Momzilla attack

Posted in Insights by

For about weeks, my schedule has been so hectic… From Elections, traveling to Manila for work,attending Nick Vujicic’s event, Sarbay Fest, and the other activities that come in between. I really sometimes don’t know how I do it… When I tell other people, it seems like they feel stressed for me.

Rest is so important for a nursing mom. When this is violated, certain personality changes happens. I must admit I do feel embarrassed to share this story. Well, this will be an example of what not to follow…

It was the last few days of elections, we had family and friends over. They were so kind to not bother me so much, but I cant help myself, because I want to entertain. During the day, I would nurse and work (so I dont get to nap). At night, when Joshua is asleep, I try to make myself available for my husband too. I make time for us to catch up because he would come home late from campaign. Then, my son’s schedule. I have to make myself available for him because he is still asking for milk around 3 am and wakes up at 5 am everyday.

The evening before election, my son woke up wide awake at around 1:30 AM. It was my time to catch sleep because I was still up around that time. Everytime I would put him to sleep, he would cry. When I lift him up, he would smile and hint he would want to play. Usually this did not bother me. But that evening, I was tired. I wanted my sleep. My son wanted to play. I kept telling Joshua, “Josh, mommy is tired, please go back to sleep.” The response I get is his playful smile. He would try to talk too by cooing and he would smile. But mommy, was not happy. I felt physically too tired to play. So I tried to rock him back to sleep. My son would complain and cry because he was unhappy to go back to sleep. Grrrr….!!!!

Suddenly, I felt upset with the situation. So I sat my little boy by his toys and I told him, “Since you don’t want to sleep, you and I are going to stay up till 5 AM. Do you understand me?” I suddenly lost it. My mind just snapped and I turned into the “mother-no-child-would-wish”. I was upset that I took out my anger on the toys and with all of what is left of my strength I took the Dinosaur toy and played all the music and shook the toy up and down, side-to-side hoping this would make Joshua dizzy. At first he enjoyed it. I kept on saying, “we are not sleeping. We are not going to sleep”!” After playing for about 20 minutes, I saw Joshua wiping his eyes. I knew he started to feel sleepy. Instead of letting him sleep, my anger took over me. I brought him to the bathroom and let him play with his squeaky fish toys. I still kept chanting, “you are not sleeping until tomorrow!” For another 20 minutes Joshua obliged to play. After a while, he started to wipe his eyes and yawn. All the more, I chanted, ” you are not sleeping, do you understand?”… Like a crazy woman I brought him to his lighted drums and insisted he plays with it. The poor little boy again tried to play but this time he was moaning and started to cry because he was tired. But still I forced him to play.

I later started to feel guilty and caught myself. What on earth am I doing? Im making my son suffer because Im too tired to care for him and so I’ll make both of us miserable. Ohhh myyy…

I saw Joshua was really tired from my Momzilla episode, he actually fell asleep after a minute of nursing. He was that tired! As I was putting Joshua down in his crib, I started to pray. I asked forgiveness from God for my unbecoming behavior. I laid my hands on my son and asked God to protect my son from any consequence of my temper.

Im just so thankful God is full of mercy and grace, and they are new every morning! My son wakes up and looks at me with his big, loving eyes without a grudge.

20130619-205459.jpg

I never want to see Momzilla attack ever again. I have learned my lesson! I need to discipline myself to rest. This is a season in my life to slow down. I can catch up with the world later.

I shared this story with my other mommy friends and they cracked up laughing at how I lost it. Truly, its funny now… but what a sobering event for me. I pray God to help me be less childish and be a good mommy that Joshua can love and respect…

Mommy’s Day!

20130512-055712.jpg

Thanks to a facebook greeting from a friend, this photo made me giggle so early this Mother’s day morning! It’s true… How do we mommies do it?

We are able to do like gazillion things in the house, work, caring for our babies and their caregivers, serving our husbands, making time for friends, etc… God’s designed women to be really, really strong, resilient, multitasking, resourceful, and just simply amazing human beings! I always looked up to the women in my life–first, my mom who delivered twins and managed to raise us on her own when she became a single mom. She’s resourceful and fun! My grandmother, who bore five children was an amazing home maker. She baked and cooked as her side line, and sewed dresses and bags for her daughters so they would catch up with the fashion trends without spending so much… She even sewed my mom’s wedding dress! How sweet is that!

Then, there are amazing moms too in my day and age! I admire my twin sister Monique. She has 4 children of her own. She is a businesswoman of a growing promo and events company, and she has a big heart for ministry with her husband. A couple years ago she took that step of faith to homeschool her kids. I look and wonder how she does it… She is so calm under pressure and so positive! I also admire my sister-in-law, Pria. She is a single mom and yet that did not become a crutch for her. She raised an admirable, responsible, handsome gentleman. I have seen her in that crazy roller coaster of motherhood, and she has done a great job! The other woman, I admire is my friend Joy. She is a mother of four and pregnant with her 5th. She is a committed wife, an intentional parent, a homeschooling mom, inspirational speaker, a blogger. Her children are not only good looking, but growing in the character of Christ. In fact her 2 older sons join them in speaking engagements and encourages the audience positively to live by faith.

There are just so many amazing supermoms out there!

The only reason moms can be super moms is not by genetic configuration. I truly believe it stems from an inner strength coming from a SUPER GOD! Only God our creator can empower women with these attributes enabling them to become super moms! For the journey of motherhood take moms to depths of love she never would imagine she can give. She would also experience anxiety on matters she never thought she would worry about, and yet will be able to overcome. Since she no longer lives for herself, daily acts of selflessness is a norm. A mom will also experience great joys and susceptible to pains that come along with parenting. All these she will be able to go thru because a Big God is giving her abundance of grace.

I thank God for sustaining me daily and giving me everything I need to be a good mommy. In the end, like all moms, we just want these — children who will be able to stand on their own, a heart instilled with good values, and for them to live prosperous, successful, and healthy lives…

To us mommies, let’s thank God for entrusting us with this gift! I greet mommies out there — Happy Mommies day! Cheers to us!

Proverbs 31:28-31NLT “Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.”

20130512-072433.jpg

(Memes are taken from facebook postings)

Peer Pressured

“Not everything are found in books, leave room for mother’s instincts!” — This is golden advise I got from one of my baby showers.

My friends and family know that I am the type of person that likes to research. Google, baby center, whattoexpect.com, and many other resources have been my guide in caring for my baby. Of course, there are also advises from friends, family, my pediatrician and other mommies. These become your support system as you rear your child especially if you are a first-time mom. I particularly enjoy knowing if my little boy is meeting his milestones. So far, he is pretty smart little guy and advance for his age. For that, I really praise God.

At four months old, some babies have slept through the night (6-8 hour sleep).This means, they are able to sleep through without nursing. Many moms I know have that experience with their babies. Unfortunate for me, Joshua is not sleeping through the night just yet. We would prepare sleeping time at 8pm by bathing and he would be in zzzz land by 8:30pm. When I shared this schedule with other mommy friends, I learned my baby slept the latest. Theirs would be sleeping by 6:30pm or 7pm! Hmmm… could there must be something wrong with my style???

You see Joshua developed his sleeping pattern and it was led by him. Usually he would wake around 5 am then would sleep again around 7 am for 30 mins. Then after bathing he would sleep around 9am until 11 am or 12 noon. After, he would take an afternoon nap by 1:30pm until 3pm. And another last nap at around 5pm before the night time sleep at 8:30pm. But even at 8:30 pm his longest stretch is really until 12 midnight (so only 3.5 hours). After that he asks to be nursed every 1-2 hours until 5 am. You can tell, I still don’t get a lot of sleep!

Now, I’ve been seeing these write ups on Sleep Training… also using CIO (Cry it Out) method to get the baby to self sooth and he will eventually sleep. I began to really feel pressured that Joshua was not sleeping through the night and that maybe I should start being strict with him and applying the CIO method.

For about 2 nights, I applied what was in the books to get him ready for sleep training. That included bathing him, getting the room suitable for sleeping, nursing him and putting him down. I actually get to achieve this. The difficult part is his first wake… it was suggested to just leave him and he will just put himself back to sleep. If he cries, just let him cry. Moms can talk to their baby and pat them gently and leave them. So I tried this method. Man, I have to say, my son can cry longer than 20 minutes! He was also using his very modulated loud cry with tears and all! He really was not happy. I could not help myself from carrying him and he would still sob and it took a while for him to get over it… But I really believed, I have to start training him or else he will never get this milestone! He might be the only kid who does not sleep through the night at 4 months!

Two nights I attempted this. Then on the third day, we noticed something wrong with Joshua. His voice became hoarse. He was losing his voice from all the loud crying and grunting. Worst part is, on the fourth day, his hoarse voice was accompanied by him being fussy and crying a bit more than usual. Of course I attributed this to his daddy who had the sniffles (hehehe).

I continued with the so-called “Sleep training”. However, I began feeling that this whole idea of training my baby is just too much for him. Instead of me getting rest, I was getting more tired because Joshua was crying more, and requiring more of me! That evening, Joshua started developing a low grade fever and was really needy of me. I started to pray and asked God to restore my son’s health back. I also asked God to guide me on how to care for my son.

God gave me an insight to let go of that milestone checklist. Joshua will sleep through the night in his own good time. No need to rush him. He is just an infant. He will get there when he is good and ready. As a mom, I should not feel pressured with what the books says, or feel inadequate when sharing notes with other moms. That night Joshua slept in my embrace. I wanted him to feel secured and comforted, and that his mommy will not leave him alone until he is ready.

I was really comforted to read some online community discussions, where other moms like me, have babies that dont sleep through the night. In fact, the discussion encourage moms to just continue nursing their babies at night if they dont sleep through. The rationale is eventually this stage will pass, and all children will wean from night feedings. All children will get their “sleep through the night” stage.

So, for now, I am adjusting the night sleeping time of Joshua to an earlier time of 730pm. But I am not going to let him cry it out anymore! Im just going to wait, and prayerfully watch the day he will be ready to sleep longer, to nurse less and to reach his milestone!

20130508-062944.jpg
“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3 NASB)

In Eternity…

Posted in Insights by

It’s been forty days since dad (my father-in-law) stepped into his eternal home. We want to celebrate his life and the joy he is now experiencing in heaven.

I am reminded of that day when Tom (my brother-in-law) and I were in dad’s room preparing for the wake. Tom was looking for paper so he could jot down our errands. I helped him look for paper when suddenly the book “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren was seen on dad’s desk. I took the book, and I opened it. It happened to be the copy I gave to Steve 9-10 years ago.

20130501-113552.jpg

I later learned that dad was asking for this book and wanted to read it. So Steve gave him his copy. What we saw was a bookmarked chapter that spoke volumes of peace for all of us. Dad book marked chapter 4 entitled ” Made to Last Forever”.

Dad understood that this earthly life is temporal and that we are all made for eternity with God. This life is just a dry run for what we will be doing in heaven.

20130501-114351.jpg

During dad’s wake, Pastor Jeric Soriano shared with us that eternity does not start when we die. It begins the moment we surrender our life to Jesus. Eternity is ours now if we voluntarily give our life to God. For where we will be spending eternity is a choice each person has to make. Either we will be enjoying, praising, glorifying and serving God, or be apart from God for all eternity.

Pastor Jeric also gave us a good insight, that our body is just an “earth suit”. Eventually it gets worn out and torn down. This will be replaced by a heavenly suit when we get there. What is important is what we often neglect… our spirit and soul. We can make our bodies look good through exercise, our skin through facials and other treatments, our image through fashion etc. Most likely we do not spend as much attention on grooming our Spirit and Soul.

Body, Spirit, & Soul

Body, Spirit, & Soul

Our body will waste away and will return to dust, but our Spirit & Soul lives on. It is sobering when people you know, people who matter to you, pass away. It is a reminder that we will all die someday. But, we should all look forward to the life after this. The bible says it so rightly,

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.” (Psalm 39:4)

We do not know when God will call us back and give an account to him. So, we must live each day ready to meet our Creator . Live to please God and honor Him.

John 2:17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Today, we are letting the Lord God turn our grief into joy. We are going to allow God to heal the pain of separation, and look forward to the day of reunion. Today, we are going to celebrate and thank God for the life of Ruben. Today, my husband and I are committing to teach our son, Joshua, to look forward to eternity.

Dad’s passing has moved all of us to look forward to heaven. Daddy Ben gave his life to Jesus, he surrendered his entire being to the Lord. And peacefully he entered heaven…and peacefully he is in Eternity.

Tattoo tribute to Dad

Tattoo tribute of a daughter to her dad.

(Photos here are actual tattoos in memory of Ruben Solon)

Good Example

Joshua does not fail to amuse me… He is one smart little ranger (this is what his uncle Ken would call him). He was only 2 months when he started to to do tummy crawl. At 3 months he can open and close his hand when we would show him our fist opening and closing. He also got the gist of the “animal sound” game on my iphone, where he had to touch the screen in order for the animal to make its sound. He watches what we do, and imitates us.

Just the other night, Joshua woke up in the middle of the night. He was wide awake and did not want to go back to bed. Instead I decided for him to hang out with us in the room. He was resting on a pillow and watching tv just like his daddy. He just kept looking back and forth between the tv and his dad. Later, his eyes was just glued on his dad who was eating pakwan (Squash seeds). A little later, I found him on his tummy exerting effort to crawl. So I placed my hands at the sole of his feet to help him with his crawl. He pushed hard to get his way to guess where? He crawled from his side of the bed to his dad’s side!20130429-212434.jpg

A little later he stood by his dad and kept looking at what he was doing. He was observing his daddy cracking and peeling the seeds and chewing it. Later, Joshua understood that daddy seemed to enjoy it, and was constantly eating it. He became interested that he grabbed the bag and tried to give himself some…

20130430-114546.jpg

I was taking these photos and giggling while watching how Joshua was trying to imitate his dad. What dada does, he wants to do. He also does this when Steve works on his laptop, Joshua would come near and push himself downwards so his fingers could touch the keyboard. He has a fondness of his Dad, that he wants to try what his dada is doing.

What I saw just stuck in my head like God was showing me a life lesson. Parents have a great influence over their children. Joshua observed what his Dad was doing and followed it. It was not his dad’s words that he was imitating, but his dad’s actions. This reminded me, we as parents have to be good examples to Josh. “Actions speak louder than words” suddenly meant very real to me. Parenting should be intentional not a “que sera sera – whatever will be will be” kind.

God is showing me that our child will follow us… Our good traits and including our bad traits. So, we need God’s power to model righteousness so he would grow up to live in righteousness. We can’t teach this to our son, apart from God.

I realize as parents, we need to stay connected with The Lord. How else will we be able to raise our kids in the knowledge and love of God, if we starve ourselves from reading the bible and exercising love? I admit that with the demands of a young infant, I can find very little time for quiet time. But when I do, I feel empowered and energized. I can have more quiet time if I look at my Facebook less. Hahaha. It’s true though, God wants me to grow as a parent. He is teaching me many valuable lessons through his Word. So, I am writing this as a declaration that I will continue to have quiet time so I can grow in knowledge and love and that will make me the best mom I can be for my son. So help us God become good examples of your grace and love!

Personal pick – Lamaze Books

As soon as Joshua hit 3 months, his curiosity grew. Perhaps his eye sight can clearly see colors that he could better appreciate what he could see.

At 3 months, Joshua is able to hold his head, stand on his legs when supported, he reacts positively to my voice and to those in the family, he can grasp things and coo. I loved witnessing each of his milestone. Thanks to technology today it’s just easier to capture it and share.

We were in Davao back then, when I had to attend a meeting. Since I’m a breastfeeding mom, I can’t be apart from Joshua. Where I go, he goes.

20130425-221201.jpg

SM Lanang was just a perfect place to stroll young babes. So I took him for a shopping trip. I had to buy new set of clothes for Joshua as he was quickly outgrowing his clothes. Then, I decided to get him a gift for being such a good boy. He did not throw a tantrum or complained while I went shopping. So we stopped at the toy section. I would show him rattles and toys. If he did not show interest, he would just bite his fingers and look at the toy with a blank stare. But if he liked something, he would stretch his arms, kick his legs, and smile. I thought, this is great because my baby gets to pick what he wants and enjoy it (and mommy’s money does not go to waste).

Then, I saw baby books for babies as early as 0+ months. I did not realize book reading is encouraged even before a baby turns a month old! So I showed Joshua the books. He liked them. Since there was quite a selection, I chose the 2 books he got most excited with.

20130425-222339.jpg

Both books are products of LAMAZE. The “Panda’s Pals” book is a soft book made of fabric and colors of subjects predominantly in black and white. The other book Joshua chose is the hard bound one, “Farm Sounds”. We started a new routine where we include reading of these 2 books everyday. He loves it and its a good bonding time for us as he listens to me talking and him looking at the subjects in the book.

I have researched about reading to children while they are young. It builds up their interest in reading as they grow older. They will associate reading as fun! I highly recommend Lamaze books for our babes!

20130425-223209.jpg

Dedicating to God

Posted in Insights by

Christmas 2012 will forever be a special yuletide for the family of my husband. My father-in-law was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer before Christmas that year. After that news, the entire family made a conscious decision to make most of the TIME.

Steve wanted his dad to be present at every important event he could witness. So we decided to rush the Child Dedication of Joshua.

The preparation was short…We only had a week and half to prepare. We also wanted it to be attended only by an intimate few. Because besides Joshua, the other most important person in this event, is Dad. He was so excited to see his grandson’s christening.

As a new mom of a 1 month old baby at that time, I did not get enough sleep. I have to say that the event was arranged by the grace of God. I have to thank all that pitched in. My sister-in-law, Pria, helped me connect with the caterer, and she took charge of the cup cake give-away. My twin sister, Monique, lent us their sound system, projector screen. My brother-in-law, John Mateos Ong, took care of taking photos to document the Dedication. My brother Gino and his praise & worship band took care of the music. We were so privileged that Pastor Peter Tanchi was available to minister the Child Dedication. We were also happy that the chosen godparents made themselves available to attend. God was making all things fall into place.

The Child Dedication is an important milestone in our family. The physical preparation is one thing, but this event was a God-moment for us. I was reading Exodus and here God was very clear. Exodus 22:29 “Do not wait before giving Me a gift from your gathered grain and the fruit of your fields.

You will give to Me the first-born of your sons.

As I continued reading, God was speaking louder about who Joshua is to us… Exodus 34:19 “Every first-born belongs to Me.

In my heart, I understood this clearly. Joshua, our first-born son is a blessing and a gift from God, but he really isn’t ours. He is ultimately the Lord’s. We are just stewards of his life and we are to raise Him to fear and love God.

Again, I am reminded of Hannah. She waited on The Lord for years to conceive a child. When God fulfilled His promise to her, she vowed her son, Samuel, to be God’s. Here is the account of Hannah speaking to Eli the high priest, “She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:26-28 NASB).

Dedicating Joshua

Dedicating Joshua

Pastor Peter exhorted that when we dedicate the child to the Lord, we are giving back the child to God, and trusting that God will take care of him. We, his parents must walk with the Lord Jesus. So that one day, Joshua will make the decision to follow Jesus and publicly declare it in baptism. The godparents also will be our witness and Joshua’s support when he needs it. I was so delighted that everyone prayed a blessing over Joshua and it was declared that God will raise him up and will use him mightily.

To cap the Child Dedication, we also dedicated Dad Ruben’s life to God too! Everyone prayed over him, and it blessed him so much… As I look back, Daddy Ben was so happy that day. He did not mind people seeing him in a wheel chair. He savored that moment to be part of this family affair.

Dedicating Daddy Ben

Dedicating Daddy Ben

Daddy Ben, joined the Lord in March 2013. We all miss him a lot. But we know that he surrendered his life to Jesus and he dedicated his life to the Lord. Thus, we know that this is just a momentary separation until we all join him in heaven.

A Family in the Lord, will reunite again in heaven

A Family in the Lord, will reunite again in heaven

Mommy needs Mommy friends

Aren’t you glad that in this day and age, there are just so many information about caring for our little ones? Just GOOGLE SEARCH and you will find tons of data about motherhood and caring for babies. There are also very helpful applications that you can download on your laptop or on your smart phones. You can download BABYCENTER and What to Expect When You’re Expecting. They have become very helpful tools in reminding moms about vaccinations, charting milestones, etc.

But I have to say, nothing beats having a mommy friend. Even with all the information found on the net or in books, there is nothing like an assurance from another mother that what you are going through is absolutely normal. Encouragement from family and friends who have kids are precious as gold.

I have found so much comfort when I call my sister or talk to my other mommy friends about things I get puzzled about my baby. I remember calling Monique (my sister) about breastfeeding — what to do when I get engorged, what “essentials” to buy for breastfeeding, etc. Another friend, who has been such a great source of encouragement is my friend, Lia. Since our babies are just three weeks apart, there are so much similar things we are experiencing. We sort of compare notes on different issues. I also have a group of mommy friends online that give free advise when you ask for it. Its been such as wonderful support to my motherhood.

Mommies' Support System

Mommies’ Support System

Also recently, Lia, my sister, and I, went to a Mommy Bazaar in Rockwell Tent in Manila. This was my first time to attend a Mommy Mundo event and it was a grand gathering of mompreneurs! I felt like 3 hours in that bazaar was not enough with all these great mommy products!

First on our list was buying clothes that had easy access to breastfeeding. Mommy Matters carries that line of breastfeeding clothes. There are also really trendy baby traveling bags that makes mommies look great at being a mom! I bought also one for myself from Nursing Mom.

Mommy Mundo Stuff

Mommy Mundo Stuff

Other interesting products include organic baby food, baby developmental toys, protective baby rider for grocery carts, screen covers for fans to protect your little ones from finger accidents… and lots, lots, of other stuff. It was a perfect venue for moms to gather and shop baby-friendly products made by OC (obsessive compulsive) kind of Mommies! Wishing for an event just like that in Mindanao… maybe we shall be organizing one this year. We shall keep you mommies updated.

I thank God for Mommy friends! They are angels in disguise. Without them knowing it, their advises have given me confidence and good mental health! Hahaha…

The Blessing Habit

Posted in Insights by

I am celebrating my 36th birthday today with my son Joshua who also turns 4 months. I also am not forgeting my twin sister, Monique, who I am privileged to have in my life. I feel really blessed, and looking back in our lives, I can truly say God has turned curses into blessings. He continues to shower us with His love, its been an amazing journey.

I want to share about my conviction on the Habit of Blessing. Steve and I joined a bible study where the topic touched on the culture of blessing. If you are Filipino, you know that we are a hospitable, nice, and warm people. You also know that at the other side of the coin, we are a very critical and judgmental people. Just greeting people casually we would say things such as, “You got fat. (Tumaba ka ah!)” or “You got dark. (Ang itim mo ngayon).” or “Why are you so skinny, you must not be eating. (Bakit ang payat mo, hindi ka kumakain, ano?)” and so on and so forth. You get my drift.

Generally, we are not a people that like to praise or give away blessings. Its quite counter-culture for the Israelites for Blessing is part of their life. Every Sabbath, the father would gather his family and over a meal he would initiate the blessing of each of his children. From there each member of the family would bless one another. It is no wonder that even if they are few, Israelites are strong, intelligent, and prosperous people. This makes them a blessed nation.

Our conviction is to bless our family and to ask the Holy Spirit to help us be less critical and judgmental of people. So, even while Joshua was in the womb, Steve and I would speak blessing over his life. We would pray that God would make him a healthy and strong boy, handsome and tall, intelligent and wise, would have a loving and obedient heart to God and us his parents, to have a humble yet joyful spirit. Oh, and the special blessing that Steve is declaring includes that Joshua will bring million upon millions to Jesus! Even after Joshua was born we continue to practice this daily to declare blessing in his life.

I truly believe what the bible says about our mouths and blessings:

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”
Proverbs 12:14 “From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.”
Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eats its fruit”

In the bible the final blessing of a father is sought after by the children. Look at the accounts of Isaac and Jacob, and how this final blessing is so important to the next generation. Just last Christmas, Steve’s family experienced this very special and meaningful blessing. Daddy Ruben called his children over the Noche Buena dinner table and for the first time, I see my father-in-law deciding to lead the prayer. He first thanked God for his life. After, he started to bless his children and grand children. As he called each child by name, I saw them closing their eyes, nodding and their hearts openly receiving their blessing. It was such a profound sight. That Christmas dinner had laughter, tears, songs, and overjoyed feeling of family and love. Even Joshua received his blessing from his Lolo. He said “Joshua, may you be a good Christian just like your parents.” This we believe and declare.

Today, I too received a blessing from my mom, who accidentally thought I was turning 37 today! Hahaha.

20130424-075614.jpg

As they say, if you discipline to do something regularly it becomes a habit… And blessing as a habit is a very good thing!

20130412-142543.jpg

Youngest Passenger

Posted in Insights by

Steve and I were getting excited as we were nearing the birth of Joshua. I was finishing up work, getting the baby bag ready for the hospital, getting ready for my family to arrive from Iloilo and Manila… Lots of exciting stuff were happening.

Suddenly, about a week before Joshua’s delivery, we got news that my father-in-law got confined in the hospital. This time around it was serious. My father-in-law who we all fondly call “dad” is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Our joy about Joshua’s arrival felt sort of bitter sweet. We were expecting our first baby, and at the same time we knew that dad would have very little time with all of us.

Steve would be tearing in the room and really felt sad about this. I found myself crying too because dad prayed for this little one. He looked forward to meet Joshua. He was so excited for us to have our own family. I remember I would get calls from dad checking on my pregnancy and asking I give birth in Manila. But we stuck our guns on giving birth in Gensan because I was not ready to be apart from Steve on my last trimester. My husband works in Sarangani and to give birth in Manila it meant on my 30th week I have to be based in Manila. So we decided Gensan would be the best option.

With that decision, the natural consequence was for us to stay in the province for Christmas and rejoin my husband’s family after Christmas. Although in my heart, I prayed to God to allow us to spend Christmas in Manila. This was the Christmas that my husband’s siblings who lived abroad would come home as well. All the more I desired for Steve and the newest member of the family to be together with the rest during the holidays.

After the delivery and bringing home the baby, I began checking the airlines and found that the youngest traveler should be at least 16 days old. Any younger than that the airlines refrained a child from traveling. I began counting, 16 days old meant after Christmas. I began to pray and claimed God will permit us to go before that.

I tried my luck booking tickets for us and the airlines were really strict about the age. So I called a friend who worked in the airline and ask if we can be given an exception. After explaining to her in tears that we needed to show our little one to dad. She still told me that rules are rules and there would repercussions flying a baby that early. Nonetheless she would try to ask. I was asked to draft a letter stating our concern to the head of their medical services unit. I continued to pray and believe God would do something as I drafted a letter pleading the allowance of our newborn to take the flight. However, I also trusted that if God will not allow us to go, we would stay in the province and it would still be good for us.

After sending the letter, I spoke to my friend and thanked her for helping. I also told her I was willing to submit to the result of the request whether it was negative or positive.

In about a couple hours I received a call giving us a go signal to book our flight and to fly with us a doctor or nurse as an insurance in case we may have complications with the baby on flight. The very next day, Joshua’s 10th day from birth, he became the youngest passenger on that flight. My heart was overjoyed and moments on that flight my eyes were flooded with tears for God has once again answered our prayers. Joshua was such a good boy and a very quiet baby on that flight.

When we got to manila we sneaked the baby in the hospital. It would be the first time for Joshua and his grandfather to meet. When they finally did, there was not a dry eye in that hospital room. It was a blessed day for the family.

Looking back that December we celebrated my son’s very first Christmas and it was his grandfather’s last. Trully, God’s timing for everything is perfect and we feel blessed and favored to have this quality time as a family.

20130329-223335.jpg