The Lion in Baguio

This lion's head carved from a giant rock is the landmark to motorists that they have finally reached Baguio.

The Sunday Before Christmas

The Sunday before Christmas, le famille attended a Sunday worship at a church downtown being pastored by my brother in law. Bro in law led the worship singing and a visiting preacher preached the word of God for over an hour. I'm wearing my pocket talker but I did not try to use the extension cord so that I can position the mic near the speaker. We were just visitors in that church and I thought not to bother with the hassle of installing my ALD all over the place. Oh how a I endured and suffered an hour of not understanding anything the preacher was passionately saying at the pulpit. I kept pinching my arms so I can stay awake. You will never know how hard it is to sit for an hour trying to understand a preaching but failing miserably. The proper word is angry. I was very angry that I didn't understand. I heard sounds but my mind cannot proccess the sounds as meaningful speech.

Then after the preaching a little girl sang a special number. I was delighted because I can lipread and understand the song as it was my childhood Sunday school song.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

smile like the storm, smile like the storm

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Sailing, I'm sailing home

Sailing, I'm sailing home.

When Christ is in my vessel I can smile like the storm

Until He takes me home.

Anyways God is really good and His mercies never end. He saw my anger and He aproched me by letting me "hear" the song. I shed a tear secretly not because of self pity but because I experienced God's love at that moment in church, the Sunday before Christmas.

We are only whole to the extent that we are experiencing God's love everyday, as my eldest sister loved to say.

Le famille spent the hols in Baguio from Decemeber 22 to 26. We were 45 in all including the kids. Half of us rented a transient house for five thousand a night. The other half stayed in my sister's house in Baguio. Then each of the adults contributed 550 pesos for food. We had a party on Christmas eve, we exchanged gifts, had parlor games and sang Christmas songs. The kids were happy with the toy gifts they recieved and wanted to play with their new toys the whole night. Mum offered a long closing prayer then we chatted while sipping coffee until after midnight.

We also went to church last Sunday then had lunch out afterwards. We went in groups and I ended up joining my eldest son and his family at Yellow Cab. Soon after my other nieces found us and joined our holiday lunch out. I was hoping son will invite me to have coffee at Starbucks come evening but he didn't. I want to have coffee at Starbucks in Baguio as I love the ambience of the coffee shop and the fact that it's very cold as the wind blows in there.

Mum's birthday cake

Le famille

It's urgent I should blog before December ends. Mum's birthday bash was a big success. Her guests were so blessed by how well we tried to make Mum happy on her 80th birthday. My comic brother in law composed and recited a poem in praise of Mum. Then with the help of his two daughters he sang Only You to Nanay.

We were dressed in our finest and in all imaginable shades of purple. Even the three layer birthday cake was purple and white. Beautiful!

Of Nieces and Party Dresses

One of my nieces, Carla

I promise to blog more often this month of December. I really haven't found the time yet to put links on my blog, invite friends, and join blog explosion so I can generate traffic to my blog.

Anyways, I have already finished the party dresses of my nieces Nimai, Sara, Carla and Dianne and the dresses of my granddaughters Betina and Chloe. Nimai's and Sara's dresses were lavender pink tafetta with chiffon and organdy combination. Carla's and Dianne's were a daring violet shade. I think Betina's and Chloe's dresses will be the knockout ones as I even told their parents Bird and Chi that the design of their daughter's dresses were Tessa inspired. The style is not only daring but fearless that only my granddaughters can carry with aplomb (?).

My sister and her family arrived last Thursday from NZ to spend their month long holiday in the Philippines. And know what I got as their pasalubong? A pocket talker! This is an assistive listening device, a sound amplifier and I'm learning to use it now. I wore it at church this morning and some church folks were looking at me, maybe wondering why I should wear an ipod at church. I didn't bother to explain that it's not an ipod but a pocket talker. I can now hear sounds and speech altho I still miss some words, it's better than not hearing anything at all. I'm able to hear music as well and I find myself tapping my feet to the music. I think I will have to write in a separate post my feelings about hearing thru the pocket talker.

Tomorrow I will have to work early so I can finish the dresses of my other nieces Trisha, Jillian and Janna. There is a dawn watch at church beginning tomorrow until Saturday, December 8. I hope I can join but I have to finish the dresses. Sad.

It's already quarter past 11 in the evening here but I am not sleepy yet as I had an evening coffee to go with the donuts my future son in law brought here early this evening. I pray to God the tomorrow will be lovely, stress free day and I will be able to finish the dresses I'm making and my nieces will be very happy. I ask God for strength and joy without grumbling I may be able to work for His glory.

To scrub or not to scrub, that is the question

It's two weeks to go before mum's 80th birthday and there are lots of things more to do. I have been waking up very early one week now. This morning I woke up at 4:30. Tossed in bed for one hour and decided to rise up a 5:30. I did some singing and praying to the Lord but I can't say it's quality time as my head was full of so many things. The design for the children's dresses, the walls I have to soap and scrub. Should I scrub or should I sew dresses first. If I scrub all these walls I'm afraid I might develop a frozen shoulder. This happened to me before. If my shoulder gets frozen, how can I sew the dresses. If I hire my sister's househelp to do the scrubbing there will be soap and dirt all over the house and the dresses I am sewing will get dirty. Besides I'm really not good at giving instructions and supervising a househelp. And the dining chairs I have to upholster. Arrrgh! And mum's being fidgety already. :(

Sentences

Pesky mosquitoes are under the computer table biting my legs.
My Chinese brother-in-law was confined to the hospital. He had dengue.
I bought a delicious pomelo for 85. pesos.
I am making party dresses for my nieces and grandaughters.
I have to scrub and soap the walls of our house before mother's birthday on Novemeber 30.
The motif for the birthday party is lavender but it isn't easy to stick to one shade and I ended up buying a blue violet lace material for my dress. It looks black. Fits me well as I am some sort of a black sheep and a prodigal daughter.
But because of God's severe mercy I am now an ordinary sheep not black anymore.
I have to re-upholster our dining chairs as the old upholstery is 15 years old already. I can do upholstery, all it takes is common sense.
I dont know when I can invite my friends and my sisters to read my blog. They are very conservative and serious people.
I want to make a sweat shirt with grey and maroon colors, the colors of my blog. Then I will have it printed with joysandblessings.blogspot.com at the back and Blessings and missing the sound of rain in front.

Sleep

It's ten in the evening here and I'm yawning already. All day my mind was full of lots of things blogworthy but all these thing are gone now. How I wish I had a laptop so I can blog in bed.

I'm trying to change my sleeping and waking time and last night I was already in bed at ten quarter. I usually sleep around 12 midnight and I wake up at 6:30. I think I'm losing much sleep and I'm worried it will have a detrimental effect on my health. So I was able to sleep at 10:30 last night but a woke up at 4:30 this morning. It's good to wake up early, though. It's pleasantly cold and I was able to pray and study my bible without anyone disturbing me. So they say, early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise. Ok,ok.

Goodnight for now, sleep tight, sweet dreams.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Tessa's Eyelashes

It's raining outside and coffee tasted better this rainy morning. I have just arrived from the talipapa a block away from our house where I bought fish and veg for lunch and a heavy bunch (2 kgs) of bananas for breakfast.

I have finished studying Lesson 9, days 1 and 2 of the Book of Exodus. For my morning prayer, I will do it before lunch. I suddenly remembered I should have bought a newspaper so I can read about the mall mayhem. Daughter asked me what mayhem mean. I told her to just derive its contextual meaning from what she sees on TV. Speaking of TV, I was able to see the Celebrity Duets last Sunday where Tessa Prieto Valdez won. ( She said she will donate her 1 million prize to her ten charities). I always see Tessa on paper as she writes a weekly column for their family owned Inquirer newspaper. Well, Tessa was never afraid to be herself on broadsheet and on TV. We're no longer under a dictatorship anyway. But I have yet to decide whether to like Tessa or not. Her dresses, her lifestyle, and her guts and her eyelashes... well they're outrageously controversial. But Tessa has a right to be herself. She gives to charities anyways. And the fact that Tessa has one cool husband proves Tessa could be a cool person herself. Onstage while Tessa was delivering her eternal thank you's her husband kissed her gently being careful not to brush his face against Tessa's magic eyelashes which looked like tiny wings of a fairy. You gotta be a really cool husband in order to accept and kiss a wife wearing such kind of eyelashes. Remember Martin was never cool when he called Pops a slob as she had a habit of leaving her false eyelashes in tthe sink and everywhere according to him. But Tessa I think will not leave her eyelashes in the sink. I think she will put it in a case as they were fairy wings.

Daughter rented a cd of The Pursuit of Happyness and I watched it twice and cried twice.

Outside I think it's still raining but all I can hear is the incessant monotonous low howling inside my left ear and the sound of my typing in this keyboard. I can't even hear the click of the mouse. I will have to go down now to pray and open the day to the sunshine of God's blessings. It's alright even if I miss the sound of rain. God loves me and I love Him back.

Banana republic with mango as the national fruit. Coolness!

Good morning from the Philippines, mi patria adorada. :)

You will know I'm happy when I hang new curtains

I can't think of anything blogworthy today as I cannot gather my scattered thoughts. I'm just trying to post so I can maintain my blog.

Let's see. This morning I just said a simple prayer thanking God for the strength and health I have. Indeed His promise is true and great is His faithfulness that is new every morning. I also agreed with God that today will be a pleasant one and Mum will feel His love thru me.

At four in the afternoon my plan is to accompany Mum to her doc as she is experiencing early signs of colds. She coughs. But at four o'clock she announced we're not going to the doc anymore. She's feeling well she said. I asked Mum if she is sure about it and teased her even that she's just avoiding giving her money to Dr. Ambat again. Mum just won't go. Last night my sister Vi prayed over for her on the phone. The other night my daughter and I prayed for her also. Mum is turning 80 in November, still strong and alert not yet forgetful, never senile. She reads her enormous bible with big letters everyday. My eldest sister says Mum will never be forgetful as her mind is exercised daily by reading God's word.

I'm not really sure why I'm feeling happy this afternoon. I cleaned our window screens and hung new curtains. The curtains were made of white lace. The house was lovely afterwards. We have a wide doorway leading to an extra room to the left of our house and I asked Mum if it will look beautiful if she makes a crocheted curtain for it. Yes, Mum can still crochet. And can she finish it before her birthday? Mum groaned. So I promised to help her beat the deadline. One of these days I will post a pic of Mum's crocheted curtain.

The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not to be afraid- that is the paradox of faith.
- A. W. Tozer

Spam, me?

Can't figure out why the blogger robots suspected my blog violated some terms whatever. But thanks anyway, I'm back.

The bandera espanola Mum planted some weeks ago have flowers now and I took pictures of it with my cellphone camera. Unfortunately I can post it right away as I can't use the bluetooth yet.

I was Mum's alalay this morning when she went to the beauty parlor to have her hair cut and permed. I thought the whole beautifying effort will only take and hour but to my annoyance it took us three hours. We waited one hour for the gay beautician who went downtown to deposit money in the bank and two hours for the actual trimming and perming of them greying hair of mum. I was able to finish reading two magazines while waiting for Mum. One was a fashion mag and the other about travel.

All afternoon my mind was full of ideas I wanted to post but when it's time for me to sit down and type, I feel very tired and I discover all those ideas are already gone. I have to gather my thoughts. I think it would be wise to post in the morning when my mind is fresh and I've had a good night's sleep. So bye for now. See ya all in the morning.

One cool thing I've been doing lately is memorizing Bible verses. Here's one I have already memorized:

The bolts of our gates will be iron and bronze and our strength will equal our days. There is no one like the God of Jeshurun who rides on the heavens to help us and on the clouds in His majesty. The eternal God is our refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out our enemy before us saying "Destroy him!"

I recite this verse aloud or silently to myself or while I'm praying because this gives me strength. The ultimate chalenge I am facing today as a Christian is to be an overcomer.

Random Things About Me

Shameless narcissism. Oh please, don't be so cruel. I just want to have some fun.

1. My kids call me Meeeh, the way a little goat calls its own mother meeeh-meeeh!

2. My favorite expression is "Ay anak!" At least that's better than Ate Nora's "Ay kabayo!"

3. I recently purchased a pair of shoes called Miss Korea.

4. I can't afford Jimmy Choo.

5. I have a little bony growth on my forehead the size of a half chick pea which the doctor wanted to remove with a sander.

6. I recently enrolled on an 11 Saturdays Bible Study class to study the book of Exodus.

7. I have been waiting for a burgundy (almost black) colored wild flower to bloom again by the roadside where I used to jog so I can take photos of it.

9. I wanted to join flickr but I don't have a good camera.

10. I believe in heaven and hell.

11. My ultimate fantasy is to spend a year in Provence.

12. I like Roberto Benigni, Dustin Hoffman, and yes, Tom Hanks all because he completely, unerringly loves his wife.

13. I believe a wife separated from her husband should remain untangled or be reconciled.

14. I read Psycho as a thirteen year old girl and had a sleepless night aftewards.

15. I secretly believe I'm my father's favorite.

16. I love macadamia, hazel nuts and the smell of roasting cashew nuts.

17. I eat tonnes of the giant, pink citrus called pomelo to prevent fibroid growth.

18. I believe that the ultimate and unchanging standard of all truth and reality is found in God's word.

19. My favorite color is turning brown as I buy brown rice, brown muzcovado sugar and brown wheat bread.

20. A litlle orange sized fibroid in my uterus shrunk 2 cms after six months because I recommitted my life to the Lord, asked forgiveness for my rebellion, revoked the curses in my life and ate tonnes of them pomelos.

21. Mother says I was named after a beauty queen.

22. I never have the faintest memory that my mother ever hugged me as a child.

23. My only daughter is everything that I am not.

24. I strive to be a cool mum-in-law.

25. I buy ice cold fresh sugar cane juice in the market whenever I can.

26. I have six sisters.

27. I have a certain sadness in my heart.

28. The last time I ate cotton candy was when I was two and twenty.

29. I want to retire early so I can write a memoir, do cross-stitch and learn to garden.

30. I want to go fishing with my grandaughters Betina and Chloe.

30. I love hugging my grandchildren because they always smell sweet.

31. I hope my own kids will be closer to me more than ever before.

32. I miss the sound of rain and the sound of my own footsteps.

33. I want to teach Sunday School and adult bible study.

34. I love the changing seasons and the ber months when it is pleasantly cold.

35. I love waking up to a foggy morning.

36. I discovered the net only in 2005.

37. I want a bird bath in my front lawn and a teresa tree to attract sparrows.

38. Mum and I adopted a cat which Betina named Willy.

40. I want to see Lake Sebu in Mindanao.

41. I like the face of Natalie Portman.

42. I like coffee but I only drink half cup of it leaving the other half because I feel guilty.

43. The ultimate challenge I'm facing in life is to be an overcomer.

44. I have a virtual friend who has a slow growing cancer called polycithemia vera.

45. I want to have virtual friends from the remote vilages of China, Russia, Scandinavia, and France.

46. I want to cook maja or corn flour cake tomorrow.

47. Life begins at fifty as I am a late bloomer.

48. I dislike the film Falling in Love (Robert De Niro) as it's adultery simplified.

49. I don't forwad chain e-mails.

50. Sleepy now. Zzzzzzzzz...

Today's Wisdom from Above

We are only whole to the extent that we are experiencing His love everyday.

Gone With the Wind and Other Stories

First things first, I wish to thank Blogger for this wonderful chance and space they allowed me to have so I can post my very own blog. Blogger, you're a star, thanky!

Yesterday was Saturday again and it seems whenever my daughter and I arrange to meet so we can go to Precepts together, something happens. We agreed to meet this time at Chowking Taft corner Edsa. I arrived at Chowking ahead of her and knowing my daughter, I braced myself to waiting forever. We are supposed to see each other at one pm but at quarter past one she sent me a text message informing me that she has just left home! Home is an hour bus ride to Taft! Thirty minutes later she sent a text message again saying " Me, yung 100 ko tinangay ng hangin. Wek! Transalated it meant "Mum, my 100 peso bill was blown by the wind. Whek!" She was riding a bus coursing thru the coastal road where strong wind blows. While pulling a 20 peso bill from her wallet, a 100 bill went with it and flew with the wind. I hope the 100 bill landed on one of the bamboo houses standing on stilts at the side of the bay where mussels gatherers live. I hope a little boy will find it then he will look to heaven to thank God. By the way three mussels gatherers are only able to gather 100 pesos worth of mussels in one day. Sad.

Anyways I told my daughter I will replace the lost money just kndly please hurry up. After one and a half hours of waiting (there was heavy traffic she texted again) my daughter arrived. We arrived at Precepts just when the session was almost finished. After downing the coffee they served the session ended. Ugh!

Daughter had to go to Psalm house in Kamuning and I have to go back to Imus (the native land of Ping and Bong). On the bus home I happened to sit between two coughing men! At least the old man at my left seemed to know that coughing in public places is shameful and stopped after just a few coughs. But the younger man on my right coughed with gusto. And I can't even understand why he can't sit still in his seat. When he's not coughing he's blowing his nose, when he's not blowing his nose he's sending text messages from his mobile phone, or fidgeting with his earplugs with the cords dangling all over in front of him even getting tangled with the strap of his backpack and his face towel full of cough and pleghm. For a moment he sat up straight to read Abante Tonite. Hmm. I sat up straight myself and tried to stay alert and awake. Thankfully, at the next bus stop the coughing man called "Para!" God bless him.Today I'm feeling the beginning of colds in my throat. I will eat more pomelos and drink plenty of water and I will bless myself also.

Grandmotherhood Bliss

My grandaughter Betina was first honor in her Nursery class at Montessori Dasma. Her quizzes and exams were all perfect and Teacher Xe said Betina can dance well, too. Her mother told me that Betina's latest idol is Marimar. She really likes girls who can dance well. But I told Betina not to take Marimar seriously as she is a lady already. I don't like to see my grandaughter gyrating like a sexy dancer.

Betina can draw too. She can fill one notebook with drawings in one day. She even drew a picture of me and wrote "I love Lola" below the drawing. That was sweet.

Six Months Ago

My younger sis asked me to acompany her to her OB for pap smear test and she said while I'm already there I should get tested also. Doc got suspicious of my symptoms and examined my tum. She said I needed ultrasound exam. Ultrasound confirmed the doc's suspicion. It was uterine fibroid myoma, 8 cm. Yuck!

Strange that I'm clueless about it except that a couple of years ago I began having heavy periods. Mum said it's just natural for premenopausal women so I did not bother about it anymore. There's no pain whatsoever except that I always feel bloated which I remedy by avoiding meat in my diet and eating more fruits and vegie salads. And sometimes during the cold months I urinate frequently.Doc recommended surgery asap. I tried to reason out with him if I can just wait for my menopause to shrink the fibroid naturally but he said that's too risky as it's still around five years before I menopause completely. The fibroid might grow bigger and might attach itself to my bladder. Or worse it might become cancerous. I was taken aback. I hear cancer everywhere, everyday but not my cancer.

They say people refuse to look up (to God) unless thy're flat on their backs (sick in bed). I believed all along that I am a fairly healthy person. I seldom get sick. I never catch cold. I'm non-hypertensive, non-asthmatic, non-diabetic, non whatsoever. I used to brag that I'm healthy, careful with my diet, dont drink, dont smoke that I can outlive my enemies. Did I say enemies? Nah, I dont have enemies, just joking. So I remembered a bible verse which said, "Be still and know that I am God." Really I became quiet for a few days then spent a whole day alone in my room. There was this certain sadness in my heart. But I'm not afraid. Just sad. I opened my bible and read until my eyes hurt. Then I sat down in my bed and did some talking to the Lord. I told Him I understand what He was telling me all along. I told Him I was glad He removed the barrier between us and He allowed me to communicate freely and clearly with Him. I trusted my body in His care and my life in His hands. I felt His comforting presence, I felt peace while I sat still before the Lord knowing He is God.Next post I will tell all what God has done.

I Can't Understand!

Precept Upon Precept is an inductive method of Bible study and the materials and trainors were from the US. I like this method as I am able to clearly understand the contents of the Bible. I have to admit I dont really understand the Book of Exodus or even, Genesis or Deuteronomy. For so many times I have attempted to read the Bible and some publishers of the Bible even offer a system of reading the Bible through in one year. I think I had attempted to read the whole Bible half a dozen times already, but sadly I never ever reached beyond Deuteronomy.I'm now studying Exodus and I'm enjoying every bit of it because I'm beginning to understand it. We were asked to bring different colors of marking pens for which to mark key words and phrases in the chapters we are studying. We have to use a paticular color to mark God, double underline words referring to land or place, draw a clock over a word for time or day, another color and symbol for sin and so on and so forth. So after studying one chapter the pages were very colorful with marks, underlines, and symbols. We get to read one chapter we are studying at least three times. And that results in a very clear and thorough understanding of the lesson.

On my future blog post I will try to write a potted story of Exodus after I finish the eleven Saturdays course. I promise that it would be a fun read as the Book of Exodus is a very exciting account of God's relationship to His beloved people.

Hello Again

This afternoon I met with my daughter at Buendia MRT station so we can go to Makati Gospel Church together to attend a bible study class we have begun the other Saturday. The eleven Saturdays course is on the Book of Exodus. My daughter as usual was late. I waited for her at the foot of the Buendia MRT stairs near a line of vendors selling guava, sunglasses, candies, newspapers and ice cream. Although the waiting place was shady with trees I still perspired heavily and the back of my cotton blouse was soaking wet. I think I waited for 40 minutes before the darling daughter arrived. I think I also counted around fifty pairs of legs going down the stairs before her own thin pair of legs appeared. I can identify my daughter even by just her feet and then legs going down the stairs. Mother skills, you know.

Daughter at least showed in her facial expression that she's ashamed she's late. I think she's even worried that I was already at my wit's end. Lucky for her, while I was waiting I have observed another woman impatiently waiting for somebody just like me. To entertain myself, I told myself at least I'm not alone. And we will see who will be relieved of waiting first. So when my daughter arrived, I felt I won that my waiting was finally over. Silly me.Anyways, I think I will have to write about the bible study next issue as it is already late in the night and some mosquitoes are feasting on my feet already. So good night for now, magandang gabi sa inyong lahat.

Hello!

Hello every all! I'm glad to be here. I hope you will stop by to read and leave comments.