My Colorful World

At Our Front Yard

2012-02-19T00:22:00.001-08:00

It was one Sunday afternoon after coming home from church when I felt like taking my own photos before changing into my house clothes. Since hubby was busy, I decided to take my own photos using the timer of my camera. The setting was in our font yard. Our front yard is not that spacious but it has a lot of plants like bonsai, horsetail and a lot more. The photos didn't come as clear as it should be maybe because the camera was against the light. Oh well, we can't have everything the way we want it to be.

Pictorial Time

2012-02-10T21:24:00.001-08:00

We just came home from the mall when I asked my 3 year old niece Vernice to take my photos. I just wore this dress for the first time and I didn't want to take it off without having a pictorial first. I like the color of the dress and I just thought that it would look colorful in pictures. I even asked my hubby to pose with me while Vernice was still in the mood to take some photos. My photographer is not a professional so bear with her. Some of the pics she took were blurry because she accidentally touched the lens with her dirty hand. I just learned it when I was looking at the pics and I was wondering what happened to my camera. It used to have clear and crisp photos and why suddenly it became blurry. At first I thought it was because of the rays of the sun. Then I finally found what was wrong when I turned on the camera and looked at the lens. I had to clean it with a damp cotton and then I tried to take some photos and it the pics came out clear again. Some of the blurry ones were included here though.

And here is my photographer, my three and a half year old niece Vernice Julia.

Thunderbird Resorts in Poro Point

2012-01-19T00:35:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, my hubby and I together with my youngest brother and my niece Vernice went to the immigration office in Poro Point, San Fernando La Union to pay the annual fee of my hubby. I asked my brother to drive for us. It was a two hour drive from where we live. On the way, we stopped by at Jollibee in Agoo, La Union to have lunch. Jollibee is Vernice's favorite fast food restaurant.

After we ate we proceeded to the immigration. It took maybe 15 minutes to wait for hubby's annual report to be done and we went out of the immigration office around 2PM. Before leaving the entrance gate I asked the guard where is the Thunderbird Resorts and he told me the direction. It's only about 500 meters away from the immigration office so we drove there. Before leaving, Vernice insisted to get my camera and took our photos.

at the front of the Bureau of Immigration, Poro Point, San Fernando La Union. Li'l Vernice took this pic.

Hubby and I in front of the immigration office. Vernice took this pic.

The security guard at the Immigration office. Vernice was the one who took his pic.

When we reached the entrance of the resort, we asked the guard to let us in because we wanted to have a sight-seeing. He obliged and opened the entrance gate. It's a good thing they don't require and entrance fee. Thunderbird Resorts is located in a very spacious land and the buildings of the hotels are Mediterranean style patterned after the buildings in Greece. If you are there, it looks like you're in a foreign country. I also read in the internet that this place is where the celebrity John Estrada and his bride got married last year.

We feasted our eyes with the nice view and took some photos. I just wished we were able to see the inside of the hotel too. One of these days, I would like to go back there with hubby and spend a night just to experience the beauty and quietness of the place. They have also a golf course there. So if you want to be away from the busyness of life in the city and you just want to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature, then Thunderbird Resorts is the place to visit.

Li'l Vernice

Li'l Photographer

2012-01-04T20:25:00.000-08:00

The following photos were taken by my 3 year old niece, Vernice. I just taught her how to use the camera and take pics 3 days ago and since then she got addicted taking photos. She always request me to take our pics. Hubby said I created a monster, lol! Yesterday when we were in Manaoag and she was taking our pics, people were staring at us and they were all smiling. Perhaps they were fascinated seeing a small girl taking pictures. In fairness, she take good pics better than my hubby, lol!

Meet our cute, li'l 3 year old photographer, Vernice Julia. She has the potential to be a good photographer in the future.

At The Park

2011-09-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, September 14, my hubby and I rode with my brother-in-law's service pick up and we went to Baguio to get an application form for the registration of our church at SEC located at the Baguio Convention Center. They gave us the form and we paid Php500.00. We then walked out of the building and walked to the nearest park. We passed by the University of the Philippines, Baguio and I decided to take a photo.

We kept on walking and reached Sunshine Park. Hubby and I have been here before, way back in 2003 and we had some photos here. The park still look the same, nice, clean and green. Hubby and I took turns in taking some photos. I love the view in this park, so simple yet captivating.They just need to repaint the sign board though.

The Travelling Consultant

2011-08-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Olga Quinn

When my husband first took his travelling consulting job I wasn’t really sure how we were going to deal with it. I was really worried that because he was going to be out of town several days a week I was going to get lonely but he had a really great idea: we should finally get that satellite from www.DIRECT.tv we’d been talking about getting. Jim knows how much I love TV and he had it dead on – now I’m hardly ever home alone because I know what comes on every single night of the week! I love watching movies on Lifetime and stuff but I really like the reality shows…they suck me in and I totally feel like I know all the contestants or stars or whatever you want to call them. I actually like having a break from Jim during the week so that when he gets home on Friday I’m overjoyed to see him and spend time with him. I feel like I’ve got the best of both worlds!

Flowers and Me

2011-08-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

I love photography and my favorite subjects are flowers and scenery. Lately, I've been learning photoshop. My brother taught me just the basics so I'm not really that good yet. I just know how to change the background of my pics and of course I put flowers as backgrounds, lol! I snagged most of the pics from my friends in FB without their knowledge, lol! I hope they won't mind when they see it here. Oh I just love flowers! I just wish I will learn more about photoshop so I can improve my craft.

Rice Field

2011-07-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Me and a friend of mine took some photos in the rice field beside our church last Sunday. The farmers just planted rice and it just started to grow. It's so refreshing to see the green scenery in the field. In a few months time, I will again take some photos when the rice grow bigger. In October, the rice will be ready for harvest. I hope I will not forget to take photos before the harvest season.

By the way, we just bought a land for a church just beside this rice land where we took photos. It's a blessing from the Lord. Now, we're praying that the good Lord will provide the means to construct our church. I believe that with God all things are possible.

Golden Globe Awards via satellite TV

2011-07-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Contribution by Archie Watts

I was watching http://www.tvbydirect.com and was amazed at the variety of award shows that are available for everyone to watch. The Annual Golden Globe Awards are phenomenal and the company actually donates all profits to charities concerning the performing arts. Although the Golden Globes Awards are relatively new to the world, the initial idea was thought of in 1928 and was started on a much smaller scale. The modern award shows attract viewers by their millions for many different reasons. Movie buffs love to see who wins awards for best director or best actor. Fashion plays a massive roll in the whole way the Golden Globe Awards are played out. The magical and illustrious red carpet is a world wide cat walk for fashion designers hoping for sales once a famous actress has been viewed wearing one of their creations.

The expensive jewelry worn by many of the female stars and starlets is actually hired jewelry. Some of the beautiful jewelry adorned by even more beautiful actresses includes Sharon Stone and the world's most gorgeous woman Catherine Zeta Jones. Catherine wore a necklace which was valued at just less than one million dollars and was hired out with an entire security team which was there to protect the necklace and not her.

My Blog's New Home

2011-06-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

I’m done moving this blog of mine to its new home. It took me a while to do it manually and I was almost through when Ging gave me the instruction on how to move this blog to blogspot. Thank you so much Ging. I appreciate your help very much. I followed the instructions and voila, it was so easy to import all my posts from friendster. If anybody wants to exchange link with me then just leave a message.

Shop For Srubs At BlueSkyScrub

2011-06-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Looking where to buy cheap scrubs? The Internet is a wonderful resource. BlueSkyscrubs.com is where you want to look. They have a wide range of fine quality medical scrubs, designer nursing scrubs and uniforms, and surgical scrub hats. No longer are scrubs dull and limited in colors. Scrub sets from BlueSkycrubs now come in over 15 different solid colors. Nursing scrubs for women are no long just frumpy uniforms. Their range of designer nursing scrubs have put theirs a cut above the others and will be sure to make you look and feel beautiful.
Check out their surgical hats too. BlueSkyscrubs’ line of hospital scrubs are easily complimented with a colorful and uniquely printed surgical scrub hat in their wide range of colors and prints. BlueSkyscrubs provides one of the best prices available in the market, so if you are looking for a cheap scrub http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ is the place to shop.

I Moved My Blog

2011-06-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I was able to import my blog from friendster. They're going to delete all the blogs there and they gave until the 27th of June to export all the blogs and photos there. This blog of mine is so important to me because this is my first ever blog. I started it last October 2006 so it's been almost 5 years now since I started blogging. I just can't let this blog of mine be deleted so I have to move it to this website. I have all the photos and memories that I wrote here since I started blogging.

Scrub Store

2011-06-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

When I was in grade school, I wanted to become a nurse or a doctor because I dreamed of wearing their white uniforms, lab coats and scrubs. This dream did not materialized because as I grew older, I developed a phobia of going to the doctor and hospitals. Just the mere sight of a needle, blood and medical equipments made me nervous. Maybe you will say I’m weird but that’s me and I can’t help it. Whenever I see people working in the medical field, I feel jealous because they have the courage to work in that field and they get to wear those nice scrubs. I was wondering where do they buy those until I came across this scrub store. I guess that’s where they buy those nice medical discount scrub set, designer nursing uniforms, and other scrub related apparel. Blue Sky Scrubs has a vast collection of scrubs which are made of a poly-cotton blend and are very lightweight but durable. They are made using the highest quality fabric designed to be stylish, even flattering on anybody. The scrubs are chic, professional and comfortable.

If I were in the medical field I would definitely order their fashion seal medical scrubs because I like the style and color. Blue Sky Scrubs are chic, professional, comfortable and on top of that, it’s made in the USA, It’s easy to find and shop for medical scrubs online but it’s difficult to find scrubs made in the USA. Most scrubs they sell online now were made overseas and the difference is astonishing. Blue sky scrubs have quickly become a must-have accessory for doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other medical professionals worldwide. Blue sky’s nursing uniforms scrubs are not sold in any retail stores, they can only be purchased online at www.blueskyscrubs.com.

Disclosure Policy

2011-06-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

This policy is valid from 01 June 2011

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising contents, topics or posts made in this blog. That content may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.
The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

Summer Heat

2011-05-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's so hot nowadays. It's so hard to do anything outside because of the heat. Last week I was trying to pull out the weeds in our front yard but the heat was killing me and it it was around 9 o' clock in the morning. I had to stop what I was doing and went inside the house instead. It's also hot inside the house but at least I can turn on the fans or the AC.

Now the weather is cloudy but it's still warm outside. According to the news there's a low pressure area and it might cause rain and flooding. I want rain but not flood of course. It would be a relief of these hot weather we are experiencing right now.

Bible Study

2011-01-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

We had a ladies' Bible study in our house last Thursday for the first time and I was the speaker. Six ladies from our church came. I was a little nervous because it's the first time that I will do it. I talked about What is God's Plan For My Life. The Bible states that God has a wonderful and unique plan for each one of us. He has specially designed and created us with distinctive talents and gifts to walk in a perfect plan He has already predetermined for us. (Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 139)

I cited 3 life-changing steps to find God's plan for your life:

Draw close to Him Stick around with Him and talk to Him through prayer

Search Him The real source of God's will is His written Word, the Bible

Learn To Listen to the Holy Spirit Once you have submitted to His way of doing things and have receive Him as Lord and Savior over you life, you have made a God-connection and the Holy Spirit start talking to you about God's plan for you.

God's plan for your life begins with you becoming a child of God by believing of the Lord Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and payment for your sin. This is different than a religion; it is a relationship with God based on His Word the Bible.

I also shared my personal experiences in life of how I talked to God and asked Him about His plan for my life and how I listened to the Holy Spirit. Ten years ago I didn't know what was God's plan for me. Ten years ago I didn't know that I will be married to a preacher and will start a ministry for the Lord. God has a wonderful plan for my life and for each and everyone of us. His greatest plan for us is to be saved and have eternal life.

"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:39-40)

After our Bible study, we ate the snacks that I prepared, goulash, macaroni fruit salad and orange juice. We had a good time and I suggested to the ladies that we will have a Bible study every month and they agreed. To God be the glory!

Need to Exercise

2011-01-23T00:22:00.000-08:00

Since we moved to this house, I didn't have time to exercise or work-out no more. I've been busy with lots of things and most of the time I feel lazy to do it. Lately I noticed I gained weight maybe because of lots of eating during the holidays. I tried to get on my stationary bike but then I already get bored riding it. I wanted something different.

Last Thursday, we went to SM to pay my internet bill. I passed by the sports store and I stopped by. I've seen that the elliptical machine that I've been wanting to buy was on sale. I asked how long will the sale last and the salesman told me it's until the last day of this month and the one on display was the last piece they have. So I decided to buy it right away after trying it. The good thing about buying the one on display is that it's already assembled and ready to use. I was worried it won't fit our car but they dis-attached the 2 handles and voila it fit in our car!

I've been using my elliptical machine in the morning when I got up and it made me sweat a lot. So far I've been on it for two consecutive mornings and I hope I can do it at least three times a week or more. I want to shed off these excess pounds that I gained during the holidays. I also hope I can get back to my walking exercise. I just need the will and determination. When I was in Texas, I exercise daily and I lost a lot of weight. At that time I had treadmill, stationary bike and power rider. If I did it before, I can do it now.

Eulogy Speech For My Friend

2011-01-19T17:17:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was my friend Gloria's funeral. I was asked to give a eulogy speech for her. Last year, I did 2 eulogy speeches for my aunt and my li'l sister respectively and tears rolled down my cheeks while I was speaking. It brought back memories of them when I did it for my friend. I wrote this eulogy speech for Gloria but I delivered it without reading my copy.

Gloria was a very dear friend. We were friends since we were in high school and we became close friends when we were in 3rd year HS until college. We were both born in the month of August, only different dates. I remember the first time she invited us to their house was during her 14th birthday. She invited us for lunch that time with her parents. She was an only child so they can afford to celebrate her birthday, unlike me, we were poor and I didn’t celebrate my birthday during those times. We went to the same university in college but I transferred to another school two years after. We lost contact that time but when we graduated, she kept in touch and she told me that she worked in Manila as a saleslady in a department store and it was during that time that she met her husband. She was pregnant with Jaah when she came to our house and told me about it. She became my kumare when she gave birth to her 2nd child Aika. It was that time that I met her husband. Later on I was informed that he left her for the 2nd time after she gave birth to their 4th child and he never returned. She did the role of mother and father to her 4 kids, raising them all by herself and I salute her for that. It was during her lowest moments that she turned to God, accepted Him as her Lord and Savior and led her kids to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

What is it that I can’t forget about Gloria. I think it’s her happy personality, her smile and her camaraderie. She’s a jolly person and when you look at her, you can’t tell that she’s carrying a heavy burden in her heart. Raising a child with no job is already a heavy burden, how much more raising 4 children alone with no parents or sibling to help her. I can’t forget also that every time she came to the house to visit me, she brought me malunggay, sineguelas or mangoes. She was a very thoughtful friend despite her lack, she managed to give me something. I can’t forget those times that she came to me and told me she has no rice to cook for her family so I gave her rice or money. Not that much but it help her anyway. She tried her best to earn money, she even became a Tupperware dealer, Avon dealer, etc. She became a tutor, made rice cakes for her kids to sell. She did anything to earn money and support her family. During my wedding, she was there as one of the usherettes. Her gift to us was a photo album. When I was in the states I kept in contact with her. I was thinking of how to help her and so I thought of finding an American husband for Aika so she can help her family later on. In short I became cupid or matchmaker for Aika and I’m so glad that Aika found a very good husband in the person of Jon.

I know that Gloria and her kids are so close to each other but I was told also that she and Aika have that special bonding so when Aika went abroad she was so sad and missed her terribly. Gloria love her kids so much that she will do anything for her kids. She has also a forgiving heart. She didn’t hold a grudge to her husband even though he abandoned them for 13 years. She told me many times that she will still have him back if he decide to return but it never happen. Gloria is great mother and a friend. She will forever live in my heart, in our hearts.

Gloria is in heaven now and we are here on her funeral. This is not the time for us to grieve her death but it’s our time to celebrate her life. Don’t ever forget Gloria. I know she never wanted to see people cry. I know at this moment she is happy and smiling now in heaven. So at this moment when we are about to lay her body to rest, let’s all think back and remember how Gloria touched our lives. How she inspired us that being a single parent and poor is not a hindrance to raise her 4 kids. This is not the moment for us to shed our tears but we should all be thankful that we were given the chance to have known a woman named Gloria.

Gloria will forever be missed but I know in the right time, I will meet Gloria again. Her kids will meet her again. We will all meet Gloria again in heaven if we are saved.

Goodbye My Friend

2011-01-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

We went to my friend Gloria's wake last night with hubby, my brother and his wife and my brother-in-law. We were supposed to be there around 7:35 but we waited on my BIL who was in a meeting in his work. So we went there around 8:15 already and a lady pastor was preaching. We sat down and listened and after she preached, my goddaughter Aika rendered a beautiful song. Then she called my hubby to give his message. Before that, I distributed the copies of the songs I printed to the people there. Then I got the microphone and I said a short tribute to my friend Gloria who was my close friend since high school days. She has 4 kids and raised them all by herself since her husband left them more than 13 years ago. I didn't know how she managed to raise 3 kids by herself with just a meager salary as a day care teacher. Other mother would have been looking for another husband or have lost her mind in thinking how to support 4 kids. But it was also amazing how the good Lord works. It was during those trying moments of her life that she had come to know Jesus Christ and accepted Him as her Savior, found a good church where she and her kids worship the Lord. Her oldest son finished college and is now a registered nurse with a good job. Her second daughter (my goddaughter) is married to a good and responsible American guy and she is now based in the US. She just arrived yesterday to be with her siblings during this time of grief and to give her last respect to her mom. My friend's 2 younger kids are still in school. They all love their mom and I've seen in their faces sadness and grief of losing a mother. They were abandoned by their dad and now their mom passed away. That's life, we have to be strong and draw our strength from God so we can withstand the trials that beset us. I know how it feels to lose someone dear in the family. I lost my mom at a young age, then my grandparents, my dad and just recently, my aunt and my dear sister. It's so painful and until now I haven't gotten over yet with the loss of my sister. I know it will take a while but I just pray to God to take away the pain and grief of losing my li'l sister.

We sang 2 hymns last night at my friend's wake, "When We All Get To Heaven" and "Because He Lives." I led the singing though my voice was not that great. My BIL played the guitar while we were singing. Then I gave a short testimony of my life. After that, hubby gave his message and the title was "Our God Of Comfort." We hope and pray that they understood the message and that God will comfort my friend's kids during this time of need. My tears were flowing when my friend's oldest son said a short tribute to his mom after he sang. I felt his grief and sadness of losing his beloved mom and so with his siblings. Bless their hearts!

Not Feeling Well

2011-01-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

My hubby is not feeling well since Christmas. He got colds, cough and slight fever. He’s been taking some over the counter medicines. Last New Year he had fever and he’s been coughing during night time. In the middle of the night he wakes up and can’t go back to sleep. If he takes some medicines and drink calamansi juice he gets better. But the problem with hubby is that if he feels better, he eats ice cream, drink ice cold drinks and sleep in front of a steady fan without a shirt. Too bad. I always tell him not to do it but he’s kinda stubborn so I told him he’s the one suffering the consequences anyway.

I know some people here have caught the bug. One lady in our church have been sick for a few weeks now. She feels the same as hubby, cough, colds and fever. My niece had it first then my nephew. Maybe it’s due to the cool weather, I don’t really know but I hope and pray that hubby will get well soon. Sickness go away in Jesus’ name.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

2011-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

The past year 2010 was an unforgettable year for me and my family. Too many things happened that year and too many memories that will always stay in my mind. I can’t forget my aunt’s sudden death and my sister’s suffering of her illnesses for a few months that led to her death. The memories are still fresh but I know that as time goes by, God will heal all the wounds and griefs of losing our loved ones. It’s also during the past year that we started our ministry in Anis and then we decided to hold our Sunday services there. The Lord provided a house for us to meet on Sundays and I praise God for that. I also thank God that He blessed us physically last year and also He provided our financial need. Being missionaries here in my homeland with only our sending church who is supporting us is not that easy but God is faithful. We had foods on the table, clothes to wear, and a house to live. Though we have many wants but the Lord provided our need. We didn’t lack the basic necessities in life. Praise God for His faithfulness and provisions. Whatever happened in 2010 is in the past but it doesn’t mean that I will forget it. It’s a past chapter in my life that I can always look back.

I’m happy to welcome 2011 and so excited to see what the good Lord has in store for me to do this year. I pray that this will be a good year and that God will bless our ministry so more souls will be saved. We are looking forward to celebrate our church’s 2nd year anniversary on the last Sunday of this month. Thank you Lord for all the things you’ve done and for all the things you’re going to do in our lives. I give you back the glory, honor and thanksgiving.

Christmas Banquet

2010-12-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, we had our Christmas banquet after our church service. The kids in my Sunday School especially the girls were dressed up for the first time. I told them that we will have a picture taking during that day. They girls were pretty and some were wearing their sandals. I could tell they were so excited. The boys sang special song during the worship service followed by the girls. Then we listened to the message given by Pastor George. It’s all about Christmas of course. After the service we had our lunch inside the church. The tables and chairs were arranged to accommodate the pots of rice and different foods. I cooked chicken adobo and white beans. One of my uncles cooked pinakbet as I requested. It was so good. There was ginataang gabi, monggo, ginisang upo, lumpia, dinengdeng, etc. The kids were served first and then the adults. They like my chicken adobo. It was all gone. I was so full that day. I gained weight this holiday season. I hope to lose it soon.

We had parlor games after lunch. But before that, I asked the kids to recite all the verses that I asked them to memorize since we started Sunday School. There were three who were able to memorize but the first prize went to the 7 year old girl named Melissa. She has s fantastic memory. I gave the 2nd prize to a 9 year old girl and the 3rd prize went to an 11 year old boy. Then we started the parlor games. The kids and the adults participated. I gave out prizes to the winners and I distributed chocolates and candies to all. The kids and adults had a blast that day. We went home exhausted but I enjoyed it.

Youth Camp

2010-12-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

Our young people will be going to attend the youth camp this coming 27th to 30th of this month. It will be their first time to attend and I’ve been helping them raise funds for their registration and fare. Most of our youth come from a poor family and so it’s really a burden for the parents to send them especially one mom has 3 kids who wanna go. I have 2 friends who already promised to help. I hope and pray that God will provide our youth’s financial need so they would be able to attend. I’m sure they will be greatly blessed with all the preaching, activities and also meeting new Christian friends from different Baptist churches. I’m planning to go with them as their counselor and chaperon.

Practice Today

2010-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

The girls in my Sunday school had their practice today for their song number on Sunday. They will sing the Christmas song “Joy To The World.” I thought all of them know this song but to my surprise they don’t know it. I asked them what Christmas songs they know or what Christmas songs they learned from their school teacher and they said none. I was dismayed to hear that nowadays, public school teachers don’t teach their pupils some Christmas songs unlike during my grade school years. My teachers taught us Christmas songs during this season. The kids don’t even know the tune of “Joy To The World” so I have to teach them, sigh! I thought this is a very popular song that even young kids can sing but I was mistaken. Maybe the kids in that village where our church is have no radio or don’t watch tv very often. Maybe they don’t have CDs to listen to. Whatever. Tomorrow It’s the boys turn to practice their song and I hope they are better.

Wrapping Gifts and Prizes

2010-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

Been busy buying gifts and prizes yesterday and today for our Christmas party in our church. We will be having parlor games for the kids as well as the adults. I already wrapped the gifts for the 2 kids who memorized most of the memory verses that I gave them. Also I wrapped the gift for the girl who always give her time to clean the church and arrange the chairs when hubby and I can’t make it. I wrapped a few of the prizes for the parlor games and I still have a bunch to wrap. I do it myself and I’m enjoying it.

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I asked my youngest brother to drive for me. We went to the grocery store and bought prices for our Christmas party in our church on Sunday. I bought mostly junk foods, chocolates, candies and lollipops for the kids. We will be having our Christmas banquet after our service on Sunday, December 19th. Then we will have parlor games for the kids and adults. I will wrap the prices that I bought. The kids in my Sunday school will be having their exchange gifts too. I’m pretty sure they will enjoy our Christmas celebration.

Film Showing Ministry

2010-12-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

We will be having a film showing tonight in our church. It was supposed to be last week but since we were busy with all the moving, we postponed it. The kids and the adults thought it was last Friday night and they were all there waiting. It was really a miscommunication. Today, we went to invite people for tonight’s film showing in our church. We will be doing it outside the building since it’s just small house and it won’t accommodate a lot of people. We will be showing the movie, “The Burning Hell.” Hubby will give a message after the film showing. I just hope and pray that people will be convicted and get saved.

A Place To Stay

2010-12-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

For almost two years since we arrived here in my homeland, hubby and I were staying in our family home with my brother, his wife and their 2 year old baby. My siblings and I were born and raised in that house and it’s my sister and I who spent for the renovation when we were still single and working. My aunt was still alive when we arrived January last year but she passed away last February. My aunt was the only sibling of my late mom so she inherited the house from their parents. Since she has no kids the house is automatically passed on to me and my siblings. My late sister and her family has a house and also my youngest brother and family. My other brother and I have no house of our own so we stayed in our family home. Hubby had been wanting to rent a house but I objected because why rent if we have a house to stay for free. Besides, I missed my siblings, nephews and nieces especially my aunt so I wanted to be with them and have bonding. I also wanted to help my brother because he was unemployed that time. So hubby and I spent money for the expansion of our bedroom and put a built-in cabinet for our clothes.

After my sister Violy passed away last September, I’ve been so lonely and every time I go to their house which is just next door, I can’t help myself but cry. Their house brings back a lot of memories of my sister and I just sobbed and sobbed alone inside their house while sitting at the couch where she used to sleep when she was sick. Hubby had seen me many times crying and he told me that it would be better to move out and find a house to rent so I will not be missing my sister but I said no until last month that my brother and I had a misunderstanding and it made me cry because I was hurt deeply. I then realized that it’s not good to stay in a house with two families. I told hubby that we will find a house for rent and move out of the house. I know it’s just normal for siblings to have some petty quarrels and misunderstandings but I had sleepless nights and my chest was heavy. My brother apologized and said sorry but I didn’t forgive him right away because I was hurt. Hubby told me to forgive him and not delay. So I talked to my brother and forgave him.

After a couple of weeks, the Lord has blessed us and we found a nice house to rent just a 5 minute drive from our family home. It’s a 2 bedroom bungalow house, 1 1/2 bathroom, nice porch, spacious land with lots of fruit bearing trees and it’s situated in a peaceful and not so crowded area. Neighbors are far, that’s what hubby like. In front of the house is a bamboo hut and that’s a bonus. Hubby and I were so excited! We just moved in here December 1st. We love the place and we thank the Lord for all the blessings and provisions.

Glad to be back...

2010-12-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

…after over a month of no internet and blogging. The phone cables going to our area were stolen on the last week of October so it’s been a long respite from the computer for me. My eyes had rested and my fingers too but the bad thing is, I missed a lot of blogging opps. I could have earned money for Christmas for me and my loved ones. Hubby and I decided to apply from another internet service provider and we just got it tonight. It’s more pricey but there’s no more phone cables for the thieves to steal and it’s faster. Now I’m back to my blogging business and boy am I glad!.

Very nice Vernice!

2010-10-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I went to the mall with my 2 year old niece Vernice today. She was so behaved and didn’t even cry or asked for milk. She asked hubby to carry her most of the time though especially in going up and down the escalator. We went to eat in the food court and I ordered lunch for the 3 of us. I ordered spaghetti and macaroni salad for her but she ate some of my rice with the beef soup first then the spaghetti. I ordered a value meal consisting of rice, chopsuey and beef adobo. Hubby got rice, fried chicken and beef adobo. Iced tea and beef soup was included in the meal. While we were eating, Christmas songs were being played and Vernice was swaying while eating to our delight and she was drawing attention from people in the other tables. Hubby said he noticed that people kept staring at him and then to Vernice. They might be wondering whether Vernice is hubby’s daughter or not because she don’t have American features, LOL! Vernice calls hubby “daddy” and she calls me “mommy”.

Sunday School

2010-10-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

We had a great day yesterday. I taught Sunday school and the kids always inspire me because they are so interested. One 7 year old girl really amazed me because she can recite all the memory verses that I let them memorize since April without any mistake. Also she can recite the Our Father and the Ten Commandments by heart. Some kids can recite the verses too but had some mistakes. I gave chocolates to the kids who memorized the verses but I gave more to the 7 year old girl because she’s the best in the class. She beat the older kids when it comes to memorization. I also taught them a new song with action yesterday and of course I told them Bible stories and gave them coloring pages.

Latets Ministry Update

2010-10-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we started the rice ministry in our church. A couple who are dear friends of ours from the states who attend our church are the sponsors. They told me that they used to do this in their church when they were in another province and their attendance really increased. So last week, we went to buy one sack of rice and we put in a plastic bag, 2 kilos each. During our service last Sunday, it was announced that we are giving away 1 plastic bag of rice per one household but only to the parent/s who attended our service. Most of the people who attend our church come from a poor family so 2 kilos of rice which is equivalent to 4.4 lbs is a great help to them. So after the service, Pastor George (my hubby) gave the bags of rice to the parents. There were 10 bags of rice which were given away. We hope and pray that next week our church attendance will go up when other parents will learn that our church is giving away rice to parents. By the way, last Sunday, there was one mom who attended our service for the first time. I think she learned about our rice ministry because I told it to 2 mothers when we had a visitation last Saturday. Well, we gotta do what we gotta do just to attract people to come to church. I tried to invite some people many times and they said yes but they didn’t come. We’ll see if our rice ministry will be effective to increase our attendance.

A million thanks to our dear friends who have the heart in helping God’s work and voluntarily sponsored the rice ministry in our church and also donated money in buying some Bibles. Thanks also to one of my Facebook friends in the US who donates money monthly through Paypal for my Sunday school kids’ supplies and snacks. I hope and pray that God will touch more people to help our church so we can buy a lot and later on build our own church building.

It’s Gloomy

2010-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

The super typhoon Juan had devastated the country and damaged a lot of crops, trees, properties and also claimed some people’s lives. I was watching in the news a couple of nights ago and I’ve seen how the typhoon had swept away a tricycle. They played it over and over in the tv. Now as the typhoon leaves, another storm is approaching. Oh my gulay! I hope it will make a U turn and not come here. We don’t need another storm. It’s still gloomy and raining here but my nephews went to school now. It’s been 3 days that they didn’t have classes. What I like about this weather is that it’s cooler and we don’t need to turn the AC on. But I don’t know why this weather reminds me of my late li’l sister. I’ve been missing her so much. Gosh, I still can’t believe she’s gone now. Before I go to bed at night I remember her, when I woke up in the middle of the night I think of her and when I wake up in the morning she’s still in my mind. Too many memories to remember and I haven’t recovered yet from losing her.

Raining

2010-10-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

It’s raining this morning when I woke up. This is now the effect of the super typhoon that’s been in the news the past few days. They said it’s expected to landfall in the northern part of the country this afternoon. I just hope and pray it will not be that bad so the people there will not be greatly affected. My two nephews next door didn’t go to school. They said it’s signal #2 here in our town. It’s so gloomy outside and it feels good to sleep all day. Hubby is cooking pancakes right now in the kitchen for our breakfast while I’m here blogging. Hubby’s pancakes are the best. He cooks better pancakes than me. Love it

Goodbye Violy (Part II)

2010-10-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last August 9, 2010, Violy had palpitations that lasted a few hours and it made her weak and at the same time she had stomach pain. She thought she was going to die that time and she was just waiting for heartbeat to stop. She even said goodbye to us and told her husband not to take her to the doctor no more. She told us to let her go. She said she already suffered too much and she wanted to rest and see Jesus Christ. We were all crying that time. Violy told her hubby what clothes she wanna wear when she dies. She said it’s in the other room, her clothes that she wears when she sponsors a wedding. She also told Jhun to put her coffin at the carport so it has more space. I wasn’t able to stand that scene, I went to our house which is just in front of Violy’s house and kneeled down in our room and cried out to the Lord to heal Violy. Moments later, hubby came in and told me Violy was feeling better and I was so relieved.

As days and weeks went by, Violy’s health started to deteriorate. She became weaker and weaker and was unable to eat. She even lost her voice. Still we didn’t lost hope and we kept on praying. We were asking God that she will get well before her birthday. Then her birthday came and that was September 23rd. Her office mates called and asked if it’s okay if they will come and visit her and they will bring foods to celebrate her birthday. I said that sounds good and so they came around 3:00 PM that day and they brought pancit and roll cake. Her friends bought softdrinks too. Before they came, I fixed my sister’s hair, applied face powder on her face and put her earrings so she will look presentable. I was there entertaining my li’l sister’s visitors because she can’t talk no more. Violy was not able to eat the foods they brought. She got no appetite to eat and it was hard for her to swallow foods. The next day I was with her in their house and I was rubbing her back to ease the pain. This time she was already almost skin and bones. I wasn’t able to hold back my tears and I sobbed and cried while I hugged her. I told her how much I loved her and I thanked her for all the things she has done for me. I should have not cried beside her but my heart was really torn into pieces seeing her condition that time. Her two kids were just looking at us. My heart goes out to them.

Then on September 27th, I was sitting beside Violy on their couch in their living room. The couch was like her bed. She slept there sitting down because it’s hard for her to breath when she lie down because of her asthma. She slept like that for a couple of months. Then during late afternoon that day, three of our relatives came to see Violy and one of my aunts can’t help herself but cry when she had seen Violy’s condition, weak and very skinny. While we were talking, around 6:55 PM, I noticed my sister took a deep breath and so I said “Violy” but she didn’t respond. I tapped her hand and when we raised her head upwards, she was already gone. I cried and bawled like a little kid. My brother was crying too and also my relatives. Moments later I called Jhun, Violy’s husband who was at work but no answer. I tried many times but failed to contact him. My nephew called his cellphone too but no answer. My youngest brother and my husband tried to contact him too but still no answer. Later on we found out that his cellphone was on his desk in his office but it didn’t ring. All our calls didn’t register in his cellphone and until now we are puzzled.

My li’l sister’s suffering has ended. She is now in heaven where there’s no more sickness, no pain, no more tears and sorrow and although we know where she is now, we can’t help but feel sad because she’s no longer here with us. I can’t see her and talked to her everyday as I used to. Only her memories remain in our hearts forever. I lost my bestfriend, confidant and my one and only beloved sister whom I dearly loved. It really hurts and until now I haven’t gotten over it yet. I know Jhun and their 2 kids are still grieving. They may not say it but I can see it in their eyes. In due time, God will heal the wound of losing my li’l sister. We miss you Violy ading ko and we love you very much. Goodbye for now but see you in heaven someday.

Goodbye Violy (Part I)

2010-10-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

It really hurt to lose someone you love. This year I lost 2 people that I dearly love. Last February, my beloved aunt who took care of us passed away. I cried so much because of that. Then last week September 27th, my beloved sister passed away. It hurt me deeply to see Violy go. I have 3 siblings but Violy is the closest to me because she’s my only sister. We prayed to God to heal her for more than 4 months. I lost count how many times I shed tears and cried out to out to God to please heal her for the sake of her 2 kids who are still young. I encouraged her many times and advised her to put her trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Our entire family had been praying together asking God for a miracle. I requested a lot of people from around the world to pray for her healing. We didn’t lose hope and Violy kept fighting for her life. Everyday I see her suffer and it broke my heart to pieces seeing her health deteriorate and I can’t do anything but to give her hope and pray. My sister was a very strong woman. She maybe petite and shorty but she can endure the pain without the aid of pain reliever. I’ve seen her suffer and she didn’t complain. Little by little her body slowly succumbed to her illness and how I cried every night to God to heal her miraculously. She fought the big C courageously and lost the battle. She had also heart trouble, asthma, gastritis and peptic ulcer. These illnesses really made her life so miserable during the past months.

I told my sister many times that I love her very much and I wasn’t ready to lose her. Since she lived next door, I was with her everyday when her boys and husband went to work. Hubby and I went with her in the hospital twice when she was hospitalized last June and July. She requested me to pray for her many times. I read a lot of healing verses to her. I took care of her during daytime and attended to her needs when she became weaker. I sang hymns to her and a few days before she passed away, she requested me to sing to her the hymn “When We All Get To Heaven.” I know it was very difficult for her husband and 2 boys seeing Violy suffer for almost 5 months. It was so hard for us her siblings too. Violy is a very great woman, a loving sister and a very compassionate person. It broke our hearts into pieces seeing her suffer and in pain everyday.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Grieving

2010-09-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

I’m still grieving from the loss of my dear sister Violy. It’s hard for me to accept it. I’ve been crying at night, when I woke up and when I sit alone beside her coffin or just looking at her lying cold there made me so emotional and can’t control my tears. I miss my sister very much. Oh God, I need your comfort right now. Also please comfort my sister’s 2 boys and husband. Strengthen our family oh Lord and heal the pain of losing my sister whom we dearly loved.

Visa Renewal

2010-09-25T09:23:00.001-07:00

Hubby and I went to the immigration office in San Fernando, L.U. last Monday to renew his visa from probationary to a permanent resident visa because it will expire on the 11th of December. The lady there told us before that 3 months before his visa expires we have to renew it. The filing fee was Php2,620 and when it will be amended, we will pay Php7,000. It didn’t take long to file it because I already filled out the form and attached all the requirements before we went there. The drive was two hours from our house. Hubby did the driving you bet. There were no other customers there except us. We were done before lunch. We were told to call their office after 2 months to follow up.

Then hubby drove to find a place to eat lunch. I suggested to him to go to the restaurant in the beach resort to enjoy the fresh air and nice view. So we drove to Nalinac Beach Resort where hubby and I stayed for a a few days more than 7 years ago. We were disappointed that their restaurant is not serving foods these days. So we went to the nearby resort, the Long Beach Resort and we’re glad they are serving foods and they don’t have many customers. Their restaurant is just by the beach so hubby and I enjoyed the view and the cool breeze. I don’t care if the foods there were pricey because you can’t beat the nice view and the fresh, cool air there. It was so relaxing.

I wanted to take some photos but I was so disappointed that I didn’t bring the memory card of my camera. I left it in my other purse when I had some of the photos developed. So we just used my camera phone but then the photos were not as vivid as that from my Canon digicam. Oh well, at least we had some souvenirs. By the way, hubby and I ordered fish steak (tanguigue) with buttered vegetables and a choice of either fries or rice. Hubby chose fries and I chose rice of course. The meal was good, it cost us 560 pesos, pricey compared to fastfood restaurants. Hubby had iced tea and I had water. We didn’t order dessert because we don’t want to gain any more weight, lol!

Visa Renewal

2010-09-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I went to the immigration office in San Fernando, L.U. last Monday to renew his visa from probationary to a permanent resident visa because it will expire on the 11th of December. The lady there told us before that 3 months before his visa expires we have to renew it. The filing fee was Php2,620 and when it will be amended, we will pay Php7,000. It didn’t take long to file it because I already filled out the form and attached all the requirements before we went there. The drive was two hours from our house. Hubby did the driving you bet. There were no other customers there except us. We were done before lunch. We were told to call their office after 2 months to follow up. Then hubby drove to find a place to eat lunch. I suggested to him to go to the restaurant in the beach resort to enjoy the fresh air and nice view. So we drove to Nalinac Beach Resort where hubby and I stayed for a a few days more than 7 years ago. We were disappointed that their restaurant is not serving foods these days. So we went to the nearby resort, the Long Beach Resort and we’re glad they are serving foods and they don’t have many customers. Their restaurant is just by the beach so hubby and I enjoyed the view and the cool breeze. I don’t care if the foods there were pricey because you can’t beat the nice view and the fresh, cool air there. It was so relaxing. I wanted to take some photos but I was so disappointed that I didn’t bring the memory card of my camera. I left it in my other purse when I had some of the photos developed. So we just used my camera phone but then the photos were not as vivid as that from my Canon digicam. Oh well, at least we had some souvenirs. By the way, hubby and I ordered fish steak (tanguigue) with buttered vegetables and a choice of either fries or rice. Hubby chose fries and I chose rice of course. The meal was good, it cost us 560 pesos, pricey compared to fastfood restaurants. Hubby had iced tea and I had water. We didn’t order dessert because we don’t want to gain any more weight, lol!

Hubby Cooks

2010-09-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

My hubby cooked our dinner last night. He said he missed his cooking so I let him take over in the kitchen. He prepared his favorite potato salad and he made fish patties from two cans of canned mackerels. After he finished cooking, he prepared the table and called me to eat. Hmmm, he did a good job! His fish patties were so good and also his potato salad. They’re so delicious and nutritious. Yummy, yummy and it filled my tummy!!!

Our Ministry

2010-08-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our order of 40 Bibles arrived last week. We got it at the Bible League at a much lower price than PCBS. We bought 20 Bibles last month from PCBS and gave it to the kids in my Sunday school and the rest we gave it to the adults who were attending our worship service. We mentioned it to one of our pastor friends and he was the one who suggested to us to buy Bibles at the Bible League. So hubby ordered 40 so all in all we bought 60 Bibles already. Hubby has a vision that more and more people will attend our church and we need Bibles to give out to them.

Right now, we are so thankful that our ministry is growing. This past Sunday, we started Sunday school for the adults with my brother-in-law, Jhun as the teacher. There were around 9 adults who attended and there were 20 kids in my Sunday school. During the worship service there were 16 adults who were present plus the kids, praise God! Two young moms whom I’ve been inviting a few times already showed up finally. I was so glad to see them. We gave them a warm welcome. Jhun played his keyboard as we sang worship songs. Then time for the special song. Lat week it was Jhun who sang. Guess who did it this time. Would you believe I rendered a special song for the first time with no practice at all? That was the first time I did it, singing solo in the church. I told the people after wards that I don’t have a good singing voice but I just want to glorify Jesus through a song.

Hubby gave the message and I was the translator. I’m so amazed how God gave me the courage, wisdom and confidence to do all those things, witnessing to people and inviting them to church, teaching Sunday school, message translator and singing solo. Wow! Truly the Lord is amazing. If He will use you, He will equip you as long as you are obedient to His calling. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isaiah 6:8

Trip Postponed

2010-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I decided to postpone our trip to Texas next month. I know it’s been set six months ago and hubby’s kids are already expecting us to go there in September but then we just can’t leave our ministry here. Our ministry is growing and we need to stay here for a while and do the work of the Lord before going on furlough. Nobody will take the place of George to preach on Sundays and also my Sunday school kids need me. I need to train somebody to take my place in teaching the kids. Also my sister needs me here. She has some health issues for the past few months already and I just can’t leave her like that. The work of the Lord comes first.

We plan to go to TX next year and visit our family there and also raise some funds for our ministry. We would like to buy a land and construct a church building. I know our plan looks big but I believe the Lord will bless it because it’s for His kingdom. Our church attendance is increasing and the place where we hold our worship service is getting crowded. It’s just a small bungalow house with a small living room own by one of my uncles. The other Sunday we had a full house. Some were even standing outside. We’ve been visiting and inviting people to come on Sundays and join us. We’ve been passing out tracts too. We hope and pray that our vision of having more people come to church and having our own building will materialize.

It’s past midnight…

2010-08-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

…and I’m still awake. I’ve been busy preparing my lessons for tomorrow for Sunday school. I also printed memory verse for the kids to memorize. On top of that I also read my hubby’s message for tomorrow because I am the translator from English to Tagalog. Most people who are attending our worship service are from the village and they can’t fully understand English preaching especially from an American preacher because they said it’s too slang. I have no choice but to translate it so they will understand hubby’s message. I’ve been doing this for more than a month already. I just pray to God to give me wisdom because I’m not really very good in Tagalog translation. I’m just doing this to further God’s kingdom and for His glory.

Ministry Update

2010-07-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve been meaning to write an update about our ministry a few weeks ago but l’ve been too preoccupied with some other things. The enemy is attacking one of my loved ones and we were down on our knees asking God to intervene. We entrust everything to Him. Now, I’m here in front of my computer and so I might as well write about our ministry updates. My Sunday school class is still on-going every Sunday. Hubby and I drive there as early as 8:15 AM and Sunday school begins at 8:30 AM. I have 15 kids who attend regularly in our outreach ministry and sometimes the attendance go up as high as 22. I love teaching those kids and they really inspire me because they are so interested in learning the lessons I teach every Sunday. I have taught them Christian songs, gave them Bible verses to memorize, told them Bible stories, taught them how to pray and talk to God, taught them not to speak bad words and not to quarrel to their fellow kids and lately I taught them to give offerings to God. Those kids started at my VBS class last summer and until now they continue attending my Sunday school class. Ten of them got saved and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They enjoy doing the coloring pages that I give to each of them on Sundays. Our church bought crayons for each of them to use in their coloring. I gave incentive to those who did a good job in coloring. I also told them before that if they will attend Sunday school for 4 consecutive Sundays, I will give each of them a reward.

The Lord has blessed our effort in doing His work. One of my co-blogger and friend in Facebook had read my post about my VBS class and she had seen the photos of the kids that I posted. The Lord had touched her heart to help the kids in my Sunday school and she promised to give financial help every month. She started sending her help last May through my Paypal. I was so amazed how the good Lord provide what we need by using other people. Imagine, I didn’t even ask my FB friend nor solicit her, she gave voluntarily. It’s not that much but every little bit helps. Then, a couple who are friends of ours based in the US were talking with us online the day before we started VBS. I mentioned to them that we will be starting VBS the next day and I told them I was so excited. The next day I got a text from her telling me that she sent money to me through Xoom as their help for my VBS. Oh my, that was really an unexpected blessing from the Lord! He blessed the work that we’re doing for Him. Then the next couple of months, the couple had sent us financial support for our Sunday school kids. I didn’t ask for their help, they just sent it out of love for the work of the Lord. I was so amazed and touched by God’s faithfulness! If He will send you to do His work, He will equip you. We were able to buy a total of 120 notebooks, ballpens and pencils for my Sunday school kids before the school started and it helped their parents a lot. Thanks to our faithful friends who have the heart to help the work of the Lord.

Now, our next project is to buy Bibles for my Sunday school kids. None of them have Bibles yet. We went to PCBS in Urdaneta and inquire the prices but they ran out of stocks as of last week. We are still waiting for the arrival of the Bibles that I ordered. We also want to buy Bibles for the adults in our Bible study class next time when we have enough funds. None of them have Bibles too. We are trusting God that He will provide what we need to further His kingdom. He touches and uses people as instruments in a way I never imagined. To God be the glory!

Water Baptism

2010-06-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

I praise God for His unending blessings and provisions. As I mentioned before, we have an outreach and I’m teaching Sunday school. The kids that I taught at VBS are now my Sunday school pupils and ten of them got saved and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They were baptized by George at the beach last month, praise God! We invited their parents to come and witnessed the water baptism of their kids, There were three parents of the kids who came. My 2 siblings and there families went with us too. We hired a jeepney, cooked some foods, went to picked up the kids and off we went to the beach. It was a hot morning and the beach was full of people. Most of the cottages were occupied and the rate had skyrocketed. It’s a good thing that we found a vacant cottage and though the rent was pricey, we took it. That was Sunday morning of May 16 and we held our service there.

After the service, I gathered the kids and talked to them that we will go there at the water at the same time. So hubby baptized each of the 10 kids at the beach. Most of them were so excited. We took some photos as souvenir of that wonderful day in their lives. Then it flashed in my mind when I had my water baptism at the same beach 22 years ago. The thing is I didn’t have a photo as a souvenir of my water baptism. Di pa uso no’n ang digicam. It’s such a joy to see people get saved especially those young kids. After the water baptism, everybody went back to our cottage and savored the foods that we prepared. Then all the kids went swimming.

Father’s Day

2010-06-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

It’s Father’s Day today and I want to greet all the Fathers in the world a Happy Father’s Day! I just wish that my dad is still alive so I can greet him and tell him how much I love him. It’s been more than 10 years since the good Lord took him home. Whenever I think of him I just can’t help myself but feel sad because he’s not with us no more. He didn’t see me and my two brothers got married. Among us siblings, it’s only my sister Violy’s wedding that he witnessed way back in 1996. Then he also had seen his two grand kids from my sister. Two years after he passed away, I got married. My dad would have been so happy had he seen me getting married to a a good American man. He would have been very proud of my hubby. My two youngest brothers have now their own family and both of them have one baby girl each. It’s their turn to be a father and today we celebrated Father’s Day with a simple meal at home after our church service. We bought 2 roasted chicken and a half gallon double dutch ice cream and we cooked some veggies too. Happy Father’s day to my hubby, my 2 brothers and my brother-in-law. You guys are the best!

Busy With Our Ministry

2010-04-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve been busy preparing gospel tracts that we gonna give out to people when we go out soul-winning on Saturday. I spent the whole day cutting, folding and stapling it. We reproduce our gospel tracts by having it xeroxed. We save money that way. I pray that people would be moved and convicted once they will read the gospel tracts that we will give out. It is titled “Ito Ang Naging Buhay Mo.”

By the way, the kids that I taught at DVBS are now attending Sunday school. I am still their teacher and I enjoy being with the kids and teaching them songs, telling them Bible stories, giving them coloring pages and asking them to memorize Bible verses. Tomorrow, hubby and I will be buying more stuffs needed for my Sunday school class like crayons, notebooks and ball pens. We already bought a white board last time.

VBS Teacher

2010-04-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

When I was I kid I used to attend DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible School) during summer. I enjoyed listening to Bible stories and doing some activites like coloring and game competitions. That was many moon years back but I still remember the stories I heard and the songs we sang at VBS. Many years had passed and now I’m a VBS teacher. Yesiree!!! I taught VBS this past week and I tell you I had fun. I am a licensed secondary school teacher major in Math but I never dreamed that I would be a VBS teacher. I believe that it’s all part of God’s plan that instead of teaching Math, I would be teaching the Word of God to the kids. Who would have thought that I would become a missionary’s wife and start a ministry here in my homeland? But God chose me and I would have to be obedient to His calling.

Last week I went house to house in one of the barangays here in our town about 2 miles away from our house. Most of the people there are my kinfolks and most of them are not yet saved. So hubby and I decided to hold a DVBS for the kids in that area. There were 22 kids who signed up but only 19 completed the course and received certificates. On our 1st day I asked the class if they had attended VBs before but all of them said NO. All of them were first timers. Hubby and I were the only ones available to handle VBS but we managed anyway. It would have been better if there were other teachers so I could have divided the class according to their age level. We started our class at 8:30 AM until 11:30 AM. Every morning when we arrived there, the kids were already out there waiting on us. They were so interested and it made me glad. Our VBS theme was Champions For God and our theme song was of the same title. I told stories of characters from the Bible who were considered as Champions of God like David who defeated Goliath, the apostle Paul, Noah of Noah’s Ark, etc Hubby was my assistant in handling the kids. He helped during game competitions and he assisted me during snack time in giving snack to the kids. For one week I stayed up late at night preparing the lessons and the materials for their crafts. I had to learn some Christian songs for the kids and taught it to them. They love the song “Ang Mga Ibon” which I taught them with matching actions. Some of them volunteered to sing it in front of the class. When hubby started to take some photos, almost everybody raised their hands and wanted to sing in front so their photos would be taken too. It really made me smile. I wrote memory verse for the kids to memorize. Hubby gave rewards to those kids who were able to memorize the verse in John 3:16. It’s amazing how kids learn and memorize so fast but there were also slow learners. The oldest in my class was 13 but he’s only in the 4th grade and the youngest was 5.

VBS lasted for a week and the kids graduated yesterday and everybody were so excited. They received a certificate of completion. I thanked them for attending VBS and hopefully next year I would see them again. I asked them to attend Sunday school in the same venue. By the way, we held VBS at a vacant house own by one of my kinfolks. I plan to have a Sunday school there every week as follow-up for the kids who attended DVBS. I pray that God will bless our ministry and that those kids will grow up into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Film Showing

2010-04-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

We had a film showing of the movie “Jesus” according to the book of Luke the other day. We had shown the same movie last year during the Holy Week in our carport and we invited our neighbors to come and see the movie. We got a good response and lots of people came. They even thanked us for showing the movie because it reminds them to get things straight with God. Then on Good Friday Friday last year, we had shown the same movie in my kinfolks village and lots and lots of people came to watch the movie. At that time we haven’t bought a projector screen yet so just used a plyboard painted white.

We already have a portable projector screen now and that’s what we used last Thursday during our film showing. There were more kids than adults who came to watch the Jesus film. At the middle of the movie something happened. The movie kept stopping, a result of scratches of the DVD. We just burned that copy of the movie and because it’s been shown many times, there were already scratches so we decided to change the movie and showed The Rich Fool instead. Both movies were dubbed in our native language so the people understood it better. Film showing is also our ministry and it’s one way to reach out the lost and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Goodbye Auntie Aning

2010-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

I’ve been meaning to write a post about my dear auntie Aning here a few months ago to honor her for what she had done for us but it was postponed and my laziness set in until I forgot about it. Now, I can’t help myself but cry whenever I think of her. Auntie Aning went to be with the Lord yesterday around 1:20 PM due to cardiac arrest at Baguio General Hospital. She’s 78 years old.

My auntie Aning is the only sibling of my late mom and 3 years her junior. She was an old maid and she was the one who took care of me and my siblings (we are 4) when our mom passed away in 1978. My father had no permanent job so it was my grandma who was receiving her monthly pension and my aunt who supported and raised us. Auntie Aning cooked for us, took us to the doctor when we were sick, borrowed money from our neighbors when we needed money for our tuition fees when were in college, everything we needed she and my grandma provided. When grandma and my father passed away she was alone in taking care of us. When I was stricken with the big C, she was my prayer warrior and she went with me in the hospital when I had the surgery and chemotherapy. When my youngest brother had undergone knee replacement surgery 7 years ago, she went to watch him in the hospital. She was there during those lowest moments in our lives and when my siblings and I got married, she was there to witness and celebrate with us. When I left for the US in 2003, she told me on the phone that she missed me so much. I told her not to think of me so she won’t be missing me but she said she can’t help it. Until about 3 years ago that I was told by my siblings that auntie had Alzheimer’s disease and she can’t do the things that she used to do like cooking and washing disease. I cried and bawled like a baby after I learned that. Last year when my hubby and I finally came back here in my homeland, auntie can’t remember me no more. She don’t know my name nor my siblings names. Her memory had left her, it’s the effect of Alzheimer’s disease. But one thing that amazed me about auntie is that she didn’t forget her name and to pray. Everytime before we eat, she always said the blessing. I’m thankful that I was able to spend a year with her before the Lord had took her home.

If I were to write everything that my auntie Aning had done for us, this space is not enough. Auntie Aning, I love you, I told you that many times when you were still alive and you just smiled. Forgive me if I did something wrong doing some care giving duties to you because sometimes my patience became short due to your child like attitude in your later years but deep inside I really love you and I appreciate all the things that you have done for us. I thank God for giving you to us and for all the times that we shared together. You’re the best auntie in the whole world, you spent your life taking care of us and your loving memories will always stay fresh in my heart and in my mind. Auntie, I know you are saved, see you in heaven someday where there is no more pain, no Alzheimer’s, no more tears and no more problems. Until then…

Dual Citizenship and Permanent Resident Visa

2009-11-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

It took 3 weeks before I got my certificate and oath of allegiance for my dual citizenship. We went to pick it up in the immigration office in Manila on the 13th of November. Hubby was impressed how quick the processing of papers here compared to the US. It took forever to wait there when I filed for my green card and citizenship. Having a dual citizenship means I can enjoy the privileges and benefits of both countries and I can stay here for as long as I want to without having to pay for the extension of my visa.

That same day I got my dual citizenship, I filed my petition for the release of hubby’s permanent resident visa. I brought all the required documents, paid the initial fee worth Php2,520. He was scheduled to go back on the 18th of November for the hearing. So we went again to Manila on the scheduled day. Unfortunately, my sister’s van was color coded that day so we had to take the passenger bus. It’s a good thing that the scheduled time for hubby’s hearing was 10:00 AM. The bus had to stop at the bus station twice. That’s what I dislike taking the bus. My sister went with us because she’s more familiar with the ins and outs in Manila.

We arrived at immigration office 35 minutes earlier. Hubby was right when he said that it’s Filipino time here so his schedule of 10:00 AM became 10:20 AM. We had to wait on the lawyer who’s supposed to do the hearing. The so-called hearing was just like a casual conversation between us and the lawyer with just few questions about us and that was it. We were told to call their office after a week and that’s tomorrow for follow-up. Then if it’s approved, we have to go back there again so they can stamp on my hubby’s passport.

Scared Neighbor

2009-10-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, one of our neighbors who is an elderly lady came to our house. She said she was not able to sleep the previous night because she was thinking of the coming typhoon and a possible earthquake that she heard in the news. She feared that the dam will break and our area will be flooded. She wanted to evacuate now and she even packed some of her clothes already. She was so paranoid. We told her that in case that thing will happen, she’s not alone. She’s afraid to die just like those people who died during the flood. My brother advised her to stop watching the news so she will not get nervous. I’ve been witnessing to her about salvation and putting her trust in Jesus. If you are saved and you know for sure that you will spend eternity in heaven, then there’s nothing to fear. Come what may, you know who holds tomorrow and who’s in control of anything that happens in this world. It’s Jesus Christ, my Savior and my coming King.

I just pray that the typhoon will change its course and will not pass here in our place. I put my trust in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of my faith.

Finally...

2009-10-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

…hubby and I got to go to Manila this morning to file for my dual citizenship. I must admit, I’ve been postponing to go there because I really don’t like to go to Manila because I hate the traffic there and also we always get a bad experience from the crocodiles in the streets ( mga buwaya sa kalsada na pulis) and MMDA workers. But since we are already here in my homeland for 9 months now, I have to file my application before the expiration of our free stay here or we have to pay huge amount for the extension of our visas. Our free stay here is only good for a year.

I already have the form for Retention/Re-acquisition of Philippine citizenship which I got from the immigration office in Dagupan not long after we got here. I could have filed it there but they don’t accept dual citizenship application here in the province. So I filled it out and attached all the requirements which are Duly accomplished application form, 2 pieces passport size photo, photocopy of naturalization certificate and US passport, proof as natural born Philippine citizen, the original and a copy of at least one of the following: your Phil. birth certificate, old Phil. passport, Voter’s ID, marriage certificate, 2 legal size self addressed stamp envelopes. All these should be fastened in a legal size folder. The payment for the application is Php3,000.

So early this morning, we drove to the Immigration Office in Intramuros, Manila. I hired a driver to drive my sister’s van. My hubby and my sis went with me. The driver took the NLEX route and the road reminded me of the express way in the US. No traffic and the road was constructed like the roads in the states. When we reached Intamuros, we looked for the Bureau Of Immigration and we didn’t have a hard time looking for it because it’s situated close to the Manila Cathedral. The filing went smoothly, no problem at all. I will just follow up my application thru the phone after a week and if it’s already approved, I’ll go back and pick up my oath of allegiance and I’ll have to file for my hubby’s permanent residency here. It will be my turn to petition him.

We’ll, the story didn’t end there. When we were on the road (still in Manila) going back home, naku, heto na naman po ang mga buwaya sa kalsada. Pinahinto yong driver namin dahil meron daw violation. Ano ba naman yan, kakainis na kayo. Wala namang violation pero ginawan ni buwaya. Nag-change lane kasi driver namin at sinundan lang naman niya yong van na nasa harap niya pero di naman hnuli yong van na yon. Sinabi ba naman na nag-ca-cause daw ng traffic yong ginawa ng driver namin kaya humingi ng lagay, Php500. Alam yata nila pag galing probinsiya yong sasakyan kasi sa plate number. Siyempre pag kukunin yong lisensiya, hassle na kasi uuwi pa ng probinsiya. Alangan namang babalikan pa e ang layo ng biyahe kaya walang option yong driver kundi magbayad, pero galing naman sa akin yong pinambayad. Nakakainis na. Ilang beses na nangyari eto sa amin sa Manila. Last time no’ng sinundo kami galing airport. Ang laki noon ang hiningi, Php3,500. Seventhousand sana pero nakiusap bayaw ko. Kelan kaya matitigil ang mga modus operandi ng mga mga buwaya sa kalsada? Kanino kaya eto irereport para matigil na. Nakakahiya ang mga kapwa ko Pilipino. Kelan kaya kayo magbabago mga pulis na mangungutong???

Dumaan pala kami kanina sa Clark para mag-grocery.

7 Blissful Years

2009-09-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hubby and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last September 11. How time flies! It’s like it’s only been yesterday since we got married. Time flies so fast when you’re having fun. It doesn’t mean though that we didn’t have problems in our married life. Of course like all married couples, we had our ups and downs. There were some minor misunderstandings, trials, health and financial problems but we survived it all with God’s help. Interracial marriage needs a lot of adjustment especially we came from different culture and race. Being married with my hubby for the past 7 years, I got to know him a lot better and vice versa. I can’t thank God enough for giving my hubby to me who love me unconditionally. I pray to the good Lord to give us more years of being together because I want to grow old with him and he with me and together we will serve and worship the Lord all the days of our lives. Read about our wedding anniversary celebration here.

It’s Been Ages…

2009-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

…since the last time I updated this blog. I know I have neglected posting here and the main reason is I just felt lazy updating this blog. I have 6 blogs and it’s time consuming updating all of them. I ran out of topic that I can write and it seems that my brain is not really working if I’m not in the mood to write.

We’ve been here in the Philippines for more than 8 months now and I’m loving it here. I get to eat all the foods that I’ve been craving when I was in the states. Vegetables here are cheap and the fish are fresh. My hubby and I have been enjoying all the foods here and we both gained weight already. This is the part that I don’t like. I hate to say that I’m 9 lbs heavier already. Blame it to the foods that are so yummy!!! No, I’m not the one cooking, it’s my brother Celso. He is such a good cook. My hubby’s favorites here are adobong pusit (squid), fried pusit, grilled pusit… As long as it’s pusit, he will eat it no matter how it’s cooked. Lately, string beans are so abundant here and if the supply is high, the price is low. So we’ve been buying it almost everyday and my brother cook it as dinengdeng mixed with other veggies and fried fish. Sometimes he cooked it as adobong sitaw. My hubby got tired eating it and he said how he wish they will increase the price so we will not buy it no more, he-he!

Panagbenga 2009

2009-03-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

This is a late post because it’s been a week since we went to Baguio to watch the Panagbenga 2009. Baguio was so crowded and everywhere I turned therewere tons of people. The highlight of the event were the street dancing competition and the float parade. The street dancing was done last Saturday. The next day was the float parade. There were more people last Sunday because they wanted to see those celebrities like Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, Ogie Alcasid and Alyssa Alano. Hubby and I went to the sports complex and we waited for the floats to arrive because that’s where they all gonna end up. The sun was shining and it was hot especially there were too many people. I even got sunburned so my skin color now is dark brown. Next year I will just watch it in the tv. I just wanted to take my hubby there so he can watch it live too for the first time. He doesn’t like the crowd so next time we’ll just stay at home. As I’ve promised, here are the photos taken during the float parade.

Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson on the float

Alyssa Alano

singer Ogie Alcasid

We're Off To Baguio To Watch Panagbenga 2009

2009-02-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

We’re preparing to go to Baguio tonight to watch the Panagbenga 2009. The street dancing competition will be tomorrow at 8:00 AM. We’re just waiting on my sister and my bro-in-law to come home from work then off we go. My hubby is excited because this will be his first time to watch the Panagbenga. The float parade will be on Sunday morning. This is the biggest event in Baguio every year and I’m pretty sure that Baguio is crowded now. Lots of people from the lowlands go up to Baguio to watch this event. Me and the whole family will be going except my aunt and my youngest brother. I will be posting here the update in the next few days. Expect to see some photos too. Till then.

What An Experience!

2009-01-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, it’s been ages since the last time I updated this blog. Just been busy lately with all the packing and moving. Finally, at last, we’re here in the Philippines! It’s good to be home after more than 5 years of being away and lived in a foreign land. We’ll be staying here for a while and we’ll start a ministry for the Lord. That’s one reason we moved here. In the meantime, we already went to some places here. The next day after we arrived in Manila, my hubby together with my siblings, nephews and bro-in-law went to the Mall Of Asia. It was my first time to see this mall and it’s so humungous.They said it’s the biggest mall in Asia. One day is not enough to see all the stores there. We ate lunch in the food court and we roamed around the mall. We even rode their free ride and it took us around. We did some shopping, mostly groceries and flip flop for me and house sandal for my hubby. We stayed in the mall to kill the time because we waited until 6:30 PM to drive home because my bro-in-law’s van was color coded that day. The van was parked infront of the hotel where my hubby and I stayed for the night.

We left Manila at 6:30 PM and before we exited Manila I drifted off to sleep because hubby and I were not able to sleep the previous night because of jet lag. Then I was waken because of a very loud voice. Two highway patrol officers had chasen our van and my bro-in-law had to pull over. My bro-in-law was surprised what’s his violation and one of them said that he was on the wrong lane. He spoke so harsh and he then asked for the driver’s license of my bro-in-law. The van’s window was open and the officer had seen my hubby in the window. My sister got off the van and approached one of the officers. She pleaded to excuse her hubby and not take his driver’s license. He didn’t listen so my sister went inside again. Then I can’t help myself but plead too. My bro-in-law said he will just pay right there and then because it’s a lot of hassle to go back again to Manila from Pangasinan and get back his license. Besides he’s working and he can’t drive without it. So he offered to pay a thousand under the table but the officer didn’t accept it. Would you believe he wanted P3500 as under the table payment. He had seen my hubby and crooked officers here in PI thought that all Americans got lots of money. How disgusting! My bro-in-law made a bargain and ended up paying P2500. He said “nakibalato lang ako”.

It’s a shame how these crooked highway patrolmen operate in Manila and that was the second time my hubby had witnessed it. The first time was during his first visit to the Philippines. Nakakahiya talaga ang mga buwaya sa kalsada. Matakot kayo sa karma. I had to replace the money that my bro-in-law had to pay so he can concentrate driving. It was really a bad experience for him. Their van broke off in the express way the night they’re supposed to pick us up in the airport. He tried to repair the van but he wasn’t able to so they had it towed to a mechanic shop. He and my siblings and my 2 nephews spent the night in the van and waited until it was fixed. Then they came to the hotel where we stayed. My bro-in-law apologized to my hubby for the bad experience that he had seen there in Manila regarding the crooked highway patrolmen. What a way to make a living! My youngest brother had observed that they covered their name tags so it can’t be seen. I fet sad for them because they’re on their way to hell unless they repent from their sins and accept the One who died for them.

House Sold!

2008-11-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

After more than a year that our house was on the market, it’s finally sold. My hubby and I together with a friend of ours who was our witness went to sign the papers this morning with our buyer. After that they gave us the payment. It’s really an answered prayer. A lot of people wanted to buy our house but the problem was, they have no money to pay cash. We wanted our house to be paid cash because we are planning to go back to the Philippines. With the real estate market situation that everything is not doing well and the price of houses dropped in the market, selling a house nowadays is not that easy, especially we want cash payment for our house. We still owe money from the person whom we bought the house, so we need to pay him off. We just got some of the equity that we paid for our house. It’s better than renting an apartment. You can’t get back anything afterwards.

The Lord is really, really faithful to His promises. We’ve been praying and trusting Him that He will send us a buyer of our house in His perfect time and He did. I got my passport 2 weeks ago, we sold our house and the other blessing that we’re waiting is on the way. Everything that we asked from the Lord, He gave it to us. We can’t thank Him enough. Thank you Lord. Words are not enough to express our deepest and heartfelt thanks for all the things you’ve done for us. Philippines, see you soon…

I Got My US Passport

2008-11-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

I received my US passport in the mail today. I applied for it last October 16th and the clerk in the post office told me it will take 4 to 6 weeks before I will receive it. I’m glad that it only took 3 weeks and now I got it. I didn’t find my US naturalization certificate in the envelope with my passport. I told my hubby that they didn’t return my naturalization certificate. He said they will mail it back to me. I still wanted to verify how come they didn’t return it with my passport. So what I did, I called the number I found in the enclosed pamphlet and asked them about my US naturalization certificate. The lady asked my name, SS number and date of birth and then she told me that they gonna mail back to me my US naturalization certificate separately in about 2 to 4 weeks. I told her I just wanted to know because I submitted to them the original copy of my naturalization certificate and I didn’t make any copy because it was stated there that it’s prohibited by law to make any copy of it. So I just have to wait for that to arrive in the mail.

I’m just so happy and excited because I have now my US passport and I can travel outside the country especially to my beloved country Philippines. I miss my family terribly. I hope to see them soon. I thank God for answered prayers. Words are not enough Lord to express my thanks and gratitude to You. You’ve been so good and faithful even though sometimes I think I don’t deserve it. Your love for me is so great. I LOVE YOU LORD and I am thine!!!

Weekend Getaway

2008-10-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

What a blessing to be able to go on a weekend vacation with our loved ones! My hubby and I were invited by Wayne and Melissa to spend a couple of nights with them at Tanglewood Resort Hotel in Pottsboro. The place was so great, peaceful and relaxing. Our suite has 2 bedrooms and it’s fully furnished. It’s been 2 years since the last time we’ve seen Wayne and Melissa and they flew from Iowa to spend a week vacation here in Texas. My hubby and I had a great time being with them. Wayne is my hubby’s oldest son and residing in Iowa for 10 years now. He has a very sweet and lovely wife. Last Saturday, Melissa took me to a massage clinic in the resort just beside our hotel to have a tranquility massage. She said it’s their gift to me for becoming a US citizen. I found out that the massage cost $80 an hour. So pricey compared to what I’ve been paying to my former massage therapist. But in fairness, the massage was really, really good, so relaxing and I almost fell asleep there. They call it the Swedish massage. I’m so thankful to Wayne and Melissa for being a blessing to us this weekend.

Later that afternoon, we went to see Lake Texoma. We took some photos there and on the way back we stopped by a pumpkin patch. We just went inside and looked around, took photos and went back to our hotel. Yesterday, we went to look for the miniature golf course in Sherman only to find out that it was already closed and went out of business. Wayne just drove around and we went to see the Wildlife and the lake again. Before heading back home yesterday afternoon, we stopped by to eat at IHop in Sherman. It was a good weekend get away for us. My hubby and I just can’t afford to stay in a fancy and fabulous hotel like that in Tanglewood. Just imagine, they charge $450 a night there. It’s a good thing that Wayne and Melissa were using the time share of her parents in that place or else, it’s hard to afford it. They are still there right now and they gonna fly back to Iowa on Friday. They will have to visit Wayne’s siblings in Alvarado before going back home.

See more photos by clicking HERE.

Party For My US Citizenship Tomorrow

2008-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have wrote in my other blogs that I finally sworn in as a US citizen last October 2nd in Arlington Convention Center. My church family who had been wanting to attend were not able to go because it was not held here in our city. It was more than 2 hours drive and my hubby and I went to spend the night at Shelly’s house in Cleburne because it’s a closer drive rather than from here in our place.

I told my church family that we will just celebrate after my oath ceremony. So tomorrow, we will have my citizenship party in our church’s dining hall right after our evening service. I made a lot of lumpia already because everybody in our church love it. Ann’s mom-in-law made a cake and she decorated it with US flags. It really looks neat! I just put it in our refrigerator and I’ll bring it to church tomorrow. Ms. Marsha will also make a cake and she said some of our church members will bring food. I’m excited for tomorrow’s celebration.

At Last, My Oath Ceremony is Scheduled!

2008-09-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

More than a week ago, I called the office of our congressman here in our city. I talked to the secretary who is in charge of the immigration paper works. I asked her to follow up in the office of the USCIS when will be the schedule of my oath ceremony. It’s been 3 months since I had my citizenship interview and I passed it. I already submitted all the police clearance from the 3 cities where I resided for the past 5 years that they required me to submit since the FBI can’t read my finger prints. But I haven’t heard from the USCIS since then. It’s not my fault that they can’t read it after two times of going to their office to have my finger prints taken. Maybe they need to update their computers so they will have no problem. It had caused me delay to swear in. The long wait was killing me.

This morning, I heard the postman dropped the mails in the mailbox on our porch so I went out to get them. Most were shopping catalogs, I got 3 of them mind you. These companies want my money and they are enticing me to shop from them online. Well, I got some mails too and guess what? I was so happy when I saw the mail from the USCIS. I quickly went inside and opened the mail. It was written there the schedule of my oath ceremony! At last, after a very long wait, I will finally swear in as a US Citizen on October 2 at Arlington, more than 2 hours drive from our place. I called my hubby right away and informed him about it. Both of us were so happy. Then I called the secretary of our congressman and thank her for helping me follow up my papers. I was so grateful to her and she was so happy for me too. I called her September 16 to follow-up my case and the letter from the USCIS was dated September 19. It was so quick, huh! I told the secretary that I should have called her earlier so I didn’t have to wait that long. This is the 2nd time that she helped me. The first time was 3 years ago when I was waiting for the approval of the the removal of my conditional status. It took me forever to wait that time but after I called the congressman’s secretary, it didn’t take long and then I received the approval of my application.

My hubby and I have been praying daily that I will get my naturalization certificate soon and God answered our prayers. After I will get my citizenship certificate, I will apply for a US passport. Next I’m going to apply for a dual citizenship and then we’ll go back to the Philippines and start a ministry there for the Lord. Hubby and I believe with all our hearts that God will grant us our hearts’ desire in His perfect time. We are also praying that God will send us a buyer of our house. I believe that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

It’s Been Raining

2008-08-22T15:16:00.000-07:00

We had been having lots of rain here in Texas lately. For the past few days, it’s been raining and I was so glad because we really needed the rain. My vegetables in my garden had perked up after the rain. In fact I harvested lots of okra lately and also my ampalaya have more leaves now and starting to bear more fruits. I gathered some camote tops and I boiled it, dipped it with patis and vinegar. Also the saluyot that I planted got more leaves so I gathered it and cooked it with the squash flowers, okra and mixed it with fried fish. Yummy! It’s like I’m in the Philippines when I eat these vegetables. I just wish I have some bamboo shoots too. Anyways, I thank God for the rain. It really helped us a lot.

My Hubby Preached Tonight

2008-08-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

Our pastor and his wife are out of the state so he assigned my hubby and other preachers to preach in his absence. This morning, it was Bro. Allen who preached and the title of his message was Saving Our Children. I enjoyed listening to his message. He’s a good and lively preacher with a good sense of humor.

Tonight, it was my hubby’s turn to preach. He’s been preparing for it and I’ve been praying for him since I’ve learned that our dear pastor assigned him to preach for tonight. Before we left the house we prayed together that God will bless his message and God will speak through him as he brings his message. I know my hubby is a little bit nervous because he’s not been preaching that often. When he was in the Philippines, he preached many times in our church there so he gained confidence. Here in the US, it’s only once in a while that he preaches.

While my hubby was preaching, I was busy in my seat praying for him. I prayed that God will give him heavenly wisdom, clarity of thoughts and loosen the stummering tongue. I’m the number 1 critic of my hubby and I give him some suggestions on how to improve the way he delivers his message. I suggested to him to speak louder and not to pause for a long period of time. I told him to just keep on talking so the audience will not be bored. So far he delivered his message well tonight. His message by the way was entitled Why Praise God and his text verse was found in Psalm 92:1 which says, "It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to thy name O Most High."

My Birthday

2008-08-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

Another year has just been added in my life and I’m so grateful to the good Lord for His never ending blessings and provisions. For all these years since He created me in this vast world, He was always with me whether in times of joy, troubles or trials. Most of you know that I’ve been to a lot of trials in my life. It was during those times that I held on to God’s promises and my faith in Him was strengthened. God never failed me and I just want to thank and praise His Holy name. I thank God for my life and for the joy of my salvation. I thank God for giving me a loving husband whom I love dearly. I thank God for my family and friends who stood with me during those times that I needed them. I thank God for sending His dear Son Jesus Christ who died in the cross for my sins so that I would be reconciled with Him and be with Him in heaven someday. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you God and I praise your holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul.

I received a lot of birthday greetings from my friends and loved ones. Friends from the church and my friends in Friendster sent me good wishes. My siblings in the Philippines sent me text messages and greeted me a happy birthday. I am so thankful for all those who remembered me. Your thoughtfulness touched my heart. To celebrate my birthday, I cooked meatloaf, pancit and lumpia. I didn’t invite anybody. It’s just me and my hubby who ate what I cooked and it made me happy that he always love to eat the foods that I cooked. The meatloaf was gone before I had time to take a photo so it’s not in the picture. My hubby gave me my birthday presents a day before my birthday. Wanna know what did he gave me? See the photos HERE. I blogged about it in my other site.

My New Desktop

2008-07-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

As a blogger, a good and fast computer is so helpful especially when chasing opps. My laptop has those features but I’ve read that it’s not recommended to use it for a long period of time because it has some adverse side effects. So I decided to buy a new desktop PC since I spend most of my time in front of the computer. My old desktop is so slow and sometimes it hang. It needs to be upgraded but I don’t want to spend money for that old PC. I prefer to buy a brand new one. Since I won $100 in the contest, I just added it with my earnings from blogging and bought me a brand new PC at Best Buy, my favorite electronic store. This is where I bought my laptop a few months ago. I earned points when I buy there because I have my reward zone card.

I’m contented with my purchase and my hubby was the one who did all the connections and now I’m using it while writing this. My desktop has a 17" widescreen LCD monitor with ultrafast 8 ms response time and antiglare screen treatment and adjustable-tilt display stand. Like my laptop, it has also a CD & DVD burner and label flash to make label prints for CDs and DVDs. It also came with a free Compact Canon PIXMA photo printer so I have another one to print our photos. It’s still in the box though. See some photos below.

More Places We've Visited in OKC

2008-07-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have posted in my other blog My Online Journal some of the places we’ve visited in Oklahoma City. Aside from the Bricktown Canal, we visited the National Memorial, Myriad Botanical Garden and Crystal Bridge and the last was the Cowboy Museum. I'll post some here too.

At Bricktown Canal

2008-07-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I had a mini vacation in Oklahoma City for 3 days and 2 nights. Hubby didn’t like to go there because he wanted to go back to San Antonio but I told him that we can go there next time. We’ve been there last year so I’m not really that interested to go back unless we have to. I want to see places that I’ve never seen before. We’ve passed by OKC many times but I haven’t seen the tourist attractions there. I heard that OKC has a lot of tourist attractions that are worth visiting. So I searched the internet of the things to do in OKC. I even printed the directions going to those places from Mapquest because we don’t have a GPS. I also searched for a good hotel to stay and read the reviews in the internet.

So last Thursday, we went to OKC and checked in to a hotel which is close to the tourist spots. After we ate our lunch at Denny’s which is just next to our hotel, we went to Bricktown Canal and we rode the Water Taxi. This place is a copycat of the River Walk in San Antonio. It’s nice there but there’s not as many attractions as in the River Walk because Bricktown Canal was only constructed a few years ago. The place is not as crowded as the River Walk although there are many tourists there too. When hubby paid for our tickets, the sales lady put a badge in our wrists and she said we can ride the water taxi as many times as we want to during that day but we only rode once. I enjoyed the ride and of course I took a lot of photos and video. Then we went back to our hotel to rest and that ended our activities in day one in OKC.

My hubby took some stolen shots and he caught me off guard. He kept laughing and I didn’t know what he was laughing about so I laughed with him while he took my photos only to find out later that this photo that he took made him laughed. He told me not to delete it.

But I have some good poses though to redeem myself from those bad stolen shots. I just love to pose.

Went To Ann’s House

2008-07-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

It was raining this morning but hubby and I decided to go to Ann’s house in Burkburnett inspite of the rain. I already told Ann yesterday that we gonna go to their house and visit her. She told me she’s going to cook and we’ll have lunch in her place. When we reached Burkburnett, it wasn’t raining. Hubby said that people there must not be living righteously, he-he! Anyways, when we reached Burk, hubby and I can’t find Ann’s house. It’s my hubby’s first time to go there and it’s only my 2nd time. He kept driving until I noticed that we’ve already gone far. We had to go back and then I called Ann for directions. We were not far from her place she said and she went out in the street so we can see her. So we went to her house and lunch was ready. I brought lumpia and she just fried it. She cooked chicken adobo and spaghetti, pinoy style. It was so good and Ann gave me some to take home. Hubby doesn’t like spaghetti so he just ate rice, adobo and lumpia. By the way, Ann’s hubby Jeff was at work.

Ann had shown us her baby’s room and it’s ready. Her mom-in-law decorated the room. Everything matched and the theme of the room is baby cowgirl, color is brown and pink. Her mom-in-law was so creative and she did good in the decorations. Ann’s baby, Caroline Lyn is due next month.

Swarovski Jewelries From My Sister

2008-07-11T00:46:00.000-07:00

I love wearing accessories and jewelries especially when I go somewhere. I match it with my clothes. In fact have a collection of different kinds, colors and styles of accessories and jewelries. Last Christmas, my hubby’s gifts to me were jewelries. Also, my sister sent some to me a few months ago. I love the swarovski crystals that she gave me. In fact I am collecting swarovski jewelries because I love its sparkling effect. Whenever I wear my swarovski jewelries to church, some friends noticed it and they said it’s pretty. I told them my sister handmade those swarovski jewelries and she sent it to me. It’s also her business, making and selling swarovski jewelries. She sent me a couple of swarovski bracelets already and they’re really beautiful. My sister has e-mailed me some samples of her swarovski jewelries that she made. Just see the photos below. These jewelries are made with real swarovski crystals with a 10K fillers in between the crystals. She’s selling the bracelets for $25 each, the earrings for $10 each, the rings for $10 each and the necklace for $45 each plus shipping and handling. I think the prices are not bad for swarovski crystals with 10K gold. In case you want to order, just contact me. I don’t have commission, I am just helping my sister.

Below are the swarovski jewelries that my sister sent to me which I wear when I go to church.

Want Some Squash Flowers?

2008-07-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

I was late in starting my vegetable garden this year. This time last year, I was already harvesting my veggies like the string beans and tomatoes. I got caught up with my blogging and was busy making money online. But my squash give me lots of flowers every morning. As I wake up, my destination is my garden to pick up the flowers. But I have to be careful with the bees. There were lots of them inside the flowers eating the pollen. I have been bitten by a bee way back in the Philippines and it really hurt. I don’t want it to happen again. While I was talking with my brother online yesterday, I showed him in the webcam the squash flowers that I harvested from my garden. He was so impressed. He said, squash flowers cost P10 a bundle in the and it’s just a few. I told him if only I can send to him some of my flowers, he-he! Below are the photos of my squash and its flowers. You want some? Just come by and pick in my garden.

Hubby Preached During The Song/Preach Fest

2008-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had the song and preach fest this afternoon in our church. We do this every 5th Sunday of the month. The last time we had it was last April. Hubby didn’t preach that time because he wasn’t prepared. This time he signed up and he prepared his message. He was the first one to go up the pulpit and preach. It was supposed to be a 5 minute message for each preacher but my hubby had preach longer than that. Imagine, he prepared a 3 page message and he just shortened it to 1 page but still he didn’t make it for 5 minutes. He preached maybe around 10-15 minutes. Oh well, it’s good he was the first one who preached. His message was entitled "Savior’s Light House" and his text verse is found in Matthew 5:14-16.

There were 6 preachers in our church who preached tonight and all the messages were good and it blessed my heart. In between the preaching was the singing. It was a good night and I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in our church tonight. There was one mother who came in for the first time and she went to the altar and prayed. I’m sure she was moved with the messages and the songs. After the program, we all went to the dining hall and eat. We had lots of foods and desserts. It was really a good night, a night intended to praise and worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Sweet Friends

2008-06-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday morning, most of the people in our church were asking me how did my citizenship interview go? I told them that it went alright and I have answered all the questions and I passed it. They were all so happy and they congratulated me. I thanked them for all their prayers. If you have read in my previous post, I wrote there that I had requested my church to pray for me and they did. During the evening service last Sunday, Pastor Turner had announced in the church that I passed my citizenship interview and he congratulated me. I really didn’t expect that he will do that and I was elated. Bro. Allen told me to inform him when will be my oath ceremony because he wanted to attend. He said he will not go to work that day because he wanted to cheer for me when I will swear in and say the Oath Of Allegiance. My friend Ann told me that she already asked her mom-in-law to bake a cake for me for that day and decorate it with US flags. It’s so sweet of her.

Well, I’m still waiting for the USCIS to notify me when will be the schedule of my oath ceremony. The past few days I have been gathering information on how to acquire a dual citizenship. This will be the next step that I gonna do after I will get my US citizenship and US passport. I want to retain my Philippine citizenship because hubby and I are planning to go back there in God’s perfect time. I already printed the form in applying for a dual citizenship and when the time comes, I’ll file it to the Philippine Consulate in Houston. I’m glad that they honor dual citizenship in my country.

I Passed My US Citizenship Test and Interview

2008-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I went for my citizenship test and interview this morning in Dallas. My interview time was scheduled at 9:55 AM. My hubby and I arrived in Dallas 45 minutes earlier because we spent the night at the house of our friends, Bro. Jesse and Ms. Sue in Alvarado. It was only a 48 minute drive to Dallas. There were many people who were waiting for their turn to be interviewed and tested when we arrived. It took me like forever waiting for my name to be called. Of course I was anxious of what would be the questions that they gonna asked me. But I have studied the reviewer that they gave me when I had my finger prints taken and I memorized all of it. I was confident that I can answer all the questions. By the way, weeks before my interview, I’ve been praying to God that I can pass the test and interview and that I will have a good and kind interviewing officer. I also requested my church to pray for my citizenship interview.

When it’s time for my name to be called, I went in and the interviewing officer looks like Asian. He was smiling to me and he looks so kind. While he was interviewing me, I saw his full name in his certificate hanging on the wall. I told him his name was a popular name in the Philippines. It was a name of one of our past presidents. He smiled and he said, maybe that’s his grandpa. Then he told me that he was born in the Philippines and he is a Filipino. A coincidence? No, I believe it’s an answer to my prayer that God will give me a good and kind interviewing officer. Then it’s time for the test and he asked me questions and I answered all of them correctly and quickly. After the 6th question, he stopped. Then he tested me to read and write. After that he told me, I passed the test. But he asked me to submit a police clearance through mail because my fingerprints was not processed. Remember I blogged here a few weeks ago that I had my fingerprints taken twice because the computer can’t read my fingerprints and still they weren’t able to process it the 2nd time. They said my fingerprints are worn out or better to say they’re not easy to see. So after I will send them the police clearance, then they will notify me when will be my oath ceremony.

So that’s it guys. I’m finally done with my citizenship interview and test and I passed it with flying colors. The test and interview lasted for twenty three minutes. Thank you Lord!!!

Went To Fort Worth

2008-06-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

This morning, hubby and I accompanied Mary Ann to Fort Worth for her biometrics. She had asked my hubby to drive for her because Jeff had to go to work. So the three of us went there and we arrived at La Gran Plaza Mall at 11:00 AM. She went in at the CIS office and asked if she can have her finger prints taken but they told her to wait for her scheduled time which is 12:00 noon. So we roamed around the mall and I saw a pair of sandals that caught my eye and I bought it. Whew! Me and my addiction of buying footwears. I’m still waiting for the 2 pairs of sandals and 1 pair of shoes that I bought online. There goes my blogging money again.

Then at exactly 12:00 noon they let in Mary Ann in and had her biometrics taken. It only took 15 minutes and she was done. Since we were already in Fort Worth, we decided to dropped by at Botanic Garden and have some picture taking. It was my 3rd time to go there and it was Ann’s 1st time to see the garden. The garden don’t have that much flowers as before. We just walked a little bit, took some photos and we left.

More Clothes

2008-06-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Our friends Arlene and Raul are moving to Japan two weeks from now. They are good friends of ours and hubby and I will surely gonna miss them. I told them before that I will miss the supply of crappy fish from Raul and most of all their friendship. Arlene also had given me some of her clothes in the past and some of it are still brand new with the price tags still intact. She gave me signature bags and shoes too.

Then last weekend, they came in our house and they gave us 2 balikbayan boxes and two bags full of clothes. I sorted it out yesterday and those clothes are still in very good condition and mostly signature clothes too for me and my hubby. Some are still brand new with the price tags still intact. There are also a couple of ladies shoes, hair iron and curl and a nice display frame. I will send some of it to my family in the Philippines. I told Arlene that it’s like I’ve been to a big garage
sale with all the stuffs that they gave us. They’re really a blessing to us and I pray that the good Lord will guide and protect them as they go to Japan. We told them to keep in touch with us even when they’re already in another country.

Had My Eyes Checked

2008-05-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, my hubby took me to the optometrist to have my eyes checked. I think my eyes were strained because of too much exposure in the computer. My vision is getting blurry now especially when I read my Bible. I have 2 eyeglasses which I brought here from the Philippines but they need to be upgraded. They’re not that clear no more. The optometrist was so fast in checking up my vision. He kept changing the glasses so quick that I didn’t even have enough time to see it clearly. It turned out that my left eye is blurry than my right eye. He prescribed a bifocal glasses for me.

I went to Eye Mart to buy my eyeglasses and they have a sale for $108 for 2 eyeglasses with plastic frames. I asked them if they can just replace the lenses of my old eyeglasses from the Philippines s so I can save money for the frame but they said they can’t replace it because they’re not the ones who made the frames. What an excuse! In the Philippines, any optometrist can replace the old lenses even they’re not the ones who made the frames. But here, they can’t? They just want to sell frames and make more money, huh!. So my eyeglasses were finished today and I got it this afternoon. When I tried it, I got a little dizzy. The lady told me that it would be for a while till my eyes will get used to it. I don’t know if I can wear this eyeglasses everyday. My eyes are not really used to wearing it. Maybe I will just have to lessen my time in the computer. This caused the strain in my eyes. But right now, I’m using it. See below my photos using my 2 new eyeglasses and my 2 old eyeglasses respectively.

Celebrating Memorial Day With Our Friends

2008-05-26T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today, hubby and I celebrated memorial day by cooking some foods and we invited one couple who are our friends from our church, Bro. Hugh and his wife Ms. Mareta. Bro. Hugh is our Sunday School teacher and he was the one who invited us to go with them on vacation last year in Oklahoma and we attended the Balloon Festival in Tahlequah. They paid the vacation house where we stayed and they were really a blessing to us. We had a good time with them there last year.

My hubby cooked roast beef in the slow cooker and also he prepared potato salad, dinner rolls and he made banana pudding for our dessert while I cooked pancit and lumpia. Hubby and I make a good cooking team! Well, our friends enjoyed the food that we prepared and we had a good time chatting with them after we ate. I gave them foods to take home afterwards. It’s a simple celebration but hubby and I enjoyed the company of our friends.
.

Get Together Party on Mother’s Day

2008-05-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

It was Mother’s Day yesterday and we had a get together party here in our house. My friend Ging-Ging and her hubby Craig of Maryland came by here together with their friends Josephine and Jeffrey and there daughter. Ging and Craig drove all the way from San Antonio to Dallas to our place in Wichita Falls. It’s a long drive back and forth. Ann and I cooked the foods. Ann cooked pork and chicken adobo and sinigang na bangus and I cooked pancit, lumpia, meatloaf and pecan pie. My hubby made banana pudding. We invited our friends Arlene and Raul and they brought fruit salad, ripe mangoes, native cake and they also gave me some groceries. What a blessing! James and Sofia were still in the house and we really had a blast. We had a good time being with them and my hubby and I were so glad to meet them all. This is the second time that I met Ging and Craig and it’s my first time to meet Josie and Jeffrey and their daughter. They are very nice couple and I really like them. Their daughter is a cutie. It’s my hubby’s first time to meet the 2 said couples and he was really impress with them. He said he had a good talk to Craig and Jeffrey and he really likes them. We really had a blast yesterday and it’s been a good celebration of Mother’s Day with all the Filipino foods that we had. We’re looking forward to have Ging and Craig here again in a couple of months with Jeffrey and Josie and of course Ann and Jeff. Here are some photos that we took. I’ll post more in my friendster profile.

Reunion Party

2008-05-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I attended the reunion party of his kinfolks in Burleson yesterday. We were not supposed to go because we were low on money for the gas but on Friday night, we decided to go. I told my hubby that’s it’s his opportunity to see his siblings and kinfolks that he haven’t seen in a long time. Maybe this is the only chance we can go because we might be in the Philippines next year already. So we drove there and the party started at 11:00 AM but the eating time started at past 1:00 PM. A lot of people attended the reunion and my hubby’s siblings were there except Glen and Junie. It was my first time to meet Janet, hubby’s youngest sister. Sherry was there too with Jason. I almost didn’t recognized George’s aunt June because she have a short hair cut now. Well, there were lots of foods and the weather was great. It was cool and windy and the cool breeze made me sleepy after we ate. Hubby and I had a good time and we drove back home after the party.

My Interview Is Scheduled

2008-04-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

I've got mail yesterday from the USCIS and guess what? My interview for my citizenship is scheduled on June 18. I didn’t expect it to be that soon. I just had my finger prints re-taken last April 15 and in less than 2 weeks, here comes their mail for my interview schedule. I thought the CIS is backlogged because last year before their fees skyrocketed, a lot of people filed for their citizenship. I’ve been praying to God that my application will be processed soon. My passport will expire next month and I will wait for my citizenship to be done before I will get a US passport. Then we will go back to the Philippines, God’s willing. We have our plans to work for the Lord there and my hubby and I have been praying about it. The Lord knows our hearts’ desire and we just cling to His promises. "All things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. I need to review for the interview and I pray that I will pass it.

New Look

2008-04-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

I got tired with my hair covering my face if I don’t wear a hair clip so I decided to cut my hair and have a bangs. I used to have a bangs all my life but I changed my hair style a couple of years ago and I let my bangs grew. Now I got tired of it and cut it and have my bangs back. I asked my hubby what he thinks of my new hair style and he told me I look better with bangs. I’m glad he likes it.

Not Feeling Well

2008-04-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

My hubby is not feeling since yesterday. He called in sick yesterday and so he stayed at home and rested. When I woke up this morning, he was gone and went to work but at around 9:00 AM he was home. I asked him what’s wrong and he told me he still don’t feel well. He has a fever, cough, stomach trouble and no appetite to eat. I also have a sore throat and my voice is hoarse and I can hardly talk. I don’t know where did we get the virus but we pray that the Lord will heal us both soon. Hubby bought some over the counter drugs for me and for him. Right now he is at the living room resting and watching

At The Park

2008-04-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Every time we stop by at the park in Burleson to use the restroom, I can’t resist taking pictures in the park. That park is so clean and sometimes a lot of people are having picnics there. The trees are so green now and also the lawn. It’s the best season of the year. I lost count of how many times we took pics in that park. I will just post one here.

Creation Seminar

2008-04-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

It’s been almost two weeks since we had the Creation Seminar in our church. Our speaker Dr. Patrick Briney talked about creation insights, evolution, science, species and a lot more. Though some of the subjects he talked about I can hardly comprehend, one thing is for sure, that man was created by God and didn’t come from apes. The world and everything in it was created by God and evolutionist should wake up and face the truth. Here are souvenir photos with Dr. Pat Briney.

My Li'l Sister

2008-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

I tried to get up earlier this morning and went online. I wanted to chat with my family in the Philippines. It was past 9:00 AM here and it’s past 10 PM there. Most of them were already asleep except my sister Violy and her hubby. I talked to her for more than an hour and we saw each other in the webcam. She told me that she uploaded some of their photos in her friendster. I browsed her photos that she uploaded and I’ve seen the photos of her 2 boys when they received awards and medal during their closing exercises in their school. I took photos of my sister in the webcam using Skype. I miss her very much. She’s the only sister I got and we’re so close to each other. My siblings and I have a very close family tie. We love and support each other in every way we can.

My Beloved Aunt

2008-04-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

My siblings and I call her auntie Aning. She’s the only sister of my late mom and she’s our second mom. She took care of us when our mom passed away. She cooked for us, buy groceries, do the dishes and give us motherly love. She did not marry and she devoted her life taking care of our grandma and us. When we were studying in college and we needed money for our tuition fees, she went to our neighbors and borrowed money so we can take the exams. When I was sick and fighting the big C, she was my prayer warrior. She went with me in my therapies. When I got married and my hubby was there in our house in the Philippines, she cooked for us our favorite foods. She always cooked for my hubby adobong pusit when she learned that George like it. Whatever my hubby loves to eat, she cooked it very often. I really miss her cooking when I was already here in the US.

Four and a half years had passed since I’ve been here and my auntie Aning is now forgetful. She can hardly remember my name now. I cried when I learned about it and I told it to my hubby. She’s 76 years old but she’s still strong. Only, senility sets in with her. She can’t remember my hubby’s name too. Also, they don’t let her cook now because she burns the rice whenever she cooks. She forget that she’s cooking. I talked to her and we saw each other in the webcam a few days ago. I really miss her so much. She always asked me everytime I talked to her when am I going back there. She also miss me. Oh, I pray to God to make our plans come true so we can go back there soon and see my aunt and my siblings. I always tell my siblings to take care of our aunt because she is already old and she needs TLC and understanding. She took care of us and it’s our turn to take care of her too now that she’s old. I love my auntie Aning and I really miss her a lot. My hubby miss her too.

Appointment Re-scheduled

2008-04-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

I got a mail today from the USCIS informing me that my fingerprints appointment is on April 15. I was already wondering when I got their previous mail stating there that my appointment is April 5 and it falls on a Saturday. I asked my hubby if they are open on the weekends. I know that federal offices are close on the weekends. Another error from them? Instead of April 15 they wrote April 5 in their previous mail? The time is the same though 8:00 AM. Hubby and I are supposed to leave this afternoon to go to Alvarado but we canceled it now because of the change of schedule. It’s good the mail arrived on time.

I’m so glad because hubby and I will be able to attend the Creation Seminar in our church tonight, tomorrow morning and on Sunday. All things work together for good to those who love God…

Travel Today

2008-04-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

We’ll be going to Alvarado this afternoon when hubby gets off from work. My appointment for fingerprints at the USCIS will be tomorrow at 8:00 AM. I have to wake up early tomorrow and it’s a 25 minutes drive from Alvarado to Fort Worth. If only it’s the same distance from here then we will just be driving tomorrow. Anyways, I hope and pray that the outcome of my fingerprints this time will be alright.

Venison

2008-04-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

One of our friends in the church gave us venison last Saturday. This was the 3rd time that he gave us deer meat, about 9 lbs. I cooked venison stew yesterday and it was so delicious. I love venison because it has only little fats and deers are free range animals. They were not given antibiotics or growth hormones. Next time I will cook venison steak. Our friend said, when we run out of venison, we can ask him again. We’re planning to go with him to his ranch and see all those animals that are in there, like deers, turkeys and hogs.

Congestion in Fort Worth

2008-03-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Traveling from Wichita Falls to Alvarado is smooth until we reach Fort Worth. Lots of cars there and traffic is bad. Hubby and I hate it because of the congestion and he can’t drive fast. He drove slowly and it’s like ages till we pass by that area. Then after that he can drive fast again. The same thing happened when we drove back home. There was congestion again and I told hubby we can’t do anything but to be patient until we passed Fort Worth. He said that’s the reason he moved out of Fort Worth because he hated the traffic there. My hubby was born and raised in Fort Worth but he moved out there many moon years back. Hubby likes the country life. I captured the congestion of vehicles in Fort Worth with my camera.

My Sister Got A Van Too

2008-03-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

My li’l sister Violy had e-mailed the photo of the van that she and her hubby had just bought last Monday. They bought it in Baguio City. It’s a Mitsubishi L300 van and according to my sis, it sits 13 people. She told me that when we go back to the Philippines, they will use that van to meet us in the airport, God’s willing. Hubby and I had bought a Hyundai van when we were in the Philippines but it was sold a few months ago. My sister put the money in a time deposit bank there so when we go back, we will buy us a car.

At Burger King

2008-03-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

A week ago, hubby and I had breakfast in one of my fave fastfood restaurants, Burger King in Cleburne. I love the foods at Burger King and I have tasted almost all of their foods because I used to work at Burger King in Sheppard Airforce Base. Hubby and I ordered breakfast meals. I don’t usually drink coffee but their coffee here taste so good. I drink the decaff. I can’t resist it and I drank it for my breakfast and I ate egg and sausage biscuit. My hubby ordered egg and sausage croissant. After we eat our orders, we still wanted more so I ordered another 2 sausage sandwich for me and hubby. We got satisfied after that and we headed to Stacy’s house in Alvarado full and satisfied.

We Got A Van

2008-03-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today, my hubby and I finally had bought a van. It’s a Dodge Grand Caravan and it sits 7 passengers. We’ve been wanting to have a better car with good gas mileage because hubby’s truck drinks a lot of gas. But our problem was our budget was tight. But since the gas price keeps going up, we decided that we really need to get us a better car. We bought the van from one of our church members who has a pre-owned car lot. He gave us a good deal. We traded our truck and that’s our down payment. We paid no cash at all. We got 18 months to pay it off. It’s easier for me now to go in and out of the van, unlike our truck which was so high for me . I thank God for His blessings and provisions.

At Dairy Queen

2008-03-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Before heading to Traders’ Village last Sunday after church, we stopped by at Dairy Queen in Cedar Hills to eat lunch. Robert, Shelly, Josh, my hubby and I enjoyed eating our meals. I love the hunger buster sandwich at Dairy Queen. While everybody were still eating, I took out my digicamcorder and took video. Maybe these American guys I was with thought I’m a camera freak. Hubby already knows that I’m fond of taking photos and videos. I told him this is my business. I need to have something to blog about especially in between these paid post because it’s their requirement to post non-sponsored post in between my paid blogging. Sometimes I run out of topic so I have to think of something to write about. So here are the photos and video.

My hubby eating his sandwich, this was his second.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just Got Back

2008-03-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just got back yesterday folks. We went out of town for 4 days to visit hubby’s kids and grandkids. They are all doing okay. Consuelo is getting bigger and heavier. I can hardly carry her now. Lorenzo is getting so hyper and he keeps moving around. He love to say "no". We spent 2 nights at the Brownlee’s house in Cleburne and 2 nights at Stacy’s house in Alvarado. We finally met Sherry’s BF (Jason) last Monday night. He seem to be a nice guy. He came over to meet us and he brought ice cream. Lorenzo likes the ice cream and he kept on saying "I like it." He was like a broken record.

I had my finger prints taken for my citizenship application last Tuesday in Fort Worth. They gave me a reviewer to review for the interview. I will just wait for the schedule of my citizenship interview. I hope it won’t be that long.

Here are some photos taken at Stacy’s house in Alvarado.

Another Break

2008-03-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I will be going out of town tomorrow until Wednesday. We’ll be visiting my step-kids in Alvarado. I have also an appointment for finger printing for my citizenship application. INS had sent me a mail last Friday acknowledging that they received my application. Then the next day, I got another mail from them and I’m scheduled for finger printing in Fort Worth on Tuesday. It’s about 25 minutes drive from Alvarado so it’s a double purpose vacation actually. I just hope that my application for citizenship will be processed sooner so I can apply for a US passport. My Philippine passport will be expiring on May this year. I’m really praying about it.

So I will have 4 days break from blogging and from this computer. If I’ll go on vacation, I will just enjoy and forget this blogging for a while. See ya folks.

Surprise Gift

2008-03-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

My hubby came home for lunch today and he had something for me. He handed me the plastic bag and when I opened it, I found a scrapbook photo album that he bought for me from his co-worker. I’ve been into digital scrapbooking in my computer but I haven’t done yet in a scrapbook paper. I guess I have to learn how to do it. Hubby knows that I love doing digital scrapbook but maybe he just wants me to do it in a photo album. These stuffs are not cheap that’s why I’m not really into this thing. I know that my hubby just want to please me and I really appreciate him for that.

Lady In Red

2008-03-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

I love taking pictures but I also love my pictures taken. In fact I got lots of pictures already and a lot more to be printed. Today, after hubby and I got home from church, I asked him to take my pictures before I change my clothes. He obliged and I enjoyed posing in front of the camera. I was having fun while hubby kept on clicking the camera. After the picture taking, I uploaded the photos in my laptop and did a couple of scrap book works. Aside from blogging and photography, making scrap book is also one of my interests. It brings out the creativity in me. Here’s a couple of my works today.