What we’ve been up to

Both Heng Khuen and I have had a rather busy past month with work, friends visiting, and a birthday party, so we’ve done very little by way of wedding preps. But I do want to say a big thank you to all of you who have been sharing your experiences with us, giving us helpful tips and advice on where to look from venues to dresses to photographers and more.

Apart from feeling a little burnt out from work, my mind has also been distracted by other things. Musings about what the new season of life ahead would look like, the role of a woman in marriage, whether my career aspirations would (or be forced to) change when I eventually become a mum, and if I would be able to joyously embrace it.

I’m very blessed to have someone who has cheered me along as wholeheartedly as Heng Khuen has done, since I stepped out in a somewhat brash attempt last September to try and carve out a new frontier not just in new media, but in the international student industry here in Melbourne. I’m still trying to understand why exactly I’m so passionate about my work, and there are moments that I worry I will run out of time to see at least some fruit borne out of my labour of love.

But perhaps I worry about tomorrow too much, forgetting that each day has enough trouble of its own, and that God’s mercies are new every morning.

So on a lighter note… I wanted to share some photos of what we got up to last Saturday. We celebrated Heng Khuen’s “3+1” birthday party at McDonalds, which was such a blast!

The theme was “too school for cool”, and our guests had to come dressed in something reminiscent of their schooling days. We had balloons, party hats and all, and  played good ole games like pass the parcel, sculptorade (like pictionary/charades, only you describe the mystery word by fashioning it with playdough) and a colouring competition. We finished the afternoon with an ice-cream birthday cake, and everyone got to bring home a party bag.

The funniest part I think was seeing the little children walk by the party room and stare wistfully at our balloons and party hats, and wondering why a bunch of grown ups had invaded their space.

On a completely side note, and since we were on the topic of motherhood – I did remark to a friend then that we should hold another dress up party when we are parents. And the theme would be “big kids and little grown-ups”.

But enough of my ramblings, here are the photos, enjoy!

Birthday boy waits for his guests to arrive.

Best friends.

Brothers.

Colleagues.

Friends.

Twins.

Must eat cake.

Fairytale weddings and fears

I know some girls dream about a fairytale wedding and begin collecting ideas and looking for inspiration long before they get hitched.

I suppose I’ve never really given much thought to it having grown up hearing stories about the realities of marriage, the pain of infidelity, people who feel they have chosen their partners poorly and end up co-existing in a loveless marriage. One of my greatest fears used to be the thought of waking up 10 years after being married and looking at the man lying next to me, and thinking, “What have I done?”

The past more than two years with Heng Khuen has been an exercise in confronting my fears – perceived or otherwise – and learning to trust in his character, words and action. It’s also been a delightful journey in discovering God’s sovereignty over my life. Time and time again, I have been surprised by joy, and He has certainly done exceedingly abundantly over and above what I could have asked for or imagined.

Who can say how our lives are going to turn out? For better or for worse, in sickness or in health, I can only trust that His grace shall be sufficient for me and that His strength will be made perfect in my weakness. I will be able to deal with whatever comes my way when it comes my way. No point worrying about the what-ifs now.

All this reflecting has also brought me back to thinking about how Heng Khuen and I first met, which was all rather funny. The post, A Letter in Love was titled after one of my favourite books of all times, Alain de Botton’s Essays in Love, which Heng Khuen bought me for my birthday in 2009.

You say to-ma-to, I say to-may-to. I made this spur of the moment response video after the proposal. Shared it on Facebook and was thoroughly chuffed by the slew of comments we received. Among my favourites was a line from C who called it my “comeback video”. Hilarious.

A lot of friends have asked me about our engagement story, so here it is. Heng and I have been seeing each other for more than two years now, and marriage has been on the cards, but the proposal did come as a complete surprise. I’m part of a closely-knit church community and every month, […]