The Joy of Motherhood

I had my best my Mother's Day this year. It's so nice to have kids who are finally old enough to understand the significance of the day and make it extra special. Erica had planned a secret "to do list" for her father and brother. It was hilarious. She must have said "I love you" about 10 times to me during the day. I was told I must just "do nothing and relax" all day long. She wouldn't even let me carry the shopping bags. At 8.30pm, just about her bedtime, she was a bit upset and when I asked why, she said she still had something else she wanted to do. I was told to lie down and she and Tim gave me a leg and body massage. It was simply wonderful. Thank you God for such wonderful children and a fantastic husband!

Malacca/ KL 2008

As far as I can remember, there's always a wedding to attend in Malacca during the Christmas season. It was no exception this year. We were in Malacca for one night to attend the wedding of Mervin's cousin then proceeded to KL. Alison & Zac generously hosted us for 3 nights at their new home in USJ. Zac was determined to feed us 5 meals a day but we were of course more interested in shopping. On our last night there, Alison arranged for Santa to visit during our dinner at Elena's house. The kids were looking forward to it but were rather suspicious of Santa. Poor Santa was prodded and poked and eventually stripped.... confirming that it was actually Uncle Jonathan under that suit. We had a fabulous time. Wonderful company!

I told you it was Uncle Jonathan!

The next generation - Mitchell, Ariel, Arlene, Raphael, Tim & Erica

Anne, Mitchell & Alison

Erica and Uncle Zac

Apparently that's how you keep your car cool - KL style

We visited Aunty Jeannie in Malacca

Singapore 2008 - Sentosa with the Stewarts

We spent the day with Andre, Hui Ping and their children, Julian, Megan and my god-daughter Nadine. Tim & Erica enjoyed swimming in the warm sea as it's always too cold to swim in the sea in Auckland, even when the sun is real hot in summer. Mervin and Andre went looking for fish but found a pair of mating crayfish instead.

Singapore 2009 - Titanic poses

You can't go for a cruise and not do the titanic pose so off we went one afternoon looking for the tip of the ship but were told we could not get up there until the ship was anchored. So these are the best shots we got - back in Singapore with Sentosa in the background. Sigh! Would have been so much nicer in the open sea.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Thant

Thant was our Myanmese room attendant. He was attentive, friendly and made us smile (and the kids shriek with delight) when we came back to the room one evening and saw these lovely towel animals made up for us. Such talent!

Sinagapore 2009 - Cruise - Room with a view

Mervin took these lovely shots of Penang as we were departing that evening. I love the ones of the Penang Bridge.

Singapore 2009 - Cruise - Penang

In the lantern above me, the upper Chinese character is pronounced

Qiu. That's my surname Khoo

One of the stops we made in Penang was the Khoo Kongsi, the Khoo clan ancestral home. As far as I know, we are not related to this clan but hey, we do share the same surname and are probably linked further back in time. I remember studying about the Khoo Kongsi when studying Penang history in secondary school but though I have visited Penang several times, this is the first time I'm visiting this place. Quite educational I must say!