Scary road incident

Desi, Miguel and I made a detour earlier to bring home a churchmate. We headed to Montalban via Litex. After dropping our churchmate near his home, we made three stops, last one was for gas at Shell in Rodriguez Rizal. My son was at the backseat but since the three of us were talking Miguel was at the middle and leaning forward. I was looking at some stores when I chanced upon a tall bald man holding something I cannot see. As we pass by him we heard a loud bang. Desi thought it was a gun shot, I thought a large firecracker exploded beneath our car. And Miguel being the most imaginative thought a comet hit our car. 

I checked on my son and saw the right, rear, door-window glass shattered into pieces. I pulled Miguel towards us in front and began inspecting him, I found several broken pieces of glass on his head but no wounds. I turned to Desi and noticed he did not stop. We kept moving forward on the vehicle and were making sense of what just happened when I saw 2 Barangay officials on a motorcycle with a side car. Desi honked his horn several times to get their attention. When they stopped we asked for their help and explained what just happened. 

I described the stone thrower and they immediately pursued him. The three of us stayed at the Baranggay Station. I saw small blood stains on my blouse and went to further inspect injuries my son might have incurred. I found a very small cut on his right elbow and nothing more. The Baranggay officials came back. Some eyewitnesses informed them that the stone thrower immediately escaped through the nearby river. They did not catch him but they got his name. We were told he's a wanted man with several complaints/cases against him.

Looking back at what happened, we realized that we are under God's protection all throughout the ordeal. 1. Miguel was not by the window. We were actually talking about praying for each one to be healthy for our upcoming trip, so that he was leaning his head toward us and away from harm.  2. Desi kept moving the vehicle; he said that the stone thrower might belong to a gang of robbers willing us to stop so that they can rob us. 3. Spotting the helpful Barangay Officials. 4. Getting a good lead on our suspect. 

Thank you to our Life Partners Growth Group for praying for us. So many evil people but God is good! Stay safe everyone.

You are my Sunshine Blogger Award

 

Thanks M of http://theflowerduet.blogspot.com/ for the nomination.

The Rules:

1. Post a picture of the Sunshine Blogger Award.

2. Answer 11 questions from the nominating blogger.

3. Link back to the blogger who nominated you.

4. Nominate 11 wonderful bloggers that you feel bring sunshine to the blogging world.

5. Write 11 questions for your nominated bloggers.

 

11 Questions for M of  http://theflowerduet.blogspot.com/:

1. What's your favorite song? A Christian song called “Be Still”

2. Do you have a role model? Who is it and why him/her? My Mother for her consistent service to God.

3. Favorite flower? Sampaguita

4. What makes you happy? Family

5. What do you do to relax? Watching my favourite TV series and a nice body massage.

6. What is your greatest achievement so far? Acquiring skills and know-how in various fields like HR, Sales, Marketing, Operations Management and PR.

7. Do you believe in aliens? I personally think that the universe is big and that there are other beings out there, and that the mission to Mars is dangerous, because any way you look at it, I think "we" are invading Mars and I personally want NASA to stop that plan because it is really dangerous, we don't know yet if there are beings guarding Mars. What do you think about NASA's mission to put astronauts in Mars to live there? No, I don’t believe in aliens, I do believe though that we should continue exploring the outer space. As long as nobody is forced out of their own will, I agree with NASA’s mission.

8. How do you think we can achieve world peace? Promoting self-discipline and mutual respect.

9. What makes you unique? My creative and crazy ideas

10. Describe your personality. SWEET, cheerful, optimistic and loving.

11. Define sexy. Sexy is having a healthy body and lifestyle and whenever you take away your inhibitions and feel very confident about yourself.

 

11 Questions for my Nominated Bloggers:

1.      What is your secret talent?

2.     What is the best advice related to motherhood you can share?

3.     If you were to compare yourself to a food, what is it and why?

4.     What is your favourite movie of all time?

5.     What is the craziest/funniest given name or surname you have ever heard?

6.     What is the most unusual pandesal/bread filling/palaman would you like to recommend?

7.     Does your child have a celebrity look-a-like? (Post photo comparison if yes)

8.    What do you miss most about pre-motherhood?

9.     What is your beauty regimen?

10.  What superhero power would you like to have?

11.   Have you ever been a raffle prize winner? If yes, describe the experience and your prize/s. If no, describe your most coveted raffle prize.

 

11 bloggers I nominate for the You are my sunshine blogger award!

1.      May of Fully Housewived! http://maypalacpac.wordpress.com/

2.     Lally of Lally’s Reflections http://lallysreflections.blogspot.com/

3.      Czaroma of A Woman Remembers http://serenityoverload.blogspot.com/

4.     April of When April Talks http://whenapriltalks.wordpress.com/

5.      Louisa of Art of Being a Mom http://artofbeingamom.com/

6.     Edel of Legal Mom Archives http://www.legalmomarchives.blogspot.com/

7.      Kim of Mom on Duty http://www.momonduty.com/

8.      Lani of Tweenselmom http://tweenselmom.com/

9.     Jhanis of Vanilla Housewife http://vanillahousewife.com/

10.   Jho of There you Jho http://www.thereyoujho.blogspot.com/

11.    Jing of The Amazing Jing http://www.amazingjingforlife.blogspot.com/

Watch and Support The Miguel Show

My son and I invented our latest project and bonding activity, which he called "The Miguel Show". We loved doing the show and I was very surprised to discover his many talents.

Miguel is capable of delivering impromptu lines. He confidently faces the camera and carries on with the required scenes. He insisted on selecting the background music. His first choice was “Titanium” performed by David Guetta & Sia Hey but Youtube muted our video once uploaded and so we bought a new background music by an independent artist, which Miguel personally selected.

While editing the video, he sat beside me and gave directions in terms of how to design the opening, closing billboards and segment titles. I love seeing Miguel’s creative side.  God really blessed us with a talented kid.

I hope that you will all support “The Miguel Show”.  You can contribute in terms of sending in your favorite Bible verses for our “Super Verse” segment or questions for Miguel for our “Dear Miguel” segment. We also welcome advertisers and sponsors. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

To access first episode, please visit http://youtu.be/cHuVno3vgew 

Heavy

I'm in a somber mood willing myself to smile every once in a while. I’m very sleepy since I slept late every night and woke up 4:15 or 4:30AM in the morning for the entire week.  Weekend is here finally so that I can just be with my kids and get much needed sleep.



Dark clouds

My mind is filled with doubts and other thoughts that leave me with a heavy heart. It’s been a long time since I felt this kind of sadness and no matter how hard I try; I just can’t seem to shake off it. The highlight of my day is a meeting that kept me distracted for an hour, but I’m back to my gloomy self as soon as I step out of the meeting room.  

I’ve been proud, stubborn and resentful in the face of callousness and disfavor. I’m acting like a fool who can’t overlook an issue. I’m fortunate to have Jesus Christ as my counsel. I pray for wisdom and peace of mind. May God bless us all.

Cosplay Ground

Cosplay is short for “Costume play”. It is playing the role by sporting a popular character’s clothes and accessories. I can’t recall how many occasions call for me to dress-up in costume but my most recent attempts were for our office parties. I always welcome cosplays because it is a creative exercise that can test your resourcefulness and imagination.

There’s something about being in character that makes cosplay moments memorable. I always smile whenever I see these photos:

Filipiana Fever with my Breakfast Club
Costume costs me an arm and a leg when I needed it for just 1 event, that’s why from then on I try to invent occasions to use it.

 

Dora The Explorer
In a hurry to find a cartoon character costume. I thought it was pure genius to be Dora because all I have to do is wear a pink shirt and tangerine pants. I threw the wig and Bootz stuffed toy in for added effect.

 

 Santa Clown
I invented this character, while thinking of a unique way to greet our colleagues last Christmas.

 

Rocker
I just thought of anything black and remembered banging my head and sticking my tongue out a lot to play the role. Totally awkward for me!

 

70’s
Someone brought an extra big hair. The hair worked its magic and put me back in the 70’s.

 

Granny Addams
I was 1/6 of the Addams family in this photo. We were following this song “They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky. They're all together ooky, the Addams Family. (snap, snap).”

 

Care to share your cosplay moments?



 



EeXxCcEeSSssIiVvEe

We do grocery shopping every 3 weeks. It is normal for me to grab as many items of the same kind because I hate running out of supply. I also love buying stationery e.g. pens, pencils, notebooks, paper and the like. I grew up turning biscuit tin cans or drinking glasses into containers for my pen collection. I have shoe boxes for my notebooks, papers, etc. This way I am Miguel's very own National Bookstore, ready to provide a fresh set of colors, pencils, eraser whenever he needs them.
Having more has always meant being reliable, comfortable and always ready but recently I'm being educated that keeping too much of something is not good.

This is the first lesson I've learned when I started to take my diet seriously and consulted a nutritionist-dietitian about what I eat. Writing down the things I eat daily makes me see how much calories I consume. The key to being fit and healthy is to eat in moderation and not excessively.
Then, there's my bag. I'm amazed at how boys can keep everything they need inside their pockets. Meanwhile, girls like me carries 1-2 kilos of things I need and might need inside my bag. When I got older, I learned how to choose sturdy bags and umbrellas made of light-weight materials but from time-to-time my bag would still make my shoulders sore. A quick check inside my bag reveals (from lightest to heaviest) 5 pieces of paper, keys, 2 ballpens, comb, Off lotion, wallet,  make-up kit, charging kit, foldable umbrella, coin purse, cellphone and hot compress.

Practicing 5S (a Japanese organization technique/tool) at the office, I became aware of the disadvantages of having excessive things: 1) shortage of space 2) hard to organize 3) hard to find or retrieve things.

I thought to myself, "Oh that's why my clothes need to share precious closet space with rolls of tissue paper." By the way, the hanging rod from my closet recently collapsed from all the unnecessary, heavy lifting. And no matter how many pens I have in my possession, there are still plenty of times I would be looking for one either because I didn't bring one with me or the inks on a bunch of my pens are already dry.

Merriam-Webster defines 'excessive' as going beyond what is usual, normal, or proper.Synonyms are baroque (overdone), devilish (very, extremely), exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, fancy, immoderate, inordinate, insane, intolerable, lavish, overdue, overextravagant, overmuch, overweening(showing a lot of confidence and pride), plethoric (over abundant), steep, stiff, towering, unconscionable (unreasonable excessive), undue, unmerciful, a bit much, over the top.

I personally don't like the definition, much less the synonyms. And so today with God's guidance, I start my journey into keeping things at a minimum. Thank you for reading and may God bless us all.

Warm regards,

Joyce

Schooling

My classes start immediately after discovering for the first time that I'm having a baby. That was 6 years ago. I made an advance study and interviewed my first Teacher-Doctor-Auntie Julie about what to expect and do. She gave me a lot of pointers in between shocked expressions and shrieks of excitement.

 

At an early stage, I got to learn more about my body and how to better care for it for my baby. I was a sponge for knowledge and even discovered a lot of pregnancy-related superstitious beliefs.

 

8 months into the program, I had my first school exam and this was when I had a pre-matured labor. The difficult and terrifying exam lasted 5 hours but praise God, I passed the test and came out stronger.

 

And then I gave birth and entered Grade 1. It was completely different from what I was expecting. I thought I had it covered because I prepared for this for 9 months but I knew I have another thing coming as soon as we brought our baby home. I have to endure many sleepless nights. Most of the time, I feel really stupid for not knowing how to make my son stop crying. No one can argue how joyful I am to have Miguel but back then, I would always crave for "alone time" just to keep my sanity. My first fail was in not being able to breastfeed my first Baby. I was led to believe I can't and wouldn't have known I can if not for my second baby.

 

People would say that giving birth is the hardest and most painful experience for a woman, but for me who had only 5 hours of labor and a C-section, I think what comes after giving birth is the real challenge.

 

And so every Mother's day, I am always reminded that it is recognition day, but not for me but for Mothers before me. I am in awe for my Lola, who had 11 children, my Am'ma, who had 9 children, my mother-in-law, who had 5 and my mother, who had 3. They are my role models, the honor students and 'Laudes' so to speak. 

 

I believe that mothers belong to an exclusive organization and once you are in, you are in for life. When you talk to another mother, there's a good possibility that people around you will get lost hearing about our own exclusive world. We also have clusters depending on our status, interests or advocacies e.g. the breast-feeding advocates, the home-schooling moms, soccer moms, working moms, etc.

 

Then, we have the teachers, who earned their PhDs in many life experiences. But there is none so good and none so wise as God.

 

There are many books and articles published about being a good mother. These literatures also have contradicting statements and issues e.g. how to discipline children. Information overload can sometimes drive us out of focus. The fear of the unknown too can turn good-meaning mommies into paranoid-freak-monster moms. So, we must be able to rely on truths that are always dependable in terms of raising our children. Allow me to share the following Bible verses related to parenting:

 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

 

Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

 

Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

 

Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

 

Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

 

Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.

 

I'm sure there's more and my hope is whoever reads this can add more related Bible verses to the list by sharing a comment.

 

In this life-long course on motherhood, graduation will be when I breathe my last. And so, I thank God for providing good teachers and tutors and the love and support of my husband. May God also give me more supplies of wisdom, love, patience,  kindness, forgiveness and selflessness to overcome the tests that will come my way. I aspire for honors and the top achievement for me in this academy is to be able to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ to my children and to raise them as God-fearing people so they can always please the Lord.

 

My final words for myself and for all my fellow classmates everywhere, enjoy the classes, reccesses, semesters and school years to come. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, study hard and God bless!