Elephant Swell

My feet is swelling and oozing out of my (Size 7!) shoes. Kind of look like elephant feet. Swell out of proportion again after leading prayer on Tuesday. Time to be hung upside down. My brain feels like its swelling too from reviewing the policies and procedures I have on hand. And I think I was over stimulated last night just thinking about the getaway this week, the details, the preparation and doing up the teaching. So stimulated that I think i must have tortured my poor tired (plus down with a cough and cold) husband because he tried so hard to stay awake so that I could unload my fast tracked mind to him in hope I can sleep better. It didn't quite work and made him go to sleep while I ended up waking like what seems a thousand times visiting the loo. I think that explains why I feel so tired today. I think Kel's feeling the same. Poor thing.

The need to encounter and be empowered

It's gonna be a packed week and possibly weeks ahead. This week will be filled with preparation for the weekend Unit getaway, so there will be a few sessions of teaching that I will need to prepare. And also the Sub D prayer tomorrow and a couple of shepherding sessions. Oh this week we'll also be commencing a 6 weeks long antenatal classes at the hospital, plus I will be due for a check up at the hospital this week too. I was just pondering in bed in the wee hours when I couldn't really get to sleep how much the need to daily encounter God and be empowered by Him. It will be so easy to hide behind physical circumstances and busyness and each day just passes us by. It was the mental note to self that I need to really get into the presence of God each day, and find Him in that secret place; not to rely on my own strength but be empowered by Him!

Pressies from home

Pressies from home
Originally uploaded by kelvin and chia yen

Thank you Popo, Aunty Vicky and Jiajia, and uncle Clement too~ Feel so loved even though i am still nicely snuggled in my mummy's womb :) Uncle Clement was the Santa Claus who brought all these gifts over from Singapore, majority from Popo of course who will be my fave shopping companion when i grow up! Thank Youuuuu :)

Thank you for your love~

My Bday Celebration with the Girls :)
Originally uploaded by kelvin and chia yen

I was treated a sumptiouslicious Bday dinner by some of my girls and sheep last week. Thank you! It was soo good, the Wagyu beef melts in the mouth and better still we had great fun catching up, making fun of each other (Missing in the picture was the photographer of the night - Huimin).
Oh I haven't formally thank everyone too for the the wonderful Bday~ Thanks Judah 1, you've really been my great family (only family so far) all these while. How I have gone through so many stages of life with some of you guys, its amazing! Thank you for the Ikea voucher and the touching speeches (and of course the yummy cake).

From the Baby Center - Week 26

Measuring your baby from top to toe with his legs extended, he is about 35.6 centimetres. He weighs a little more than 760 grams. Your baby's eyes begin to open around now. Response to sound grows more consistent toward the end of the seventh month, when the network of nerves to the ear is complete. He also continues to take small breaths and although he's only breathing in water and not air, it's still good practice for when he's born. Since your baby is now growing so fast, and brain development is so intense at this stage, your nutrition is very important. Continue to eat a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of grains and vegetables. Fibre-rich foods, including whole-grain breads and cereals, lentils and brown rice are high in vitamin B and help fend off constipation.

Squirmy little bun

The little bun in me has been moving and squirming around. She woke me up this morning with her power kicks and held her movements long enough for me to fiddle with the lumps she made all around my tummy. It was pretty fun playing with her as usually she only wakes up and kick around when i get to office, never that early. And today she seems to be on a high because she is doing her stunts almost throughout the day!

But gosh, I sure need my beauty sleep because i am totally zombified with the amount of time spent waking up in the middle of the night trying to get myself in comfortable positions and visiting the loo. I wonder how I will cope with motherhood and night feeds!

On a lighter note :)

The previous post may sound really 'heavy'. But hey, whoever who read it, don't get too worried. I am still ok :) Life's still good and I am enjoying the best part of pregnancy - Bonding with the little one inside. What's better is that Kel is having a great time talking and spending time with the little bub at night too. He read a bedtime story and she kicked and kicked. We caught a show (Get smart) the other night with Rach, totally hilarious and the bub seemed to enjoying herself too. that 2 hrs, she moved non stop and i even managed to feel this little bump as she pressed herself against the surface of my tummy. So ticklish.

Apart from that, i celebrated my 28th Birthday last week and is looking forward to a nice dinner with some of the girls in my unit tonight (can't wait, my tummy's howling and growling). I am putting on weight as predicted by all pregnancy books. I've lost my chin (i think) and the new hair cut is making my face look round. According to some friends, i waddle when i walk and sometimes the pain from my back, pelvis and legs keeps me awake at night.

We've been kept busy trying to source things for the bub (advice given by many moms are to get most things ready now before I get too BIG), shift things around the house to plan for the new arrival and for the next few weeks will be busy with outreach and students' orientation, then our units' getaway. Kel is also kep busy every night trying to get me into comfortable positions, stretching and massaging and getting me my night snacks of mostly milk and on one occasion, slices of cheese cut into heart shapes. Pictures below were taken after my trip to the hospital for the routined check up. Bub is growing well, and heartbeat is as steady as a horse gallop across the field.

I can't think of a title for this post ...

I have been thinking and praying these days regarding what is to come when bub arrives. Especially in the area of ministry but somehow the hardest part seems to be battling against a voice speaking that tells me to be realistic and not idealistic. Kel and I prayed for a while before we eventually submitted to God to start trying for our family. It was, to us a big decision to make and we were rather apprehensive initially. Not just with regards to how we are going to cope as first time parents, but also with respect to our calling and our ministry currently. With both of us in the students' ministry (leading separate groups), we understood the intense nature of the ministry especially when we talk about specific seasons and also the pace of discipleship. We somehow had the peace of God to go ahead and began that faith adventure with Him. I would say that it is the grace of God when He blessed us almost immediately the little bub, we were amazed. I was grateful for His grace which always melts me to bits knowing of my inadequacies and doubts of His provision. I carried worries and anxieties of not knowing when/how i would get pregnant considering my previous medical conditions. He gave me a dream to tell me of the pregnancy which led me to discover the pregnancy at about 3 weeks (people don't normally discover that early). Still I worried first few weeks to months of the pregnancy as I discovered the high rates of miscarriages and complications. Time again, it was His grace that sustained me, reminding me that He was the one who gave and He will carry us through.

Now I seem to be in the rut again, worrying on how ministry will be like when bub arrives. Though there were mothers around of whom have inspired me that things are possible as we trust God, there were also examples around me that scared me and ones who would speak from experience to tell me of the things i may not be able to handle and cope.

As I pondered over the questions mentioned in my previous post, I became so afraid to even pen down the things that God has spoken over the years and was hesitant upon the convictions that was supposed to have been built. I feared of how I would fail the ones I disciple and the group because of lack of availability and me succumbing to "I can't do it". I know my weakness that i can be a real softy at times and find overcoming the tiredness and stress way too hard. Already, in pregnancy I whined to Kel at times I don't get enough rest, food, sleep or that physically, it got too uncomfortable. Perhaps, I am thinking way too much and need to learn how to rest in God, not just physically, but mentally.

This 2 weeks set aside for fasting and prayer has helped. Though I am not physically abstaining from food, the deliberate times of seeking God for a breakthrough is helping me back to focus. Not there 100% but still, I trust that His grace is more than sufficient. The voice of the Holy Spirit is slowly getting louder than the negative voice that tells me "I cannot". His voice reminding me of His promises and how it was His grace that has provided and blessed us, and I do not have to retract and doubt. We prayed and submitted our family plans, He gave and He blessed. That simple. My role now is to trust and embrace what is ahead, to let what my faithfulness and love for Him not leave my heart. He reminded me to grow in my love and relationship with Him above all else and He will grant me the wisdom to balance and juggle. He reminded too that my seemingly "ploughing" and preparation for what is ahead is not a matter of sheer determination and "bull strength" but a reap of His gracious provision.

Thought Provoking ....

Some thought provoking questions have been posed to me ...

1. Is your passion to see UQ and its campus ministry still growing strong as before?
   If you believe that God has called you to be in this particular ministry, what are some changes you would like to see in your life to make you more effective?
2. If you are just hanging in there because there is not one else doing it, what/which ministry would you like to be in?
3. If this is the ministry that God is calling you to, are you willing to give the next 3 years to it to build it up?

This calls for a time of serious searching and seeking God desperately. I hope my answers to these questions will not be ones that answers for the sake of it but answers that deepen my convictions and spur me to a new level of Faith and drive for the things upon His heart and the things He has called me to.

Week 23

It's been a fascinating time for both of us to look at our little one's movement every single night before we knock out. It looks as though we are staring into some crystal ball (except that it's my growing belly) waiting for some nudges and twitches. My tummy looks interesting and strange suddenly as if someone was poking a stick from the inside. Many times even when I am working, i can see from the corner of my eye my blouse or my scarf suddenly "moving", and sometimes I get a shock as if someone really did nudge me from outside only to discover that it's the little one having a ball of her time (I think ... unless she is protesting about something).

Nevertheless, we are definitely enjoying this time of bonding, especially for Kel who has been trying so hard (and patiently) trying to wait for movements and responses. We have been praying that God will help us to really bond through this time and He answered the prayers within a few days! There was one night when Kel got a little impatient (and cheeky) waiting and decided to do what he termed as creating an earthquake by shaking my belly and tickling me. Baby actually responded by kicking immediately! From then on, it doesn't take long for Kel to spot and feel her every little movement.