Journal Writing

My daughter has started journal writing this week. Everyday, we've asked her to write her thoughts, her reflections and prayers after she does her bible reading. She has done it religiously since Monday and today as I've browsed through her journal, I'm so blessed as to how she has really grown up.

Since it's her personal journal, I can't publish any of her writings here, but I just reminded her to try to keep her journal because when she grows up it'll be a treasure to see her prayers, reflections and thoughts at such a young age.

Facebook Leave

If you're my Facebook friend, you won't see me much in Facebook these days. I'm actually on a Facebook leave for more than 2 months. Yeah, I know it's kinda drastic but sometimes, I feel I need to do drastic changes for me to improve on a lot of things. I actually want to focus on other things these days and I feel that my supposedly 15-minute-check-on-Facebook turned to 30-minutes-to-forever is keeping me to do other things.

After a few days off from Facebook, I was able to check and download a lot of homeschool resources for my kids and research on other things too. Though I'm not into checking ITIL Resources , but it helps to read more and spend a lot of time off the internet.

The Weekend Rule

It has been months now since we gave the Weekend Rule to the kids. That means, they can only watch TV and play computer games during the weekend. At first, I really thought it would be hard to implement this since, they're so used to watch their favorite cartoon channel after 5 o'clock in the evenings. I've also 'treasured' those evenings when they watch TV because it'll be the time that I can cook our dinner in peace or do some of my online tasks.

But as we set this rule down to our kids, they were okay with it. They found to amuse themselves in different ways after homeschool (for my daughter) and the afternoon nap (for my son). They would read a book, play with their toys, draw and etc. Sometimes during the weekend, we even forget to turn on the TV at 5:00 PM because they will just be so busy playing or doing other activities by themselves. As for my daughter she's content to get 2 hours of computer on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. It's during this time that she sends emails, writes her blog posts, do her online typing class and finally play online games from Zoodles. By the way, Zoodles is an online game site where parents can control and monitor the games that children play online. I really like this site since it only shows games that are age appropriate to the kids and they'r mostly educational games.

Anyways, I thank God I've successfully detached my kids from too much cartoons and there's not much a need for us to search for the best wii games .

He Tickles my Heart

Oh, I love how my li'l boy adores me! He's truly one sweet thing who can give me a thousand hugs and kisses a day. I'm actually enjoying all these now, including his constant praises and 'flattery' words, like 'You're the best Cook' and 'You're so pretty!' Yeah, I'm not sure if there's a need for me to go for Regency Beauty Schools if that's the case. LOL! Yeah, he sure does now how to tickle my heart.

Anyways, I'm relishing all these moments while he's still young. I know that a stage will also come when they don't want to be seen kissing their parents and etc. Oh, I just hope that stage won't come and my boy will be as sweet as always... :)

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Tricia's 'Poetry'

My li'l girl loves to writes poems and stories these days. Here's a sample of her poems. I only corrected a couple of spelling mistakes and the rest is in its original form.

The Young Boy Jude

Young boy Jude

messed up all his food.

He tried to clean the mess

But he had little success.

So he gave it up

and got a free pup

who ate the mess up.

The Fawn in My Lawn

As I cleaned my lawn

I find a fawn

that is very cute

with eyes as black as soot

looking at my lawn

as it becomes dawn.

I can make a lawn

but only God can make a fawn.

God Made Me

I have a pretty face

my dress is made out of lace.

I like to wash dishes

and I hate eating fishes.

I wish I have a cat

and God made me like that.

The 'New' Old Skates

My li'l girl has loved skating ever since she learned how to skates. She was skating quite regularly the past months but stopped for awhile because we were away for a few times.

But last week, we have learned that the men who rent out the skates at the park were selling 2nd hand skates at a very cheap price. Oh, before that we've looked around for brand new inline skates and found our that they're quite pricey unlike those kuat bike racks so we never bought a pair for our girl. Anyways, the 2nd hand skates looked a bit old though still in a good condition. But, Hubby washed and repainted them purple and this is how they look like now.

Yeah, it looks new right? My li'l girl on the other hand was so happy for another answered prayer!

Happy Birthday to my Precious Girl!

It's our little girl's 8th birthday today! At 12 midnight we surprised her with a birthday cake and gifts here in our family friends' house. And later this morning, we will be going to their 'dream place' Kidzania. Oh, going there will really be an answer to my kids' prayers. For months, they've prayed, saved money and talked about this place. And praise God that finally the day has come for them to go.

I'm sure it's going to be an exciting day for my daughter and my son ( who's also claiming that it's also his birthday). Thank your Lord for the blessings and the opportunity to celebrate my daughter's birthday here in Malaysia.

A Guide to New Bankruptcy Laws: How to Qualify for Bankruptcy

Image via Flickr

Things are beyond tight in your life, whether you’ve lost your job or found that the costs of living far outweigh your current paycheck. If you find yourself struggling financially, you may consider filing for bankruptcy, which may be your best option to climb out of debt.
What are the new bankruptcy laws, how do you qualify?

The New Bankruptcy Law

As of 2005, the New Bankruptcy Law has been in effect. This has made qualifying for bankruptcy under the new laws a bit more tricky; albeit not impossible as a way of starting over and getting the stress off of your back. The new law was designed to decrease abuse within the system. It protects people who have had a job loss, have huge medical bills they can’t pay, or have had some other catastrophic events that keep them from paying their bills. Bankruptcy helps families keep their home and most of their valuable assets. It also gives people and families an opportunity to pay back their creditors.

Basic Guidelines

Consult a Bankruptcy Attorney

It is imperative that you contact a well-experienced bankruptcy attorney. A bankruptcy attorney will help you to decide if you're eligible for bankruptcy and what sort of bankruptcy you qualify for. He will know what’s the best option for you depending on given circumstances: Chapter 7 is designed to help you to eliminate unsecured debts, while Chapter 13 allows you to efficiently manage your debts and protect your assets.

Evaluate Your Current Financial Situation

Your financial situation hasn't changed, and it's been a few years.

Under the new law, a means test will be given to determine if you must take out bankruptcy or if you can, in reality, handle the payments without bankrupting the debt. This is a two-part test that will offer, through formula, the amount of money you can afford to pay for unsecured debts like credit card bills. Your income will also be compared to your state's median income.

Realize Your Lack of Control Over Money

If you find that the reason you are applying for bankruptcy is from "lack of control" of your money and not specific "out of your control" issues that are causing you problems, under the new law, you will have to have some counseling to file for bankruptcy.

Sure, some people say that the new bankruptcy law is more stringent, and perhaps in some cases it is. But the new law does something else: It allows for the person to make some changes in his life to avoid what may become a serious financial setback.

During the 'Silent' Times

As the wise man said in Ecclessiastes, ' There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens:.. '

Sometimes, we just want to relish on the beautiful times and seasons in our lives.. If possible, we just want to stay there and 'wish' that the other seemingly 'undesirable' times would never come. But it is during those 'undesirable' times that we learn and hold on to the things that are more important things in our lives.

If you ask us now, we are in the 'silent' times in our lives. Everything seems to be going so slow, everything seems so quiet.. But as we are in this season, I'm realizing that we are also building stronger foundations with our relationship with God, our family and focusing more in discipling our kids. It is during these times that we as a family pray and long for God like never before. It is during these times, that we couldn't afford to decide and settle for anything less than God's will. Though waiting may be very difficult, but God promised that He will renew our strength and let us mount with wings like eagles.. and yes we will wait, Lord... even if it means being on the 'silent' season for a longer period of time ....

Imagine, if we never have 'silent' seasons... we might still be going on and on in a flurry of activities, be swallowed in our busyness and forget the things are more important and the reason for it all.

Indeed God makes everything beautiful in HIS Time....

Praying for Our Journey

We'll be traveling this week. It's going to be quite a week since we'll be attending a wedding, baking brownies (for the wedding) , renewing my visa and 'celebrating' Tricia's birthday. It's going to be an exciting trip, yet I can't help but be a bit concern over a few things. Aside from my visa renewal process, I'm quite worried on whether our car can manage to travel the long distance. It hasn't been on its perfect condition for the past weeks. But anyways, we'll just have to pray for a pleasant journey, apply for Malaysian car insurance at the border which is different from liability insurance quotes , and maybe look for a good car repair shop in Malaysia.

Praying for a fruitful and exciting week for me and my family.I hope you can pray with us too.. Now, I'm excited.. :)

The Savings for Kidzania

Finally the coin banks have been opened and it was time for the kids to count whether they have enough money saved for Kidzania for Tricia's birthday. And yes, they they have collected and saved up 1,300 baht worth of 1,5 and 10 Baht coins over the months.

The kids were so excited since they've been praying and 'dreaming' to go to Kidzania for months now. What's with Kidzania? It's actually a sort of an educational theme park in which the kids can become 'grown-ups' by playing different careers and professions. Like for example, if they want to be a pilot, there's a kid size cockpit and they can fly a plane. There are fire stations, hospitals and Restaurant Systems that are manned by the kids and for the kids. We saw a few photos of Kidzania and it really looks like a fun and educational place for the kids.

And with a few extra money from the coin bank, I'm sure the kids can buy a few souvenirs from there too.