"Trading My Sorrows"

Last Sunday we had a household meeting with our melbourne unit here.This particular song was sang in our household and as i sang, it almost had brought me back to the days when i was still in SFC in Bacolod...the friends i have found and the foundation in which my own parents, me and my two sisters had been inculcated in...Faith,Hope and Love.And just a few days ago...caroline had just lost a baby...an angel.We, as a family had been devastated and my heart goes out to Meow.This song is specially dedicated to her.

Trading My Sorrows

I'm trading my sorrows
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord.
I'm trading my sickness.
I'm trading my pains.
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord.

Chorus:
(we say) Yes Lord,Yes Lord
Yes,Yes Lord
Yes Lord,Yes Lord
Yes,Yes Lord
Yes Lord, Yes Lord
Yes,Yes Lord Amen!(2x)

I'm pressed but not crushed.
Persecuted not abandoned.
Strucked down but not destroyed.
I'm blessed beyond curse for His
promise will endure...
that His joy's gonna be my strength
though the sorrow may last for the night,
His joy comes with morning!

my prayer

Dear God,
i am stricken with worries and anxiety...help me not to despair.
Take away my fears and helplessness.Strengthen me and guide me.
Let your guiding light show me the way.
I am worried for the fact that my brother,Caro,is in really bad circumstance.Just recently his doctor diagnosed him with Hepa C.I am worried for the fact that he has been putting aside his health and prioritizing his role as a provider and fathering his 3 kids.Its hard when i cant do nothing because i'm a million miles away.All i can do is sit and wait.My heart bleeds because i'm supposed to take care of my siblings now that mommy and daddy had passed away...and yet here i am so helpless and can't do much but lift up my hands to God and PRAY!
Let me cry and sob like a lost child and let me hug you like a child who just need the warmth and comfort of her DAD.And then i'll be alright.
Remind me dear Lord that evrything happens for a reason and i dont have to question it rather be courageous and yet joyful.Let me be guided with you greater wisdom so i can be patient to understand your holy will.
Amen.

happy birthday inday kuring!

inday kuring has always been the apple of our eyes,being the youngest of the brood of ten its no wonder she will always have to be our baby.Most often times she brings joy as she would show off her skills in entertaining us.Not surprisingly she had taken strong interest on theater arts,as one among the many forms of art that she would more likely delve her paws in.At a tender age of 6 years old she would do a dance number in her school.She is always been bubbly,energetic,vivacious,artistic,
ano pa gd?daw ara na tanan kay inday pati pag ka alabuton...heheheh.
But most of all...she is the best sister i could ever have because she had been my own little sis that i took care and watched over.And she will always be my baby...even until now that she herself will have her own baby.Kuring as she is ,typically a risk taker,daring,adventurous,impulsive,not one one to mess around with,otherwise sharp claws will come out and get yah!On the flipside,she has a soft heart for those people she love,a darling to her friends,and almost humor is her second name or maybe a prankster sometimes hehehe.

Inday kuring....happy birthday.please know that when you came in to this world....you brought so much joy to all of us,most especially mommy and daddy.I love you always and forever.Lots of happy wishes for you on your birthday!!!

a mother's angst

maeve has a fever...and as usual being naturally worried i kept vigil on her condition.Any mum would know this type of anxious feeling.If i can only take her place and let me be the one to suffer...i would.She was already giving me signs that she wasnt feeling good.Early this morning she was still a lil bit okay so i let her attend her swimming lessons.But now i seem to regret that decision.Now i cant sleep at all,i'll watch over her up until i can stay up tonight.Its really hard when one of them get sick...its really heart breaking...emote to the max i am as a mom!

Dear God,send down your healing hands upon Maeve and may you give her the relief and comfort that she needs so she can have a good rest and sleep.Let your Divine Love give her the warmth of your healing Grace.All this i ask in the Name of Your Begotten Son,Jesus Christ,Our Lord and Saviour.Amen.

Why God Gave Women Tears

A little boy asked his mother,"Why are you crying?"
"Because i'm a woman",she told him.
"I don't understand",he said.
His mum just hugged him and said,"And you never will"
Later the little boy asked his father,
"Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"
"All women cry for no reason",was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man,still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God;and when God got on the phone,he asked,
"God,why do women cry so easily?"
God said,"When I made the woman she had to be special.
I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world;
yet gentle enough to give comfort.
I gave her inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times
comes from her children.I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when
everyone else gives up,and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances,even when her child has hurt her very badly.I gave her strength to carry her man through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her the wisdom to know that a good man never hurts his woman,but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.And finally,I gave her a tear to shed.This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.

You see:
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,the figure that she carries,or the way she combs her hair.The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes,because that is the doorway to her heart-the place where love resides.

happy birthday ann!

"Friendship is like wine;it gets better as it grows older"-Sirach9:10

I met ann in singles for christ.I thought, what a way to find friendship...to me its more like a sieve that sifts through a nugget amidst the impure dirt or clay.That's how rare a person annabel can be...to find one like her,one might just as lucky as a lotto winner.Along the time i have known her...she's way so advance in her chronological age.She has so much wisdom in her that kept her resilient and strong.Funny whilst being so young she often times acts as my counselor.She listens,she points out things i may have missed seeing...and always have such level minded approach.She's a rare find indeed!We share secrets that i could never share to anyone at all.She had proven herself trustworthy and reliable and for me to find someone like her is a blessing.What i found in her is something unique and genuine;our Faith has made this friendship lasting.That understanding and sharing of the love we have for our Great Creator.I'm proud to be one of her well chosen circle of friends.Annabel would always be my adopted eldest child.(hehehe...ok lang ann?)Happy birthday to you my dearest friend.You will always be a one in a million!i wish you plenty of happiness and love to live,share,and give.I find joy of knowing that you are becoming the person that you wanted to be...its a journey,i know but i see you as one great wonderful nanay to abe and gorgeously beautiful wife to rene.You are one cherished friend i could never live without.

Here's the top ten reasons why we're friends:


1.We love God. Sharing our thoughts,our struggles to become worthy christian will always be our top subject to talk about.
2.We love poems.Im an avid fan of hers:ann you are the best poet ever!
3.We love singing!we like to dig deep to the meanings of the lyrics.(sentimentalist,as in)
4.We are an avid fan of Fr. Niall o'Brien.
5.We are deep thinkers.Well i think so,because noone had been putting up with my profoundness except her.
6.We value the importance of family and friends.
7.We complement each other.She looks up to me like im her mothergoose,i look up to her as my counselor and advisor.She's my wise owl.
8.She has the best ability to play and use words and phrases...very talented poet,which i wish i could be one day.
9.Sometimes..ann and i are bunch of worry warts too.There would be a time that i would whinge over my worries and she would put up with my whinings and vice versa.
10.well....i guess the best reason most of all is that God made ann and i friends!He paved the way for it to be possible.

Reminiscin' our past:

Back in our SFC days...particularly that faithful stormy weather we brave through just to attend and support the baptism in sum-ag parish church.It was signal no.3 and yet we were adamant to go.I remember while the speaker was tackling his talk on repentance and faith...it had been almost eery to its effect because of the maddening sound of the wind and the gushing of the rain.All power was out,so they had lighted some candles but in dismay it was all blown off by the strong wind blowing through the church.Even the participants were scattered and few had remained sitted in the pews..holding a strong grip of thier umbrella.What was so impressive was the attitude of the speaker..he kept on standing and moved on with his topic,undaunted as if with the whole scenario.Come hail or storm as they say,the show must go on.
Well,here's the bit that had remained in my memory:
As the storm had calmed down and as well the baptism had been succesfully undertaken..We head home...as any SFC knows that God will always provide...He had provided for us (me,ann n meow)Brothers who had offered us a ride home to Bata.As we were heading home,passing through devastation...trees and power posts were all lying down the ground some blocking the road.We got down to the corner block in sawmill...we held each others hands and walked blindedly through the darkness.It was total darkness...could not see even a spark of light.Silly as we were...we walked on while singing "God will make a way".To our surprise we got home...not that everything was alright from there.NO!Mommy was so upset at me leaving home and taking my kid sis with me in such a bad climate.Mommy had a go at me for almost 2 weeks after the storm.Anabel had seen and heard mommy gone mad at me at least seen the ugly side of my life,I suppose.But i live and learn from that experience.Ann was there with me and meow.I think we all have learned from it.For me it was that understanding and knowing that we can rely on God on any type of circumstance we are in.He will be our light to guide our path when we cant see a thing.And i have a friend and a sister to hold my hand when i get scared of the uncertainties.

My dream home

This is fuller's cottage in maldon,victoria.Such a pretty little town.Absolutely beautiful country town.I was impressed by the fact that the buildings that were built since 19th century are still standing and are actually being used.Maldon is located approximately 140km,or one and a half hours from melbourne.
In this cottage is where we have stayed overnight for a weekend get away,willy's birthday treat.We took a steam train ride.willy and niall of course had fun on the train ride.The day we stayed over,we spent the day at the fireplace...we had marshmallow and watch the view from the window as the crackling of the firewood gets to drown away the quiet serene atmosphere.Hayyy...this is what happiness are made of.

missing my sisters

Just yesterday,i had met up with our family friend (actually its shiela's bestfriend way back in high school)she had just arrived friday and upon seeing her i felt this nudge in my heart...how i wish sheila and caroline can come here as well.Kristine handed me the parcel that shiela took effort of buying for her beloved niece,maeve and nephew niall.But what had almost brought me to tears were the photos and the card sheila had sent.hayyy.sigh,sigh.hidlaw gd ko sa ila.
Just to show how one card had almost made me cry like a river here's what it said:

For my Sister

The world that we grew up in now seems a little small,
but it was big in laughter,love,and sharing.
We didn't have a lot of things that you'd call luxuries,but we were rich
in character and caring.
Looking back,i'm grateful for the way we were raised and how our close-knit
family saw us through.
It gave us the foundation that we built on through the years,
and i'm lucky to have shared it all with you.

Thank you gid and we love you Manang!
inday shiela

happy birthday to my willy d pooh

Here's a birthday blog for my one and only Pooh bear:

H-appy birthday dearest pooh
U had been such a great blessing to my life,an angel
Sent from heaven,my God's Gift (sfc's tag-GG)
Believe it or not,you had been the answer to my prayers
After we got married,Blessings poured on us as we've got
Niall and Maeve,two bubbly and energetic kids
Do know most of all,that I love you,really,really.

with all my love,
Tigger

july 15-21,World Youth Day,Sydney 2008

"YOU WILL RECIEVE THE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU;AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES"(ACTS 1:18)WYD08 theme
BENEDICTO!!!went the chants of the different pilgrims from around the world walking towards the pilgrim venue site.Our own pilgrim group stayed in a caravan park and booked ourselves to a self contained cabin with ensuite,in a town a bit away from the city central of Sydney.
From Day one ,as we travel 14 hrs. by bus to Sydney,it was filled with excitement because while travelling we get to brush shoulders with other pilgrims from different nationality;Germans,Italians,Americans etc. when get to stop at a petrol stations,or highway fastfood shops.We go wave our flag (hehehe,no not phil. flag but Aussie flag since i was with aussies from Geelong,and yelled Aussie,aussie,aussie!OI!OI!OI!As expected they went waving thier flag to us.What was amazing is that almost 200 big buses were on the same road we were taking.I think all the pilgrims were hosted by Melbourne,for about a week...for the celebration of Days in the Dioceses throughout Australia n New Zealand.DID08 is a celebration leading up to World Youth Day in Sydney.Days in the Dioceses had program of events and activities,taking in tourist,spiritual,cultural,musical and life-changing experiences.It was an awesome feeling for me to know that i'm multiplied a hundred times as a catholic faithful...that in this particular occasion i'm not so controlled by what other "non-believer" would think of me.Most often times if ever i'll show some signs of my devotion,they misunderstood me of being "too imposing" of my faith.I was elated for the fact that there are hundreds and thousands of people like me in different sorts of culture and background gather together in prayer and worship and be one in sharing our catholic faith.To know the reign of God's love is already in our midst,i was teary eyed...walking with other pilgrims,hearing and seeing them chanting of jubilant praise and worship songs.It was such a victorious gathering for God!

tickets for the fairies concert -$60.maeve n niall spinnin around and dance- priceless

Its such a mystery what parents would do for thier kids...for me and willy, making our kids happy is more important than anything else.I know money doesnt come around like rain..but we do try our best to at least grant little wishes from our lil'bubbly maeve.Willy had been so sweet to surprise us one day and got us tickets to the concert, inspite of been hard up yet he had been so thoughtful to sacrifice some money for it.It was kinda exciting though hard to keep it a secret,i hadnt told maeve until we were actually there in the concert.And my goodness,was she so surprise and over the moon!I packed her Fairy costumes:wand,glitters,the works!My heart plumped up to see her so happy.With all the excitement of the day...when we got home,maeve was so exhausted that she had fallen asleep on her little couch.Ahhh,priceless indeed!

Fwd: FW: WHAT LOVE MEANS TO A 4 - 8 YEAR OLD

Note: forwarded message attached.hello guys..hope you like this one.i personally think the children have thier own God-given wisdom...in thier own limited understanding and expressions of words,they could still convey such profound outlook on such simple,trivial things.

Godspeed,

mira

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Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address.

Five years na kami!

This photo was taken by dad the very first day willy and i met....and now it's our 5th wedding anniversary.It all started with just lunch after CLP in Banago...and hadnt looked back ever since...we've got two beautiful kids and each other...what more we could ever ask for?Im forever grateful for the gifts God showered me...in the face of willy and our two adorable kids.

"Marriage means accepting who we are and forsaking new,improved models of husband and wife.It means respecting the other above all,and never acting against the sacredness of that life joined to our own.It means being faithful.And it means we never stop working on being married."

"Marriage provides an oppurtunity for two people ,working together,to become the people that God created them to be.Each couple is called to leave behind selfishness and small-mindedness."

"Marriage is about finding someone who understands and accepts you-quirks and all.Your commitment means you join a club in which you and your spouse are the only members."

"Having that level of comfort makes marriage vital for the growth of each partner.Knowing you can be You is empowering.Speaking of her husband,one wife noted:"There is a phrase we use as an ice- breaker after an argument:'Do you love me anyway?"'

"Dont forget the "Third Party".Recognize God's great love for you-no matter what-and mirror that concept in your marriage.Respect each other.Pray together.

"The power of two,just as two heads are better than one in dealing with challenges,two hearts are certainly better at loving together through whatever problems life has in store"

Couples Prayer.....

Dear God,

Help me treasure my spouse as the most special and valuable gift you have given me.
Remind me that we are friends,and teach me how i might be a true friend in good times and bad.Remind me that we are partners,and open my eyes daily to oppurtunities to encourage my spouse.Remind me that we are lovers,and guide me into an unconditional love that bears all things,believes all things,and endures all things.Push me beyond selfishness toward a commitment that is total and timeless.Give me the strength to treasure my partner beyond what is easy,normal,or humanly possible.
Amen.

tribute to the best mom i've ever had:Happy mother's day

Here's the last card that mommy sent me...it said it all what mommy wanted to say...to me its her way of saying farewell and assurance that her love will keep me going.


"There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother"--Sarah Josepha Hale

As a a six year old kid i remember i was a clingy child,i hanged and tagged mommy's skirt everytime she would start saying goodbye to go to school as she was a teacher.I struggled through separation anxiety...i rather find ways to keep close to mommy as much as possible, being a big family...i have to compete myself for attention with the rest of the younger broods...it was tough but now looking back,i think i'm not as deprived as i would have thought back then.Mommy had a way of giving that special attention even when i wasnt aware of it.Most especially when we would get sick...we oftentimes would almost want to get sick bacause of getting that special TLC from mommy.She never fail to show us that she would do everything in her power to make us well again...even up until we were old enough to take care of ourselves.She would always say this to us "Ti maano na lang kamo kun wala si mommy nyo"..."
Mommy was a disciplinarian..well of course she has to be...she's running an army of ten,otherwise we would not be what we are today.Back then we all felt that mommy was a terror and ruthless on her ways of beating us up with a special bonus of sermon of the mount...which can be a torture to our ears.When we have sibling fights and squabbles...mommy would very well hand us a "binangon" (knife)and would tell us "ari hu binangon para tapos dayon".And it did...we would stop fighting...it had worked everytime.
Mommy was a neat freak...inspite of whatever living conditions we would be...nipa hut,a half finished house...it had always been regarded that our house was neat and tidy.I was taught valuable skills...at an early age we all had chores to do.Everyone has their own responsibilities and that everyone was liable to mommy if anyone had screwed up.Now being a full time mom and wife i had sown the seeds that mommy had planted.They were the valuable life skills...love,care and attention,discipline and order,patience and forgiveness,hardwork and dedication,hope and faith.I'm passing it on to my children...an on going process until they will too will pass it on...and so on...and so fort.
Mommy,if there's one thing i had regretted in my life is when i had not shown enough how much you mean to me.I hope and i pray wherever you are now....know that i love you back...i could not complain anymore that i hadnt been loved because i had been loved more than i could ever ask for in my life.
Thank you for all the love you gave to us...thank you as well for loving unconditionally your grandchildren especially maeve.I know you are watching over them as you are watching over us your children.
I love you mommy...Happy Mother's Day.

Mother,i love you so.
Said the child,I love you more than i know.
She laid her head on her mother's arm,
And the love between them kept them warm.
--Stevie Smith

trip to memory lane:fond mem'ries of mommy and daddy

im still in the process of grief and loss of the two most important people in my life....it has been 2 years or so since their passing away.There are still some moments when i would just cry like a river because i was missing them so much.As they always say you would most likely appreciate the person the most when they're gone.And yes its very very true....and its hurts as much too.Anyway i was rummaging through my box of photos when i got a couple of this old pics of the better days with mommy and daddy.
As children,we would oftentimes looking forward to sundays..particularly because that's "d Day" for a stroll in the plaza,a treat to the bachoyan and if we can push our luck sometimes we can have other good yummy stuff as well.Mommy and Daddy had never deprived us with good food.They always see to it that once they've got the ways and means to spoil us they would....more especially daddy.He would oftentimes wake us up in the middle of the night and had us enjoy delicious Bob's big boy burger..he would be coming home from his graveyard shift duty as a policeman and would always have something for us...siopao,balut,peanuts,inasal..etc.I often remember evrytime its mommy's n daddy's payday..its our happy day too because they would get nicest stuff we kids enjoyed like tenderjuicy hotdog,d biggest tin of milo,cornflakes (Dad liked it with condensed milk and we normally have it as a snack) and especially spaghetti(dad's specialty).
Good food and cooking will always be close to our hearts because Dad spent his time with us of showing us the love ofgood food..brings good memories too.


mommy,daddy ....wherever you are,i know you are both happy.hope you know that ive love you as much as i can show you.

people vs. things

i was watching oprah..yes im an oprah fan much to my husband's dismay...hehehe.anyway,as i was glued to the tv..this story caught my attention..a story about a guy who has a terminal cancer,he talked about his awakening to life ironically whilst diagnosed with cancer.He had a wife and two sons...well paid job,owned his house,got a nice classic convertible car...life had been so good to him...and yet while he had those things he never really had valued life as he would now that he has cancer.Having a terminal illness made him realize what's more important.Once upon a time he would be so wary of letting his sons get on his car because they might ruin the nice leather seats...or dent it or something.But soon after he was diagnosed of cancer...he saw what his kids saw in that car...it was just a THING. It was just a thing not people...People are more important.They are the ones who will feel the lost of You.They will be the ones who will missed you the most when you're gone.People are your friends,family,neighbor,boss,employee,stranger in the street...etc.Things are just things..when they are torn or lost we go to the shop to get another one.
This story inspired me and gave me one good moral lesson....life has so much to offer when we value the gift of people in our life.Happiness is just around the corner ...when you know what you really looking for.Its not in the big plasma tv..or a brand new car..or a diamond ring. Happiness is found in the laughters and giggles of children at play,when hubby brings a bunch of flowers,kisses from my kids and hubby...when we have a dinner out and have fish n chips...knowing i've got special friends just a heart beat away...having brothers and sisters though inspite of the distance we are close, its everywhere...you only have to look close to your heart and there they are.

mother's joy

its an unexplainable feeling....their giggles,thier laughters....when niall would say mommy...and maeve would ask for a hug and a kiss ..dont i just melt?i must say no amount of good fortune could come up to this kind of joy.when i see maeve twirling and spinning and niall would oftentime copy maeve...that's joy.when niall would have food smeared all over his face and everywhere else...i chuckled with delight.when maeve would eat really really good (she's a fussy eater) i am joyful!so what's the big deal of being a mom?people whine about not having enough time for themselves...not enough time to socialize...they've got all other excuses just to have the kids dumped into daycare.there's so much joy i find when im with my kids...they're the ones that keeps me going.

daddy's little helpers-doing the carwash

it was a perfectly good day for doing the car wash....so daddy went and took some sponges and buckets of soapy water and had maeve and niall have a go with helping wash the car.They had a ball doing it!

niall"s first day in swimming school with daddy

We got there quarter to eight in the morning,niall's sked for his swimming lessons at 8am while maeve's at 8:30am every saturday.So there we are taking his swimming gear on....he kept on wriggling like as if he cant wait to just jump off to the pool.
He had a ball on his first day...he had this big grin on his face and had kept it up until his lesson was over.