kids were exhausted tonight.... both asleep by 9.30pm.  and why?

i had them out from 9+ this morning, til 8.30 tonight. thankfully i stopped by mil's house to bath them, else they wd hv bn too zonked to move! so here i am with time to ponder the day... ;-)

today was a nice day. it should have turned bad but we never let it.  we went to a new church, and all 3 of us found e ppl there to be very welcoming. it's small but quite cosy in a way. seeing neighbours from our blk there helped us know where to go and get e kids settled. amazingly kayla was fine on her own, no questions asked. she's really growing up! i think we shall probably try it out again a few more times... it's convenient too cos it's so close-by. i also like the fact that they get the kids involved in things like operating e powerpoint, cd-players etc on a rota basis. it really gives them a sense of ownership.

the other highlight of e day was an orchestral opera performance by nanyang at e esplanade. we chanced upon it in passing... and as it was free, we decided to hang around and give it a go. i'm surprised e kids lasted the full hour... and pleased too!  kynan says he liked e harp the most. and a male/female couple who sang a duet love-song. kayla liked that one too. i had too many favourites! in fact i was quite astonished by the standard of the performance... most encouraging. (the only one that i felt was not quite up to standard were the flamenco dancers, seemingly tagged on just for show. their part in the opera was barely audible too, which was more of a technical issue.) but the rest was fantastic!  the audience were very appreciative too. (my kids hv never clapped that loud! :b)

the next 'beautiful sunday performance' is on e 15th nov at 5pm and e kids hv already asked me to make it a date!  :)  this reminds me of the good old days when i used to attend oh-so-many such events in the uk during my work -and student-days. such events were either free, or pay-what-you-want.

but since getting married and shifting out here, that's one side of me that hasn't really had opportunity to be fulfilled.  (mostly cost being a factor/ and timing too_ once kids came along.)  but today i remembered how much i really enjoyed it!!    and something else about today has given me a tremendous sense of peace.  i dont know exactly what did it... but although so much nonsense was going on ard us, i never let it get to me.  not the slightest bit of anger or irritation. it really just washed rt over without me even trying. (which is a new experience for me! i usually have to try veeery hard not to be irritated by certain stuff ;))

"be wise and walk on... seal it. keep it safe within you..." a translation of Daniel today that somehow covered me and gave me immense peace, both within myself and while being with my kids... i'm thankful for it.   perhaps this is the word that will get me through... i thank God for the peace in me and the peace in the kids, to just go out and be... and enjoy each other's company...while the storm was raging around us.