Christmas On The Street

With Thailand only having 2 % Christians (not sure of the current statistics), Christmas is not such a big deal here like back home. Christmas celebrations are limited in the churches and a few homes. December 25th is even a working day. So, when we heard that there'll be a Christmas Program at the city center, our family was happy, took the opportunity and went. It felt so good to hear Christmas carols, see all the presentations and even the street was very well decorated.

These girls are soo cute and they dance so well.

All these decorations are in the middle of the street. They purposely closed down the street for this event.

Everybody loves weekend, it is the time for leisure, recreation and other religious activities. And when everyone is having a grand time, you want to capture it and share it with others. That’s why Weekend Snapshot is here for you. Come and join the fun here.

Birthday Surprise

It was my Hubby's 32nd birthday yesterday! It was such a blessed and special day for us.

In the morning, Tricia and I surprised him with his birthday cake and gift. Good thing that Tricia woke up early and was not moody but cooperated well on my plan. So, I told her of our plan to go to the room and sing songs for her Appa. With a smile on her face, she sleepily nodded so, I lighted the birthday candles and we went slowly inside the room. And when we were going in, tada! we were the one who got surprised as my Hubby was already awake and going out of the room ( I thought he was still asleep).

So, with me bringing the cake and Tricia clutching the gift, we immediately sang, Here I am to worship ( it's the only worship song that she knows how to sing from beginning to the end). Tricia looked so cute singing and looking at her teary eyed Appa. Then, we sang Happy birthday and Appa blew the candles on the cake. I bought the magic candles (the type of candles that lights up again and again even after several puffs) and our li'l girl was laughing and giggling everytime the candle lights up again. Then after all the thank you's, hugs and kisses, Tricia prayed for Appa.

My Hubby was indeed surprised and he also didn't expect to receive a gift from me as I already apologized to him earlier for not giving him a gift ( drama lang gud :) ). But it really is a challenge to buy a gift secretly for someone who's always with you. Need to plan everything well and even do some acting sometimes..hehehe!

Anyways, and then for his birthday treat, I already arranged beforehand our "date". The last time we went out just the two of us was last October when family was around but that was only for a short time since it was too late at night. Back to the birthday date, thank God for friends who are so ever willing to take care of the kids just for us to spend time alone together. Thank God that Tricia agreed (after so much of convincing and bribing) to go out with her Ninong Junjun to go to Diana, Tesco and Carrefour ( yes, mallhopping to buy us a lot of time for our date) while Baby Lyle is with his Ninang Litlit. Praise God for Ninangs and Ninongs. Thanks Jun! Thanks Ate Lit!

My Hubby and I indeed had a great time together. We went to Lee Gardens and had dinner at Sizzler's. We felt like boyfriend and girlfriend again. Imagine, going out without kids tagging along. We enjoyed talking and eating leisurely without having to reprimand someone, " Tricia, sit down please.", "Chew and swallow your food" or think about the baby, "do you think he needs milk?", " I think he needs to change diapers" and etc. It was actually quite awkward and new...hahaha!! We also enjoyed the "unlimited" HHWW (Holding Hands While Walking) and HHWWPSP( Holding Hands While Walking and Pa Sway-sway Pa) because with kids our hands will be usually full and less chance to HHWW. It was indeed a good time for us and we just extremely enjoyed it and looking forward for the next 'date'.

So, that was my Hubby's birthday suprise and I'm glad that he was so happy and kept thanking me for making his birthday special.

* Sorry, no photos. I really forgot to bring the camera. Sayang! Maybe I was just too excited like a school girl on her first date. heheh!

Overstay

Out of our busyness and my forgetfulness (can I blame my C-section operation?) we didn't realize until last week that Tricia and I were supposed to exit the country on Nov. 26 for border run. It was a good thing that Jesu was going to the border for some transactions on that Saturday, so the night before that we were talking about his trip. While we were talking, he thought hard and with a worried look in his face he asked me, "When are you supposed to do border run?". Then without answering him, I immediately got up and looked for my passport, my heart was already beating fast. When I was going up, I vividly remembered that the last time I went to Malaysia was in August of my brother in laws wedding and haven't gone out ever since LYle was born. That means we've overstayed for almost a month!

I searched for my passport upstairs and couldn't find it. When I came down, I already saw my Hubby looking at my passport and Tricia's passport. THen, he said, "I think we're in trouble." Without any word both of us went to the living room and were silent for several minutes. Both thinking deeply.

Tricia and I overstayed the country for 23 days!!! And if you're in Thailand, you have to pay a big chunk of money per day times 2 ( for tricia too) for overstay. And when we calculated it, it was so huge!!! The amount totaled MORE than our month's salary. whew!

I thought that will be a long night for both of us. So many thoughts already ran through my mind. So, what will happen to our planned Noche Buena? What about the buying of gifts for the kids and family? Will it be a lonely Christmas for us? Most importantly, how to pay our house rental, bills and what about our daily needs, our FOOD and etc. if all our salary will be paid for the fine.

After all these doubtful thoughts, I prayed and entrusted everything to GOd. Like a little child, I even told God, "Lord what will happened now to all our Christmas plans?" I was really like a small girl who was so excited for Christmas (more excited than Tricia) And immediately, it was impressed in my heart as if God was saying, "Isn't Christmas is not all about parties or even giving of gifts but Christmas is about ME." And like a child, corrected by the Father, I just said, "Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry." And with that peace flooded into my heart.

Then before I slept, I read my devotional book by C.H. Spurgeon. And wow! It spoke right through my heart. All my doubts, all my anxieties was revealed and rebuked ( ouch!) but at the end I got strengthened.

Here is an excerpt of my reading:

If the disposal of the lot is the Lord's, whose is the
arrangement of our whole life?If the simple casting of a lot is guided by HIm,
how much more the events of our entire life- especially when we are told by our
blessed Savior, "The very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matt.10:30). IT
would bring a holy calm over your mind, dear friend, if you were always to
remember this.

When a man is anxious, he cannot pray with faith. ...Be wise,
attend to obeying, and let Christ manage the providing. Come and survey your
Father's storehouse, and ask whether He will let you starve while He has laid up
so great an abundance in HIs garner. If He remembers even the sparrows, will He
forget one of the least of His poor children? " Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
and he will sustain thee. He will never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psalm
55:22)

With all God's assurance and promise. I slept peacefully like a baby.

THen indeed true to God's word, he sustained us and He provided for us. When we went to the immigration the following day, the officer only asked us to pay half of the total amount. He did not charge for Tricia's overstay anymore. WOw! So, it means we still have half of our salary left! So, at that time, my HUbby and I decided to cancel all our Christmas plans and stick to just spending the necessary things to make ends meet. But two days after, our friend told us that there is this group of people who wants to transfer money in our account. Realy?!! And you know how much? Almost the exact amount that we paid the Thai immigration! Wow! God is truly amazing isn't He? I'm always amazed with the way He provides and His grace for us.

So, that's our overstay experience. Once again, we experienced God's hand move in our lives and we're forever grateful and humbled. Glory to God!

My Delayed Christmas Blog

Finally, I have the time to sit down and write my Christmas entry. A lot of things happened first before Christmas like our Overstay-Border run Experience, Village party and etc. but for now, I'll just have to write about our Christmas Eve (Filipino style) first.

Aside from our family and our Anneh's family, we only invited two couples who're very close to us, since we'll be hosting another Christmas dinner on the following night.

So, our friends started coming at 7:30 and we started out with dinner at 8:00 pm. We had Indian and Filipino/American dishes for dinner. I didn't cook the Indian dishes as it might turn out to be a Pindian Dish. So, our Akka, a real Indian cooked the Indian dish and indeed it had that authentic taste. Yum! I just made lasagna, brownies and roasted chicken while my cousin made eschabeche (sweet and sour fish).

After dinner, we had worship and sang songs to Jesus, the Reason for the Season. We had a good time of worship. Then we asked each one to take turns in sharing one of the many things that we are thankful to God for the year 2007. Guess what I was thankful for the year 2007...hmmm...of course, the birth of our precious baby boy. Others shared about how God protected them, provided for them, or giving them the desires of their hearts.

Rajah Anneh thanking God for protection during the car accident they had

Sak thanking God for His continuous provision

Then we had gift giving. We're supposed to have 'exchanging of gifts’ but since almost everyone has a present for everybody, then we decided to cancel it and call it gift giving instead. Or I think, that's what we did is the REAL exchanging of gifts. Anyways, we made it in such a way that whoever is going to give the gift for must describe the receiver in two words first before giving it...so, there were descriptions like Miss Universe, Miss SS (secret!), Joker Sak, smiling buddha, 10 years younger (oh, that’s more than two words) and etc. :)

Then, the most exciting part of the program came, and that is the opening of gifts! There was this one girl who was the happiest of all because she got her wishes fulfilled. She's non other than my Li'l girl. She got a pair of rabbits from her Ninong Junjun and an electronic keyboard from..guess who? :) wow! she was just so happy when she saw her rabbits. She ended up praying " Lord, thank you for my rabbits. I'm so happy Lord. I like it so much!" I just hope her rabbits will survive this time. I think they will since they are bigger rabbits now.

Tada!!! Two cutee rabbits!!

Tricia praying and thanking God for her rabbits.

Everyone agreeing in her cute prayer.

Careful with the rabbit, please..

All of us got so much of presents and we all were just saying ... wow! ..wow! ..wow! .. everytime we opened the gifts. :)

Then, after all the excitement, we had coffee break and just waited for 12midnight to strike and talked, talked, talked ..and at 12 midnight..this is what happened....




Well..we had indeed had a blessed and FUN Christmas Eve! Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and wishing you all a fruitful new year!!

Christmas rush, guests..

Today will be the start of our busy days ahead..guests are coming so we'll be busy entertaining them, busy eating out, busy going around the city and etc..yehey!

So, I think I'll have to disappear for awhile and be back soon. Or maybe I'll do have some free time to blog later. Well, we'll see.

Have a Blessed Christmas to all of you!

The Christmas Story

When I was putting my li'l girl to sleep, I read to her the Birth of Jesus from Favorite Bible Stories by CLiff Richards. It was the first time I read the story from this particular book to her since it has been missing for quite sometime.

Anyways, the book was very well written and the birth story was described well that while reading to my girl, I was also touched and teary eyed. It brought me back in time.

What would have God felt when His only Son was born in a smelly, stable with no people to witness but just the lowly animals?

What would have God felt, entrusting HIs only SOn to 'inexperienced" parents, Mary and Joseph? Mary was very young at that time.

What would have God felt knowing the future of this baby, His Son, the King of kings and the Lord of lords to be ridiculed, tortured, and crucified 33 years later?

As a parent, I somehow felt what could have been the natural feeling of a parent. With a two month old baby, I couldn't imagine my baby being born in a smelly stable with just the animals, I couldn't entrust my baby in the care of inexperienced caretakers, I couldn't bear even the thought of my children being hurt or be in any pain. Of course, God could have felt all those feelings as a parent. But what did He do? He sacrificed His Son, Jesus. It must have also been very hurting for Him to do this. But He did it. He gave His ONLY, begotten Son, because He loves us. So that you and me might have eternal life if only we BELIEVE. Amazing love.

What is man that You are mindful of him.

And the son of man that you visit him?

For you have made him a little lower than angels.

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands

You have put all things under his feet. Isaiah 8:4-6

I'll forever be grateful to you, my Lord, my GOD.....

Weekend Snapshot

My li'l girl attended her 1st Christmas Party at the church. It was fun but as usual she couldn't join the games because of the language barrier. She kept asking me what the MC was saying. Pity her! But anyways, overall she had fun and I could see the excitement in her face.

So, here is my first entry for the weekend snaphot.

Tricia in the midst of the Thai kids.

Tricia with her church buddies!

The 2 boys are 'luuk krung' (Thai ) which in English literally means Half Child (heheh! funny!) . Their mom is a Thai and Dad is a New Zealander. They're great buddies since Tricia is a 'luuk krung' too ( half Filipino and half Malaysian-indian)

Tricia with Jaime. Isn't she cute? She's only 4 months older than Tricia but she's big and tall.

Is this a Christmas Party or a Masquerade Party? :)

Baking, gifts and the GIFT

Started my day with baking lessons with our Korean friends' kids. I taught them how to bake brownies and they really enjoyed it. We'll have another baking session the following Saturday. :)

Lunch! After the baking session...:)

Forgot to take pictures during baking..and I thought I'm already a certified blogger!

And since, I already started baking, I thought why not go on with it and bake for our Christmas goodies give aways. So, I managed to make a few boxes for my give aways and we immediately delivered to some of our friends this evening. It's really a joy to give. Even if it's just a simple gift for friends but it's a nice feeling to see their appreciation for being remembered.

The Christmas goodies!!

It's nice to have Christmas. It gives us a chance to give just like what God did for us. He gave. He gave is only SON for us to have eternal life. Wow! It's just the best gift we have ever received. We just couldn't outgive God. Writing about this now reminds me of my favorite "Christmas Song". Nope, it's not Joy to the world not Silent night but the song entitled, We are the Reason.

Anyways, watch this and be blessed just as how I'm touched everytime I hear the song. During this Christmas Season, may our HEarts and minds be for our Lord Jesus alone.

Friday Night

We had a 'Fun Night' with friends this evening. It was good, the kids ( including the adults) watched videos, while we were just chatting and eating.

BUt had to leave quite early since we have to do shopping at Tesco for the Kids' party in the village. It'll be next week and I'm so excited.

Look at this...

and this.....

hehehhe! they all look so serious with their mouths open..
They're only watching....THe Grinch

Tricia and David. Showing each other their scars. ;)

THink Tricia enjoyed the night more than we did.

Did you notice that haven't posted any of my pictures lately? hhehehe! Yeah,these days, I'm not so much fond have having my pictures taken or posting my pictures for that matter. It must be part of my postpartum blues.

Have to sleep now.. I'm a bit tired. I was up the whole day because I also baked Choco Moist cake on top of doing all the chores and taking care of kids. Maybe I'll write longer tomorrow. Good night! Have a blessed weekend!

What Rose Represents Your Love?

I've been tagged by my new blogger friend, Chelle. Thanks Chelle, I appreciate it! :)

Your Love Is Represented By a Pink Rose

You see love as something that should be light, fun, and whimsical. People fall in love with you easily. And you tend to fall out of love easily! You express your love through attention and shared experiences. You love people more than they realize.

What Rose Represents Your Love?

Now I'm tagging

Te Litlit

Noemi

Pinoy Mommy

Janet (if you haven't done this before..my veteran blogger friend..:)

Christmas Lists

Finally, I had the time (and mood) to sit down this evening and made my Christmas lists and things-to-do-list. It was just today that I realized that we don't have much time to do our Christmas stuffs since family from Malaysia will be coming over next week!! On top of that we'll be organizing the party for the kids at the village. We must finish everything we have to do before guests arrive so, we'll just relax and enjoy the time spent with them. So, this afternoon, my mind was swirling because it seems we're running out of time and 1) our second batch of Christmas cards to be sent are not yet done. 2)I don't have a specific list yet of who to give what for Christmas 3) I still don't know what food to prepare for that day (especially we'll be the one hosting the dinner for the whole family), and last but most importantly, I don't have any idea how much we'll spend for everything or if we even have a budget for it...hahahah!

So as a natural born planner, the only time I would feel peaceful or at ease is when I sit down and take time to write things out; names, gift items, menus, program, time and yes, COSTS. And after writing down all these, I indeed felt better. I felt more accomplished and very organized after a very long time of not holding a pen and planner (and not to mention thinking!) . So like a professional event coordinator, I laid down all the plans, lists and schedules to my Manager/Boss (hahaah! no other than my dear husband). He was nodding and was just saying yes, yes, and yes! to all the lists and plans. Hmmm..I should have added my Christmas wish list too. But surprisingly after all Christmas plans and lists are settled and finalized, he asked me what are my top 3 Christmas wish list? "Wow, so you're going to give me all 3 gifts for Christmas?", I jokingly asked. I already know what our Christmas budget is like so, even if he will say yes to all my top 3 wish list, I would still insist on 1 gift...hahaha! that's me, I'm the very practical (a.k.a thrifty) wife. Anyway, I told him of my wish list and of course wish no. 1 is granted...hahaha!! Sorry, I can't tell what that my No. 1 wish is. Secret!

So anyway, back to our Christmas plans. For our gift giving to our friends here, I still stick to giving homemade edible stuffs just like what I've been doing for the past 2 years. It saves time and energy cracking our heads what to give to this friend, whether he/she will like it or not, whether he/she will use it not and etc. Just as what Flylady advices, give gifts that are clutter-free, so the edible stuffs fall in that category. Two years ago, I made some homemade cookies, packaged it nicely and gave to neighbors and friends. Last year, I made some brownies. And maybe this year, I'll stick to brownies since I've had friends who really loved it and even requested me to give them more! hehehe! For our Christmas Eve plan, we're going to have a Filipino Noche Buena even if I'll be the only Filipino around in the family (oh, I have a cousin here so that makes two of us). Our theme color will be Green/Red so everyone must wear that color. We'll be exchanging gifts too!yehey!

Haaay, writing about this now just made me reminisce of our Christmases with my family in the Philippines. I find our Christmases really special and memorable (Senti time...huhuhuh!) In our family, we usually have a theme for our Christmas party and once there was a time that our theme was Formal Dinner. So all of the ladies (including our guests) wore evening gowns with make up and the guys wore Barong Tagalog or suit. Then we turned off all the lights and had candle light dinner. We were all laughing and teasing how each one looked. Some wore their prom dress, wedding gowns and Wedding Barong..hhahhaha! You could just imagine that our neighbors must be wondering why everyone who goes into our small house wear gown and barong tagalog. That was really memorable and fun! Not to mention I also had a blooper that time but it's too embarrassing for me to write. If my sister is reading this, I'm sure she'll burst out laughing coz she'll remember what that was.

Anyways, before I recall and write all my past Christmases, I have to stop now and start doing what I'm supposed to do...what am i supposed to do now? let me check my planner first..hehehe! (feeling organized lang na) ..but wait, it's already 1:30 am so, I better sleep first and continue with the card writing tomorrow. Good nyt!

Children are a real blessing

The stage mother in me has surfaced again..heheh! So, if you're tired of moms continually babbling about their children, then you know what to expect from this entry. :)..so better make a slow move and hop to another blog.

Seriously, I'm just so blessed with my little girl. Here are her stories for today:

This morning, we went to the Center to send Annie, who's been a volunteer at the Center (for 5 months) to the train station. Before we left for the station, all of us ( 9 of us) gathered together to pray for Annie. My Hubby asked one of the staff to pray. And while he was praying for her, my daughter whispered in my ear, "Amma, I want to pray for Aunty Annie too." So, after our friend's prayer, I told Annie that Tricia wants to pray for her too. " Sure, Trish, thank you!" was Annie's reply. Here was Tricia's prayer. " Lord, I pray for Aunty Annie, Lord. Bless her Lord. SHe miss her Amma and Appa so much. Her home is far far away. I pray that as she rides the bus , she will be fine. In Jesus' name, Amen!" Wow, it was just so sweet of her that Annie ended up with tears in her eyes. As Tricia's mom, I'm just so blessed with her that as young as she is, she already knows how to pray publicly. I think prayer has already been ingrained in her because there are times too that I overhear her praying aloud by herself. Like the time I was at the kitchen washing dishes and she was bathing inside the toilet and I heard her pray aloud, "Lord, let me not have bad dreams anymore..."

The team with Annie (the one with the yellow bag)

Then this afternoon, I told Tricia that our activity for the day will be to sort out her toys. I asked her if it'll be okay for her to give away some of her toys to the kids in the village. She thought long and hard and said, "Okay". So, I told her that I will go through her toys and she decides what toy to give or not. While I was saying this, I was thinking, " Oh uh, maybe this is a bad idea because she might end up keeping everything I show her". But anyways, I gave it a try. I took her basketful of toys and went through her soft toys first. She has lots of soft toys mostly given as gifts to her and most of them are her favorites. So, I put out her toys (oh and bags too) one by one and asked, "Do you want to give this away?". Surprisingly, she said "yes" to many of the toys including her favorite Barney which sings everytime you press the tummy. Well, maybe she has outgrown Barney by this time. She only kept her very favorite ones like Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga and etc. She even helped me rummaged through her basket and offered to give away some of the other toys and bags. She actually gave quite a lot! One big plastic bag full of toys. Her basket is not overflowing anymore. She also asked me at one point, " Are we giving this to the T---- children, because they don't have toys?" I'm just blessed again because material things don't have much hold on her and she has a heart to give to other children. I expected that as a child, she would want to keep all her toys because in the first place it's hers, but not my little girl and it's a great blessing for her to have such generous heart.

Okay, I think it's enough babbling for now about my li'l girl, if not I could just go on and on and on until no one would want to read my blogs anymore because it's already boring. :)

I'm just blessed and I thank God for my li'l girl. He has given me the privilege to take care of such beautiful children.

Price Shock!!!

No, we're not planning to put up a Toy shop. These are the toys we bought from Tesco Lotus. Can you guess how much these toys cost?

We saw these toys a few months back when Tesco was having a 50-80% clearance sale in the toys section. That was the time we bought Tricia's Toy Castle, which originally costs 300 plus baht but with 50% discount, came up to about only 150 Baht. She liked a lot of the toys there that time including this Cleaning set and wanted us to buy everything she liked. But we told her she can only choose one. She insisted quite a long time to choose two, but we have to tell her as always that she can have one and pray that next time she can have the other toys...So after soooo long of thinking verry hard and deciding which toy to choose, she finally chose the Castle set. By the way, the cleaning set was originally 150 Baht, plus the 50% discount, became only 75 Baht.

Then last night, when we went to Lotus and there at the stock clearance section we saw many toys on sale too. This time we saw the Cleaning set again and a Tea Set...and guess how much it cost? only 37 Baht!!!...So, we thought of buying one for Tricia and asked her again which one she wanted, the Tea Set or the Cleaning set. She said she wants both( as usual). But even if we think it's okay for us to buy both (imagine it was only 37 baht each!) since it's still affordable but we really try to practice not to give everything she wants. I mean, she might make it a habit and think that whenever she wants everything, she can have it immediately. What if a time will come when we won't be able to afford the items anymore? So, that's why even if we think we can afford to buy 2 or 3, we only buy one ( the one which she thinks is best for her) for her to know that she can't have everything she wants at once. Are we cruel parents or what? hehehe!! Anyway, she settled for the Cleaning Set, since she wanted that one too a few months back. Amd she was happy with her choice. Well, God must have answered her prayer a few months back to have the Cleaning set. Children's prayers are really powerful as they pray in faith.

So, when we put her cleaning set in the trolley, my HUbby had this brilliant idea. Why not buy these toys instead and give them as prizes for our Kids party at the village? Our Center has this outreach in the fishing village every saturday and we'll be having a party next week. Wow! yes! The kids will really be very happy, imagine, they will be receiving big boxes with beautiful toys inside as prizes! So, we got 8 more boxes and went back home.

And when we were home, we were so happy with our GOOD buy and realized we should have bought more. We're expecting more than 80 kids to show up for the party so we'll need more toys to give as prizes. So this evening, off we went to Tesco again..heheheh! And to our relief, there were still some left. We were afraid that maybe the toys must all be sold out since it's really a great bargain. And then to our surprise, the 37baht toys now became...........................................29 Baht!!...hahahah! It's much cheaper now..hahaha! so, we bought all that was left behind, 6 boxes of the cleaning set. They still have other toys on sale the but they cost 60-80 baht..it's still a great bargain since its orginal price was from 255 baht...but we're already satisfied with out 29 baht toys...heheh!!

So, that explains the stock of toys in our living room. Isn't it great?? As we were buying the toys we were saying , how the Village children will just be so blessed with all nice toys, food, games, party bags and etc during the party.

THE END...:)

Tricia is so busy 'cleaning' our house these days.

Driving 101

..it's a productive weekend after all!

After my lazy Saturday and Sunday morning, things got started to spruce up in the afternoon. I came across this website which helps in making the house organized, getting rid of clutter and etc. so, I got motivated again to just get up and do some things productive.

Then in the evening, my Hubby told me that it's time for driving practice. Uh oh! So, he was really serious to start driving practices every weekend. My cousin came over too, because he asked him to take care of Lyle while we're out. So, no excuse to back out. Hmmm..smart!

So Day 1 for driving practice officially started. Actually, I was driving before ( year 2000) in the Philippines for a few months but somehow stopped. I didn't see the need for me to drive then because we had a lot of drivers ( my father & bro) at home and it's a much better view to be on the passenger seat. And now, I totally lost all my confidence to drive by myself. It was just lately also that I was able to learn to ride the motorbike.

Anyways so we came out of the house and immediately, my hubby gave me the car keys and asked me to reverse the car to get it out from our garage. "But our neighbor's car ( a new silver Honda Vtec) is near our area!", I hesistated. hahahah ! It just proved my cowardice. " Don't worry!, It should be ok" , my Hubby reassured me. So, slowly I reversed the car and thankfully was able to get out and didn't hit our neighbor's car. Then we went out of our muban (subdivision) and then went to another place where the road is ideal for driving practice. It's a long road, wide, with curves, humps, deep puddles and less traffic. Yeah, it's ideal because you'll need to change gears often because of the humps and puddles which is good. Surprisingly, the farther I drove, the more confident I become. After we circled that long road, my Hubby told me to drive to the market. "Okay", I said calmly but my neck and back were so stiff already from being 100% on guard. "Oh no! The market place would be more crowded", I thought. So off we went to the market place and on the way, there were more people (who walk at the middle of the road) , motorbikes (which can't wait for their turn) and cars (which tail me so closely..haaayy!). I was getting a little bit panicky but good my instructor was just so calm and confident as if he thinks I'm already an expert driver. I even forget which gear I am in already! I'm very forgetful these days and I always forget whether I'm in the 1st gear, 2nd gear or 3rd gear. So, my instructor has to be the one to remind me of my gear. Then thankfully, the parking ( which I feared most) was a breeze since there were no other cars parked at the side of the road (yes!). So, we parked and went inside the market and bought some fish and vegetables and went back home safely. Thank God! It was indeed a great relief to back home and I came down from the car with a BIG smile on my face. I did it!!

Because of that pleasant driving practice experience, I'm now VERYYY motivated to really practice more. My 'instructor' told me that my steering is good, I just need to practice my gears and clutch then 3 more sessions and I'll be able to drive on my own. Really???!!! hehehe! So, I told him that by the 25th of December, I'll drive by myself and that'll be one of my Christmas gifts for him..hheheh! Is it possible? I hope so.. I hope my motivation won't waver. I'm now looking forward for another practice next week. Where would our next destination be? What about Carrefour? I need to master that road because for sure that'll be our future destination..heheh!! Now, I'm already dreaming of the time when I can bring Tricia and Lyle (maybe when he's a bit older) out whenever we're bored in the house. It'll also be very helpful for us whenever my Hubby will be out of town, we won't just get stuck in the house and be counting the hours, minutes and seconds when he'll be coming back but can be very mobile and go WHEREVER we want to go. ...I'm sure you know where that'll be :)

It's a LAZZZZYYY Weekend

.............I'm even too lazzzyyy to blog now...............see you tomorrow!;)

Everday surprises..

Earlier, I planned to hang Christmas stockings for my little girl and give her small gifts each day. But after I read about the Advent Calendar from Janet and her friend's blogs, I liked it's concept and decided to use it instead. It's a unique kind of Calendar where in there'll be small surprises attached in each date until Christmas Day. I found it a great idea so that Tricia will have some idea when is the 'real' Christmas Day because ever since we put up the Christmas Tree, she's always been asking, " Is it Christmas already?Is Debo Ate coming now?". She's also looking forward for that day because we told her favorite Ates are coming for Christmas.

Anyway, Last night I made my own Advent Calendar too..hehehe! it's kinda primitive since it was already the 5th of December so, I just have to make whatever I have at home. It's a good thing I found something a green and red bag from Myanmar with strings. Since it's green/red (Christmas colors) then I decided to use it. Then I realized the strings are convenient since I could just hanged the gifts with it.

This morning when Tricia woke up, I read to her the The Birth of Jesus (Christmas Story).I'm sure she was surprised why I'm reading to her a story after she woke up ( I only read to her before she sleeps) but I guess she was still too groggy to ask. Oh but before that,I asked her, "Why do we celebrate Christmas, Trish?, and she said, " Because we have a Christmas tree!"..hehehe! Ok, so I thought, I really have to explain to her the real reason for Christmas. So, I started out with the Birth of Jesus and why it's very important and significant to us. Of course I used words that she can understand but somehow I'm not so sure up to what extent a three and half year old kid can understand (about sin, Jesus taking our place for our sins and etc.) but anyways, I continued my explanation and she was listening intently. Then I ended my story that God gave us a GIft and that is Jesus and because God gave us a gift, so we must give gifts too! Then, I showed her the Advent Calendar with all the gifts hanging. Her sleepy eyes suddenly widened and asked, " Is that all for me?"

Tricia with the primitive Advent Calendar ( looks like a sari-sari store)..hahaah!

See her eyes??? so BIG ...excited!

She was so happy to see all the gifts and I told her that she can only open one gift everytime she wakes up in the morning. With this explanation, I got in trouble later in the evening because she was begging me to open another gift. Then I told her again "Only when you wake up tomorrow". Then she retorted, " Amma, I'll sleep and then wake up, and then sleep and wake up again ....so I can open ALLLLL of them!!" (with expression pa gyd na ang ALLLL) TOINK!!

Anyways,I think I'll make this kind of a ritual everyday to start with a story about the birth of Jesus ( different versions/ aspects of course so she won't get bored) first before she opens her surprises. Because as a parent, there is no greater joy for me than to know that my children will learn to trust in Jesus as their Saviour when they're in the age of accountabilty. I don't want it to be just something in their 'minds' and retort the 'correct' answers to every questions when it comes to spirituality, but I want them to really EXPERIENCE the life changing power that Jesus gives. That's my prayer and my hearts desire. :)

'twas a Busy Wednesday..

..that explains why I was not able to blog yesterday.

Yesterday was the King's birthday so, it was a holiday! With a new baby, Holidays these days are no longer spent in going out (as it will so crowded everywhere too) but we'd rather spend it at home with family.

So, from morning till the afternoon my hubby and I cleaned and rearranged our Dining and kitchen area. Good thing, Lyle was just sleeping the whole afternoon and I still even had a bit of time to start writing on the Christmas cards that we'll be sending to friends. But then evening came and we remembered that friends were supposed to have dinner with us in the house. We didn't have much time left to prepare so, we thought why not try our 'steamboat & grill" set given to us by our friends a year ago and just buy the seafood plate set in Carrefour. And indeed I didn't regret that we decided to do that because it's hassle free and not to mention cheaper too.

Imagine, all we just did was buy the seafood plate set, beef, fruits and coke and cooked rice. Within minutes, everything was ready. We also enjoyed grilling, cooking our own food while we talked and talked. I guess we should do this more often when we invite friends to the house especially these days when I don't have much time to cook. Thanks to our Indonesian friends who gave us the steamboat& grill set!

An excerpt from the "Invisible Woman"

I got this article from one of the sites that I've been subscribing to. It's an excerpt from a book by Nicole Johnson, it's for all the mothers out there especially the Stay at Home Moms it's so much an encouragement to read this especially at the low and tiring times that we have. It's a great reminder for God's purposes for us. It's quite a lenghty read but it's worth it so, read on...

___________________________

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, going ...she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hardnot to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say for certain who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gavetheir whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered bythe roof? No one will ever see it."

And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book , feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That wouldmean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The Mark on the Forehead

Many have already asked, what happened to Tricia's forehead?" and I'm sure more will ask after seeing the video I just posted coz it's really clear there.

Here is the story; No, she's not a battered child..hehehe! but she hurt herself last Friday at the Center. That day, She went up to Simon ANne, Elvis Anne and Kuya Junjuns room and there inside the room were double bunk beds. When she saw the double bunk beds, she just sat quietly on the side and did not do anything. Not!!hahahha! That's not Tricia, it will be a miracle is she stays put..heheh! Anyways, of course she went up the bed through the ladder and maybe played there a bit. And then on the way down, she tried to get down (using the ladder) but it seems her feet can't reach the floor. THe last step of the ladder must be quite high. So, she jump (!) and let go...and then she hit her head on the ladder itself which was made of iron....haaayy...kids! So, it's already 2 days now and the mark is still there..I hope it'll go away soon.

Ang Bisaya na Tricia..

As we are planning to go to our home country next year 2008 for Christmas (that's still a long way to go..I know that's what you're thinking now ) But nevertheless I'm just so excited and preparing my little girl for it by teaching her "Bisaya" (our dialect) .

Here's a sample of what she's been learning for the past days...I'm amused because her accent is just so 'bisdak" as if she's been speaking it for a long time.

"Dalaygon and Diyos!"

Christmas Decorating Galore!!!

I just blogged last night ( or very early this morning) on how I'm just so excited that it's already December. So, I told my HUbby about it when we woke up and he suggested that why don't we put up our christmas tree . Yes, we have a small christmas tree. Immediately, he told our little girl that the activity of the day for her will be helping Amma and Appa in decorating the tree. As usual, she was so happy and couldn't wait until the afternoon.

See our cute, little tree!

It turned out that the whole afternoon was spent not just putting up the Christmas tree as we originally planned but decorating the whole house. And wow, we're just so satisfied with the result even if we didn't have to buy anything except for christmas lights. We just used whatever Christmas decorations we had in the past. I think this is the only year that we 'really' decorated our house since we will be spending our Christmas and New Year here. For the past years, we just simply put up the Christmas tree and hang some stuff here and there and we're done. But thinking about it now, maybe we just didn't have much motivation to really decorate our house for the last 4 years because we're normally in Malaysia for the holidays.

Christmas tree. The finished product

* Note: We're sorry to inform you that the model ( Tricia) we're using for this blog has a distracting mark on her forehead because she hurt herself a few days back. hehehe!

Below are some pictures of our "Christmassy" House. And for those who are interested, I'll be giving some decorating reminders/ tips too on how to do Christmas decoration on a very, very small budget.heheheh!! I'm not a pro but I hope I can motivate you to dress up your house with the Christmassy feel.

Tip # 1 : Choose a color scheme.

For Christmas, the easiest color scheme to use to achieve the Christmas feel is the red, green and gold scheme. So gather all your cloths, scarves, ribbons and etc with these colors and see where you can use them. And you can take out (temporarily) all your shocking orange figurines or whatsoever that would most likely 'destroy' the color scheme.

This low japanese table only costs 150 baht and looked very dull and boring. So, I placed my red scarf as a table runner. See that black and gold cloth at the back? That's a cloth meant to be for a dress but I never had a chance to have it sewn. So , there it goes...on the wall.

2) Tip #2 . Use whatever material you have and improvise. (Be creative)

This center piece is not originally meant to be a center piece. It's a wreath which is meant to be hung on the door/wall. But since we already have 2 wreaths. I chose the bigger one to be placed on our door and the smaller one (below) to become the centerpiece.

See the colorful christmas balls? They're meant to be hung in the tree but since the tree is already overflowing with the hanging things , I just placed them on the wooden plate to add life and color on the centerpiece.

The bear used is actually a toy but it added interest on the piece. You can also add colors which are not in your color scheme too but on a minimal scale. On this case, I added yellow and white balls. Too much of your color motif can also be boring. Add some other colors here and there but remember balance is the key.

Tip # 3 Decorate the whole house.

Don't just limit your decoration in the living room. Extend your Christmas motif in the dining room, on the stairs, in the garage and even in the toilet/kitchen. This will create the total 'feel'.

Wrapped the stair rails with lights, ribbons and 'wreath'

From the dining area

Tip #4 Work on the details as this will add interest.

I wanted to make use of the small santa clause ( meant to be for the tree again) so, I put the on top of our frames. This was a treat for our little girl,who was so amused to see them there. This also added color on the 'browns' of our living room.

I added a green wrap around string with stars on the lamp. It's not so clear in the picture but this changed the look of our plain white lamp. With the lights on, the string shines and looks nice as if it belonged there. If you can see, I also put another small Santa at the end of the string. I think it's cute :)

I also wrapped my brown vases with gold beads (not in the picture) used for the Chrismas tree. So, you can turn your old vases, frames, lamps, pillows and etc into new pieces by adding some details like gold ribbon, beads and etc.

Since I don't have budget to buy new (green, red or gold) pillows for the cushion, I plan to just buy cloth ribbons and tie / sew on them.

The living room wall.

I didn't realize until I downloaded this picture that Tricia's stuff toys ( eeyore and doggie) are sitting on the backrest of the couch. She was the one who put them there..hhehehe!

Tip # 5 Warm lights, lights, lights

If you need to 'invest' on anything then buy some warm ( yellow) lights. The lights used for the Christmas tree will do. We bought ours here for only 11 baht ( with 35 small lights) and 29 baht ( with 100 small lights) !! So, now we have a total of 5 pcs of Christmas lights not place on the tree but in different areas; window frames, garage, stair rail and etc.

Ok..that's all for now. I hope that you were able to get some ideas from the tips shared above..hehehe! Come on and let's decorate!!