♪♪ Music of my heart ♪♪

I have just completed writing a long post on my special little wedding gift from my girl friends; and yet I am still compelled to write this post in my life journal to show how touched I am and how meaningful this little gift is to me.
You can check out the inspiring story here

I won't be writing the same thing all over again; as that would mean reading two same posts and it does not seem to be logical.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk about this rather from a personal point of view compared to the inspiring blog post in my inspirational blog shared above; which I shared about a more general point of view.
So, don't be surprised to see this same photo appearing on two blogs at the same time.

I won't go through the lengths of explaining the origin of this gift all over again, as I have already shared it in my blog above but I want to talk about the worth and meaning of this little gift to me.

A gift from a close friend, but one of the most touching and dearest thing that I have ever received.
When I looked at this little piano sitting in my bedroom, I was filled with images of my dear friends who got me this gift and I imagined their expressions and giggles as they discussed about me, my wedding and my gift behind me when they were planning to get me a gift.

These friends went to the extent of getting it from overseas; assigning it to the girl who was traveling to Taiwan at that time and I am amazed at how she could fit the gift searching into her busy schedule during her trip!
It is not an easy thing to do, and it takes a lot of effort and of course, enthusiasm, to be able to embark on this gift-searching journey.
I was truly touched and impressed with their diligence, and how important I must have been to them when they can just put me in their thoughts all the time.

A gift may mean just a gift to a lot of other people, but a gift means the world to me. I used to love receiving presents since I was a little girl, I mean, who doesn't?

Whenever I receive a present, I always look forward to unwrap to see what could possibly be inside that box.
I love mystery and surprises, and once I see the present within, I will always, yeah, always, think of the giver and his/her original intentions for me or what the gift means to me.

The little piano is a musical box, which just adds to my musical box collection but looking at it makes me think of my friends who got this gift for me.
Some of you may just brush this off as a usual and simple gift, but knowing me, this truly means something to me, and I am pleased that my friends thought of that!

What could possibly be in this gift that makes it so special?
Well, the story behind it for one, and the fact that it is from my beloved girl friends; that's a second.
Now, on to the details, the piano and the musical box does symbolize something to me.

I have always loved musical boxes; it is true, I have always had a soft spot for musical boxes. I didn't have a lot, but that doesn't mean I am not content with what I have because I already have a few which are very special to me, and some are even vintage-like; passed down to me by my dearest Mummy.
I remembered making a little musical box back then for a school and examination project, and I was really happy with the outcome.
Musical box is such a lovely thing; with its melody singing when you turn it on and I have always loved listening to this music.

It is amazing how music can be such a soothing thing to our ears, and also our hearts. I find that the musical box can be a reminder of how life is like sometimes. There is always love notes around us, but we need to find it and turn it on. Life is just like a musical box, when you turn it on, you listen to the inspiring and haunting melody and get carried away, dreaming of all the beautiful things in life until it stops. That is where you realize you need to step back into reality almost instantly.
We cannot expect the music to be constantly playing; just like how we cannot always expect our life to be full of lovely things because that is not real.
We have to go through the ups and downs in life; it is inevitable but like the musical box, we can always choose to turn on the music which is just similar to us looking at the good parts of life when we are down and enjoy those moments.
The thing is, we can do something to amend our mood; to make ourselves happy again. No one is responsible for our happiness except ourselves, don't you think?
That is the part I truly love about a musical box.

Secondly, moving onto the piano; it is amazing but I don't recall I told a lot of people about my secret love for music, and musical instruments. It is bizarre, but the piano happens to be a childhood favorite of mine and I have stuck with it ever since. I loved the piano, and it always have such a haunting effect on me. I felt like I am very familiar with the piano, like it's something just so dear to me.
I can't even remember whether I have ever told my girl friends about this, but if I have not, then they have truly earned their titles of being my sisters for reading my mind so accurately on this one.

The third part is about the details on the piano. Those who know me know that I am a very detailed person and that can turn into a very annoying trait at times too.
I am impressed at how my 'sisters' know and remembered that much about me to take the time and effort to select a gift which is just filled with these little details as this wooden piano is not made of ordinary craftsmanship, but with so much attention and definitely the work of an artisan! I was totally taken with the details of the little piano which came along with a mini stool (also crafted), and the fact that there is even a lid on the keyboard.
It is almost like a miniature version of an actual piano! It is no wonder, since my friend got it from a miniature museum *winks*

Anyway, this gift means a lot to me obviously, and I just can't find ways to describe it enough; even after writing about it in two blogs!
Besides the meaning of the gifts, I am thinking of my givers and what must have ran through their minds when they got me this particular gift.

I was feeling really loved at the moment, when I met up with them and received this present from them. There are still other presents, but of course, those will be separate posts.
I am truly happy with this little gift, it is to me, a gift which had journeyed through a long way; not just physically, but also psychologically.
It opened up my eyes to the true natures of my girl friends, who are always there for me and whom I know, are always watching my back, no matter what happens.

They wanted me to have this gift, because they know this is something which I will love, and they are not wrong.
Yet, what they didn't expect was how emotional this gift made me feel when I got it ;)

It is not just a gift, but it created music and love notes in my heart, as it made me feel so loved....♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

A Little on Friendship

We have friends from the day we were born; when we were placed in the newborn nursery, we were already surrounded by other babies.
That time, maybe we didn't realize or remember, but we were already making friends unknowingly using our own baby 'cries'/

Then we make friends with our neighbors' children, and people we meet at restaurants or during outings with our parents at the park.

The official friends we make started at our first day in the kindergarten and pre-school, where we meet other children there, share stories about everything and it was just so innocent and there is no barrier to anything in our friendship.
When we moved on to primary school, some, if not most, of us will part ways as our parents enroll us in different schools.

Some of us may meet in primary schools, and some, may not, as we move on and sit at our new assigned desks in our classes in our 'new' school. It did not take long, as we are surrounded by hundreds of kids at our age and facing the same predicament and thus, we became friends.
These friends tend to linger around longer, as our years in primary school last for six years and most of us will remain friends.
It is very unlikely that we will break out of that friendship cocoon unless someone moves away from the district and had to change schools.

Farewell comes again when we are moving on to our high school (or secondary school in Malaysia), and we may encounter some of our primary school friends in the same school, or we may not, but then again, we will not forget those friends of six years and will thus make an effort to keep in touch. This contact may take a lot of effort as we are now, again, surrounded by new groups of friends who come from different schools within the same region. There may be a discontinuation of connection with our primary school friends when we are absorbed in our studies and also school extra curricular work.

Slowly, we lose touch with the old friends, or some of us, we may come across the older friends from kindergarten even! Life is full of surprises anyway.
The friends from high school are for another six years, and then we bid farewell as we move onto the college, university, and for some, working level.

As you can see, we make friends all the way; no matter how introvert we are of a character, there is just no way to stop ourselves or others from marking that part of our lives.
Friends are always there and they are everywhere, we just make them.

I noticed that friendships seem to last longer when you grow older; perhaps because you start to realize and treasure the value of friendship.
Of course, some of us are fortunate enough to have friends from all parts of our lives and to have them for a long duration of time.

I feel blessed to have friends whom I have known since kindergarten! Yes, that's how long our friendships were and I have great friends from primary school, high school, university, and work!
My friendships were formed from all the levels I have mentioned earlier.

Now, what truly defines a friendship, or are whoever we meet, greet and have their names and talked to a couple of times considered friends already?
I used to think the latter, honestly, and some, tell me that I was just living in Lala-land, and I guess it was just so true.
I am not as crazy as to think that everyone I meet or have some short form of contact are considered friends, but I try not to categorize my friends and just treat everyone the same; as I just wanted everyone to be happy.

I have my own little character, and maybe to some, it may seem weird, but I am not someone who opens up a lot, and yet am an ultimate perfectionist who seeks to do a lot of things on her own.
It is not easy for me to just blabber everything about my life to anyone; except my own family (that means my parents and my brother) and it is just ME.
Yes, I AM like that. I can make friends easily, but at the same time, it takes time for me to trust and to be close to someone to be able to open up and just have fun.
I don't tell everyone what I think, or what I want to do, because I am a person who likes to keep to myself.
It is just me, but I don't need to justify, because my family knows that part about me, and there are times when I don't tell them things when I am not ready.
They know that, and they always leave me to my own personal space, letting me deal with it.
It is not really that much of an unusual trait; as I believe there are people out there who are like me as well.
Some people may label us 'secretive', but really, what's wrong in being that?
There are people who talks about their lives to other people, and nobody judges them, at all, but yet, sometimes, they judge other people about keeping quiet.

I think there are just people who are quiet, and people who are open in their communication. It is a fundamental which most people fail to grasp, or even attempt to understand.
It is no surprise, as it is not an easy subject to broach anyway, and there are just so many things surrounding us that we can never label whether they are right or wrong.

I always believed in having friends who know me for who I am, and if not, well, I don't need to tell them much.
Of course, all the knowing me part takes years of friendship and understanding and definitely bonding.
It is a choice, when you befriend me, whether you can accept or understand me as who I am. Otherwise, I cannot really force anyone to just treat me as their friend, if they cannot comprehend what constitutes me.

I have formed fast and strong friendships with people whom I have grown to trust. As I have mentioned, I used to believe and trust people whom I call my friends, and I have never been like some, who categorize their friends or selective in their choices of people whom they call friends.

However, perhaps it was time, or perhaps it was me, being naive as I have suddenly realized that being selective with your friends is not totally wrong after all.
Friends come in all forms and shapes, and not all, I repeat, not all are truly sincere in their friendships with you.
I have collected a lot of quotes and sayings about friendships; or to be precise, TRUE friends.
The TRUE friends rank the highest among all friendships as they are the ones to stick around you, no matter what happens.
I have learnt to only maintain TRUE friends, as they are the only ones who will never turn their backs on me, and they are rare, and precious!

I think I have learnt from a lot of experiences; particularly, the most recent one, that the TRUE friends do not need any explanation from you in whatever you do, or whether you are right or wrong. They will probably tell you, but they will NEVER, judge you.

When the whole world turns against you, and everyone talks about you, your TRUE friends, will not hear of it, and will STAND UP for you; not against you.
I have a bunch of friends who did not care what I did, nor whether I was wrong or right, and did not judge me, but still stood with me through and through.
They never even complained a single word when I asked for their help.

Some, whom I may think were older friends as we met way before the above friends, on the contrary, chose to sideline me and think that I am not being a friend to them either. I am not pinpointing anyone nor am I saying that I am the Best friend in the world, as I do admit that I am never truly perfect in my own way of handling my friendships, but there are friends who think that I have changed or that I don't care for them.
I didn't keep in touch, nor did I contact them and therefore, they no longer feel that they are close to me.
Well, I won't defend myself in this, as truly, sometimes I just am not that good in keeping in touch, and besides there are just so many people to catch up with that sometimes I did not have the time to; which is, an excuse.
However, I felt like asking these friends, "have they ever tried to contact or make an attempt to keep in touch with me, or they just jump to the conclusion that I am the ONE who did NOT keep in touch with them?
Did they ever ask or try to find out, why, did I not keep in touch with some of them?
Is there really a right or wrong answer?

I beat myself up for this initially, telling myself that it was probably my own fault, and that I am not good in keeping in contact.
Then I was awakened by another few groups of friends (yes, groups), whom, I have not met nor talked to in years, and yet, they just offered their help or even just said yes when I called or asked them. These TRUE friends did not even berate me for not being in touch with them, nor did they say that they no longer felt close to me.
I was instantly surprised and felt like, it was a total change from the original picture painted by those other friends, which sort of imprisoned me behind the bars of guilt for a few days.

These true friends, when contacted, just caught up with me naturally from where we left off; like it was just yesterday. They heard rumors about me, and the first thing they did, was to defend me and fend those perpetrators off. I was truly touched at the depth of their faith in me, despite the long period of time not being in touch.
So, did these friends do something wrong or right? Am I the one in the wrong or right?
It is now becoming a very subjective matter, and I start to ask myself question after question; whether I am truly guilty.

Yes, I did not do my part about being a friend, but I realized that not everyone is being measured using the same standards in the friendship and that there were a lot of my friends who did not even bother to ask me questions, as they know that there will be a time when I will just naturally pour out and talk to them.
When that happens, I will know who to find, as I have seen with my own eyes, mind and heart, the ones who will never let me down.
I think that friendships are subjective as it is truly intangible, and I try not to be biased when I judge my own views in friendship.
I asked other close friends about whether I was truly a lousy friend for not keeping in touch, and I get lots of really constructive feedback such as,
"You are being you",
"What's there to keep in touch? We will meet and talk when we meet and talk",
"There are so many people in our life, we can't possibly keep up with anyone..as long as we are all connected",
"Different people have different views, it does not mean that you are not a friend when you don't keep in touch, because I know you will be there when I need you"
and the list goes on.

I truly felt like crying when I heard those words from my very friends, as I realized that they DO understand me to the depth, when I thought they probably did not know me that well. On the contrary, people whom I thought would know and understand me, ended up as the ones who are judging me and telling me what is right and wrong.
I am not upset really, as there are times when we need to hear an earful about ourselves, but it got me wondering, did these friends truly know me, after all?

I do not want to judge others; I never judge, as no one has the right to judge anyone, I have always remembered that from my Bible.
I believe that in friendships, it is a STAND we all take, and whether others stand with us, that is a true testament of whether they trust and have faith in us; no matter what we do.
I myself, as a friend, will never judge or doubt my friends even if they did anything wrong to me, as I always find a reason for them. Of course, as a human being; I am just as normal to sometimes feel upset, but then I will tell myself, there is probably a reason.
Whether there is or not, I will not choose to find out, as only they know whether there is, or not.

I recently had another very good conversation with a very close friend, whom I have called my sister, and she told me a long story about the whole bunch of girl and guy friends whom we hang out together and it made me realize, these were the rare and true friends whom I am very blessed to have.
They were looking forward to help me in what I do (planning my wedding), as we usually help each other with stuffs in our lives. They never once asked me about it, even with my lack of updates. She told me that they were just concerned whether I am okay handling my own wedding alone, but at the same time, they know that I will ask for help when I really need it, otherwise, it's best to just leave me alone. They felt worried rather than angry with me, and even secretly bought me presents and helping me out behind my backs. They even defended me when others asked about me.
These are truly the most precious friends I have ever had.

Then there are also the other few who tried, by all means, to help me out, and when not approached, just send me their blessings through emails and text messages to make sure I am happy.

What do you do with friends like these? You LOVE, ADORE, and PRAY for them each day that they will be blessed with their true hearts and lots of goodness in their lives.
I am very sure they know who they are, because I truly felt blessed and fortunate to have them in my life, as when I felt like the whole world is judging me or putting me down, they stood there for me, and never once asked me a single question.
Their love and faith in me shines like a halo in the dark.
Perhaps it was truly a silver lining, as I have now seen the halos behind my friends' backs.

I will never feel upset knowing that I am surrounded by friends like these :-)

My favorite friendship quotes:
A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walk out.
- Walter Winchell

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.
- Bernard Meltzer


Best friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway.
- Elbert Hubbard


It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
- John Leonard


Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.


One who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.


Good friends are like stars…. You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there.


Lots of your friends want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
- Oprah Winfrey


A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have.


A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart.


A friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself.
- Jim Morrison


Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say.

My personal favorites:
Never explain yourself. Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it.


The medicine of life is to have true faithful friends.


True friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere.


When you look around and your world is crumbling or when you think no one loves you, your best friend is the one to run to you.

Lastly,
If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn’t jump with them, I’d be at the bottom to catch them.

God bless my friends who are always there for me, and please guide me to know them and to be a good friend :-)

The HOT weather

The weather has been scorching hot lately; especially during the day and then dark clouds just appear out of nowhere in the late afternoon and spreads like a thick blanket across the skies which will then be followed by thunder and a heavy rainfall in the evening.

It's a weird weather, but common towards this time of the year as the monsoon period of the east coast. Well, then you may ask, why are we, on the west coast affected with the weather change as well?

The west coast are hit with occasional showers and sun, and those who are located in the northern part are hit with the annual northern wind change; thus the weather change towards the evening.

Although we feel really hot in the afternoon; where I don't even feel like stepping out, no matter the circumstances.
While we are probably complaining about the hot sun drying our grounds each day, I was wondering do we truly welcome the rain?

Not really, even for a rain lover like me. Think, if it were to rain every day, are you sure you are going to be really happy with the weather as well?

Yeah, we can't go out without getting ourselves wet here and there; especially our shoes!
Secondly, we also worry about our laundry not drying properly and that there's probably going to be an odor on clothes which were not properly dried when we wear them, compared to sun dried clothes which are usually crisp and smell of, oh well, the sun, of course!

I guess no matter how the weather changes, we will still complain, either way, because we are just people who expect things to always, yeah, always go our way.
It is funny, when it rains, we complain. When there's sun, we complain.
I mean, seriously, can we just learn to relax ourselves and just take things in a more positive way, to just live the moment?

Yeah right, and this piece of advice and article came from someone who worries constantly about almost, everything!

Have FUN in the SUN :)

Keeping in Touch...

It is nice to keeping in touch with people who have left footprints in your life, and had shown you kindness when you needed them most.
After my wedding, I have found friends who care so much about me that they will go all the way, and I have even made some new friends who showed me so much kindness.

I have been keeping in touch with most of my new found friends; I initiated meeting up with them to catch up and I enjoyed spending my time with them.

It is really nice to keep in touch with these dear friends, and I was even more pleasantly surprised when some initiated the contact!:)

I have made so many new and wonderful friends, and they don't even feel like new friends despite us just knowing each other for a short while.
Some are even my vendors who helped me with my wedding planning, and now, we are FRIENDS :)
I thank the Lord for blessing me with so many wonderful people around me, and how He showed me love and kindness in their eyes.

Today, I have received a text message from another friend who wanted to keep in touch with me and even asked me to meet up with her!
I can't express in words how much her message means to me; I was just so touched and happy!

Friends come in many forms and types; there are those who are only interested because of your popularity or status, some only want you to be added to their Facebook or social network list, some say hi and bye and may only remember you when they need a favor, but there are also those who will want you for life, who will go all the way out for you, who will not let you down when you need them, who will not complain that you are too far away, who will not compare you to others in what you could have done better, who will never need you to explain, who will understand your true character no matter what the world say about you...and the list goes on.

I have friends in all the above categories, and though the ones who just want me for a favor or do not really care about me hurt me, I am thankful that I too have a larger crowd of friends who will go all the way out for me and will never, ever judge me!

I am making new friends, as granted by the Almighty Lord and I know, these are new friends who will fill my life with more colors and kindness :)

I can't wait to catch up with my friends; old and new!:)

Feelings...

There are just so much a girl goes through before, during and after her wedding and everything revolves around feelings, emotions, and thoughts.

Of course, the feelings are mostly positive but there are also times when one could feel confused, worried, anxious, etc, which are all the normal feelings felt by a soon-to-be bride and were often termed as pre-wedding jitters.

However, I rarely felt these jitters and the feelings I felt had no relation to my soon-to-be husband as we were both very much in love. On the contrary, I started discovering a lot of things about people around me and the events which were surrounding me.

It is a very complicated matter, and nobody could have ever imagined what I had gone through because I could not divulge on this openly to protect the privacy of people in my life, no matter how disappointed and frustrated I felt.

There are times when I wonder, should I even bother to take care of their feelings or respect them when they don't even give a damn?
Yes, damn is an extremely strong word in my dictionary which I rarely, if not never, used in my context of language.
I do feel upset with why people behave that way even when all due respect and honor is given to them, and yet they choose to behave in a downright rude or childish way, and these are elders, mind you.
Is respect only for elders, and that they don't have to respect us in return?
Respect, to me, is two-way, and it needs to be earned, not given. Respect could be attached to the rank of the person, whereby we have to respect because of the seniority of the person but there would not be attainment of respect if the other party does not reciprocate.

I have always respected the elders; and with my sincere heart, in whatever I do.
Even when I do wrong, I apologize, because who is ever perfect in their life? I understand, and I respect the different ways people do things and also how some people could never understand what I think. I do, I really do understand and I never allow Anger to come into the way, no matter what people do to me.

However, being human, there are times when I feel like there was just so much injustice and how some people could return kindness with just ignorance, arrogance, and nonchalance with an air of attitude!
When I wondered whether I did anything wrong, then I stopped myself, "Why am I always the one who has to understand? Why, must I be in the wrong when others are upset with me?"
It is a complicated journey, and one which is filled with questions.

I feel hurt and disappointed sometimes, by the behavior of people around me and yet, I still tell myself, "Maybe they have their reasons"
I prayed to God for His guidance, and His comfort, for He Knows about everything; He is our Creator, after all.
There are times when I tell myself, it was probably God's test for me, to see how strong is my faith.

Like the sea, I understand that there are always the ups and downs in life, and how we can land in frustration when things go wrong.
It was probably God's Will, to have us experience the good and the bad (and the ugly) for us to appreciate the good when they come along.

Perhaps it was God's doing all the while, to show me negative parts of some people whom I respect, loved and cared about (or thought so) to make me realize that they don't care in return, and that there were those who were always in the background but they really cared.
God wanted me to appreciate others who were always there for me, by accentuating their halos when I am down.

There is always a reason for everything, and no matter how down I feel about things happening around me or how people don't seem to care, I will continue to pray for God's presence in my life and to show me the light.
Perhaps the silver lining will show up soon; or perhaps it was already there but I just need time to realize it.

I may be disappointed and hurt, but these feelings are also surrounded by happiness and warmth; with the presence of true love, sincerity and kindness existing.
God shows me that there is always HOPE,and LOVE :)

Praise the Lord, whom I owe everything to, and I continue to pray for His blessings every day!

Quote of the Day

I love this quote:

" Never explain yourself.
Your friends don’t need it and
your enemies won’t believe it. "


This quote is just so true; sometimes I feel like I waste my time thinking of what I have done to offend some people, or what I can do to make others happy (at the risk of my own happiness).
However, do people really care?
They may, or they may not.

It is funny how sometimes we go around pleasing everyone around us, except ourselves.
Yes, it's good to be unselfish but the key is, do people really care even when you try your best to make them happy?

I have learnt that sometimes the answer is no; that no matter what I do, I can NEVER EVER please everyone around me.
No matter how good I make things out to be, there is always room for people to find fault with or complain about how I should be doing this and that instead of the one I am doing.

Even when I try to justify, sometimes, I don't feel they want to listen.
There is simply no room for understanding, but I always try to understand when people wrong me.
I am no saint; mind you, I am just as human as anyone can be. I just do not want to judge nor to make things difficult for others.
That is why, even humans make mistakes too.

When I fall down, or do something wrong, I feel that no one understands sometimes; but they are quick to judge without listening or understanding.
Is there always one side of the coin?

Perhaps, I should learn to let go, as the quote above says, if they know me, they know I never meant to hurt anyone.
If they don't know me, then there is no need to justify nor explain.

No one will listen anyway, or believe me.
As for those who know me, well, I don't even need to explain, they already know what I am thinking :-)

Like a wise friend who presented me with another good quote,
"You don't have to care about those who don't care about you, it's a waste of time and energy.
They are NOT worth it.
Focus instead on those who care and love you, they are the ones who deserve your time and attention, because THEY CARE".

Thank you, my dear friends, all of you who have stood by me through good and bad times; who have never once judged nor be offended.
Like I said, I am no saint, and thank you all (friends and family) who never once asked me WHY, WHAT, HOW when I needed my alone time.

Ponder on this quote...you will really love it :)

Thoughts on being Married

Now that I am married, and after a whole one year of planning my own wedding, I feel happy to be entering a new chapter of my life and with a loving soul mate too :)

Most would think that being married is an exciting and adventurous journey for two people to begin their lives together. However, for me (and my hubby), we felt like it was more of a continuation of our journey of love and moving onto understanding more of each other.
We have known each other for more than five years now, and we have grown from acquaintances to best friends and now, we are lifelong soul mates (not just partners).

We are the best of friends, and we have talked about almost everything in both of our lives; from our childhood stories to the depth of our family background. There was simply no prejudice nor discrimination from either part.
We practically left no room for secrets; but of course, there are some privacy for each of us and we totally understand when there are some family stories we could not share, to protect the privacy of those relatives affected and not because we want to hide from each other.
We know everything there is to know about our families, friends and relatives; yes, the good, bad and the ugly.

If you ask me, I didn't feel as though anything changed since we were married 11 days ago (can't believe it's almost two weeks since my own wedding day!)

Yes, our two families have integrated (I am referring to our core families; parents and siblings) although hubby's relatives were just so warm and friendly as well, but our families have known each other and met a couple of times since we were together.
Our parents get along well with each other because both were equally as unbiased in socializing with each other.
They were all friendly and sociable people, and there is no such thing as judgmental nor prejudice on both sides; which I really praise the Lord.
Unlike some of the people who often judge people by their lives, wealth, and even privacy, I am truly thankful that I have a whole new family who accepts and welcomes me with open arms and hearts.

My mother-in-law is a straight-forward person, and is a no-nonsense type, but yet she is just so homey and welcoming to everyone who comes to her home. My father-in-law is a man of few words, but he is an expert in his own field; and highly intellectual! Ask him anything, and he could share tales of his own life experiences which money simply cannot buy.
They are both open-minded and yet sentimental folks at the same time.
It is not much of a trouble to get along with such understanding folks, and I appreciate their consideration and thoughts for the younger generation.

My own parents were just equally as happy to welcome dear hubby into the family, and they have already treated him as their own son since the start. (Yes, they just like him that much:)
We joked that our family is growing!

Since our wedding day, hubby and me have grown even closer to each other and we have learnt to be even more patient and understanding towards each other.
Whenever Hubby sees me in a distant state (yeah, I tend to think of a lot of things, and trust me, even though I am supposed to be in a state of bliss, I too have my worries since my own wedding day, but that would be in a separate post), he would come and give me a hug and just stay silent together with me.
Thank you, Hubby!

He would never ask me question or judges me; in fact, I am truly thankful for his presence and also how he had taught me about little things in life, and even on the behavior and attitudes of different people. He had shown me a different aspect of people and life.

I think I have learnt a lot of things during the planning of the wedding, before the wedding, during the wedding and after wedding. I have also opened my eyes to the realities of life, and WHO some of the people around me really are.
I was disappointed, upset but yet, I thank GOD for showing me through HIS eyes who they truly are.
No, I won't allow myself to get angry with them (although it's really hard), because God will not want me to succumb to anger; which is one of the deadliest sins.

I am thankful for a lot of things in my marriage; my wonderful parents who have walked with me all the way, my brother whom I am truly blessed to have as he never cared for anything else except his own sister throughout the period and he was just extremely patient even when I can succumb to my moody days, my in-laws who were just incredibly understanding and open with everything, and my hubby's relatives who just made married life and integrating into the family so enjoyable.
I have a bunch of new friends now; whom I am truly thankful for their help and presence during my wedding.

I have learnt a thing or two about judgment as well; and I guess, it is not something new but just that I took a long time to realize.

As we are entering into the 2nd week of being married to each other, we are still slowly learning the ropes; not in adapting to each other, but adapting to the extended families we now have :)

We are not just sharing our lives now; but we are joined as one in God's name and in HIS eyes.
My favorite Bible verse which I used in my wedding ceremony:
What God has joined together let no man put asunder.
Matthew 9:16

We are looking forward to our growing love, affection, attention and understanding in each other.
We pray the God will bless and enrich our lives each day :)