Pray and pray until you succeed!

Have you encountered a major trial in your life lately? I did, but I don't consider it as MAJOR really. I ended the year with joy for the blessings I received in 2009. Matt turned 1, Miggy my husband was promoted, we celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary, we traveled to Manila for my 28th birthday, we went back to Manila for Jeremy, my brother in law's wedding and celebrated Christmas there and of course, I'm most thankful for the good health of the whole family including Miggy's and mine.

But year 2010 started with confusions and disappointment. I heard rumors that the account I'm working for will close and of course, many will be affected including Miggy who hasn't reach his confirmation yet. Yesterday, I was asking myself what I've done the first thing I learned about the news. And the answer is - I complained! Yes, I complained to myself, I complained to other people who can't even give solutions to the problem itself, I felt sad, I thought of moving to another place, I got irritated! Then I started praying 2 days ago. I woke up early, talked to my Father and said "Lord, you make things happen and you honor our prayers. You even granted Abraham's appeal not to destroy the Sodom if there are 50, 45, 30, 20 or even just 10 who will repent. Please grant my prayer."

I think he just answered my prayers! Praise God!

a dAughTer's lOve for a father

Today marks the 65th birthday of my father. Out of 4 siblings, he's the only one left alive. All of his siblings are already dead. This is truly a gift for him. His eldest sister died of cancer in 2003, then followed by the 2nd to the eldest who died in 2004. In 2005, his brother who was the third child in his family was found dead in our own bathroom. He suffered a heart attack. He was found lying on the bathroom floor by my youngest sister who was asked by my mother to check on him. It wasn't usual for him to use the bathroom for more than 30 minutes. That was a sad story.

Year 2006 came. As you can see, all his siblings died consecutively, that is every year. I'm afraid he will follow the same path too so I decided to go back to Bacolod from Manila and look for a job in my own province. It was so timely because Teleperformance Bacolod opened in 2006 so I was hired the same year. In 2006, my prayer is for God to give my father a chance to live longer as he still has so many things to do for us. We are not expecting him to take care of us the way he took care of us when we were still younger but I believe that he still have so many things to see. For one, he doesn't have a grandchild yet and I'm hoping that before he dies, he will see at least one grandchild. Now my prayer is for him to see more grandkids.

Papang is one of the kindest person I've ever met. He's quiet, observant and very generous. He would give the last rice we have stored in our house to anyone who needs it. He would go to a point of sharing his remaining P100 bill with a friend who is in need. He seldom scolds us, but when he does, he does it in a calm manner. He's very humble too. He doesn't like to show off. He can drive a car and rode a jeepney with no problem at all. We learned to be generous because of him. And he would often say that life is a wheel; never step down on anybody. I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old, my friends would tease me about having a retard brother. I said I don't have any. Later on I realized that there's this retard boy about 15 or 16 years old who is calling my father "papang". He doesn't live in our neighborhood, he would just come to our place everday and visit my father. My father will give him food or whatever it is that he could give, and in return, this retard whom we called "Buboy-buboy" would give a free massage or nail cleaning. And mind you, he's very skilled in cleaning nails.

In this life of ours, we will only have one father and mother and soon they'll be gone. What have we done to show our love for them? That's the same question I have for myself now...

Allow me to talk about Matt again...

My son Matt is exactly 1 year and 3 month old today, January 20 and it has never been joyful and fulfilling as a mother having him as a son. During the first trimester of my pregnancy, I remember it was so hard for me as I was working then. And being pregnant and working in a call center industry is not a joke. I report at night when most pregnant ladies are already asleep. I have to deal with different personalities while I was training while I have my own hormonal changes to deal with. Then every after eating, I puke. My fatigue did not come from my work or the nature of my job but from my puking. Just when I thought things are getting better as I enter the 2nd and 3rd trimester, then came LABOR. Labor is a process every pregnant woman giving birth has to go through except if you opted for a C-section which I did not since I am confident that like my mother who gave birth to many babies with no issues at all, I will be able to give birth just like that. I exercised, ate healthy, did some lamaze exercises, took note of the proper breathing and most of all, I have wide hips which I realized later on did not help at all. So anyway, after 12 hrs of PAINFUL labor, my OB decided that I should be operated. I am not surprised, just a little disappointed. I am not surprised because I myself was already asking for a C-SEction. The pain was unbearable. Imagine your hips being ripped apart without anaesthesia? My baby wants to go out, in fact, he was already distressed. His heartbeat is fluctuating and the doctor has to keep him awake just so he won't lose his heartbeat. I was crying while mama, my mother in law and my partner in this wonderful experience was beside me praying and praying that I'll be fine.

The operation started at around 5am. I wasn't able to feel the pain during the operations but I can sense what's going on. I can hear them talk about how loud my voice was when I was shouting in the Labor room. I remember one nurse who said " Miss, don't shout. Other women are on labor and you are scaring them." I said, "well then transfer me to a room where I could be alone and I could shout at the top of my lungs". Funny, isn't it. But hey, I think my request was valid. That's how painful labor is. The bible is true in saying that childbirth is indeed painful. I once asked God why it should be painful; why can't it be easy? Oh Eve...if only you did not eat the forbidden fruit.

Fast forward everything. Here I am with my little boy. Matt has always been a kind, intelligent and alert kid. He likes to imitate sounds. Animal sounds (lizards, chicken, monkey, dogs, george (Auntie Ann's dog), cat and goat), his papa's sneeze, sound of a door creaking, and all other sounds. He's very sensitive. He cries when you are shouting at him. He knows what silent treatment means. He doesn't like silent treatment. He can tell that silent treatment is not normal. He doesn't like toys too much. He prefers walking in the grass, looking at the skies, appreciating everything around him. He's very sweet. He likes poking our two dogs in their eyes. He's very simple. He doesn't like junk food; he prefers vegetables and as early as now I could tell that his food preference is like mine. Or maybe I'm just hoping...:)

Thank you Lord for giving us such a sensible little boy. Miggy and I are so blessed to have him in our lives. He's our joy and the reason for our hardwork. Thank you Lord for the labor and hardships I went through. That made Matt more special to me and to the whole family. He's the fruit of our labor; the evidence of your mercy. As his name implies - Matthew (God's gift) Miguel (Who is like God). Thank you Lord for the GIFT.

Happy 15th month my firstborn! We love you!

What did we have for lunch and dinner?

Cream Dory fish fillet seasoned with salt and pepper, drenched in egg and coated with flour and bread crumbs. And for the dip? Mayonnaise mixed in mustard, pickles, chopped garlic and white onion, a little bit of sugar and ketchup. The result? One sumptious meal! Try it with hash browns. Yum-o!

Btw, i just got the pic from the internet. Forgot to take a pic of my creation due to extreme hunger. hehe

Manila, Manila...I keep coming back to Manila!

Christmas 2009 was Matt's 2nd Christmas in this world but it was extra special because he was only a little over 2 months old when he celebrated his first christmas in Bacolod. His first christmas wasn't fun as we expect it to be because that was the year his grandfather Ernie, Miggy's father died. It was still a season of mourning for all of us. Christmas 2009 on the other hand was extra special not only for him but also for me and the whole family because we celebrated it in a place called Manila. We decided to celebrate the special season in Manila because Miggy's brother, Jeremy is getting married in Antipolo. Jeremy got hitched on Dec. 28th, 2009. Such a lovely and intimate celebration!

Here's a chronicle of events from Dec. 23-30, 2009:

Dec. 23 - Miggy, Matt, Mama, Jeremy and yaya Jane arrived in Manila boarding a Philippine Airlines plane. We arrived at around 10:30am. Before boarding, we were afraid that Matt will cry the whole flight. But to our surprise, he enjoyed it! It was just so funny that he covers his ears everytime he feels the pressure in the plane. Poor baby. He doesn't know what's going on.

On the night of the 23rd, I met with my former colleagues from Sykes Asia. Rocky, Quey, Rodney, Daniel and I met at Capriciousa Greenbelt 3. I hope I got the spelling right. Then we headed to Rockwell and met up with Daddy Sherwin and her girlfriend. Miggy and I were too tired we decided to go home early together with Quey. We waited for a cab for almost 1 hour in Rockwell area. Grrr..

Dec. 24 - We decided to stay home and prepare for the Noche Buena. Mama and Jeremy cooked Tenderloin Mechado for our dinner. After dinner and few chitchats and prayers, we decided to call it a night.

Dec. 25 - It's christmas day. Miggy and I have been planning to watch PBA or Philippine Basketball Association league since the first time we went to Manila. It's the Philippine NBA and being a basketball fanatic that he is, he just can't miss his favorite team's (Ginebra) game. So after texting my friend Rocky about the schedule and time, we decided to go to ARaneta Coliseum in Cubao. But one thing I missed to ask Rocky about is the venue of the game. I assumed, and I swear I'm not an Assumptionista, that the game will be in Araneta Coliseum. Well, that was not our lucky day. We arrived in Araneta Coliseum with Disney on Ice characters. Miggy was so disappointed and I could see it on his face. Then a bright idea came! "Why don't we watch Avatar instead?" I said. One of the best movies they say. He agreed and we headed to Gateway Cinema but guess what... it's Dec. 25 and it's MMFF or Metro Manila Film Festival day. All cinemas were showing tagalog films. STrike Two! We ended up sipping coffee in STarbucks! :)

Dec. 26 - Manila Zoo day! Mama, Anna, Yaya, Miggy and I brought Matt to Manila zoo! I haven't been to Manila Zoo despite the fact that I worked in Manila for 3 years. I was so excited not only for Matt but also for me. But my excitement didn't last long. The zoo was dirty and garbage was all over the place. There was no giraffe and lions as well. Plus there were a lot of people having their own business inside the zoo, lending the animals for picture taking purposes. You pay 50 pesos and you will be able to pose with a snake wrapped around your neck. Poor snake! On the night of Dec. 26 was a dinner date in Auntie Sue's condo unit in Serendra, the Fort. It was a simple dinner with the Arbolario-Agustin and Nika's family. Nika is Jeremy's wife. We didn't bring Matt along because he wasn't feeling very well. He developed a mild flu because of the dust in Manila zoo. Too bad.

Dec. 27 - We checked in Edsa Shangrila Hotel. Auntie Luli. the only sister of mama got us two rooms. One room was for mama and Anna and the other room was for me, Miggy and Matt with Yaya Jane of course. Miggy and I enjoyed the breakfast at the HEAT (1,200 pesos per person for the buffet breakfast). Good thing the rooms came with free buffet breakfast for two.

Dec. 28 - Wedding DAY! The day we've been waiting for! After the pictorial in Edsa Shangrila, the whole family headed to La Huerta Antipolo. I was so excited to see Matt march. He is the ring bearer and he is only 1 year old and 2 months! Come the time to march. AFter I put him down to march with the box in his hands, he just walked straight to the altar, not stopping at all. It seems that he just know what he's gonna do. I am so proud of my little boy!

Dec. 29 - Miggy met with his KC friends in the evening while I prepare for our departure on the next day! But in the morning, we went to Greenhills. I bought some stuff (gifts for myself) while Miggy bought his. Miggy also enjoyed the gym in the hotel for the last time. They have the best gym equipments I've ever seen so far!

Dec. 30 - Yaya Jane's flight was not the same as ours so Matt was left with me and Miggy to attend to until we arrive in Bacolod in the afternoon. I thought I will not be able to handle him but I was wrong. Matt was once again very behaved. Such a sweetheart. :)

That was our Manila vacation. Till next blog. :)

Enjoy some of our pix from the wedding: