2nd Birthday

...as in we just celebrated Grace's birthday 2 weeks ago...

Now it is mom's birthday. 

Aiden did some of mom's jobs and gave her a 5 hugs per day coupon, 

Jasmin made an animated birthday card and the must have cheesecake, 

and Grace turned a little melody of mom's into a nice piece of music. Here's where you can see the music score and listen to it as interpreted by a computer.

The girls also made a delicious chicken pot pie for supper!

She also got a surprise gift from a neighbour friend of 4 boxes of durian. Mom likes it a lot, but no one else in the family does, so she gets to eat it all. Aiden likes to exaggerate his reaction to the smell when she gets it out...

 

A Mystery Blessing

Jasmin inexplicably lost her Apple pen months ago. We looked everywhere - possible and impossible places - tried everything we could think of to find it but eventually had to give in and replace it.

Then, a few days ago, a random upward glance from the toilet in the girls' bathroom found it! Somehow it ended up magnetized to the underside of the bathroom corner shelf...?!!?

Highly reminiscent of when Mom lost her engagement necklace here awhile back: inexplicably lost and not found, thorough searches notwithstanding, only to show up to a casual look in a place well searched before.

Thank you God for these unexpected mystery gifts of lavish love!

 

Aiden's Exploring Poetry...

 Love

Love is complicated feeling

One moment it can be almighty joy
The other it could be despairing sadness
Claws you up like a bear

Eros, the passionate love

Love for a hubby
Down beneath, or up above
Stiff as a rock or a nimble like a koi

Don’t be distracted keep your goal in mind
Do all for the glory of God, He is almighty
Be efficient, be devoted, be kind
Everything you do matters. No matter who you are

Love of friendship made so carefully with sharpness
The beauty of love, outstands the evil
The shining light breaks through the darkness
True friends will always be by your side

Walk through the fear, out of the tests
Walk with faith, He is there
The friends by your side treat them well
Let them help and strengthen you, but do so too.

Storge, love for children from parents
Immersed in love, a source of joy
The future’s hope, the gentle touch
The fragile child, their hope in tears

Let them wander, let then search
Show your love, they will too
The motherly bond smoother than the birch
The father’s care, the mother’s joy. So wonderful!

Agape the almighty love, those watchful eyes
Nothing can break it
None can try, the peace dove flies!
The overpowering force of love.

The world is His, but He shan’t not cut
The test will come, but also grace

The trials hurt, but He will come,
To right all wrongs, to end all evil.

MEGAMINX (or How to solve a12-sided rubix cube a.k.a a dodecahedron)

Turn the middles to the center point

Put the corners in their joints

Find the sides and put t’were they belong

L U3 L prime U2 L U L` Dong!

Align more sides, slide the corners where they b’long

Simple, hard, like a song

Rinse, repeat get sides above white

Nice and solved, not a bite

Play around, fiddle with it

Until you can get just how it should fit

Put the gray sides facing up

F U R  U` R` F` until you get the double sided cup

F U R U prime R prime F prime until the starburst appears

Turn it ‘till the color match

R U R prime U R U3 R` ‘till two colors match

Turn it one, R U R` U R U3 R`

Find a correct matched corner

L U2 R U2` L` U2 R` U2`

Save the correctly matched ones, rest change

Take a corner without gray facing up

R` D, R D` til the gray facing up

Turn the top when a gray facing up to a non-facing up

COUPLET STORY

Step after step
Just wanna blep
Huge footsteps
Ginormous steps
Aching legs
There are so many begs

Grace is 16!

We hiked in the National Park for Grace's birthday, per her request. It was a just-right hike - not too hard going, but enough that it was definitely not simply a walk in the jungle. There were more people than we expected being a mid week morning, but that was because we forgot that her birthday week is actually a rather large national holiday... We didn't get to visit the turtle conservation center because of that holiday also. But, the girls got to rock hop along the shore and Aiden and Mom got to swim at the beach.

The path at the beginning was smooth and easy along the beach front. We encountered a rather large monitor lizard there on the way home.

The path at the end went over a meromictic lake: both fresh and salt water that don't mix because of temperature differences. The tide comes into the lake on top of the colder mountain streams.

We almost didn't get home without an adventure when we couldn't find a ride and the bus wasn't due for another 40 min or so. Dad finally booked a Grab car just for 4 people. Grace and Mom stayed behind to take the bus/walk/explore... but then the car that came for the others actually was a 6 seater and agreed to pick them up too. So we all got home together. The plan was to get satay for supper on the way home, but, again because of the holiday, it was not to be found. So mom made shepherd's pie instead.

This was all on Wednesday, then on Thursday (the actual birthday day) we tried again for satay but everywhere was still closed. We did manage to have a successfully yummy cake with candles though. Success!

In Between

This last week has been the in between

Leaving an Easter focus and awaiting birthday season

Struggling to return from an unusual holiday schedule to a smooth normal

Not-quite-finished school courses mixed with satisfyingly done ones

Having received the news of dropping restrictions but not there yet

Even the seasons are in messy transition of super humid and unexpected rains

Various life happenings highlighting we're done here - but not yet

A morning walk to say goodbye to our last close friends here

A goodbye/hello party planned for a staff turnover

And, of course, this stirs the longing of life in between

In between God's promises given and promises fulfilled