1 Corinthians for Parents - A timely reminder

1 Corinthians for Parents

If I live in a house of spotless beauty, with everything in its place.

But have not love, I am just a mere housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing and polishing cars and decorative
achievements,

But have not love, my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laughter.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys,

Love reprimands, rebukes and is responsive.

Love is present in every trial.

Love crawls with a baby, walks with a toddler.

Runs with the child, and then steps aside

To let you walk into adulthood.

Love is the key that opens salvation's message into a child's
heart.

Before I became a parent, I took glory in my house of perfection;

Now I glory in God's perfection in my child.

As a parent, there are so many things I must teach my child.

But the greatest of all is Love.

Fluffy’s gone back, leaving us sweet memories

Fluffy’s gone back; he was here for a short stay of almost 10 years, and he’s left.

Daddy Tiong was relived, no more walking of dogs twice a day, no more brushing of his teeth nightly, no more rushing back just in case he peed in the house.

The kids and Mummy Eliz were sad thou; in the 1st morning that Fluffy’s not around, Mummy Eliz felt a weird sense of loss, Princess Chelsea cried, and Prince Christian kept chanting that he wanted Fluffy after school, when he saw no dog waiting outside for him.

Hmmm, we got to stick to the deal thou, he’s here for a short stay, and a short stay it’ll be.

~ Fluffy; a red poodle ~

~ Prince with Fluffy ~

~ Princess with Fluffy ~

Uncle John’s Traditional Wedding Dinner

My gosh, this is such a belated post, and its delay is due in part to Uncle John passing to us the photos late.

Well, finally Uncle John got married, and here are two shots taken at his wedding. Evident in the pictures, niece Chelsea adores Uncle John, and this is as he still possesses this child-like innocence in his, and is always slow to anger.

Mummy Eliz on the other hand, is like a fire sparkler, easy to ignite but burns for a [hopefully] short while.

~ Princess with her Uncle ~

~ Prince enjoying his sweets ~

7 Days / 6 Nights Hong Kong / Shenzhen / Macau

The main purpose of this trip was to attend Uncle John’s wedding dinner in H.K., but since it’s not every day we’re flying over there, our travels plans expanded to include Shenzhen and Macau.

Highlights

Hong Kong: Noah’s Ark, Hong Kong Disneyland

Shenzhen: Windows of the World, Splendid China

Macau: Ruins of St Paul's, Senado Square, The Venetian, City of Dreams’ [Dragon’s Treasure Show]

Itinerary

Day 1 Singapore – Hong Kong [Tues, 25 Jan 2011]

Assemble at Changi International Airport for flight SQ860 to HK, departs SIN 08:30, arrives 12:25.

Upon arrival, proceed to Bus Bay 19-29 at Coach Station located at Airport Terminal 2, to take the Airport Circular Bus to Noah’s Ark Park Island.

Buses arrive every 30 minutes, starting from 06:30 till 00:30, costs HK $24 flat fee.

Free ‘n’ Easy time at Noah’s Ark, with 1 night’s stay at Noah’s Resort.

Day 2 Hong Kong [Wed, 26 Jan 2011]

Check-out and take the Island Shuttle Bus to Tsing Yi MTR Station.

From there to Disneyland Resort in 15 minutes.

Free ‘n’ Easy time at Disneyland, with 1 night’s stay at Disneyland Hollywood Hotel.

Day 3 Hong Kong – Shenzhen [Thurs 27 Jan 2011 to Fri, 28 Jan 2011]

Take the HK Disneyland Shuttle Cross-Boundary Coach Service from Disneyland Resort Public Transport Interchange to Huanggang Checkpoint.

Free ‘n’ Easy Tour of Windows of the World. The nearest Metro Station is 世界之窗 on Line 1.

Free ‘n’ Easy Tour of Splendid China [spectacular closing performances, 龙凤舞中华 地点：凤凰广场 每天19:30-20:30 东方霓裳 地址：印象中国剧场 每天17：00-18：00 金戈王朝 地点：海边马场 每天14：00 、16：10]. The nearest Metro Station is 华侨城 on Line 1.

Free ‘n’ Easy Shopping at Children’s World at Exit A from Metro Station 华强北.

Day 4 Shenzhen - Macau [Sat, 29 Jan 2011]

Take a ferry from Skekou Ferry Terminal to Taipa Temporary Ferry Terminal.

Tour to Ruins of St Paul's, Senado Square.

Free ‘n’ Easy Fun at Kids' City at City of Dreams, located at Level 2, Hard Rock Hotel in Macau.

Day 5 Macau – Hong Kong [Sun, 30 Jan 2011]

Take First Ferry fm Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal to HK Tsim Sha Tsui China Ferry Terminal.

A night’s stay at Hop Inn, http://hotel.zoapiere.com.

Wedding dinner at hotel near Prince Edward Station, 4 stops from Tsim Sha Tsui Station.

Day 6 Hong Kong – Singapore [Mon, 31 Jan 2011]

Board the Airport Express Bus to HKIA.

Proceed to the HKIA for the flight back to Singapore, SQ863, departs 13:30.

Noah’s Ark, a paradise on the island Ma Wan

Noah’s Ark was like a step closer to heavens for us, a great start to a holiday. Compared to the over-publicized Disneyland, Noah’s Ark was like a hidden gem, away from the hectic city life.

~ Upon Arrival! ~

Noah’s Ark also has a few great places to check out, like their Life Education House, and their Ark Expo. Details available on their website, if you need more info, drop me a line.

Noah’s Ark was built on an island, where only limited ferries and island shuttle bus serve the area, so noise pollution is controlled. The island overlooks the Tsing Ma Bridge, so the night-view is great. Stay for a night, but if you’re the kind who craves for pubs at night, then this is not the place for you.

~ At the Ark Garden, which depicts a scene from the Bible ~

On Noah’s Ark, one can also find a Condo Development known as Park Island, where there are more than 25 blocks of condo, supporting a Primary School, a Kindergarden, and a supermarket etc.

A word of caution thou, night-time there is peaceful, but if one is not used to peacefulness, it can get overwhelming. We loved the place thou.

For us, we prefer Noah’s Ark’s peacefulness over Disneyland anytime.

~ The million-dollar view ~

~ Daddy and his darlings ~

Shenzhen; a surprise at any corner

Mummy Eliz was just telling Daddy Tiong, Macau’s Tourism Board did a great job, but Shenzhen’s Tourism Board needs to do more.

Well, a lot of information about Shenzhen was how it used to be decades ago, as if it had gotten frozen in time, but our trip there surprised us.

Upon arrival, we were ripped off by a Taxi Driver, and the locals were not exactly helpful, but that was almost as bad as it could get.

~ With Granny Agatha at the Hotel Lobby ~

Shenzhen is developing at the speed of a bullet train, and information about it found online did not do it justice. It’s a colourful place, and one could spend a good many days there exploring and discovering surprises.

And the closing shows at their tourist attractions, gosh, imagine more than 300 people being cast on stage in a production; it’s as good as paying for a theatre in U.K.

If you ever go to Splendid China or Windows of the World, DO NOT EVER miss their closing show. It’ll make every cent you pay for the entrance ticket worth.

~ Exploring the miniatures at Splendid China ~

Someone online said one would only need to spend 3 hours at each place, but gosh, that someone was so wrong, if we only spend 3 hours and miss the closing show, we would be missing a big bulk of the place’s appeal.

So in the end, we ran over-time, and ate into our time for Macau. We were supposed to cover both Splendid China and Windows of the World in a day, but ended up, did them on two separate days.

~ Riding a horse ~

~ Trying traditional Archery ~

Shenzhen’s Windows of the World

Unfortunately, we had no choice but to miss the closing show of Windows of the World, and after witnessing the standard of the closing show at Splendid China the night before, Mummy Eliz felt so regretful that she did not planned for one more day at Shenzhen.

We had to abandon Windows of the World as otherwise; we would not be able to reach Macau before dark. Without the show, the memories of the place would be just that of the miniatures of the famous icons found around the world, not as vivid and colourful.

For the little ones, they enjoyed the place nevertheless, especially when Mummy Eliz and Daddy Tiong tricked Uncle John into staying in a blown up Human Ball on a lake next to the Merlion with the little ones for almost an hour.

~ Princess with Daddy ~

~ Princess with Granny Agatha and Uncle John ~

~ Dinosaur Pack; the kids’ favourite ~

~ Our family in a one-of-a-kind mood ~

Macau; finally we are there

Well, not meaning to belittle the historical value of the Monuments in Macau, it’s a trip that comes with no surprises.

We did what everyone else did there, ate their egg-tarts, took a walk up to the Ruins of St. Pauls, and went to the Venetian etc.

City of Dreams was a heavily marketed product, but honestly, it’s just a huge shopping centre, with a casino [which we never got to visit].

Macau is surrounded by the sea, and thus it’s awfully cold there. In the end, we had no choice but to get winter jackets for the little ones, we had survived on t-shirts and jeans everywhere else, so check them out in their cute little winter attire.

~ Feeling cold!!!! ~