Looking Back (2006)

I will try to remember certain main family events which have taken place in the past 2 years.
In January 2006 we bought a new Innova. The kids were so excited when we went to the Toyota service center in Semambu to pick up the car. I am sure they feel relieve not having to be smashed together like sardines in our old Proton Wira whenever we go for long trips. Then in March my husband (Steve a.k.a. Mustafa) finally got his permanent resident status, thank to Pak Lah. It was such a challenge trying to get the PR. We filed in the application in 1993, a few months after we got married and we receive an automatic rejection from the immigration department. Then we had to appeal, 4 times before it was approved. For those ladies who are thinking of marrying a foreign man, be prepared for this mental and emotional torture. Alhamdulillah, the torture finally ends!

My son Danial sat for his UPSR exam in September. Alhamdulillah he got 5A’s. We didn’t pressure him to study because he’s the type who pays very close attention to what the teachers teach in class. We didn’t send him to any tuition either because Mustafa doesn’t believe in sending kids for tuition. He said “What are schools for?” I agree with him, after all it’s only UPSR! Just the beginning… he still have many more to go such as PMR, SPM, 1st degree, master’s degree, and a PhD… I hope all my children will do well in school.

In November we sent Danial, Yasmin, and Harris to a Quran camp in Salak Tinggi Mosque for a month. I think that was the third camp that they have attended. In late December Mustafa, my mom and myself went to Mecca to perform our Hajj. Danial, Yasmin and Harris took a day off from the Quran camp to send me to the airport. Then they continue the camp until Chrismas day. After that they stayed with my eldest sister (Along) in Ulu Bendul, NS for a week before my friend Husni took them back to Kuantan because they have to attend school. While we were in Mecca, Hannah and Najla stayed with along until we got back. Hannah celebrated her 6th birthday while we were gone with Along and her family. Mustafa and I called her on that day and she was so excited talking to us.

Looking Back (2007)

We arrived from Hajj journey on 26 January 2007. The next day, we had to rush back to Kuantan because I had to attend my master’s class. We celebrated Najla’s 3rd birthday and Mustafa’s birthday on 9 and 10 March respectively. As usual we baked a chocolate cake for any of the kids’ birthdays. We don’t do much to celebrate ours. Lately, I have been bad remembering Mustafa’s or even my own birthdays! It must be my age…
Danial celebrated his 13th birthday on 4 May. I forgot what we bought him for that day. I will write it when I remember. On 13 July we celebrated Harris’ 9th birthday. Then on 12 August Yasmin celebrated her 11th birthday. One of these days I will post their birthday photos in my blog. As usual, on 14 August, 2 days after Yasmin’s birthday, we celebrated our wedding anniversary. I don’t remember what we did, pretty bad huh? It was our 15th anniversary. My birthday was celebrated on 2 December.
We left for Singapore on Friday 14 December, on the way to the US to visit Mustafa’s family. We celebrated both Eid Adha and Christmas in the US. We had a great visit and as usual it was sad to say goodbyes after being with them for nearly a month.

The Beginning

I have always admired those who write or those who keep diaries. My husband used to write about the development of our kids until the fifth one (Najla) was born, he stopped! He said he would love to continue but unfortunately time (or lack of it) is the main reason for not doing it anymore. It is so sad that we do not have much of written memories about Najla. Since I am not good at writing I kept postponing my intention to pick up where he stopped. Finally, today is the most significant day that I managed to gather my courage to do so.

My friends told me in order to be good at writing I must write at least 2 pages a day! Haa… let’s see… I thought of writing in the baby journal which my husband used before, but I think I will try to use my abandoned blog which I created when I took Young Adult Literature class last year. At least it will be put to good use. I can’t wait to share it with my family.