i was just revising for my foundations of OT exam on monday when my phone buzzed.

a message from my mum, who's in Japan with my dad n sis:

" Mummy daddy n jodie love jeannie (a cute animation thing here) (another cute animation thing here)"

i knew straight away that they are at the airport, returning to Singapore.

my parents, and sometimes my sister, never fail to send a simple text message of love whenever they are leaving singapore or returning from another country, especially mummy nowadays since she's travelling to india and london for work so often.

i suddenly remembered how blessed i am.

how blessed i am to have such a loving family!

i can imagine qinyi imitating them on the phone when we were on our short term mission trip in thailand in primary five "daddy love u ah! mummy love you ah! jodie also love you ah!"

not much has changed, has it? =)

and i can also remember kristi laughing at how she thinks my honeymoon in the future would end up a family holiday. HAHAHA well i really dont know.. its probably a 50/50 chance that it would happen hehehe.

i remember being annoyed for the many reasons they give me for not wanting me to sleepover at my friends' houses since young, not very approving of me going to jakarta for the end of year mission trip with YWAM, not allowing me to go to the beach.

coming to Perth to study, which for many would have been a big change where they are on their own and have to be independent, wasnt quite that bad for me, considering i had my dad with me in Perth for practically the whole of year 2006 while i was settling in and getting used to everything. instead, he was the one who was facing more difficulties i would imagine. he stayed in hotels for quite a while, waiting for suitable houses to come by, having to search for internet cafes to do stuff, stayed at a friend's place, eventually found an apartment to rent, got furnitures, set up the phone stuff, internet stuff.. all alone in Perth while i was at the boarding house, well fed, sheltered, well taken care of in the company of other boarders. i was even more fortunate than the boarders cus i could come out of the b/h every weekend with my dad, eat at nice stuff at nice places, use the internet, watch tv, go shopping, visit vicky for sleepovers and fishing, attend ballet lessons, go for OCF etc.

even now when all of them are in singapore, they will still take the time out to ring me frequently to see how i'm going, if i miss any food from singapore, if uni is difficult, if geri is doing more cooking than me, if i am feeling okay or stressed or tired..

i really need to appreciate my family more.

the special and unique family, where the dad sees and announces the presence of a cockroach, where the mum's the one to kill the cockroach while the daughters scream and hop and hide anywhere they feel is safe from cockroaches. the family that stays up together to watch stupid shows like X-family (a favourite of the younger daughter), or long and neverending korean serials. the one that looks forward to midnight movies like CJ7 or ah long and cannot stop laughing about it during the whole car ride.. well until all the females fall asleep, leaving the driver lonely and bored. the unique family where the annoying driver picks strands of the our hair to tickle our noses while we're asleep. where the annoying driver becomes the screaming nervous wreck when his daughter takes the wheel. the one where the mum gets her daughter to take before and after photos of her face when trying out new facial products, or floods the house with korean serials. the family that snores like theres no tomorrow. the family where the daughters would anytime choose to eat beard papa cream puff with their last few dollars even if it meant they had no money to return home. the family that gets all hyped up about taking neoprints together x)

there's so much more about my family i could talk about, but i'm gonna stop here.

i've taken my family for granted so many times, preferring to spend my time with things i think are more fun and 'hip and happening', giving more thoughts and concerns to my own life while day still love me unconditionally, supporting me as much as they have since the moment i was born. i can be confident in saying that when all things fail me, they will still be there to catch me, welcoming me with warm hugs and showering me with love.

thank you Lord for this wonderful gift you have blessed me with <3