an album like those taken in the studio. They would only have their photos taken on the wedding days itself like in the olden days either in the park, studio or church. I didn't have my album with me but only a few pictures. I love my photos, they looks great and till now... I still have great impression of my big day!

We had just celebrated our 8th wedding Anniversary 2 weeks ago at Bordeaux. It seems like we had just gotten married yesterday and now it's into 9th year of marriage. God has been graceful to us. He had great purpose for us in our lives of expatriation ever since we got married. It has been a wonderful experience.

Pictures taken at Bordeaux

March update!

2009-03-20T22:58:00.013+01:00

Matthew has started taking kiddy gym classes (age 3 to 6) every Wednesday since Sept. He was a little reluctant initially and cried for a few times (esp. after a vacation break). But after insisting for a while, he finally likes it now! He can do “stunts” like somersault and balancing on beam. He enjoys it more and more and looks forward to it. They do lots of jumps and rolls, balancing and stunts that looks easy but not so for the little ones. I'm so glad he's happy to do it now!

His first gym "competition/show"

Matthew dressed up as a dinosaur for the school carnival.

Matthew enjoying "F1"

Vacances L'hiver

2009-02-25T18:13:00.007+01:00

During the winter vacation, we went to Rome in Italy. Yes I know, most people would go skiing this time of the year and there's plenty of snow this year but it was way too expensive that DH decided to give it a miss this time round. What a waste but again Rome wasn't that bad either.

The weather wasn't that fantastic but it could be worst but thank God - it wasn't that bad. The trip started with us travelling on Friday nite after school and work. As usual, the traffic was bad. It jammed for about an hour or more on the autoroute even before we hit Lyon. By the time we got the the hotel, it's closed to midnite... plus it's freezing cold!
The next day, we woke up with the ground full of snow. Our car was covered with a thick layer of icy snow. It's a pity it didn't last too long and we didn't manage to take a picture of that!
It's really a long way to Rome! I'm still wondering how did DH manage the 12 hours drive? and how did we manage to ride for 12 long hours IN the CAR! It will only take us an hour to fly from Lyon and it's not that expensive... but again with our sleeping habit and Matthew, taking the car is definitely a much better choice for us. (we took our pillows with us for all the trips we had made)

Anyway, Rome was overall a nice place to visit. As usual, many places to visit...too many good choices. We didn't visit all the places but only those "more interesting" ones. With Matthew and me, DH can't go many places in a day, so he decided to visit only one or 2 places at the most per day. He was quite upset on the first day as he thought we could walk more and covered more places! But very soon, he realised that we were all too tired after the long journey, so decided to head back to the hotel and took a 2 hrs nap. We simply just fell asleep - so soundly and deeply.

The hop on and off bus is really good for me who can't walk too much in a day due to my backache and knee problem. We took the bus and went to different places without having to walk too far. DH's inital plan was to walk to all the places that we are going to visit but failed as it's really too tiring for me!

These are some of the places we have visited:

Singpore's trip

2009-01-27T10:35:00.000+01:00

I just realised that I didn't update anything about the trip back to Singapore. We had great fun meeting up with friends and family. Just wanna be thankful and post some pictures taken when we're in Singapore!

Looking back at these photos make me realised that we did so much things in that one month and I'm starting to miss home again... :)

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T17:14:00.011+01:00

We went to the beach on New Year Eve with the Tan's family! These are some photos taken:

We had a great time at East Coast Park, building and destroying sand castle, playing in the water and having fun with each other!

Today is New Year Day...We'd a great 2008 and looking forward to 2009. Even though with the economy downturn affecting the world, God's favour has been with us. Hope that God's blessing will continue to be with us and our family and friends! Thank God for bring us through 2008! And prayed everyone will have a blessed 2009!

Home Sweet Home!

2008-12-16T12:20:00.004+01:00

Wow.. time passes so fast! It's been a year since I last came back. We'd been travelling so much this year...basically travel every 2 months. We went to China in Feb, Itay in end April and May, Spain in June and Great Britain in August and East US in Oct. Anyway, it was a great year with so many happenings! Thank GOD for His blessings that see us through this fruitful year.

It feels so good to be home even though not living at my own place. How much I've missed my family, friends and the local FOODs! It feels so good to be able to catch up with friends that I haven't met for years, seeing the changes in them. Some of them are newly-wedded, some are new parents while some have more children now. How fast and how much changes it can happened within a year!

DH will be joining us in 3 days times, hopefully, he won't fall sick like he did last year. Matthew and myself are a little under the weather...hot and humid, caught the Cold virus that's going around. Depsite the cough and flu, we are enjoying the foods, weather and the company of my family. Matthew enjoys playing with Yee yee (my sisters) and Ah Ma/grandma (my mum) all day long. It's good that I can leave Matthew with my mum with no worries while I do some Christmas' shoppings, go for spa and massage seesions!

Anyway, it feels great to have family around to help...it's just not the same! therefore, appreciate your family while you can!

Festive season

2008-12-09T23:25:00.009+01:00

Christmas is around the corner and Thanksgiving is just over...plus November and December are months that have many celebrations.

Just wanna post some pictures of what had happen in these months!

Made these for DH to bring to the office on his birthday - Chocolate chips and Pandan chiffon cupcakes.

I did bible study with these wonderful ladies.

We had a Christmas brunch gathering at Elaine's house.

Christmas Celebration at the language lab. We were asked to bring a dish representing their countries.
We wrote "Merry Christmas" in different languages on the board.

We had early snow this year. It's cold but we are going back home to the hot and sunny place!

The big "eye" of Clermont at Place de Jaude. It's there during Christmas season only.

Don't be surprise to see a rainbow aftering having snow the day before.. this was taken from my kitchen!

DH's home and I'm down with stomach flu...

2008-12-04T21:56:00.003+01:00

DH's finally home at around 11pm on Sunday nite.. it took him almost 3 long days to get home! What a relief! He looked so tired but definitely glad to be home... the journey was way too long and uncomfortable for him.. he mentioned that he feels like a "refugee on the run". Can you imagaine how chaotic the situation must be?
He had to get out of Thailand from U-Tapao Airport(an military base) by a Chartered Flight hired by his company. He had to get to KL (M'sia) and stay a nite at the hotel and go to Seoul(korean) the next day and from Seoul to Paris and from paris he had to take another domestic flight to Clermont.. what a tour around the "world"! Not to mentioned that he waited one whole day at U-Tapao airport. Anyway, I'm really thankful that he is back safely and will be here till we go home next week.

As for myself, I didn't have a good week either. Since Friday nite, I've been throwing up and running loose ...it's an attack from the bug. I think I've gotten stomach flu... quite bad on the first few days.. basically threw out everything I've eaten and having dizzy spells and shivers really freak me out! It was quite a horror without DH around to help. It's been better now.. . but can get really bad if i tried to take solid... I'm on liquid diet now and will try out the "BRAT" (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) diet that my friends recommended. I feel like my stomach is being turned upside down, having the stirs and pains... *sigh*

Thailand's Situation...

2008-11-28T14:43:00.007+01:00

DH is away on a biz's trip in Bangkok. The situation is really bad now... It's been 3 days since they had closed the airport. Due to some issues, the country had announced it to be in a state of emergency. Are they going to start a war? Hopefully not. My neighbor, who are Thais, are very worried for the situation at home... at the same time, worried for DH, who is there right now.

I've been praying for DH and his colleagues who are leaving on a company's chartered flight out to KL today. He was supposed to be back by tomorrow morning...but I guess he won't be able to make it now. He said they might have to fly through Korea or Japan or other places, depending on the availabilities and the schedules. I really Prayed that they can all come back safely! He's going to miss Matthew's first gym competition and I know both of them are going to be very sad but as long as he can get back safely, I'm thankful for that!

Just 1/2 an hrs ago, I got a message from DH...he's waiting to board the plane and hopefully be able to get out soon. They were at the military airport which can only handle a small percentage of the flights... but there are thousands of tourists/people waiting to get out of Thailand now. I can't imagine how chaotic is the situation right now. I prayed for them...the government and people that will make the right decision in order to make peace.

Thanksgiving's Day!

2008-11-27T15:57:00.007+01:00

Today is Thanksgiving's Day in the US. In S'pore, we don't have Thanksgiving but I came to know abt this when I were in China and Taiwan where some of our friends are Americans. They would invite us over for the Thanksgiving Dinner!

On Sunday, we celebrated Thanksgiving in church and have dinner in Matthew's school (Ecole Massillion's canteen)! They have it every year but this is the first year I've attended. They have the chefs from the school to prepare the Turkeys with stuffings, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes.. It was a good meal. The children had fries with nuggets but they enjoyed it too!

Happy thanksgiving to all! Giving Thanks to God for His providence, Grace and Mercies!

Monday Blues

2008-11-24T23:33:00.004+01:00

I wondered why everythings seem to go wrong on Monday?? When we were preparing to get to school this morning, we got stuck outside the lift! The eletricity is down... the whole building went into total darkness! With no choice, we had to take the stairs.. without any lighting, the stairways were cold and dark. I could hear footsteps as I held Matthew's hand tightly. We could bearly see anything. Thank God, someone came her way down and was holding onto her cellphone with some light... that was the only beam of light that have helped us all the way down 4 floors. After dropping Matthew off... I thought the light would be back... TO my dismay, it hasn't! I had to walked all the way up again.. and this time really in total darkness and alone! Someone quoted me this verse Proverbs 3:6: In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths ... and truely, when we were in darkness, He will direct out path only if we are willing!

After walking in darkness in the morning, I had a little accident in the afternoon! As usual, Matthew came back for lunch... after dropping him off at school, I drove back home. When I entered the car park, there was a lady walking toward the main gate... didn't pay much attention to her, I drove pass. A few seconds later, as I was driving into the garage, a car knocked into my car's door as he was reversing! (he was reversing and I was driving pass) Oh, i can tell you .. my heart had stopped for a while, it was such a loud bang! I stopped the car immediately to check...that man got down too... and came that lady too, who was standing at the main gate). They were checking and trying to rub off the paint/the BIG LONG scatch! Feeling shocked, I don't know how to react, after some communication in French, they just walked off after seeing that it's not a big deal! (it's very common to have dents and scatches here) But still NOT even a single Word of apologetic gesture from neither one... feeling so pissed with how the people handle things here, I was pretty upset!! I mean I won't say that I'm totally right but since he was reversing out of his garage, he should at least look out for traffic. I won't be able to see him as it's an enclosed garage. That lady, instead of waiting at the front gate should have helped him to look out.. it's just a few steps.. But I guess they didn't really bother! That's how the ppl here impressed me about themselves that "they can't be bottered... don't have/want sense of responsibililty... very inefficient ... some know and can talk a lot but no action!" *sigh*

Is it a good place to live???

Why so difficult?

2008-11-21T20:11:00.005+01:00

Many of you know that I've been trying for another for a long time. I wondered why is it so difficult to get conceived? I have been praying and trying but somehow no chance in this area. Sometimes we do feel really disappointed esp DH who loves to have more children.

The lost last year was too tramatic for me and DH...and I think Matthew can feel it too! It was devastating and it has been a year since the miscarriage. Although I have been trying to tell myself not to rush into things like this... just let nature takes its course but it's just so sad that things just ain't happening. I have made an appointment with the gynae, hoping that she can do somethings to help us this time. I wish we were in Singapore as DR Chew will definitely be a big help in this area like how he had helped us with Matthew! The procedure to get treatment here is complicated and long-waiting. I visited another gynae in March, hoping he can help us... however was rejected due to the fact that I just got miscarriaged and have to wait another year before they can use any fertility treatment on me! I'm willing to pay even it's expensive but they just can't do that here in France all becos of the social security system or the health insurance.

Recently, quite a no. of friends have become mummy or daddy! Some are in the midst of pregancies, some are dued soon and some are getting ready to get pregnant again. However, there're some who are having difficulties in their pregnancies too. One of them is bed-resting as the placenta is unstable, another one is threatened with risk of having Down's. There are so many things to worry about so what can we do?
There's only a way...let God takes care of all things. We must have faith in Him for His plans and purposes in each family. Sometimes, we don't know and can't understand why? But He has a plan for each person and He will take care of us if we're willing as we're His chosen ppl.

God and HIS Miraculous Touch!

2008-11-21T19:36:00.003+01:00

Not too long ago, after I came back from states, I received news abt my friend's son, Luke who was going through a very tramatic situation! The poor little guy is just 5 yrs old and he was diagnosed with brain tumor...what a shocking news! He was such a cheerful and outgoing boy. Many of us were shocked to hear the news. He had a few seizure and was initially diagnosed as epilepsy but afer a scan, the doctor found out abt the tumor. Thank God, it was found out in time. He went for a surgery last thursday to remove the tumor. The result is back... it's benign. He had been dicharged from the hopsital and is on the track of recovery. Eversince, he had a few seizures but I'm sure God's healing hand is upon him. I saw him today, he is talking, eating and playing well... many of us were praying for him and I'm so glad that GOD can do miracle healing!

It's been a week... what an adventure!

2008-11-16T17:42:00.004+01:00

Wow... it's been a week eversince we got back from states! I haven't got the energy to write anythings! The jet-lag was so bad... slept at 3 or 4 am and woke up at 8 or 9am. It was a horrible and tiring week of recovery!

Let's recalled back what happened to us:
Firstly, when we got to Greenville airport, DH realised that he messed up his flight... He remembered the timing wrongly... he missed his flight to Alanta where he transits to take another connecting flight to Paris...and he missed BOTH! Oh... I can't describe how he must be feeling at that moment... he tried to call the agency for help but can only feel helpless as they had booked him on a non modifiable or refundable flight. It came to our surprise that the one-way ticket cost US$2700...which is almost double the price of a return ticket! What a day?? Feeling lost, he had to think of other ways to go back, if not, he would be stuck in US!!!
Out of no choice, he decided to rent a car and drive to Alanta...before getting there, he actually stop-by Michelin's office to check if he could get a ticket back... and voila, he found out that he can use his frequent flyer miles to redeem a ticket. It will bring him to Paris on KLM that fly through Amsterdam but it's only available on Sunday which mean he needs to stay in US for another 2 more days! His partner who did audit with him offered to let him stay with them for that 2 days... Anyway, thank God for putting everything back in place even though DH messed them up!

Secondly, after knowing that he got all settled, I thought I better don't miss my flight ... if not, everythings would be in a mess again! But who knows, my flight to Newark was delayed. I have 2h30min for transit which should be sufficent but due to bad weather, the flight was initally delayed for 1h20min which mean I still can make it... but after checking in, I was told that the flight will be delayed for another 40min.. oh mine, I can't tell you how I feel... I don't want to miss my connecting as I might have to stay a nite at Newark Airport! I was praying that everything will be fine! Feeling helpless, I can only wait and wait and wait...and finally, it's time to board. I was so glad as by then, we had waited for almost 3hrs in the airport. Everything seems ok... and I still have 30 mins to catch my connecting which is tight but be should be ok... Everything went well, taking off.... 16 mins into flying, the captain announced that due to some technical issue, we are off track and couldn't get any signal... this worried me, how could this happend?? My heart sank, don't know what would happen to us? The captain told us we needed to land at Richmond airport for repairs....and which mean I'll miss my flight for sure... feeling helpless and disappointed and hungry (it's dinner time and we should have reached Newark by then)!
We waited and waited ... it took them almost 2hrs to fix the problems. When they finally got us some food (all the shops are closed as there's no more flight going out that nite and we were not supposed to go out of the transit areas becos the security are off-duty) and it's time to board again! By then, it's 9pm and it will take us another 2 hrs to get to Newark...Matthew, have been good and patient, was getting tired and fussy and knocked off completely before we landed at Newark!
It was 11pm when we landed at Newark... I was telling myself, there's no way I can make it for the connecting as it should have departed at 10pm (but in my heart, I was praying for the flight to be delayed due to the bad weather reported in Newark). To my surprise, when I went to check for my overnite-stay and re-schedule flight, I was told that my connecting to Paris has yet departed... I might still make it... wow, what an amazing miracle! I was praising and thanking GOD as I took Matthew on strolley, trying my very best to run to catch the shuttle to the terminal of the boarding gate! All I knew was that I ran and ran non-stop till I reached the boarding gate! I was panting and panting... trying to talk to the person regarding my strolley, bags and boarding passes!

WOW... It's really a miracle that we caught the flight! I got settled with the help of the stewardess with Matthew and the bags as they were closing the plane's door! Feeling RELIEVED finally! The flight back wasn't very comfortable but I'm really glad that we make it! But the story didn't end there!

Finally, we got to Paris at around 12.30pm.. our flight to Clermont is 7.40pm which is fine. We just have to wait in the airport but after all the delays and travels, both Matthew and myself were worn out completely. When we got back to Clermont, we went to collect our baggages .... only when everyone is gone, I realised that we caught the plane but not our baggages...they must have gotten lost when we were running for our connecting! Nevertheless, Thank God for bringing us home safely. Anyway, we retrieved our baggages 2 days later. DH got home even before our baggages did!

Don't you agree that we had a great adventure???

Time to go

2008-11-07T06:08:00.002+01:00

We had a great time in the states, witnessing the President election with the interesting and amazing result that's affecting the whole wide world! All my American friends are very concerned abt the election and many of them are rather pleased with the results. I'm not into politics but it's interesting to know/see how "loyal" ppl can be with a certain party just like what we saw in Taiwan's election... Let's pray for the US newly-elected President, Obama, as he can be an affecting figure to the world, not only in US!

Ok, enough of all these. I'm in the mist of packing... seems like it's time to go. We're going to miss our friends, the foods and the shopping. It's really a wonderful trip! Thanks to all our beloved friends who make an effort to come all the ways to get us and meet us!

The Weekend

2008-11-03T18:57:00.012+01:00

We're really having a good time in South Carolina. We went to Charleston over the weekend... a place where most ppl said is beautiful. They really have pretty beaches but it was kind of cold for me.

The Battery is pretty with the autum's colour, the sea-view and nice breeze

...having the rainbow rows and

the dock where some ppl were fishing.

The isle of palm is a great resort place with restuarant, beaches and a place for romance!

We also visited the US marine museum with a showcase of the vessel and submarine used during the wars... pretty impressed with some of them!

We're in Greenville!

2008-10-30T16:26:00.000+01:00

As I'm writing this, we are in the hotel... in Greenville. After travelling for more than 20hrs with 2 hrs of delay in paris, I'm thankful that we make it for the connection from houston to Greeenville.... it was so close, I ran all the way once i got down the plane and thru the immigration and custom check and re-check in with a very tired body and Matthew on the strolley. If not, we would have to stay a night at the houston airport!

Everything went on well... Matthew behaved well on the plane despite the lack of sleep.... he is indeed a good traveller! He didn't eat much and miss a meal and went ahead and sleep once we got to the hotel. I guess he is very tired!
Due to the jet lag, Matthew got up so early these 2 days, 6am yesterday (only slept for a mere 6hrs) and 5am today. He didn't take a nap yesterday... when we are having our dinner, he knock out and sleep thru the nite till 5 am today. It's so early, which I mean I'm really tired too.

A comment on facebook upset me today... I think someone think that I'm a braggart of my travels.... maybe I'm too sensitive but I think she refers to me. I'm not trying to boast abt my travel... I thought it's nice to update my statues, I didn't mean to offend anyone. Anyway, why should I be upsetted over such comment. Just relaxed and enjoyed the holiday with my family and friends!

I'm so excited to see my friends!

Toussaint Holiday!

2008-10-26T11:54:00.000+01:00

School vacation starts on Friday for the Toussaint (All Saints Day) Holiday! We're making good use of it... making a trip to Greenville (SC) with daddy who is on his way there this morning! We will be leaving on Tuesday morning... very early.. it's going to be 6.40am flight which mean we need to get out of the house by 5.45am...a great challenge for me who is going to handle Matthew all by myself!

Today is also the day when we adjusted the time (day-light saving off)...it's kind of confusing for me still as we don't have such things in Singapore and the countries we had been living before! And furthermore, we need to go through another round when we get to US as it's different day in the states!

Anyway, I'm getting myself ready for the trip.. hopefully everything will turn out well. I'm pretty excited to be able to see my friends in Greenville... those that I knew from Clermont and Shenyang! Friends... here we come!

Going to Greenville

2008-10-19T01:25:00.000+02:00

Finally, darling is back from Thailand. We have decided to make a trip to Greenville since he is going there on biz trip for 2 weeks. I have a hard time during the past 2 weeks while he was in Thailand. Matthew had been asking for Daddy and he misses him so much. Since I was down with cold, I didn't really pay attention to his needs which make him feels neglected... i'm so sorry, Matthew!