Grateful

I was going to write about this for a competition, however the terms and conditions stipulated a limit on the number of the object of the gratitude. I found it a very difficult task because I couldn't pick one. Having said that, this is definitely NOT to print a picture of a rosy, perfect life because ours is certainly far from that. I just really wanted to give honour where honour is due.

In the words of our new senior pastor at church when he preached one sunday on a part of Numbers 13 that we so popularly remember as the account of the twelve spies, the ten spies who came back with emphasis on the negative report, did not understand the order of FAITH. There was no problem with the analysis, it was the order. In my life for instance I can quote the things I know of God and then go on complaining about the things that are not right in my life. OR, I can focus on God, inspite of my circumstances. And when I chose the latter, I found myself abounding with praise for the many miracles that I would probably have ignored if my attitude was different.

If truth be told,  I must admit it was a rather massive 2013 for us. We found ourselves in situations that were unfamiliar, leaving us with no answers. At the same time we felt the consequences of some miscalculated  decisions. But in the midst of the brouhaha, I am blessed with a husband whose loyalty and affection is towards God.  He refused to allow our challenges to bring us down and discourage us. I love that he  leads us to trust God always and to give room for a miracle from above. And did we see a number of miracles happen!

It was probably in the area of finances that we found ourselves badly hit. While it is an ongoing journey for us, already we have seen God move in so many ways. We could have chosen to hold on to every single penny, but we decided to partner with God and turn it into a step of faith. One example worth mentioning was when we participated in a faith promise for the next generation payable in one year. In the natural, it does not make sense to participate, with bills and expenses that needed to be paid. But as we prayed about it, we could not resist "testing" and waiting to see the floodgates open. (Mal 3:10b) Had we not participated, we would not have seen provision (from "out of the blue") for half of the amount we promised in the first quarter, get involve in a ministry partnership opportunity, support and even pay for a course for myself.

Speaking of a course, I did a 5-week study in assistant in nursing because I thought I wanted to get a job that allows shiftwork. My previous job in admin and database coordination is not a very feasible option because most of the availabilities are over an hour away one way from where I live. And I find it hard to leave my adorable three and four-year olds to work while most of whatever I make will just go towards child care fees. It was a very practical, hands on course and thank God I have small children because the over two years I spent with them at home came in very handy. When I did my two week work experience, I found myself overcame with compassion and my thoughts getting invaded by my  lovely, mostly dementiac residents that I had to spend some time praying for them. My performance review came back with the deputy director of nursing at that facility giving me excellent marks. It was a great encouragement for me, especially finding myself settling well (much to my surprise!)  and maybe even taking more classes in the future. A month after I finished the course, I got my driver's license (thank God!) which really helped because a few days later I got a job casually twenty minutes away from home. Less than a month into my employment, I got offered a permanent position and all I could say was - that is not NORMAL! We could never say that God has forgotten or left us alone. He has sorrounded us with friends who are like family - getting offers to toddlersit our kids when I was doing my training, or so I can pick up shifts available.

One time not too long ago (eventhough it seemed like a lifetime away) we found ourselves in a serious bind. We had a bill that needed to be paid on a monday but did not have enough money to settle it. A few days before that, one of my favourite brothers generously agreed to help. I was not sure the money will get into our account on time so I was stirring him to send it another way. We needed the help on a monday, not any other day. However all my subtle attempts did not work so even if something was arriving, I was sure we will not get it until two to three days later. So the stress of a bill that needed to be paid was still hanging over our heads. Sunday came and close friends who lived on the other side of the city (read: over an hour or so drive on the highway) from us were in our area and asked if they can pop in. Naturally we said yes. When they arrived, for some reason we split into two groups, me with the beautiful heavily pregnant friend were sitting in the lounge with the kids while our hubbies retreated to the playroom. In the course of my conversation with her, she said and I quote, maybe not verbatim (lol) - you will let us know if you need anything! In my head I was thinking that I had to be a better friend to her because she is ready to pop and being a first time mum, it can be overwhelming. However, I caught myself crying because I really appreciated her words and it just touched me but for some reason I changed the subject. I looked out for the hubbies who were in serious conversation but I did not think they would get into the details of our need at that moment. I was wrong - they came out with sweaty eyes (my darling husband mostly), and more help getting into our bank account via bank transfer. We were stunned! And we sat there long after they left in disbelief at the timing. We knew there has to be a POWER beyond HUMAN(read: the timing can only be GOD at work!) orchestrating all these things. But knowing the banking system, credits do not land into the accounts immediately -they get credited on the next banking day, even if the online transfer was made though the same bank.And then we were back to the monday situation! All the cash getting to our account, neither getting there in time for monday. An hour or so later, our friends came back with an envelope containing more than enough to sort out our monday debacle. It turned into a monday miracle because for some reason, all the monies got there early, yes, on that monday!

Our situation may have looked impossible, but the experience made our family into one team on the same side with our faith and dependence on God activated and strengthened. We love budgets now, and we endeavour to stick to it. We learned to be generous even in our lack More importantly we have greater capacity to make room for God to move. Which makes this new year really exciting! I love quoting 1Corinthians 2:9 in  the New Living Translation version - No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. Indeed, the best is yet to come!

Thinking Out Loud..

Far be it that it will be said of me that I do not care  because when I go to events,  I often catch myself  thinking  whether or not it is something we can replicate, localize and own. Having said that we found ourselves at a local school festival in another suburb,  give or take 70 kilometers away from us, at the invitation of one of our favourite families in all of Sydney. We had a sleepover at their beautiful   home the

birthday boy and his rainbow cake

night before, one our favourite boy called his birthday party that he completely ignored , having slept on our drive and didn't wake up til 2am. Good thing he eventually went back to bed and gave me some rest. We had to wake him up that morning lest he will miss his "party" altogether.

bubble play

yummy cake pops

dragon girl with Tita Irene

When we got to the school, which is where our friends' boys attend,  there was a program happening, probably showcasing local talents. I said probably because the whole time we were there, I  visited the area where they held an artwork display, got a cuppa in the adjacent room where the morning tea was beautifully presented and "sold" by gold coin donation.  The only other place where I spent most of my time was at the face painting area because my two favourite kids wanted a turn. The little miss wanted a dragon and she was happy to stay on the queue. The little mister wanted a spiderman but keeps moving around, thus, missing his spot.I must say I lost my patience but I wanted to believe that I was teaching him a lesson. In the end, it felt like I was the one who needed all the lessons.

one happy spiderman

dragon girl with Uncle Dada

  

free for those who wanted some

Right in front of the facepainting queue, the Smith's family had a stand with lots of fruits and vegetables to give away. Let me just say that we went home that day with a bag full loot, it looked like we did our fruits and veggies shopping for the week Maybe it was just as well that I got stuck in the facepainting queue.

fun slides

sausages and corn cobs, anyone?

more play area for kids

how would you like your hair coloured?

program
All Photos via Irene's Iphone

Needless to say it was a fun day especially for the little boy who thought it was his party! We thank our amazing friends for having us and for taking us to the school open day.

It really made me wonder if it is something we can do as a community event at the upcoming alumni homecoming. I know that the usual activity is for the silver jubilarians to do a tree planting or feeding or clean up. And before the haters, no-can-do, lets-see-if-they-can-pull-it-off thinkers even begin toexpress their opinion, let me be the first to admit that this is NOT a one man or woman show. It has to be a collaboration of many individuals, groups, batches and maybe even the alumni association with a common goal of giving back to the community.

I wonder if this can be done in the high school grounds? Or in the town plaza? Maybe from 10 AM to 2PM on Easter Sunday? I wonder if there are inflatable slides or jumping castle rentals available? I wonder if there are those who will make donations towards sausage sizzles, sandwiches and drinks so we can give away a free light lunch? I wonder if there are those who make  local delicacies and if there are those who are happy to make a donation in exchange? I wonder if we can make 500 goodie bags to give away to kids? I wonder if there will be people who can share their talents in music or dance for the program? I wonder if there are those who can bring their outdoor toys so kids who don't have can play for a few hours? I wonder if an easter egg painting competition can work? I wonder if there are people who will volunteer to man each activity? I wonder if someone else thinks this can be done in our little town of Tago with a total population of under 30,000?

Don't mind me, I am just thinking out loud! At this stage I  don't know if I will even be able to  make it home in the Philippine summer of 2014 but I am happy to help where I can. In the meantime, I am getting off my soapbox.

Birthday Musings

I am not one to make a big deal of my own birthdays, especially when it means moving from one decade to another. I have to admit waking up to a headache from the day before, which immediately made me think it comes naturally when one gets to a certain age.

I was going to say that I didn't like the attention, but to be honest, I am missing the "bless the birthday celebrator" tradition I grew up in with my friends. I just made up the name of course because we never called it anything - where there's a birthday celebrator, friends just tend to gravitate and it always seemed natural to end up in conversations that lead to blessing the person, mostly where we thought of one or two things, depending on the number, we love and appreciate about them and we told them in the group's presence. It probably sounds corny but for some reason, whether as a birthday girl or one of the friends, we all leave encouraged and blessed. Maybe it is just me, but quality time being my top love language and words of appreciation coming close second, it really makes me feel really special and well, LOVED. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate presents, but it is probably in the bottom of the love language scales and even if I don't get one, it doesn't make me feel loved any less.

This year, friends thought of surprising me with a birthday lunch, but because I was so "clever", I figured it out. Instead I invited them over to my house along with a few other friends without mentioning that it was my birthday. I thought if I didn't want to make a fuzz out of it, why should they? So lunch it was, and what a good time to catch up with some friends that I hadn't seen for a while.

I woke up to a very nicely made birthday card with some carefully worded note including something to the effect of looking younger than my age. It was a stretch but hubby did volunteer to wait til 9am to drive our little mister to preschool, saving me a total of 40 minutes to an hour of walking, so I was happy to let it slide.

I am tempted to make a list of forty things I am grateful to God for, but we all know that when a girl says list, it is a list of words per item and I did want to make this short. I must

Photo Credit+flowers: Tess Colgrave
Thanks, mare! Rachel Kelly for the cake

say I am very thankful for the life God has blessed me. He has blessed me with the most amazing husband and two awesome kids. I thank God for our families. While they all live overseas, distance doesn't seem to hinder the close family ties that connects us. In the absence of our biological family, God has connected us to a great local church family where we got to meet like minded individuals and families in similar season in life like us. We are blessed that we still get to honor God and be a part in advancing His kingdom even in this season, and not be hindered by it. I thank God for the friends He placed in our lives, for the opportunity to make sisters and brothers by choice,  and for the many blessings that keeps coming our way.

You know how I started my day with all sorts of body pains? Let me just say that when I started thinking and thanking God for everything I was grateful for, it all just went away - and I must say, it was a happy birthday indeed!

On Motherhood

Whoever said motherhood is easy is either lying or had others raise her kids for her. After only a few years into this 'job', I find that no amount of 'preparation' ever really gets you ready for your 'role'. By preparation, I don't just mean the insights I get from the books I  read and the seminars I have attended. Although I must say that a course on motherhood would come in handy but as all mothers will agree, you sort of wing things as you go and do things by trial and error. It doesn't help that all kids, even twins who share a womb, are different, making it hard to create a curriculum.

I suppose I am talking about the kind that I saw as modelled by my own mama. And on that note, can I just pause and brag about her for a bit? I have to say she is one tough cookie, having given birth to six kids, losing her firstborn after a few days due to sickness, and then two years later giving birth to me and four others while holding a full time job as a school teacher in a local public school. Sure she had people around her helping her out but to juggle raising a family and keeping a job, let alone doing it full time, seems unthinkable to me. And then add to that raising me, being the stubborn child that I was, giving her enough challenges probably from the time I started talking. I thank God for her patience, wisdom and humility. She did the best she can. Not even her humble origins can stop her from getting educated, and making sure, along with Papa, that we all get our degrees so all five of our diplomas get prominently

our youngest sister has yet to request for her diploma from school

displayed on the "wall of  fame" at  home. While she feels that us getting educated is her biggest legacy, I feel that it was her getting up early to pray, and teaching us about God that helped me make the right choices in life. I feel that the things she showed us and taught us about God made it so easy for me to have a relationship with Jesus.




My mother in law is another worthy example. While I have yet to meet her in person, her warmth,  compassion and genuine love breaks all barriers including distance. I loved how she encouraged and prayed for me, along with the rest of the family, when I was back home waiting for my visa grant. One can't ask for a better one and I am blessed . I can't wait to see her and everyone in the family and I look forward to the seafoods feast she promised when we visit.



I think about mentors, friends and family who  provided me with Godly example of motherhood and living life in general. From those who discipled me, believed in me before I even believed in myself, and trusted me. When I stop to think about how much they have helped me become a better person, challenging me to grow and mature in my relationship with Jesus so I can help others the way they have - it makes me thank God for the company of women (and men) that He has placed around me and the awesome privilege of being able to travel with them in this journey called life.

I feel that motherhood can be a really tough gig, especially if one is on their own. But if the saying that it takes a village to raise a child is true, then we are not really meant to raise our children by ourselves to begin with.   Having all our biological families on the other side of the world makes things even harder.But we thank God for our church family - we don't feel alone and we don't feel like we have to figure things out by ourselves or get things together, we are allowed to be ourselves, we can ask for help and it was never taken against us. All the encouragement and prayers we get showered is just amazing. We have also made friends, who have become our families by choice

On a personal note, for mother's day this year, I thought I'd save my husband the trouble of  figuring out what to get me  by telling him exactly what I wanted. I even volunteered to pick it up myself to make sure there are no mix ups. At our little mister's preschool, they organized a mother's day  afternoon tea with a fun activity for mum and kids. I was so pleased when I got there with the little miss to find him finish the sandwiches I made him for lunch for the first time since early this year. As we worked on the mother's day card, he wouldn't let me touch it, except for some help from his sister. While he took the activity seriously, he also got distracted a few times with all the toys and other kids to play with. I feel like after nearly two hours, it was the little miss who had fun the most. She was able to play all she liked without me rushing her like I always do everytime we drop her brother off.

The shifts  life make as we enter into the season of motherhood! As the more seasoned mums will tell you, while changes take place as the children grow older, it never really ends. It is always tempting to focus  them and make them the centre of our universe! But if we are wise, we will look up to a POWER bigger than ourselves, even bigger than our families and friends.

Happy mother's day to you - whether  you are a mother celebrating for the first time,  desperately praying to be a mother, one that have lost their mothers, mothers who have lost a baby (or two) or are assuming the role of mothers in others' lives. Thank you for all the hard work you do. I hope Psalms 121 of The Message version will bless you -

^1-2 I look up to the mountains;
    does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
    who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

^3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
    your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
    Guardian will never doze or sleep.

^5-6 God’s your Guardian,
    right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
    sheltering you from moonstroke.

^7-8 God guards you from every evil,
    he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
    he guards you now, he guards you always.

DiY Birthday Party!

It all started when we all got talked into throwing her a birthday party. Perhaps she remembered when we said we will alternately  have one party for them being born only eleven months apart and they have the same set of friends and this year, it was her turn. Maybe it did not help that we got invited to parties and she saw how fun it was. From the time we said YES, we were asked nearly every day if it was her birthday yet.

Gunnamatta Park
 photo pinched from here

She chose  Gunnamatta in Cronulla after we went for a  day to relax, she decided that she will have her party there.

view opposite the park 

We even made up a song to the tune of five cheeky monkeys and it goes like this:

z wants a party
she gets it on her birthday
she loves it is gunnamatta bay
so she can play, swim and have a barbie

We did not end up having a barbie because we thought it was better to have everything ready by the time we got there, but that is going ahead of myself. Choosing the venue was easy because the birthday girl knew what she wanted and we can't help but agree. With a park and a beach in one place, we didn't have to do anything to entertain the kids. We did have a few other decisions to make -

1. Pick the Date. Autumn this year is a little bit tricky because some days feel like summer, while other days feel like winter. We had to consider people's schedules too but after what we thought was carefully thought and planned date, we still found ourselves in a bit of a bind, what with our chosen date being in conflict with another activity, or some friends going away. However, we had to make a choice. When we decided on the date, the forecast was a high of 20 degrees with expected showers. Our toddlers prayed every night from the time we decided on the date for a change of weather and every few weeks we checked the forecast. And what do you know, on the day itself, it was a high of 27 degrees, not windy and certainly no showers, just perfect for a park-beach sort of weather, thank you, Jesus!

2. Invitation. When the date was sorted, it was too close that we did not have time to make the invitations. We resorted to emails and facebook, and it all worked out fine. I have to say I did try to get all the materials but in the end it was rather late.

3. The Birthday Cake.  The m & m and kitkat cake looked very attractive so I thought I'd give it a go. I have seen a few tutorials on youtube that looked really doable. I made my tried and tested cake recipe base 

my test kitkat cake

from 4 ingredients called the 1,1,1,1 cake and found a delicious and easy to make chocolate frosting recipe  from google to decorate. When we tasted out test cake, it was okay. However I thought it might be too much sugar so I decided to use marshmallows to keep up with the pink motif. Also, I decided to stretch 

>myself and make it a two-tier cake - it impressed my darling husband so much he wanted to marry me again if he could. My timeline -

6 days before the party - made a triple mix to make the two tier cake. let it rest.

5 days before the party - wrapped the cake with cling wrap and freeze

2 days before the party - decorated frozen cake with a double chocolate frosting mix  and marshmallows. let it sit at room temperature til the party

4. Party Menu. We decided on a very simple menu, but it might look  massive only because our friends had different dietary requirements. Maybe I got carried away too but I was very sure that it could be done without drama. In the end I had to drop the vegetarian spring rolls that I had already began cutting and only because I thought it might be too much work having to soften the wrapper with hot water, etc. I also made big plans to make drinks for the kids but in the end had to let it slide. 

Friends brought some yummy fried spring rolls as well as chips and drinks. This nut platter, inspired by a friend who posted a picture on instagram, is a mixture of ding dong from the Philippines made of cracker 

nuts, beans, peanuts, corn and green peas mixed with tropical nuts and m & m was an instant hit with the kids.

5. Party Favour. Being the anti-lollies that I am, (and only because I know that my toddlers will not stop eating til they turn blue) I thought I'd make some cookies. I have seen a friend do it and it looked really beautiful. However I have to admit that my icing skills is very limited that as early as Easter week, I tried and failed at it miserably.  I thought maybe cutting the cookies into beautiful moulds would make it look better but that did not work too. In the end, and at the encouragement of a friend, I opted for the tried and tested crisp coconut cookies in a nice looking cd envelope inspired by this post. I made two double mix of the cookies 

three days before the party and wrapped everything on the cd envelope with the thank you label at two days before.

6. Party Supplies. I cut out some templates for the party hats from here and here for the kids to decorate. I had stickers, foam letters and shapes as well as ribbons for them to use, but alas, it was not very popular as 

the park and the water was beckoning them. For buntings, I had some fibre cleaning materials that looks like felt from a few months back. I picked pink, cut it into bunting flags and pasted it into a string. With pink balloons on the sides, it makes up all  the birthday decorations we had. Our birthday girl choose the pink and purple plates for the little ones with bigger white plates for the adults. The same color goes for the plastic cups and cutlery. We also picked the pink and white plastic table cloth.

On the party day itself, we spent the morning cooking, packing  and taking everything  to the venue. We are blessed to have friends who helped us with a back up table in case we couldn't get one by the time we got there. They also came to pick up some of the things that wouldn't fit in the car. I have to admit we were running late, arriving there at 12:30 PM but thank God for one of our friends who arrived early, because of them we had one big table perfect for the occasion.

At the end of the day, we had one happy three year old. I overheard one mum say it was a highlight to the kids' school holidays. We thanked God for everyone who celebrated our little girl's birthday with us.

We left the place at 6 PM. Needless to say, she slept in the car and slept thru til 6AM the next day. She also had to wait the next morning to open the rest of her presents.

PS. for a very detailed checklist, I found this and this really helpful.

Second Thoughts 2007

Originally posted in March 2007 in another blog that I am about to shut down

The proverb that goes: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" speaks exactly of my predicament. When around people, there are certain things and issues that come out that wouldn't have been a problem under normal circumstances.

Let me site a few examples:
School. I went to school at an early age when kids should be playing around. While all the kids in my neighborhood were doing their own thing, I was at first a visitor - seated in row 4 - until I was moved to row 1, beating the regular students. My teacher told my mother that she will move me up to the next level, she just needed to comply with the requirements to make me a regular student.

I did not regret being a year younger than the rest of the classmates, or finishing my studies one year ahead of people my age. However, I must admit that school became a place to keep myself busy or to get out of boredome instead of a venue to quench one's thirst for learning.

If truth be told, the more years I spend in school, the more I realize how little I know. But if I will ever go back, it has to be because I want to learn more, I want to pursue a passion and not just to entertain myself out of nothing better to do.

Family. I come from a regular, imperfect family - close, but maybe not really, to others. I mean, we can go for a while without talking to each other and we are okay with that. We genuinely care for each other, and the way we communicate it has never really been a problem.

However, when someone who comes from a family like mine,  gets exposed to other types of families - some who are really, really close or others who don't even care, it makes one examine if something is right or wrong.

I thank God for the parents He gave me. I appreciate that He made me and my siblings different. Our communication skills may be wanting, but that's how we are are. We wouldn't be ourselves if we did things differently. And just because we don't conform to the views and experiences of other people won't make things right or wrong - just different.

Sermons. Someone once told me that I am very confusing, and maybe so but a moderate amount of sermon is good for the soul. I am not perfect, and I can use a word or two once in a while, but please, don't get carried away.

Work. If I knew then what I know now, I'm sure I would have done things differently. Of course some things will remain the same, like resigning from my previous job. My German boss kept me on my toes, and if I stayed longer I would probably have a heart problem. Nothing wrong with that, except that I got used to being given a project and left to myself to work on it. Also, I knew he won't let me take a more than a month leave from work so it was necessary.

While working on my papers, I did answer to want adds, but I must confess it wasn't as serious as I should. I feel guilty about not working, but I feel more guilty knowing that I will leave anytime and it wouldn't be fair to the employer. And I have to make up a reason when I need to take time off to attend to my application.
Having said all of the above, I must say that I am God's work in progress. So are you. Which brings me to the next point: Life and its' many choices. When confronted with other people's opinion, I can become bitter or better. If I am smart at all, I will choose the one that will make a better person out of me.