Moments in Life...

Salam....

Two days ago I had a parents meeting with Afeef's teacher, since hubby was a bit busy that day, so off I went with the kids...

A journey to Afeef's school always was tiring, 15 minutes journey that if I walk with my regular pace, but with the kids tagging along, I need about 25 minutes approximately..

And it's a journey up hill..

And worst, I couldn't bring the stroller along, because we need to go through a staircase which is a route that offers shorter distance to his school...

And it was raining lightly...

Surprisingly, despite the light rain and the fact that I must carry Aleena from time to time because she was tired from the journey up hill, I found last Monday's journey to Afeef's school and going back home were one of the most memorable ones.. (",)

While we walked together hand in hand, we passed by this sign:

And Afeef quickly pointed at it, yeah yeah he told me about this before...

Afeef's main concern was the 100euro that this person offers for anyone who'd found the cat, and Afeef's so excited bout it that he'd missed another important point here;

'Someone is grieving and that person is willing to give 100euro away and it occured to me that this person could be just a boy or a girl with only 100euro in his/her saving and is willing to give it all away in desperation to find his or her beloved cat!!'

Oh, I know Afeef has a good attitude now, he saves a lot, he has his own money, and whenever we go out, he would bring his money along and buy whatever he wants using his own money, and that he would not simply buy stuffs, he would think thoroughly before buying anything even if it costed him only 1euro! 

Which is good, and he never gives a second thought for buying anything not more than 2euro for Fatini..

Which is good also, for his willingness to spend for his sister more than for himself. 

But, I don't let Afeef buy anything for Fatini anymore unless if it's her Birthday or she had done anything special, Fatini needs to learn the value of money as well, so nowadays Fatini has her own savings too.

On the left is Fatini's savings and on the rigtht is Afeef's.

So, back to my story, why Afeef was so into that 100euro, because he needs some extra money to top up what he has so he could get a new Nintendo..... Mmmmm Nintendo ape ye??

Never mind... Coz that's not the point.

The point is, money will never be enough no matter how much you have, and things you wanna buy will never come to an end! 

The key word is, to feel enough with what we have and to be thankful, that's it...

If we open our eyes for every single tiny things Allah has given us, oh my, there's too many, and we wouldn't want anything else in this whole wide world, because we have everything!

So I told Afeef,

"Afeef, if I found that cat, I'll just give it to the owner and I'll not take that 100euro...."

And he asked me in disbelief,

"Why???!!!!!"

I told him, that there are other far better things in Life, values, love, how beautiful it feels to help others, and money is never a priority, because with God's will, we'll feel complete even with only basic needs to survive. 

And he will understands someday when he loves something badly and I'm sure he's willing to give away all his money too.. Right?

Ahah 'nodding' though reluctantly hehehe..
But, he'll understand someday, I know he will... (",)

To end my lenghty speech bout life, love and all, I told him;

"We'll help find that cat but not for the money but for the sake of helping others.."

Mmmmmmm smiling he said, 

"Ok... "

 This time I detect a note of sincerity in his voice and his smile (",)

So I hugged him and let him know that I'm soooo proud of him!

We reached Afeef's school in time to meet his teacher, had a little discussion bout how Afeef's doing in school, and learnt from his teacher that Afeef is one of the best behaved student in class, very obedient, done his home works all the time, very good in reading, one of the best student in Mathematics, (Alhamdulillah all those efforts pay off..) but terrible in writing hehehe.. (tulisan sambung which is important in German schools)

It's ok Afeef, we'll practice more (",)

And, the part which I'll never forget was when I informed her that we'll be going back to Malaysia end of this year, she looked at me in surprise, sad, disbelief all at once.

But the most prominent expression was sadness..

She looked genuinely sad, I could see it in her eyes, her expression, and when she looked at Afeef and told him that he'll be missed and not having him around anymore is going to be a huge loss, I knew she meant it, she really really meant it... (",)

A sweet teacher.... And Afeef loves her...

I felt sad too...

On the way home, I asked Afeef if he's sad to leave all these behind, 

He said,  "Yes, terribly..."

It's ok Afeef, insyaAllah you'll find great friends in Malaysia later and teachers too.. 

InsyaAllah...

We don't WAIT for things to happen, we'll MAKE it happens....

Life's Like That.....

(",)

PS: It's been snowing since Yesterday, thunderstorm hit yesterday too, for the first time witnessing 'hujan batu' seriously hehe.. hujan batu ais lah tapi hehe.. I'll make an entry bout it later, and today's activity; finish a novel sambil tunggu aleena main snow.. I know it'll take hours... ***sigh***

Have a nice day everyone.. (",)

Housewife heaven :P

A steaming hot coffee and a novel... 

*****Siggggghhhhh.....****

What else should I want..

This is what I call a 'Housewives Heaven' ngeh ngeh..

No worries, no pressure, no dateline, no meetings, no rushing... :D

By the way, this is another delicious page-turner by Sophie Kinsella, catchy and of course hilarious!!!

And since it's winter and 6.30pm is already Isya, and at 9pm, already feels like midnight, so everyone sleeps early too.. 

And since I've turned into sort of a disciplined mommy (konon2 laaa ngeh ngeh),

my reading time is set to only before I go to sleep, on the bed, with only a tiny lamp switched on..

So, I ended up laughing like an idiot in the middle of the night hehehe!!

Ehem.. of course there's a loophole, though I've said reading time is only before I go to sleep, I've decided that is only aplicable when I haven't gotten to the climax of the story :D 

Seriously, if you are a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, then this is a must read!! 

And even if you are not a fan of her, you still should read this, it's really really nice!

mmmmmm.... ok, just a lil bit more, this is my latest piano cover, as I've said before, this past week had been a 'Lagu-lagu basi mode', so this is the first lagu basi I've played, not so successfully though.. the ending was a bit huru hara :P

Anyway, Enjoy!!

Sape yang tengah jiwang bercinta masa lagu ni Top dulu, suka lah tew hehehe...

Ok, lastly, came across this yesterday, 

"Kemudian sampaikan khabar gembira kepada mereka yang beriman dan beramal soleh, bahawa bagi mereka syurga-syurga yang dihiasi oleh sungai-sungai yg mengalir. Setiap kali mereka mendapat rezeki dari buah-buahan di dalam syurga, mereka mengatakan, 

"Rezeki ini adalah rezeki yang telah diberikan kepada kami sebelum ini"

Mereka mendapat rezeki yang serupa tetapi berlainan hakikatnya.."

(Surah Al-Baqarah: ayat 25)

It occurs to me that in heaven, we'll actually have the same kind of life we have now on earth, we'll have the same things we have now, whatever we love to have and already have, we will have it there again.. only in heaven, it's far far better, far happier, with no more tests, no more worries etc etc.. it's unimaginably beautiful...

So, lets work for it ;)

A good mommy in the making :P

When my mom was here, she had really, thoroughly brainwashed me, hehehe..

It's all about educating my kids at home.. though mom said it all because she's worried bout Afeef, how he's going to cope with M'sian syllabus and all, I on the other hand, have different views..

I think I shouldn't teach him because I want him to be able to catch up, ( yes of course I wouldn't want him to be left far behind too, because that will discourage him to go to school) but I also don't want him to be under pressure, plus Malaysian  people's attitude;

'I have to be a top scorer, I have to be a Doctor, or Lawyer, or Engineer and all other high class jobs!

Here, there's no such pressure in school, no one is comparing who is better, who is smarter, etc etc...

They learn because they want to learn, they want to know bout this and that, and they try to discover individual abilities and talent, so as to ensure that what ever profession you chose in the future, is what you'll do best and it's really what you want to do and not because it's a glamorous job!!

Which explains why even the kindergarten teachers are very committed, because that's what they loved to do!

Ok, before melalut lebih jauh hehe, all I wanna share is that, because of my mom, because of what she said, (thanx a million to mak) I've finally finally finally realized that I should take this opportunity, this time when they are so excited to learn, this time when I'm at home with them 24 7, this quality time to educate them...

Actually, I've long ago realized this, but I just couldn't bring myself to be a discipline mommy....

So after finally betol2 insaf ngeh ngeh, I started teaching them...

And Fatini 's progress is so amazing...

After about 3 weeks now, she's finally finished with this book, and can read these simple sentences herself..

I'm so thrilled!!
She's barely 5 years old!!
Ok, it's probably nothing, kids in M'sia read so fluently already at the age of 5 :D
But, it's different when it's entirely your own effort!
I feel like I've just succeeded in something!

By the way, had this talk with hubby the other day,
"What is your defination of success?", hubby had asked..
Ok, I won't tell you what my answer was, but I personally think that,
A person is successful when she or he is sooooo happy with what he or she does regardless of how much money she or he makes..
So, a housewife can be very successful too, and I'd define a success for myself would be, if I manage to raise my kids to be a successful person, fiddunya wal akhirah :)

mmmm... melalut lagi ke??
ok, back to the point,

I didn't put any pressure on her, I've made it easy and fun for her to learn, and every time she asked me to read stories for her from this book, 

(Thanx to Izu for this gift, aunty Izu mmg tau ape Fatini suke :) )

I told her that I'll only read one story a day for her,  ok at most two stories, but if she wants to know more stories, she must learn to read herself, learn everyday, so she could read soon and she could read more stories on her own!!

Owwwhhhh angguk angguk abis with such enthusiasms I've never seen before!!

She has so much passions for books, I'll not let her loose this passions the way Afeef had... (insyaAllah..)

Oh believe me, I was a lazy mommy.. I've never tried hard enough with Afeef, now he'd lost his passion for books, and turned to TV instead... 

I hope it's not too late for me to fix this, I hope he'll soon realize that reading is far more interesting than watching TV or playing games..
I hope it's not too late for me to be a better mommy too hehehehe :P

I hope I have inspire some mommies out there too  :D

Tok Wi Janggut Merah...

" Tok Wi Janggut Merah @ Sheikh Nawawi adalah seorang tokoh ulama' negeri Perak. Bagi menghargai jasanya, sebuah masjid di negeri perak telah dinamakan sebagai Masjid Al-Nawawi sempena nama nya iaitu Tuan Guru SyeikhHaji Nawawi bin Haji Tahir. "

That's my late grandfather, and we called him Tok Wan, I've never had the chance to meet him as he'd already passed away when I was born. And.... yes he was one of the 'Ulama' in Perak, a lil bit about him HERE..

I'm not proud at all to reveal this as I am far far far far from being the kind of a person he was...

Ibadah or akhlak wise..

Nevertheless, I'm striving to be just like him... (ye la tu hehehe)

Just had a long chat with my mom thru Sype just now, and mom suddenly brought up a few things bout him which I think, most of us failed to observe..

Mom said....

Tok wan never complained a single thing, if the coffee was bitter, he just drank them..

If the coffee was too sweet, he just drank them as well..

If the food was salty or tasteless, he just ate them, no grimace, no complain, no nothing...

He never had any preferences for food, he just ate anything that was served to him..

His Principle was, " Rezeki from Allah SWT " just eat them regardless...

He wore the same few " kain pelikat" over and over again, sew necessary patches himself, until they were wearable again...

He loved to make others happy especially children...

He never talked bad about people nor hurt them..

He never raised his voice to his wives nor complained bout anything..

And when his wives complained bout anything at all, he just kept quiet and nodded..

Mom said, he stood up fearlessly in defending Islam and for what's right.. he feared nothing but Allah SWT..

In short, I would say, he was so close to fully following and practicing Rasulullah's way of life...

As believers and followers of Rasulullah, our choices must be within the boundaries of Deen. Deen is that way of life which Rasulullah lived and demonstrated. It is the way of life that Allah has chosen for us.

Allah declares ;

“And I am pleased with Islam as your Deen (religion/way of life).” (Surah 5; Verse 3)

Those, who are close at HEART... :)

I'm called to write this after reading a nice entry by Izu, a friend since IIUM, and of course a wonderful friend :)

This past few days, I've been in a confused state, bout something, bout myself...

I might have not been a good wife, a good mother, daughter, friend, etc etc.. but I am actually striving to be a good person, to everybody...

Nevertheless, one way or another, all of us for sure have done mistakes in the past, derailed from the right path, regardless to Allah SWT, or to family, friends etc etc..

For us to realized our mistakes and repent immediately, is for me a huge achievement...

Because, for me, once you've realized your mistakes, that means Allah has shown you the right way, that means He hadn't blocked your heart entirely from receiving His blessings and mercy...

And thank Allah whenever you realized all the wrongdoings in life...

Allah will surely forgive us..

So, for this new year, I wanna make a huge improvement in life (harap2 bukan konon2 laaa), wanna treat all those people superbly, wonderfully, and wanna care for them wholeheartedly.. Those are the people close at heart, My husband, my mother, my children (oh my, they light up my life..), my family and all my friends out there, bak kata Izu, "you know who you are.."

Thanx to those who sees me as a wonderful person and the goods in me..

I really2 appreciate it :)

mmm.... someone sent me this message earlier on Facebook, his name is Afeef Ahmed (that's my son's name !! :) )

Salam , how r u ? my name is also Afeef , and i am ALLHamdullilah Muslim , u r great mom , Allah bless u

I wonder if he's the anonymous commenter asking me to write in English?

Whoever you are, thanx very very very very very very much for your message, I really really appreciate it.. Allah bless you too..

This message really make my day

:)

The Hospital Window...

One of my favorite story, first read it when I was 14 years old in a story book, "My Sister My Sorrow" culdn't recall the Author's name.. but even than, I already felt the beauty of it, the sadness and how dangerous 'penyakit hati' culd be...

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room with a hospital window. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. And every afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the wonderful things he could see outside the hospital window, a park with a lovely lake, ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the outside world.

Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered the other man's head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that hospital window - and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the hospital window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the hospital window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing.

Now, there was only silence - deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the hospital window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away-no works, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he could be moved next to the hospital window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the hospital window beside the bed...........

It faced a blank wall.

'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way'

TaKe ThE TiMe To KnOw WhaT ReAL LoVe Is...

My all time favorite Story...

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered,

"Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is..."

TAKE THE TIME TO KNOW WHAT REAL LOVE IS...

A WoNDeRFuLL StORy...

As I was browsing, I came across this wonderful story bout friendship, just wanna share it with everyone who reads my blog...

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

The message it was trying to convey was quite obvious, bout how we should forgive and forget one's mistake and also try to appreciate more on the good deeds rather than brooding over one's mistake. Frankly, I'm not sure if this kind of situation really happens in real life, in between friends in particular, but I'm sure it does happen between a mother and her child and definitely between Allah SWT and us, human. A mother will always forgives her child wholeheartedly no matter what. Allah SWT is definitely forgiving.. even when we av been a bit prejudice toward HIM and let ourselves got carried away with all the business in life, He'd still grant us with all the wonderful things in life, still forgives us for all our mistakes. Nevertheless, it is truly wonderful if we can forgive everyone the way Allah forgives us and the way a mother forgives her child...

"Bersegeralah beramal untuk mendapatkan keampunan dari Tuhan mu, dan meraih syurga seluas langit dan bumi yang disediakan bagi mereka yg bertakwa, IAITU mereka yg selalu menafkahkan harta, pada saat senang atau susah, dan yg SELALU MENAHAN KEMARAHAN DAN MEMAAFKAN KESALAHAN ORANG LAIN..." Surah Ali-Imran, ayat 133-134.

Dah jelas kan? Layakkah kite untuk meraih syurga Allah??