Our Homeschool

This year we have Glenn at Year 4, Joel at Year 2 and Levi at Kinder 4 🎉 And I always take their homeschool photos together in the beginning of the year since 2023 until now, but I forgot to take their photo last year 🙈

Look how much they’ve grown! Hopefully I can keep continue taking their homeschool photos every year.. it’s so precious 🥹

Indoor Skydiving at iFLY

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We ended this summer holiday with a very cool activity! Glenn and Joel did an indoor skydiving at iFLY Melbourne yesterday :)

We booked the Summer Break Pack for them, which included photos, videos and the high flight experience.. They really had fun and it was fun for us to watch them too 🥰 Well done, boys! 👏🏻

Summer Holiday ☀️

​I think this is the busiest summer holiday that we’ve ever had 😆

I’ve shared what we did in December, like surfing, Christmas, tie-dye, baking and we had a bit of relaxing times at home with DM when he had his long holiday about 1,5 week..

But this month (January), after DM got back to work, we really had a busy schedule.. too busy I think and I need to learn to manage the schedule better next time so we don’t feel overwhelmed 😅 But the kids had a great time and learning many new things.. Glenn & Joel did 2 weeks Vicswim, STEM programs at the library, cooking class, first time trying athletics, 5 days CYC city camp for Glenn, Messy Bubs activity for Levi and he really loves it :)

Here are some of their photos and thank God for this summer holiday.. Praying for a great homeschool year in 2026 🙏

PS: At the end of this summer holiday, the kids also did indoor skydiving (you can see about this in the next post) and we also did cherry picking 🍒

First Time Surfing 🏄‍♂️

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Glenn and Joel, I’m so proud of you for trying to do new things today! It was really fun and exciting watching both of you learning to surf and you guys never give up 👍

Also Levi, for enjoying and having fun in small things: sand and water 😁 while waiting for your brothers..

Well done, everyone! 👏🏻

***

Date: Wednesday, 24 December 2025

Location: Go Ride A Wave, Torquay

LITTLE CANDLES (Part 2)

Buat kalian yang ngikutin blog ini dari dulu, pasti udah familiar sama yang namanya LITTLE CANDLES :) Buat yang belom tau apa itu Little Candles, bisa coba baca artikel-artikel aku sebelumnya (kamu bisa klik di label "Little Candles" atau "Kids").

Sejak aku pindah ke Melbourne, aku baru sadar kalo ternyata Little Candles yang dulu aku buat di rumahku di Jakarta itu sebenernya sama kayak family daycare di sini. Padahal dulu aku gak tau sama sekali yang namanya family daycare itu apaan, haha.. I got a vision about Little Candles from God, and bener-bener jalanin itu semua dalam arahan Tuhan.. dari ruangannya, anak-anaknya, all the kids stuff, activites-nya, dll. Ternyata oh ternyata.. Little Candles itu ternyata adalah family daycare.. haha.. and Tuhan punya rencana di balik itu semua :)

Awal-awal pindah ke Melbourne, aku masih gak jelas rasanya mau ngapain di sini, hehe.. So aku isi waktu aku dengan kerja part-time di cafe, but I know ini cuma bakal jadi kerjaan aku sementara and gak mungkin selamanya aku kerja di cafe ini.. Aku sering banget doa and tanya ke Tuhan, "Lord, what do you want me to do here in Melbourne?" Rasanya pengen gak cuma sekedar kerja or cari duit, but to do something that I'm passionate about.

Akhirnya beberapa waktu yang lalu, ada beberapa temen dari gereja yang lagi nyari orang untuk bisa jagain anaknya (karena di sini kan ga ada pembantu/nanny, hehe..) and aku bersedia jadi volunteer buat mereka. And dari sejak itulah, visi tentang Little Candles ini muncul lagi :p Terutama sejak aku tinggal di daerah west Melbourne yang kebanyakan komunitasnya keluarga muda and banyak anak-anak kecil. Jadi rindu banget rasanya untuk punya family daycare (alasan utamanya bukan karena mau bisnis/cari uang), but I wanna bless the community, the young families, the parents and the children of course! Biar daycare ini one day bisa jadi jawaban buat para parents yang lagi kebingungan, hehe.. And bisa jadi tempat yang disukain anak-anak juga :)

But kali ini aku bener-bener harus mulai dari nol lagi, karena semua barang Little Candles di Indonesia gak ada yang aku bawa sama sekali, haha.. Mulai ngumpulin toys lagi, and ada orang-orang gereja yang donate juga karena mereka bener-bener support rencana aku untuk buka daycare ini :) Tiap kali jalan-jalan sekarang juga ngeliatinnya barang anak-anak, haha.. But bagus juga sih, jadi nanti kalo udah punya anak, mainannya udah banyak :p And anak kita nanti dari kecil (bahkan dari sejak bayi) udah bisa punya banyak temen and bisa belajar sharing barang-barang mereka sama anak-anak yang lain, which is good :) Selain itu, nanti kalo udah punya anak, aku juga bisa kerja di rumah and gak perlu nitipin anak ke daycare lagi pastinya, haha..

I'm also happy because I get a lot of support from my hubby. Lucu juga kadang-kadang dia pulang kerja, bisa bawain mainan, haha.. Dia jadi ikut bantu ngumpulin juga :p And kita lagi berdoa supaya one day Tuhan kasih kita rumah yang luas, supaya bisa ada ruangan khusus buat anak-anak. Sementara ini, kita set-up di ruang tamu.. jadi kalo ada anak-anak yang dateng, mereka udah bisa maen di sini :)

So now, I know what I want to do.. and what God wants me to do here in Melbourne :) Aku mau bener-bener serius jalanin daycare ini, and aku juga berani buat bayar harganya. Salah satunya, mulai tahun depan aku bakal ambil Childcare Course selama 6 bulan. Awalnya aku mikir, aku bakal nunggu PR (Permanent Resident) aku yang bakal keluar mungkin sekitar 2 tahun lagi, supaya aku bisa sekolah dengan harga yang lebih murah. But setelah doain, mikirin, konsultasi sama suami and pendetaku juga.. akhirnya aku (and suami) mutusin untuk bayar full fee!! "Are you crazy?" Yes, I am! Hahaha.. And aku rasanya bener-bener mantep sama keputusan ini :)

We know kalo harga yang kita bayar sekarang ini gak bakal sia-sia. Ini investasi buat generasi masa depan :) Aku juga gak mau cuma sekedar study gratis and then kerja trus dapet banyak duit.. but I wanna do it with love and passion that comes from God. Sesuai dengan visi Little Candles yang aku dapet tepat 3 tahun yang lalu: "Raising a new generation that will bring an influence and light into the world!" :)

So, please support us in prayer.. supaya Little Candles ini bisa berjalan sesuai yang Tuhan mau, and supaya God will provide everything that we need.. Pray so that Little Candles can be a blessing for the community, especially in Melbourne.. I'm so excited!! Yay!! :D

Passion is something that you do wholeheartedly even if you don't get paid. Not only that, you're even willing to pay the price for it.

What is your passion?

Little Candles: Farewell & Christmas

Wuah.. sepertinya ini bakal jadi post aku yang terakhir tentang kegiatan Little Candles :( hiks.. hiks.. Minggu depan aku udah berangkat ke Aussie and bakal kangen berat sama anak-anak ini..

Hari Minggu (22 Dec) yang lalu, ada 8 anak Little Candles (4 girls: Dhika, Agnes, Friska, Clarissa and 4 boys: Cope, Ryu, Ian, Rangga) yang nginep di rumahku sampe hari Senin :) Bisa kebayang gak, ada 8 kids dalam 1 rumah and aku tidur bareng mereka semua dalam 1 kamar, hahaha.. Rusuh pastinya :p

So, kira-kira ini dia gambaran kegiatan yang kita lakuin dari Minggu siang sampe Senin siang:

Day #1

Mereka dateng ke rumahku siang, ada juga yang dateng sore (after lunch). Acara bebas, main-main, makan snack, mandi, and sempet latihan bentar buat Natal (nyanyi & drama). Anak-anak lumayan tertib, udah bisa ngurus perlengkapan masing-masing juga waktu mandi and bisa ngantri (karena kamar mandinya cuma 1, hehe..) And seperti biasa, mainan favorite kita, apa lagi kalo bukan Dutch Blitz! :p

Nah, abis itu malemnya, aku ajak mereka keluar dinner di Warung Pasta.. Ada cici Elvira and koko Andy juga yang ikut :) Seru pokoknya, hehe.. Abis itu pulangnya, aku bisa relax bentar karena ada cici Elvira and koko Andy yang temenin mereka maen, haha.. But pas mereka udah pulang, aku musti take care mereka lagi satu-satu, suruh pada sikat gigi, siap-siap tidur, doa bareng and sebelum jam 10 semuanya udah harus tidur.. But namanya anak-anak, apalagi tidurnya rame-rame gitu (wkwkwk..) ada yang blom bisa tidur, ada yang masih isengin temennya, ada yang kelaperan tengah malem, what a night deh pokoknya! Haha.. Aku juga gak bisa tidur pules.. But seru sih, precious moment banget, hihi.. ^^

Day #2

Paginya, semua bangun jam 5 buat saat teduh.. Masih pada teler, but karena banyak temen, jadi pada cepet segernya, haha.. Kita baca Bible bareng-bareng dari Mazmur 91 and doa bareng (yang mimpin doa itu selalu mereka, jadi ganti-gantian) sayang gak aku foto ya :p Trus abis saat teduh, semua sikat gigi, cuci muka, kita tunggu matahari muncul, baru kita keluar, jalan ke lapangan belakang buat morning exercise :)

After exercise, kita balik ke rumah buat bikin pancakes! Buat mereka breakfast :) Pertama, ceweq-ceweq dulu yang masak, abis itu baru cowoq-cowoq.. Dari situ mereka bisa belajar kerja sama, bagi tugas and belajar tanggung-jawab juga (kalo gak mo masak, ya gak makan, haha..) Then, abis makan, mereka bisa relax and nyantai.. Pada mandi, main-main, pada ngebantu aku beresin kamar juga (thanks kiddos!) trus buat lunch-nya, aku pesenin pizza (bisa liat di foto yang paling atas :p)

Wah, seru banget pokoknya.. meskipun cape, but happy :) Pas siangnya mereka udah pulang, rumahku langsung berasa sepiiii bangeettt.. hahaha.. langsung kangen sama mereka rasanya.. :(

Jadi itu deh kegiatan Little Candles yang terakhir, sebut aja namanya "Farewell Night" hehe.. But masih ada 1 lagi sih, pas Christmas kemaren (25 Dec) mereka semua tampil di ibadah Natal gerejaku, sama beberapa anak Little Candles lainnya.. Ada yang drama, ada yang nyanyi, ada juga yang nari.. Great job, kiddos! So proud of you all! :D

So, I think this is my last post in 2013.. Just wanna wish you all..

Merry Christmas 2013 and Happy New Year 2014

With Love;

Cella & The Little Candles :)

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

It's a perfect time to make Christmas Cookies! Yay! I love December, hehe..

Kemarin ini aku kepikiran untuk bikin Christmas Cookies yang banyak, biar bisa buat dibagiin ke family, ke temen-temen komsel and ke anak-anak Little Candles.. So, kali ini aku coba bikin sugar cookies with royal icing dari resep ini: http://www.joyofbaking.com/SugarCookies.html 

Bikinnya gak terlalu susah, but kalo mo buat dalam jumlah banyak emang capek juga sih, haha.. That's why I asked my little helper, Clarissa (one of my Little Candles) to help me yesterday :) She really did a good job!

Mo coba bikin juga? Ini dia resepnya, yang udah aku modif dikit.. ^^

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies:

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

food coloring

How to make?

For Sugar Cookies:

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about one hour or until firm enough to roll.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Remove one half of the chilled dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch (1 cm). (Keep turning the dough as you roll, making sure the dough does not stick to the counter.)  Cut out desired shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter and transfer cookies to baking sheet. Place the baking sheets with the unbaked cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill the dough which prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking. Note: If you are not going to frost the baked cookies, you can sprinkle the unbaked cookies with sparkling sugar. 

Bake cookies for about 8-10 minutes (depending on size) or until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Frost with royal icing, if desired. Be sure to let the royal icing dry completely before storing. (This may take several hours or overnight.)

Frosted cookies will keep several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or wax paper.

Makes about 36 cookies.

For Royal Icing with Egg Whites:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice / vanilla extract. Add the sifted sugar and beat on low speed until smooth. If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more sugar or water. Add food coloring, if desired. The icing needs to be used immediately or put in an airtight container as it hardens when exposed to air.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Ho ho ho...