Our Families

The Tans

Mum (Juliet) & Dad (Bill or Seng Lee to some)

Dad’s a retired banker who worked hard to provide for everything we could ever need, and more. Mum, on the other hand,  never got to retire as housewife and mother to the three of us. So she’s appointed dad as full time Personal Assistant, Driver, and most notably, Deputy CEO of the Garden. In addition to his full-time job serving mum, dad also serves God in church, and surfs the net on his iPhone. Which makes him an amazing dad, loving husband and kinda cool too since he’s got a cooler phone than I do! Mum is the most beautiful and selfless mother that I could ever have. I’m still trying to reach the very high standards that she has set – from keeping the house spotlessly clean, nurturing us so that we can have spotless report cards, to pampering us with the best even when we hardly deserve it. God really gave me the best when it came to parents!

Stefanie
I grew up with Stef as my best friend. We were born only a year apart, and because of that she shared my LEGO, my Enid Blyton books, and even my football. Even though I demonstrated my love for her by frequently taking up a position of leadership (i.e. bullied her), she responded by demonstrating great strength and spirit (i.e. hitting me with a Barbie doll dangerous object and jabbing me with a pencil pointy spear). Through the years, we progressed from arguing about whose turn it was to do the dishes, to arguing about who will win the next family boardgame session. Admittedly, Stef’s almost always the one to give me a run for my money. In addition to being almost as smart as I am (hahaha), Stef loves God and has a great big heart. Even though I will never usually admit it, I will miss her a lot when I move out. At least until she and Adrian get married and move into the same condo as Amy and I, albeit 12 floors below us!

Tanya
Tanya has always been the little sister in our family. Even though she’s grown into a 5′ 9″ giant, towering over mum, dad, Stef and almost me. Thankfully, she’s found Weiwen, who’s even taller. Tanya loves shopping, shopping, shopping and letting out random shrieks. She’s the life of the party in our family with her craziness, randomness and sheer vivacity (i.e. the random shrieks). I run to Tanya when I need someone to de-stress with (primarily by annoying her and jumping on her bed) and she always makes time to give her point of view (i.e. shrieks). She recently moved to Singapore to work, but she misses us so much that she comes back almost every week. Tanya’s got a great big heart too, especially for shopping and her Weiwen, and I will miss her (and her shrieks)!

The Yeohs

Mom (Kam Foong) & Daddy (Beng Keat or Kenneth to some)

My Daddy and Mom are the king and queen of my heart. There is never ever a dull moment whenever they are around. In fact, when they aren’t, it’s really quiet and boring. For those of you who know that my Dad’s a joker, believe it or not, my Mom’s the biggest joker in the house, never failing to make us all laugh at her jokes and antics. I cannot speak enough about my parents as they are truly best parents I could ever ask for. Daddy’s the pillar of strength for the whole family and Mom’s the prayer warrior who prays fervently for us all. There’s so much to be said but I’ll just leave them to be shared during the wedding day (don’t want to spoil the surprise!). As Daddy and Mom are now retirees, I’ve had the privilege of spending a lot of time with them in the last one plus year. But sometimes, I take a backseat, having to fight with our beloved dog, JD, for their attention!

Andrew Yeoh AKA Kor / Fei Chai / Serial shopper

My big (and only) brother and I were best friends and partners-in-crime when we were growing up: terrorising the town with our regular visits to food chains and movie rental / video stores. Initially, my brother would tar pau food and borrow movies in secret and without my knowledge. But eventually, he roped me in to join his syndicate. Other than being a bad good influence in my life, I have always and will always refer to my brother as the hero in my life because of his love for God, his strength, his perseverance, his positive outlook in life and his knowledge in everything from food to fashion. I remember the day Kor got married… it was one of the happiest days of my life. And now I’m so glad that he will get to witness the happiest day of my life.

Jessey Chin-Yeoh
Jessey is the latest edition to our family. I’ve always known Jessey as the super duper bubbly, chatty and outgoing person. It has been such a great joy knowing Jessey because she never fails to light up a whole room with her personality and she is always very concerned for the well-being of others. I can always depend on Jessey for a girly chat at anytime of the day (yes, that includes 3am). We also chat a lot on MSN and she always makes me laugh with her comments and random jokes (Sometimes, she’s actually more funny than Kor! *gasp*). Jessey and Kor moved to Melbourne recently (Kor is doing his MBA and Jessey is an auditor). Although they are miles away, I do webcam with them from time to time, giving them updates on the latest episodes of Lost and American Idol.

JD Yeoh

JD Yeoh is my guardian angel. Other than the obvious fact that he loves to bark at the postman, flirt with the female dogs around the neighbourhood and sometimes sleep on the TV chair when we’re not looking, JD also does the most extraordinary things. One day, years ago, I was in my room crying over some silly adolescent problem. To my surprise, JD came in, sat in front of me and started licking all the tears from my face. I couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. JD is a dog like no other. He is my friend…