Thaqif Birthday Bash @ 3 Residen

Today Thaqif is 12! But he has been enjoying pre-birthday celebration for the last two weeks. He received his advance birthday gift, the PS3 early November and yesterday we had a little celebration at 3 Residen. Since yesterday was a public holiday and the school holidays just started, Abah arranged for a game of futsal at the KLFA which is just next to our condo. Normally they would play at the Ampang Sports Complex but since KLFA is offering promotional rate to the public, Abah thought that it would be a good idea to give it a go. The ladies can relax at the condo and the girls can have fun at the pool. Everyone is happy :)

Since we received the key to the condo in October 2011, we have been organising little family and friends gatherings. We decided not to rent the place out but to keep it as our weekend hideout for as long as our pockets allow. Ibu wanted to have her own masterchef kitchen where she can cook at her whim and fancy especially after she got stuck with the AFC Channel 703. Now, the nieces and nephews love to come to the condo than our home. They love the huge infinity pool and the view from the balcony and of course Mak Long's cooking. 

Since everyone would be here for the futsal and swimming, Abah thought that it would be a good idea to just buy a cake to celebrate Thaqif and Aaryz birthdays which falls on 14 and 4 November 2012 respectively. When Abah mooted the idea, Ibu immediately thought of what to prepare for the little party. Ibu has been planning to make sushi when she accidentally came across a recipe book on sushi making by a local chef. Since then, she has been to Daiso to get the basic stuff for sushi making like the sushi mat, the mould and the utensils. We always get excited whenever we plan for gatherings, be it big or small. We would talk about the menu and the itinerary for that day and keep changing the menu until the last minute. We want it to have an impact on everyone even though our guests are our immediate families. We finally settled with Sushi, Macaroni Cheese, Mini Burgers, Pizza Baguette, Fried Meehoon, Dim Sum, Fruits, Ice Cream and of course the Birthday Cake! 

The futsal court was booked from 3pm to 5pm. Our guests started to arrive just before that. While the males were having fun chasing the ball, the females were enjoying themselves with abundance of food. The girls had no choice but to wait for the boys to finish the game before they could all dive into the pool. At around 5.30pm, the condo was quiet since everyone was at the pool having fun. That was the time when Ibu could have a break, relax and spent time catching up and preparing more food before they all rushed back with empty stomachs! True enough, when they were done with futsal and swimming, they dashed back to the condo and attacked the food and in a split second, everything on the table just disappeared! The only thing left was the birthday cake untouched. So, we all sang happy birthday to Thaqif, Aaryz and Aiman who celebrated their 12th, 4th and 8th birthday. 

After solat maghrib, while resting and eating, we discussed our plan to go for a holiday in December although we knew pretty well that the best places around have all been booked since it is already school holiday season. Tok Jae was assigned with the task to check out any leftover chalets or homestays for us to spend our holiday together. The kids refused to go home, that's usually the case when they come to Pak Long's house or condo. What more with the boys all glued to the TV with the PS3 game. After several attempts made by the parents to leave, they finally made a move at around 10.30pm. 

Alhamdulillah, everybody had a great time. We truly enjoyed their company, Pak Ngah, Pak Lang, Pak Teh, Tok Jae and their families, Ira and Opung. Tok, Tok Wan and Tok Mamie dropped by to wish Thaqif. Thank you all for coming and for Thaqif's birthday gifts. We love entertaining the kids and organise family gatherings like this. Although at the end of the day, our bodies started aching, but the feel good factor from  the smiling faces and the joy and laughter we had throughout the day was so satisfying and made all the efforts seem worthwhile. We are so grateful and bless for the bonding we have and we pray that it will stay strong and continue to grow stronger for the rest of our lives, insyaAllah.

First Attempt Sushi Making

Better than Sushi King!!! What a compliment...

International Mini Burgers

Makan Time

The Birthday Boys!

Thaqif and his fav jersey!

The girls having fun

Futsal at KLFA

Red Card for Pak Ngah !!

From futsal court to the pool

Pak Long all time favourite!
plus Dijah and Nana

As for Thaqif who turned 12 today, Happy Birthday Adik. You have "grown up" so fast and will soon enter teenage life which will be more challenging and full of excitement. Always give your very best in whatever you do. Ibu and Abah always pray that you will be successful in your studies when you start your secondary education and will have the opportunity to follow Kakak and Abang to learn Quran, insyaAllah. Let Al Quran and Sunnah be your guidance in life.

We love you  Ahmed Thaqif Iman, the hard-core Liverpool fan!

Time for MyKad!

19 Years and Counting!

That was the message we received on watsapp early morning on 5 November 2012. It was for our 19th wedding anniversary from Pak Lang. Yes, it's been 19 years we officially tied the knot and 27 years since we knew each other. That is a long, long time and we are so grateful for all the blessings granted to us throughout the years of our marriage life.

We decided to celebrate a day before since 5 November falls on monday. Nothing special planned except to spent some time together. In the afternoon we went to Festival City to look for a notebook. Initially Abah wanted to buy a new phone for Ibu but since Ibu wanted to get a notebook for herself, he decided to get one for Ibu as the anniversary gift. Ibu has been planning to buy a pair of sunglasses for Abah to replace the one that he has been using since they are really in bad shape! We normally get for each other things that we want; that way we save from buying unnecessary stuff for each other. After looking at various models in the All IT Hypermarket, we settled for an Acer Aspire M5 Ultrabook. The latest generation of notebook which comes with features similar to tablet. At the end, Abah got his Rayban,  Ibu was happy with her new gadget and Adik who accompanied us also got his share, an advance birthday present,  a PS3!!! 

Later that evening, we went to Pavillion just the two of us for dinner and movie. We had a quick dinner at Bulgogi Brothers and later rush to watch James Bond 007 Skyfall at GSC Gold Class theater. It was nice to spent time together once in a while without the kids and Adik was very understanding. Although he wanted so much to stay at home with his new PS3, he has no choice but to follow nenek to TLG and waited for us to fetch him after the movie around midnight.   

We thought that was the end of our anniversary celebration. But to our surprise, on the day itself, our inbox started to fill up with anniversary wishes from close relatives and friends. Once we updated our bbm and watsapp status, more wishes continued to come in. Thank you so much for their wishes. We are so bless to be surrounded by thoughtful and kind-hearted people. Jasakumullahu Khairan Kathira...

At around 11am, the receptionist at Ibu's office called saying there is a parcel for her. Normally the receptionist would deliver all letters, couriers and parcels  to our office. Ibu was a bit puzzled but nevertheless walked out to the lobby to receive the parcel. Another surprise!!!!! A bouquet of lovely roses and lilies from Abah. That was truly beyond her expectation. It is something unusual for Ibu to get flowers, only on rare occasions Abah would send flowers to Ibu. After getting the ultrabook, Ibu was not expecting anymore gift from Abah. Everyone that came into Ibu's office later that day could smell the strong fragrance coming from the lilies and the roses.

We had a wonderful celebration this year, Alhamdulillah. May Allah swt bless our marriage and let it be a source of untold blessings, happiness and joy. May He guide us to reach our ultimate destination, Al Jannah.

LOVE.com.my

@ Menara Stanchart

Acer Aspire M5 Ultrabook

Bermulanya Satu Kehidupan...

Sudah lebih sebulan Kakak meninggalkan kami untuk mengejar impiannya untuk menjadi seorang doktor muslimah. Alhamdulillah, walaupun tidak mendapat tawaran untuk melanjutkan pengajian di tanah air, Kakak mendapat peluang bermusafir menimba ilmu di bumi Mesir. Sememangnya itulah harapan Kakak untuk belajar di luar negeri, ingin mengikuti jejak langkah Abah dan Ibu katanya...mencari pengalaman sambil memenuhi cita2 untuk bergelar Doktor Muslimah.

Sebelum Kakak berangkat ke Mesir, kami sekeluarga mengadakan majlis doa selamat. Sebenarnya, itu adalah majlis doa selamat yang ketiga yang diadakan untuk Kakak. Memang murah rezeki Kakak. Pada hari raya puasa yang keempat, Tok Abah dan Tok Mama membuat solat hajat di Kuala Krai dan Tok dan Tok Wan pula membuat kenduri doa selamat di Bukit Indah pada cuti hari Malaysia. Jadi, kami hanya berpeluang mengadakan majlis pada hujung minggu terakhir sebelum Kakak berangkat dan kami turut mengambil kesempatan mengadakan Majlis Khatam Hafazan Al-Quran dan Tahlil untuk Arwah Tok Gombak yang genap setahun meninggalkan kami. Majlis 3 dalam 1 kami adakan pada hari Ahad, 23 September 2012 lebih kurang sehari sebelum Kakak berangkat pada 25 September 2012 jam 3 pagi.

Tema untuk majlis kami ialah ungu selari dengan tema warna baju raya kami sekeluarga untuk tahun ini. Jadi mudah untuk tetamu mengecam kami sekeluarga yang berpakaian sedondon. Program pada pagi tersebut dimulakan dengan majlis khatam hafazan Al-Quran, diikuti dengan majlis tahlil dan doa selamat. Sememangnya kami sudah berjanji dengan Kakak untuk membuat majlis khatam bila dia selesai menghafaz Al-Quran pada April 2010, tetapi hajat tersebut asyik tertunda kerana berbagai masalah. Terimakasih pada Tok Mami dan Aunty Pah yang sudi ’sponsor’ pelamin mini untuk Kakak dan pada yang menyumbang berbagai jenis juadah. Terimakasih juga pada Nurginias Katering yang menyediakan makanan yang enak untuk tetamu kami. Syukur Alhamdulillah majlis berjalan lancar walaupun hujan lebat turun dipertengahan majlis. Kami sangat berbesar hati dengan kehadiran rakan2, jiran2 dan saudara mara ke majlis kami terutama pada mereka yang datang all the way dari Kota Bharu, Machang, Bukit Mertajam dan Seremban. Terimakasih jua atas sumbangan dan hadiah buat Dini, hanya Allah swt sahaja yang dapat membalas.

Bersama Ustazah di Bukit Indah

Majlis di Bukit Indah

Mini Pelamin sponsored by Tok Mami and Aunty Pah

Khatam Hafazan Quran 

Bersalaman sambil Berselawat

Khemah Purple

Keesokkan harinya, kami sibuk berkemas dan Dini pula sibuk membuat persiapan terakhir. Oleh kerana had yang dibenarkan oleh Kuwait Airways hanya sebanyak 30 kilo, kami cuba mengemas barang2 yang perlu dibawa agar tidak melebihi had yang ditetapkan. Tapi biasalah, dengan seribu satu macam perkara yang telah dibeli dan dipikirkan perlu, akhirnya kami tekad mengizinkan Kakak membawa lebih dan sanggup membayar sekiranya perlu. Kami bertolak ke KLIA selepas solat isya’ kerana Dini perlu berada di airport pada jam 10 malam. Kami bernasib baik kerana Medicmesir membuat group check in dan kami tidak dikenakan apa2 bayaran untuk beg Dini yang melebihi had lebih kurang 10kg.

Akhirnya pada jam 1 pagi, Dini meninggalkan kami setelah mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada semua yang datang menghantarnya di KLIA pada malam tersebut, Tok Abah, Tok Wan dan Tok, Pak Ngah sekeluarga, Pak Lang, Pak Teh dan Tok Jae. Sedih melihat Kakak yang tidak dapat menahan airmata ketika dipeluk Abah, Abang, Adik dan Nenek. Ramai yang menyangka Ibu akan menitiskan airmata ketika melepaskan Kakak pergi. Alhamdulillah, Ibu sudah bersedia menghadapi saat itu dan dapat menahan airmata kerana tidak mahu Kakak terlalu bersedih meninggalkan kami. Dini meninggalkan sebuah kad untuk kami yang tertulis perkataan "Thanks" dan kami hanya membaca dalam perjalanan pulang dari KLIA. Ketika itulah baru terasa sayu mengenangkan Kakak yang masih mentah bermusafir jauh dari kami demi mencari ilmu dan pengalaman di negara orang.  Harapan kami agar Kakak tidak mensia2kan peluang berhijrah buat seketika di bumi anbiya' dan menfaatkan sepenuhnya waktu yang terluang untuk mencari ilmu2 akhirat. 

Kami hanya mampu berdoa agar Allah swt memelihara dan melindungi Kakak di sana. Jagalah diri dan sentiasa mohon pertolongan dari Allah swt di saat senang dan susah, seperti Firman Allah swt:

Jika Allah menolong kamu, maka tak adalah orang yang dapat mengalahkan kamu, jika Allah membiarkan kamu (tidak memberi pertolongan), maka siapakah gerangan yang dapat menolong kamu (selain) dari Allah sesudah itu? Kerana itu hendaklah kepada Allah saja orang-orang mukmin bertawakal." (Surah Al-Imran 3:160)