I can't believe I forgot to announce that Esther is walking now at just 11 months. She started taking steps at about 10 months old. She is so proud of herself and all she does now is walking around the house and explore everything that she can reach. She is also saying 'daddy', 'mum', 'duck' and she can wave her hand when we say 'hi', nearly clapping, and will give me whatever is in her hand when I say 'ta'. I'm so proud of her.

My son has recently become an EGG addict. He asks for eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner. One time he had 4 eggs in a day. I'm just happy that he is eating. LOL. Egg is such an amazing food. You can boil it, poach it, steam it, fry it, use it in many dishes and in baking. I don't think we can live without eggs. I love eggs too but my hubby does not. I often wonder how can anyone not liking it??? I am so happy that my son loves it cause it's a very easy meal choice when you are lazy to cook up a storm. Not sure how long Jono's egg addiction will last but for the time being eggs are in high demand in this household. LOL.

I think parenting is one of the toughest job in the world. It's a very stressful and demanding job, you are 24/7 on call, no paid, no holidays, no annual leave, no promotion, no sick leave, and you are fully responsible of your children. BUT it's also the most rewarding job you can have. You get to raise your own kids, see them grow, and you get to be the proud MUM and DAD.

After having my own kids, I started to have greater respect for other parents. It's a tough job to be mum or dad. Kids don't stay cute and innocent forever, they do cry, kick tantrums, scream, rebel, like to say NO, do not like their food, do not want to go to bed....the list goes on and on. Each development stage is a new challenge and you never really finish your job.

I reckon everyone should have kids just so we can learn to be humble, to be patience, to love, to be loved, to learn from others, to see how God's amazing creation can bring us joy and happiness even when they are 'naughty'. You see because kids need nurture and guidance, so we as parents need to know how to care for them. You will have this desire to know about everything, you want to know what's best for your child and handy tips of bringing up kids. Having kids force me to learn more about life and myself. May God bless every parents and give them strength, wisdom, and patience to love their children!

We read Bible to Jono every night before he goes to bed. Recently I started reading a question and answered book about God to him as well. Last night was the first night and it emphasised that God made everything like the sea, animals, plants, people and insects. Cheeky Jono immediately said "Well, I killed the insects that God made mum, I killed the ants."

Tonight, we read that God is invisible, we can't see Him. However, He is everywhere and He knows everything. Very seriously Jono said, "Well, He's not in the wall, mummy." LOL I think he is trying to make sense that how come God is everywhere.

I think as Christian parents we have the responsibility to teach our kids about God and His salvation. The more you talk about it with them the more they will understand. We are planting the seed and God will make it grow. There is great joy seeing your children get saved and follow God. 

Another thing we talked about is salvation. We have mentioned about it many times but tonight Jono made it personal for him. I said we are all sinners meaning we all do wrong things. And he said, "me too?" and I said "yes, we all have sinned and only Lord Jesus can save us." I invite him to accept the Lord Jesus as his saviour and he said yes. Even though he's only 3, it's not too young to talk about the needs to be saved. God's words are powerful and He can work in my little boy's heart. So never ever underestimated how much a child can know about God. Of course only time can tell whether Jono truly believes what he heard about God and his decision about accepting Jesus Christ as his saviour. As parents, our prayer is that he will be a man of God when he grows up!

"Mum, I'm not touching it I just want to have a look at it." This is what Jono said to me when I caught him touching the air freshener. To be honest, I'm not shocked to hear that my 3 year old lied trying to cover up his own wrong doings. He simply did not admit that he did wrong but trying to justify it. Isn't this was what the first man Adam did? Since Adam and Eve, sin has entered into the world. The Bible says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23).

Let us stop covering up our wrong doings and accept God and His provision for us. We cannot enter into heaven because of our sins. But God gave us His Son - Lord Jesus Christ to be our Saviour. He has paid the penalty for sins when He died for us on the cross. What will you do with Christ? "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)

Early yesterday morning we farewelled Dane at the airport and began our life without him for the next 10-12 weeks. It was hard to say goodbye after 4 weeks of wonderful family time. We were worried that Jono would be upset like last time but he did not cry or appeared to be upset. We told him a few days before that daddy had to leave for his job training but we emphasised that he is coming back. Jono was able to say goodbye with no dramas. I guess he knew daddy will come back just like last time. However, sometimes during the day he was still looking for daddy and wanted him to read him books and pray with him. Fortunately, with the technology today we're able to make video calls on both our mobile phones and skype. This has certainly help to let Jono 'see' his daddy. Hopefully this 10-12 weeks will pass very quickly and we will be a family again!

Time really flies, another year had gone and now we are in the year 2010. I have enjoyed time with my family especially having my hubby by my side. We had great time during Christmas and New Year with family and friends. The kids absolutely loved their christmas presents. We only bought small items like books and matchbox car for Jono. He was just as happy and really appreciated them. However, his granparents and uncle and aunties bought him big toys otherwise. They bought him Wii, a golf set, DVD, 'Whack a Mole', and books. To be honest, we found that toys are so overrated in our society. Kids don't need the biggest, the lastest or the most expensive toys to make them happy. What they really want is our time and attention. Jono would be most happy when we read to him and play with him.

Esther's 1st Christmas was rewarded with books, toys, clothes and shoes. She was very excited to rip open those presents. She was more interested in the wrappers than the actual items themselves. I think she really could not careless what she gets for Christmas. I mean what would a 10 months old baby want? I felt that we are buying her presents just to make us happy, not her. Just like many other young kids, she is happy to just play with a piece of paper or a plastic cup. Kids are just so simple and innocent.

Our new year was spent in a Christian Camp. We really enjoyed our time there and have made some new friends. Jono was so spoilt with lot of kids to play with and Esther was giving smiles to everyone. I would say it's most excited when you meet like-minded people and gather around the Word of God. Apart from that, I also enjoyed not having to cook or worry about the house for a week.

God has been very gracious to us in 2009. He guided us through some huge changes and in all life circumstances. In this new year we will trust Him in everything we do and live our lives as we ought to.