to my sis & tatay

yesterday's plan didn't go so well. we didn't have that much time to go to cold stone first. the kids were already hungry, but the time wasn't enough to dine-in either so they all just asked for fries at mickey d's, but ate 2 jumbo buckets of popcorn at the theatre - lolz!

nway, i totally forgot that there was a league @ 530p so we had to think for an alternative, we decided to go miniature golfing. but unfortunately, they were closed by the time we got there. grrrr!

yanna was constipated so i had to bring them all home. not wanting to disappoint the big kids, i still brought them to cold stone while my sis and noel decided to stay home with yanna. the kids wanted to rent a movie so we did. during this time though, my older sis, sally (she's the one my mom adopted, if you remember from my old blog) received a text msg. from her sister in the philippines and was informed that their dad went to be with the Lord. thankfully though this was due to old age and not from any sickness. i was speechless as she broke the news to me. if you remember, one of her siblings pass away in feb of last year and now her dad. all i was able to do for her last night was to just be beside her and embraced her while we both shared our tears. but i was in awe to see the strength of her faith as she thank the Lord for sparing her father from suffering and pain. yes, he died peacefully in his sleep.

i dedicate this blog to her and her tatay (father). with all the wonderful things she said, all through these years, about her father, it was enough to prove us that he was an amazing man. i know someday they will see each other again and i also, will have that opportunity to meet him someday in Heaven, but for now i pray that the Lord will comfort every aching heart as they grieve for the loss of one of the most precious man in their family's lives. my sis, has looked out for her family's well being ever since she join our family. she loves her family so much that i could tell that she made a promise to herself that no matter what lies ahead of her, she will take care of them. i'm so grateful that the Lord never left her, but guided her and helped her every step of the way.

my sis is not only a blessing to her family, but most of all to us. thankf you Lord for bringing her in our lives. we are eternally grateful!

i had to apologize to her though, that if we would've gone to the philippines this march, that she would've been there with her dad right now. but see, i was so humbled how much she understands that the Lord works together for good to those who are faithful to Him. we may not see what good can come of out loosing a loved one, but God's plan is still the best there is out there. i promised her that before i start a new job this year and Lord willing, she will go to the philippines with or without us.

the message at willow today was just perfect, it was Romans 8:28. i sure will have to share it with you all on my next blog. for now, i would like to ask for a few mins of your time as you read this blog to lift up my sis, sally and her family in the philippines in prayer during this difficult time in their lives.

thank you and God bless!
~love

SPRING bReaK

thanks for a beautiful weather, after all. we were planning to go to galena for spring break, but unfortunately my husband had to work all weekend =( i was charged a cancellation fee and had to settle with an exchange of a gift card rather than forfeiting $400... besides Lord willing we'll be able to go this summer.

can't leave w/o a complete pack you know what i mean? so to make it up to the kids, i came up with a 3day itinerary for us... sadly to say, their dad will just have to settle with pictures and stories.

i gave the kids many options and thankfully they all voted the same thing - ahh! it's so nice to see them compromise & agree... peacefully, but as usual not quietly *)

we went to rockford's discovery center... the kids enjoyed it as well as the adults hehehe - my sisters were getting a kick out of the giant pin screen.

see the video: (it's kinda scary hahaha, but in real life, it's so hilarious!) - that's my face on the top right and in the bottom are my sis, sally, my nephew, josh, ayre & my sis, princess.

we were so amazed to see how smart yanna is at just the age of 2, she knew so many things at the museum that even some of the parents were stunned to hear her. she knew how to work on the computer as she browsed to find the food we had asked her to look for. she would even name the once she would see for herself. oh! what a joy!

here's some pics: the kids wanted to eat at olive garden and to no surprise, we all ate so much that i was afraid my nephew will have an accident inside my truck - well, thankfully he didn't. whew!

right now the kids are enjoying the outdoors, jumpin' in the trampoline - soon, i'm taking them to cold stone, then see "dr. seuss' horton hears a who!", then we're off to bowl at the new brunswick by sis' house. it's gonna be a long day ahead so i think i should sign off now.

God bless you all! enjoy your day with your loved ones! blog yah laterz!

hAppY EaSter!

i was planning to blog earlier, but since it's such a special day - there was no time for it till now.

whatever happened to spring last friday? if you live in chicago you would know what i mean. nway, my hubby's been sick for the past week now and he sounds like it's getting worst everyday. my daughter said he sounds like a monster... aww!

since my little one sleeps with us she ended up getting sick too. friday, i could tell she had an itchy throat already before we went to church. oh! by the way, great service! my first time going to a good friday service and i'm glad we went. even the kids' questions were answered. nway, since it was drizzling friday night, i think the weather just did it for her. late that night i asked noel to sleep in the other room so that i can spray some lysol and keep yanna from getting more sick, but unfortunately it still got to her. she had a high fever late that night and so i stayed up all night since she was pretty irritated with her cough too. she slept on top of me while i was on a sitting position all night.

saturday: played with yanna all morning. then late in the afternoon, my eldest and i went grocery shopping since i'm cooking for easter. plus, i needed to give my eldest and my son some attention also... so they came up with the idea of making ice cream pie. right when we got home from shopping, we started making their very own, rice crispy chocolate chip ice cream pie... i assisted, but i let them do everything else on their own. i gotta tell yah, they did a great job and it was amazingly delish! (i'll post the recipe later)

since my hubby was still sick, we decided to just have a movie night... it was their choice of movie so they picked "robots". we slept in the theatre room too, but again, yanna and i didn't get much sleep coz of her cough.

sunday: i was just going to stay with yanna and have my sister pick up the kids and my other sis for church, but my sis decided to just stay with yanna. my eldest, camille, went to church with me instead. once again, a breathtaking message of hope and second chance. i was so humbled by the sacrifice Jesus has done for us sinners. filled with awe as i continue to feel His great love for a person like me. i'm just so grateful for the many chances He gives us in spite of the countless sins we make. He's so loving... don't you think?

nway, as soon as we got home, i started cooking. this time i made pasta carbonara w/ asparagus & bacon. then my sis made a new kind of recipe for fried chicken. oh goodness! it was so good! of course we had desserts of different kinds... i was so tired and stuffed i felt asleep! lolz - not good! unfortunately, the rest of the family didn't make it. also, i wanted yanna to experience egg hunting at least indoor, but i opted to do it since she wasn't feeling well. she saw her old puzzles and was so fond in playing with all of them anyway so i guess not doing egg hunting is ok after all! for sure next time =)

so, that's what i did over the weekend. hope your Easter went well!

checkin' in =)

it's been tough lately to blog since we've received some sad news one after another. 3 wonderful people we know passed away =(

one was my husband's best friend's dad-in-law who died from a heart-attack, 2nd was a good friend's niece (5yrs. old) who was slain, and 3rd was a friend's father who died of lung cancer. our hearts, prayers and thoughts go out to all their families.

Lord, may you comfort every hurting soul and bring forth healing, forgiveness and peace as they grieve for the passing of their loved ones. i know it may take months and years to accept their new lives without their loved ones, but may this experience bring them closer to You. Amen!

***

i've been slowly putting my craft room together... still need a lot of work, but i know i'll get there. plus it's kinda cold to work there since the heat is not flowing just right at my space so i gotta get me a portable heater =)

i've been working on some projects as well as my Easter cards. hoping to finish the cards by tomorrow so i can send it out already. i have about 60 to send out. it's been a part of me to send out greeting cards every special occasions... i feel very blessed to have the opportunity to do so and i hope it's one of the things i'll be remembered of when i come home to my Heavenly Father. i also hope that one of my kids, if not all, will inherit my passion =) i just love to show and spread love through my greeting cards, esp. when i hardly see most of them now.

k, that's it for now still have lots to work on. i missed bloggin' so hope to blog some more later!
love u all!

always grateful,
love