Monday, December 24, 2012

Except the Lord build the house,

i was just discussing with PP whether the home building process ought to be discussed on the blog. firstly, it involves our privacy and secondly, the last thing i want is to end up flaunting a showroom. oh, how i always struggle with pride. nonetheless, on reflection, God has been INCREDIBLY good to us. i need to record all these blessings down and to share them as a testimony of God's goodness to us! i definitely hope our experience can be a testimony of how moving house is not THAT daunting, and yes, you can have a baby while doing so ;) all because we have a heavenly Father who takes care of us and watches over our every need :)

before we got our keys, i was scared to bits, yet thrilled at the same time. the date of completion appears to be so near (too near!) the arrival of baby Ezra. Psalm 127 offered special comfort. It seems to address every single worry i had, whether it be the house, my difficulty in sleeping, even the growth of Ezra. 


Except the LORD build the house,they labour in vain that build it:

except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,

to eat the bread of sorrows: forso he giveth his beloved sleep.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed,

but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 


Except the LORD build the house.....

How true! If God was not in this home-building process, everything would just crumble.  

the first blessing God sent our way was a wonderful contractor. after comparing quotes, we realised that engaging an ID would definitely ease the process, but was so much more costly. it also seemed like more often than not, we were telling the ID what we wanted. hence, with some fear and trembling, we started scouring around for contractors, looking for contacts from friends and even online. amazingly, God led us to a contact (gotten online!). we saw his handiwork, liked it, studied his quote, found him fatherly and experienced, and decided that he was the one! he was not the cheapest option, but in construction, what you pay is more often than not, what you get :) 

Mr L (the contractor) and Mr A (the carpenter) are very very amicable and easy to work with. they speak mandarin, but are clearly savvy with what needs to be done, offering suggestions for improvement on the way. can you believe they were more efficient than us? they started work even before we expected them too! 

on hindsight, if you were to ask me whether a contractor or ID is better, I would say, go for a contractor if you already know what you want. If you have in mind the colours you like and how you would like to plan your space, a contractor can easily fulfill your expectations as long as you are clear, you show him pictures, and constantly double check if he has understood your concept. PP and i use pinterest alot and we pin all our favourite ideas and designs so they are easily accessible when we try to explain what we have in mind. An ID would help you conceptualise and create a mood for your house, show you 3D drawings, add some design-y touches, bring you furniture shopping, but the hidden cost would mean forfeiting a full-length cabinet, or a nice platform ;) we decided to go for the more prudent option, and definitely have no regrets! thank God for His providence :) Here's the start of our journey!

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we entered the house and were surprised that aircon piping had proceeded, followed by hacking of walls. yes, these are probably the ugliest photos ever on this blog, but they are heart-warming sights. the mess proved to us that work had started, in God's good timing, way earlier than we expected! :) 

I'd love to share Mr L's contact with you. email me if you're interested :)

Saturday, December 08, 2012

and his name is...

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it has been an amazing journey so far, and i believe what we have experienced till today is but a foretaste of what is to come. God's timing is always perfect, and we tightly cling on to this fact. by faith, all will fall in place! 

planning for a new home, and preparing for a new member of the family, can be more than overwhelming at times. how true it is, that "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." Lamentations 3: 22.

With the edd being 1st of January (this can only be planned by God!) we are constantly reminded by the promise that ATWOSLU - All the Way Our Saviour Leads Us! and He doeth all things well. progress is well for our new home, by God's grace. oh, such exciting stuff! i was telling my sister that day that this feels like a gigantic craft project, hehe! more importantly, i do look forward to moving in with PP and baby E, to build a new home, our own family :) 

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thank God especially, for people who support us so much, in acts of love, prayer and sincere questions of concern. these blessings are another reminder that God is with us, through you :) 

and so, as the countdown gets lower, thank God we have decided on the name of our son. (feels surreal, saying the word, our son)

Ezra. /ˈezrə/

name of hebrew origin, meaning "helped", or "helper"

How we pray that our dear son will find his help in God, and be a helper greatly used by God! more importantly, that he will love God and His word. "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." Ezra 7:10

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Surely, our role in achieving this is crucial. may God help us! we covet your prayers! 

side note: amidst our busyness, we found time for a little photoshoot for memorial's sake :) the lovely photos in this blog post are by Blocmemoire Photography, an amazing couple whom we really enjoyed working with!