THE SPECIAL CHILD

The Child, yet unborn, spoke with the Father,
"Lord, how will I survive in the world?
I will not be like other children,
My walk may be slower,
My speech hard to understand,
I may look different.
What is to become of me?"

The Lord replied to the child,
"My precious one, have no fear,
I will give you exceptional parents,
They will love you because you are special,
not in spite of it.
Though your path through life will be difficult,
your reward will be greater,
You have been
blessed with a special ability to love,
and those whose lives you touch will
be blessed because you are special."

Author/Source Unknown

PARENTS AND CHILDREN

When a child is born it is unable to live even for a few days without the help of someone else. It is the parents who look after and nurse him. Parents have to provide all the essential care until the child becomes grown up and is in a position to live without the help of others.

The love of parents towards their children is beyond words, it is limitless. They do everything humanly possible to care for their children. They look after them, even going without proper sleep themselves, and they spend sleepless nights for the sake of their children. They nurse them, feed them, wash them, clean them and arrange for their comforts to the best of their ability.

Parents are willing to spend all their wealth and forgo their own comforts for the sake of their children. They spend lavishly on their children's education, their one and only purpose being to see their children prosper and live happily.

Their children's joy is their joy, their children's prosperity is their prosperity. If the child falls into any difficulty, his parents are also distressed and miserable. Limitless is the assistance and help which are rendered by parents to their children.

IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME

This meaningful piece is dedicated to Carmen, Kwok Hoe and Richard Beh, my late Cousin Alice's loved ones:

IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME
Author : David M. Romano

When tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
all filled with tears for me,

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared,
and all the fun we had.

If I could re-live yesterday
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne.

He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
But here life starts anew

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day's the same way
There's no longing for the past.

You have been so faithful,
So trusting and so true.
Though there were times
You did some things
You knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven
And now at last you're free.
So won't you come and take my hand
And share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart.

THE DAY THE CAR AC BROKE DOWN

My poor cucu! All flushed! Dang the AC!

MY GOOD DAUGHTER

She's a great gal, always helping her mom look after Ollie. She's a gem of a daughter! Love you lots Bev, love you lots, Ollie!

OLLIE AT THE NIGHT MARKET

A happy Grandpa giving his grandson a piggy back ride at the pasar malam.

The Day the Car AC went Kaput

Poor Ollie! Look how flushed his face was!

The Day the Car AC went Kaput

Poor Ollie! Look how flushed his face was!

MJ Impersonator & I

How's this?

MJ Impersonator

That's how close I got to 'MJ'.

Ollie's First CNY

My cucu Ollie celebrates his 1st CNY at his paternal grandparents' house in Ipoh. His maternal grandparents miss him like crazy!

CRUSTACEAN LOVERS

Live crabs handpicked and sent to the wok and into the guts of these two killer-kids of mine!

SALTED EGG YOLK-CRAB

The kids simply love this dish. They literally licked the shells clean. Their father has a hand in making them eat overly salty foods. From a tender age they were encouraged to finish up their food by adding dashes of soy sauce. Hence.

TO THE MUSEUM, TO THE MUSEUM

Aha, today Beverly will visit the National Museum, a trip organised by her school. Her first ever visit. She's 15. Mine was when I was only 9. Shame on me; lousy parent! And then to the Palace. Of course she will only walkabout at the foregrounds of the Palace. She thought she could have a cuppa and teacakes with our Agong. Have fun, Girl!

OLIVER A-GROCERY SHOPPING

This little cutie pie can now sit in a shopping cart! Out shopping at Jaya Grocers.

SHENTON'S WOUND ALMOST HEALED

This picture was taken a day after Shenton was treated at the Vet's. Pretty fast, I'd say!

MULTI-TASKING

Beverly studying and simultaneously practising her acrobatic skills.

OUCH! DANG THOSE MAGGOTS!

This is our first and hopefully last experience with ugh, maggots. We started rearing dogs 12years ago. Our Min. Pinscher, Rocky, albeit blind in both eyes, is still with us. Our second one, Poncho, was a Shih Tzu and the third was Jasper, a very obedient Poodle. Both died of cancer. Then we had a mix breed in Cody which we gave away to a wonderful canine-loving couple. After Poncho died my friend bought me Shenton for my birthday. Then we bought Chutney, a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier. 3canines, 3teens, 4adults, a baby. Yep, the 3canines are more obedient than the 3teens.

MAGGOTS IN SHENTON'S LEG

While bathing Shenton, my Shih-Tzu, I discovered this menacing hole in his hind leg. According 2our Vet, Shenton had a cut that attracted flies which in turn laid eggs into the wound. Maggots set in soon after. The Vet made Jon hold a flashlight while he inserted a tweezer into the hole n extracted five big maggots. They were 5days' old. Gave the poor thing a jab, antibiotics and a blue coloured spray. All for RM155. Yes, Jon did throw up. In the car.

VOILA! A GREAT DISCOVERY!

Being a slow learner, I JUST discovered I could actually send a photo to My Blog via my mobile! Voila! Now I don't even have to borrow (read: wait endlessly) my son's laptop! No, he did not buy the dang lappie with his own money. I did.