Christmas Eve 2014

We went to Church at 4:30  even though the mass  doesn't start at 6.  The kids had to practice for the Christmas Pageant that would occur before the evening mass.  

 The church was well decorated for Christmas.

 The fourth graders  are part of the bell choir this year, their first time participating as bell choirs.

 They were at the back so you can hardly see them.  I recorded some videos but I haven't download it yet.

 I think that they did  great  considering that it wasd their first time.

 The first grade wasn't involve in the pageant this year but hopefully they would be included next year.

 Photo opp after the mass.

 We went straight to my Father-in-law-s house after the mass.  He was resting when we arrived.  My sister-in-law said that EMT's came to the house earlier and checked on him as he wasn't feeling well.   Glad he was okay.

After an hour or so, we came home and had fun at home.  The kids went to bed early so Santa could come by and bring them surprise in the morning.  

Happy new year to all of you, thank you for being part of our fun 2014 journey!

ET and EJ

EJ was drawn to this ET  statue at Kennywood.  He find it fascinating.  He remember the movie we watched with ET,

 His fascination would not be complete with a document so here it is.  He tried to imitate  the smile of the ET but it doesn't look like it lol.

Going to amusement park is fun but tiring.  No matter how tiring it is though, the kids  does not want to leave,  They are full of energy when it comes to exploring things to do for fun!

Knowing when you Ovulate Key to Getting Pregnant

These set of photos were taken in Guam on May of 2006, our friends there gave us a farewell party before we flew to the mainland US.  I was 7 months old pregnant with our  first baby when I came here in the US.  I remember, hubby would come to the Philippines to visit when it is time for me to ovulate.  It took him a lot of  vacation back and forth from Guam to the Philippines but I finally got preganat after  over a year of trying.  It was hard for us since we were  miles apart but with God's grace and  perfect timing, it happened.

Most women want to get pregnant and become the proud mother of a child. But, every year millions of couples are having difficulty in getting pregnant due to several factors. In a situation like this, it can bring physical and emotional stress. At times, getting pregnant becomes a difficult task for both men and women. If you're one of those who are just really eager to get pregnant, or maybe you want your baby's birth to happen at a specific time, first thing to consider is knowing your cycles. 

According to www.pregnancytips.org , the biggest secret to getting pregnant faster is knowing when you ovulate or when you release an egg from your ovary. Think of the egg as a bull's-eye and the sperm as arrows. One of the arrows has to hit the bull's-eye in order for you to get pregnant. You can figure out when you ovulate using a few different methods, like ovulation predictor kits, a BBT chart, or ovulation calendar.

Thanksgiving 2014

After a couple of years of not participating to family gatherings, we decided to go this time.  My husband  did not want to go but I told him that we don't know how long  Dad will still be around and also for the children sake, we need to just deal with  whatever  made us stayed away. 

 We got to patch up things with the rest of the family.  It's been really hard for me that we did not communicate with  some of the family members because they are my only family here and I feel alone that we don't get to spend time with them.

 I asked these guys to smile and they made these faces lol.

 My sister-in-law Jill is doing  okay  now  despite the   chemo that she has been getting.

 Dad was a little drunk when we got there but he is doing mighty fine for his age.

 The siblings, Chris, Rick, and John.

  I am glad that  we did because the kids had so much fun.  I hope that this could be the start of a smooth relationship between the families again.  

HUGE Thanks for your Help!

In behalf of my family, I want to thank the following  generous friends who have  extended their help to my sister Roselda:

• Ate Bet Chai, 
• Sis Princess Pierre, 
• Sis Dhemz, 
• Sis Mar Yannie, 
• Sis Mhie Lee, 
• Sis Eileen L, 
• Sis Tingting, 
• Sis Ria 
• Sis Jhady, 
• Jess Benoit, 
• Sis Lainy, 
• Ate Liza C, 
• and to all who included my sister in their prayer.  With your help, she is now recovering from the surgery.  Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts!

My sister sent me these photos of her kids with a Thank You note to let you know how appreciative they are with your help. MY sister cried when I told her that a lot of people have extended help  for her surgery.  Thank you all for helping to save my sister's life.  Words can't express how much  I appreciate you all because even though some of you just know me online, you  did not hesitate to help my family.  This is one of the biggest things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.  I thank God for connecting me to friends with a huge hearts, great compassion and kindness for others.  May God always bless you all!
ABC Wednesday

It was Not Meant for Us

One of the houses in our neighborhood was put up for sale.  I asked my husband if we could look at it as I like the  look of it from the outside.  MY husband didn't like how the  house was designed but we went anyway.  Neighbors said that this was built by a priest and it  was pretty solid inside.

This is a four bedroom house with three  full baths which impressed my husband a lot.  Although the rooms are smaller but it would have accommodated the need of our growing family plus it is in our neighborhood so  transition would have been a lot easier.

Hubby also liked the fact that it has a double car garage which our current house lacks.  

The  downsides of this house was  the yard and the smaller  kitchen and  living room.  There is no yard at all which would have been so difficult because we have pets.  Nevertheless, we made an offer  and  prayed that it if it meant for us, we will get it but if not, our offer will be turned down.

Our bid lost to a higher bidder  which hubby and I thought that the house is not really meant for us.

 The kids did not really want to put the dogs for adoption.  I  I am kind of relieved that our offer did not  go through because  I would surely miss gardening.  I won't have a space there to put my flower and vegetables.

 Our pets are a big part of the family so  it is  also a deciding factor whenever we are looking for a house.  It would be nice to have a bigger house with bedrooms that would accommodate each of us.

For now, we are planning to just  expand our house.  Put some money to it and fix it sop that the kids will have their own room.
Shadow Shots

RV Movie and Our Kids

 We watched the movie, "RV" the other night and one of the scene that my husband pointed out is when Robin Williams' daughter was  a little girls, she was very sweet but as she  became a teen, she  became  very bratty.  My husband said that it would be hard for us to be in that position when our kid becomes  teenagers already.  

Right now, we are enjoying the sweet  stage while it lasts.

Odd Rules

When my  daughter's classmates came out the school building yesterday, I saw their school bags full of books so I was expecting that she would have a full one too.  When she came out, she  didn't have any in her bag.  I immediately asked why she doesn't have books.  She said  that she finished all her  works in the classroom but she got "yelled" by the sub-teacher.  I asked her why she got yelled at.  She said that the substitute teacher thought that she  did her work at home.

My kids are very sensitive  and sometimes they tend to exaggerate things like whenever I  raised my voice on them, they think that I am already screaming at them.    So I asked her again if the teacher really yelled at her and she said that the teacher did yelled at her.  My question now is, why does my daughter has to work slow  if she can do it faster than the rest? I don't think that's the problem if I am the teacher.  I don't doubt that my daughter can finish her work for two days in one setting because even when she is attending her gifted class on Tuesdays, she still manages to get her missed work done in the classroom before going home,

Sometimes, I feel like it is kind of ridiculous how  things work in school here, sigh.  Daughter is a bit bored because she is not being challenged and now she is being reprimanded because she works fast, what the heck.

Good Behavior Reward

EJ got this from his teacher for having the most number of stickers for behavior chart in their class.  Mrs. Gain knows that EJ love Spider Man and puzzle so she got him this which is perfect.

Puzzle is such a  good  activity for the kids and adult.  It  creates a good family bonding and it is a great exercise for our brains.  We have so many puzzles here at home.  The complicated ones that we did, I framed them  so we could preserved the memory we spent together in  completing it.

I was Born on Sunday

What Day Of The Week Was June 10, 1973?

June 10, 1973: Day Of The Week

June 10, 1973 is the 161^st day of the year 1973 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 204 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.

Sunday  in Japanese is Nichiyōbi.

If I have  saved a Nickel every day starting at age 6, then by now, I would have  accumulated $646.20 today.  

Gemini is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day.

 Pearl is the modern birthstone for this month. 

Moonstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

Ox is the mythical animal and Water is the element based from the very old art of Chinese astrology (or Chinese zodiac).

Who were born on June 10, 1973?

• 1973 – Faith Evans, American singer
• 1973 – Flesh-N-Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
• 1973 – Pokey Reese, American baseball player

Source: www.dayoftheweek.org

What day were you born, do you know? Find out at the website I mentioned.

Tumor (Myoma)

My sister Rosel (in pink) has been diagnosed with  a tumor (myoma) in her  uterus.   It is not malignant but it is causing her so much pain so needs an immediate  surgery.  She will be  having the surgery soon and it is worrying me.  I am very stressed because I already experienced a losing  one of my siblings and this is making me paranoid.  She  is asking for financial help because they couldn't afford the surgery.  They have three kids and her husband 's salary  as a maintenance crew at Tesda isn't enough.

"When it rains, it pours."  I say that because my Mom needs financial aid too  for  another issue  and it is making me insane right now.  I have no job here and blogging is certainly down at this time so I am stressing out.  MY husband is always willing to help but since we are not rich and we have bills to pay every month, we certainly don't have  savings for  extra emergencies like this.

I thought of  making a  fund-raising  campaign but hubby did not want me to do that.  I dunno what to do but pray that I could come up with something so I could send the amount they need.  It is so hard.

I have never done  this before but I am reaching out for your help, financially and spiritually (prayers).   I have to come up with $600 to help my sister but I only got $90 in my paypal as of now so if you could please donate any amount (even just a dollar), it would be greatly appreciated!  You may send it to my paypal - cutiestfriend@yahoo.com.  Thank you very much in advance and God bless you for your generosity and caring hearts!

UPDATE:  Earlier this week, I talked to my sister and her  surgery was scheduled on the 11th of November but today, she was admitted to the hospital as her condition is getting worse and her surgery was re-scheduled at an earlier date - November 4, was moved again to October 29th.   Please continue to  keep her in your prayers, thank you so much!

11th Anniversary

 When hubby and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary, we took the kids to places we've never been to.  It wasn't extra ordinary but something different  than what we normally do.  We  explored the big  seafood market in Pittsburgh and then we also ate there.  Then on our way home, we  drove by the shopping area at Settler's Ridge Market District.

Since 11 was an odd number, we did odd stuff that we don't usually do.  The kids have enjoyed it and so did we.  It was a simple celebration but  quite memorable.  For us, it doesn't matter if we don't have a lavish way of celebrating anniversary, what matters is the  happiness that all of us including our kids has for the occasion.  May God bless  us more with more years of being in-love together.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

My whole family was nominated to do the ICE Bucket Challenge.  My kids were very excited to do it but before we let them do it, we  explained to them  the importance of this challenge. This challenge is being done by so many people to  help raise awareness about  the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. I have seen  few  videos of people  that are affected of this disease and it  is heartbreaking.

Here is the video of my daughter's  challenge.  Hubby and EJ were posted on Facebook as well.   Both of the kids don't feel really good when  they did the challenge so we let the ice melt first before dumping  it it on them.   If you have seen my  son's video, I did not like how my husband dumped it on him  but my son liked it, he think it was cool.

As part of the challenge, you have to make a monetary donation to ALS Foundation.  You can donate as low as $5.  If everyone who does the challenge will  donate, ALS will have the help they need to  do research and extend  help to  people who are battling with  ALS.

I hope that you can help too even if you don't do the challenge, you can make a donation  here.

Rain or Shine: The Regatta at Lake Arthur

We were invited to a Fil-Am party at Moraine State Park in Pleasant Valley, Portersville PA. It was an hour or so drive from our city. The morning of the event, it was raining so hard and we doubted that it would be a good day to go but since we already promised the person who invited us that we are going, we went despite of the weather condition.

It was still raining when we arrived but later on, the weather got so much better and we ended up having a blast.  The kids had so much fun at the  Lake Arthur.  The Regatta at Lake Arthur had different kinds of events that day so we  all enjoyed it as a family after we departed from the Fil -Am party and decided to have fun at the lake.

It was a bit chilly that day but the kids courageously  plunged in the water.

HUbby and I sat on the bench up top while watching the Burritos have fun in the water.

You can rent a kayak boat or you can bring your own floating device like this family did.

After an hour or so, the kids had enough of the water.  I like it that  they put a mark where you can swim and  they also put sand  so kids can play like they are in the ocean, pretty neat.

Our trip was worth it, rain or shine, there are things to do at Lake Arthur  because of the Regatta program they have.  You can ride their boat tour and they would take you around the  lake.  We didn't get to do that due to time constraints but maybe next time.