It's Wednesday today, Jono, Esther and I went to the Playgroup at Village Avenue Community Church. It only took about 5 mins drive to get there. I was a bit nervous as it's our first visit there today. However, I was able to recognise a familiar face - Mrs Skinner. We met a few times at various places. Dane knew her family. Well, starting from there I gradually got to know most of the mothers there and we chatted away. On the other hand, Jono was a bit overwhelmed at first as there were at least 20 little kids around. If you know Jono you would be surprised to know that he was shy (he is normally a very outgoing child)! But it did not take long for him to warm up and after some encouragement he went and play with the toys with confidence.

Sarah who is in charge of the playgroup held a cancer foundation fundraising morning tea. As a result, We got to enjoy some nice cakes and muffins while the kids were playing. Esther was a very good girl as she slept most of the time. We were there from 9:30am to 11:20am. We had lunch at home and after that both kids went down for their naps. I managed to do some vaccuming and tidying up in the kitchen. I made chicken rissoles for dinner and now I'm writing my blog. This pretty much sums up my day. I really enjoying being with my kids and being able to look after them myself. It was hard at the beginning as I was bored at home and really not used being at home full time. However, after I followed through my weekly plan, I have started to enjoy my days more.

Dinner tonight--- chicken rissoles, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables

Being there for my kids really brings me lots of joy. I am able to teach them and guide them every step of the way as they grow up. What better person to look after them and to teach them way of life other than their mum? I carried them for 9 months, gave birth to them and it only makes sense for me their mother to raise them with my own hands. There's no need for babysitter or grandparents to raise my kids. Having said that, I did send Jono to childcare for 2 days a week and 1 day a week with Dane's parents when he was 1.5 yrs old while I was working. However, I make sure Dane and I are still the people who teach him and guide him. We want to be his parents and that's our job! Thank you Lord that I'm able to stay at home for this entire year to be with my kids.

Looking forward to our trip to the library tomorrow! By the way, Jono is doing great with his toilet training. He went to toilet himself twice today without any reminders. Woohoo, we are getting there!

Hurray, it's 7:15pm and both kids are in bed. I'm having some quiet time to myself while Dane's taking a short nap. I had a great day today just being at home with my two beautiful kids. Jono had been SOOOO GOOD and he made me laugh all day. He was so delightful and chatted with me all day long.

My weekly plan is working well so far and I really enjoy doing different things each day. We watched a movie called "Fireproof" last night and it was very moving. The story is about a couple and how their broken marriage can only be fixed with GOD's LOVE and SALVATION. The husband followed a book given by his father called "The Love Dare" for 40 days to get his wife back. At first he found it wasn't working as everything he did was rejected by his wife. He wanted to give up at day 20. He talked to his father and his father finally pointed out that he could only love someone even after being rejected with GOD's LOVE. The Lord Jesus was rejected again and again but He never stop loving us. He gave his life for us and shown us what unconditional love really is. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) The husband eventually got saved and he started reading the Bible and continued the love dare challenge even though the wife was unmoved. At the end, the wife discovered how much her husband loved her and she also saw the changes in him and they eventually got back together. I love the story as it illustrated what real love is. GOD is LOVE!

Praying for tomorrow, may I use my time wisely and bring honour to God in everything that I do.

Since staying at home full time I'm finding that I need some sort of daily routine to keep me sane. Otherwise, I would feel trapped spending my days at home with kids. So I have devised a simple weekly plan:

Monday:
1) Spend the morning playing with Jono at the backyard.
2) Catch up with some housework.

Tuesday:
Jonathan goes to childcare, so I only have Esther.
It's the best time to go shopping, see a doctor if sick, take Esther for her immunisation and health check, go to the dentist, do grocery and go out for lunch.

Wednesday:
1) Take the kids to playgroup and meet with other mums and their children in the morning.
2) Go for a walk in the neighbourhood.

Thursday:
1) Take the kids to the library and do some simple shopping in the morning.
2) Visit friends

Friday:
1) Take the kids to the park or visit friends.
2) Occasional dinner date with hubby while Jono goes to the grandparents.

Saturday:
It’s our Family Day
1) Take Jono to his swimming lesson in the morning.
2) Family outing – parks, swimming, shopping, eating out, visiting friends etc.

Sunday:
It’s the Lord’s Day! We go to church.
Now, I’m looking forward to my weekly adventure!

Hurray, I turned 29 on the 8th May!!! I'm feeling really excited about getting closer to 30, the next stage of my life. Having been married nearly 5 years, given birth to 2 kids, and have worked full time and part-time, I am now staying at home looking after my 2 beautiful children. I realised that I'm no longer young, and I now have a huge responsibility of raising the next generation. However, I do honestly miss my job. I miss the time when I'm Mrs Reynolds and get to work with some lovely teachers and students. My plan is to wait until Esther is at least one, then I'll look into teaching part-time again (maybe 2 days a week). Once the kids are older, I also consider to further my study and maybe have a career change (I'm interested in pharmacy at the moment, but it might change later down the track).

I also celebrated my 3rd Mother's day on the 10th May. This year, I had Dane, Jono and Esther to celebrate with. I'm not fussed about gifts for both my birthday and mother's day. I'm contended with spending these special time with my lovely family. My mum actually handmade me a mother's day card before she left. She was very creative and used things around my house to secretly create the card. I in reverse gave her an album of her and the grandchildren.

I do enjoy my time at home most of the time but I have to admit that I have had hard times too. Especially when the hormones are playing up and the kids are very demanding. What would my life be if I have not got married and have kids? I asked myself. However, when I seriously think about it, I really thank God for everything that I have today. All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside? I would not want it any other way. No matter how hard and challenging my life is, I know that my Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ is my strength.

In conclusion, I have had wonderful time for both my birthday and mother's day. I'm now looking forward to celebrate Jono's 3rd birthday in August.

Jonathan helping me made blueberry muffins

Finally have some 'me' time to write my blog. I am having a very busy week. Jonathan is sick with cold and is staying at home with me the 2 days he was meant to go to childcare. So, I was soooo busy looking after 2 kids. Apart from that, I still need to do housework and keep up with my daily errands. I get frustrated sometimes but nevertheless I still enjoy being a stay at home mum. It is really a great responsibility and commitment being a mum. Raising children is not an easy task, I take my hat off to people who have successfully raised their children. I can only pray that I would have enough energy, wisdom and patience each day to look after my children and teach them to be godly young man and woman.