Cultural Diversity

Heavy title huh? Australia as you all know is a place of mixed cultures. It is a bit hard but I see beauty in it.

We were actually in a dilemma a few weeks ago after receiving a letter from our real estate agent that our rental fee for each week will increase again! SHEESH! Another 10dollars off my shopping money! hehehe! So we considered looking for a much cheaper place, a safe place and a good environment for our children. After all, we are paying for a house which doesn't even have an airconditioner (we felt we needed one last summer especially during the week-long heat wave!).

Anyways, I tried to look for a new house but the search results practically gave the same rental fee for the areas we were looking for. Yes I could've looked around Acacia Gardens or Glenwood, or Stanhope, but our weekly budget will not allow it. It is much more expensive in these areas!

After considering some of the pros and cons, like my niece and my nephew, Liam and Sam, budget, safety, etc., we decided to stay. And I think we arrived at the best decision. Why? Well, for weeks now I was able to see how Liam slowly came out of his shell (well, I won't be surprised if he's going to take after his Papa, the shy type). He now plays outdoors with our neighbors whom he always shoos away whenever they knock and ask if he can play with them. At least now, he gets to have a "normal" childhood like what me and his Papa had back in Manila. Naglalaro sa kalye. Hindi nakakulong sa loob ng bahay nagbababd sa TV or sa computer. I am loving it especially when he plays with our neighbors coming from different cultural backgrounds-- Aussie, Indian, South -African, European.

This is not the first time that he has encountered children from different cultural backgrounds, of course, he had friends back in Yogies and now, his best buds in Goddard Pre-School are also a mix of kids originating from different countries. I am happy with this. I was actually telling Alvin last night that it would be alright for me to sacrifice my 10dollars shopping money (hehehe) if it's for the sake of my kids. As I have said before, we want them to grow up well-rounded.

We feel that since he is exposed to different cultures and different physical attributes, he will not base his definition of beauty or handsomeness to being tall, dark, matangos na ilong, derechong buhok, maputi. Sa madaling sabi, hindi siya lalaking pintasero (or pintasera sa kaso ni Sam) katulad ng ilang (o karamihan?) ng Pinoy. He and his sister will get a wider perspective of how to define beauty and will hopefully give more importance to the mind and heart than the physical attributes. They will grow up seeing the beauty of God's creations in different forms and as parents, we are happy with this :)

Photos of Liam with his best buds in Yogies and in Goddard.



This is with Kaleb (Aussie) and Adi (Indian).

These pictures are taken today (21 March 2012) during the celebration of Liam's Harmony Day in Pre-School.








This was this afternoon at our home, with our neighbour, Jerry (who is taller but younger than him hehehe). Jerry's family is from Africa.




Happy Harmony Day!

My Little Experiment

When I started teaching more than a year ago here in Sydney I realized thru my observations that they teach kids to read here differently. In Manila, it's thru phonemes (sound of letters) but here in Sydney, they use sight words! No wonder they are poor spellers :( I came across Year 3 and Year 4 students who can't even spell simple words correctly. I was comparing them with my former Ateneo students and Filipino students in general. On one of our BESA gatherings I was telling this story to some of the Nettes when one of the Nettes informed me that the reason why they do this is because Aussies speak different English. They have this twang and if they base their spelling on how they say the word, more often than not, the words will really be misspelled. That was a good reason and that explains it! Yes, I do agree, because unlike American English which is quite clear when you speak it, Aussie English is indeed different. BUt being a parent and a teacher, I knew that shouldn't be an excuse for my children to grow up not knowing how to speak English well and spell words correctly. So there was this mental note of addressing this dilemma when the proper time comes.

A few months back, we encountered this site Reading Eggs. It was supposedly a web-based program that teaches your kids how to read. We had a four week trial and Liam enjoyed it. Well, he just did not enjoy it when he has to stay on one stage before proceeding to the next level.He didn't have patience for that hehehe. Going back, I was able to see that it used a variety of techniques: phonemes, sight words, and repetition. When the trial was over I realized that I should continue to teach LIam how to read (and spell at that) using some of the techniques I learned in Reading eggs.

So here goes my experiment. I chose the word "the" for his first sight word. I got my flashcard, created 4 more copies and put the copies on different areas of the house -- cupboard, comfort rooms (within Liam's eye level), and Harry Potter door so he can easily see it and be remembered of his sight words. My house guests actually ask me after they use the toilet why there are flash cards posted on the wall inside the toilet, hehehe. I asked him first to identify the letters (which he does easily) and then I made the sounds of each letter then reading it altogether now as one word. I was and am in no hurry (especially after reading the book Raising boys, I know better now when dealing with little boys like him hehehe). Every now and then I would ask him. His first sight word lasted for three weeks before I introduced a new sight word. For the three weeks he has been dealing with the word "the" I was able to observe that he spells the letters first before reading it, well, better than not knowing how to spell at all right? And now I do random check on him if he has transferred his learning by giving him pamphlets or misalettes or magazines which might have the word "the". I point to the word and ask him to read it, as usual, he identifies the letters first before reading the word ( I wonder when he'll be ready to just read the word and not spell it anymore, but as I've said, I am in no hurry).

Yesterday, I grabbed his painting book and asked him to look for the word "the" I was ready to give up thinking there was no "the" word in the book, but lo and behold, he saw one and pointed it to me. Identifying the letters one at a time then reading the word as a whole. So I guess, my little experiment is working. Hopefully, when he goes to the big school his teachers will not feel frustrated like me whenever I see older kids not knowing how to read and spell coorectly ;)

New sight word: in :)

Sari-saring Kwento!

A couple of weeks ago we were able to catch the movie Parent Trap on TV. Liam liked the movie. A couple of days later a catalogue from K-mart arrived and there was a sale of Disney DVDs. He saw the Parent Trap DVD and told me that it was the movie we watched. Nothing wrong with that, right? A couple of days later, I saw him asking his Ate Siobe to cut the DVD for him, after getting it from her, he told me he wanted to post it on the Harry Potter door (which had some of the other pictures he wants to buy). Hmmm, I can already sense something here hehehe. I just told him to put it inside his wallet so it won't get lost. He followed. The next morning, after waking up, the first thing that he did was to get the picture and show it again to me. This time I asked him already, "Do you like the girl?", smiling. I don't know if I embarassed him but his cheerful mood suddenly came defensive. He immediately said, "No!", then got the paper and told me this: "I don't like this, let's put this in the rubbish bin!" Hehehe It was a cute scene hehehe. I feel that he did find the young Lindsay Lohan cute, because he had a classmate in Kindermusik who had the same features as hers, and at that time, he said he liked Zoe. This is one story I will tell him when he grows up!

Yesterday, I thought it was a Friday already! Funny, I even posted it on my FB status. Well, can you blame me? I spent the entire morning, shopping, not stopping myself and thinking, just letting go, and boy it felt soooooo goood! :) In other words, I gave in to the force. I bought 5 pairs of Havainas, 4 pieces of Gap shirts, 1 CK jeans, 1 Adidas skorts, 1 CK shirt, 4 pcs of Adidas caps, 9 pieces of Adidas shirts! I loved the feeling after! Not feeling guilty or anything. I didn't even worry if Alvin would get mad, hehehe, (he did not ;)). To top it all off, I went back this morning to shop more! It was a good buy! The things that I bought are not entirely all for me, of course there was something for my kids, my hubby and some of them will be my pasalubong and Christmas gifts already ;D Yes, it was time to splurge. My day ended well because aside from the shopping, when Alvingot home and asked how my day was, I said "nagwaldas"...and his reaction? "Ok lang yan, pera lang yan ;)" I am so lucky! :D



I am currently upgrading and updating my wardrobe. I suddenly found myself being bitten by the fashion and female bug, that I wanted to feel and look like a "lady" the past few days. I am now a bit braver and confident with the clothes I wear. Maybe because this time I am not so consious of what people are going to say. Aussies dress and wear they want they want regardless how they look or what their size is, as long as they are comfortable and can carry the dress. I guess I am slowly imbibing that vibes :) And I am not now limited with the "teacher" fashion style. I was bounded to be a bit conservative back in Manila because of the school rules and the possible chance of seeing my students on weekends or after school hours. I feel good nowadays. Maybe I also don;t want to look "losyang" considering that I have now two kids and I am now a full-time mum and wife.

Imagine my horror when I saw that the birthday gift Alvin gave me broke yesterday. The glass of my newest watch cracked for reason I don't know. I saw it when I was feeding Sam in the parents' room at the shops yesterday ;( I showed it to hubby and glad he didn't get mad all he said was that I probably slammed into something hard and that caused the glass to break :( oh well, I can still wear it although the OC in me sometimes still bugs me :D

On Ordinary Days

On ordinary days, Liam loves to do play pretend at our backyard, holding soil, dirt and getting the leaves of my plants as his ingredients, even if he just took a bath! I love seeing him explore like this. Brings back childhood memories.

On ordinary days, does his puzzles during play time. His teacher suggested last time that we expose him to more puzzles, so we bought him a new one again. He is in the stage of mastering the said puzzle.

On ordinary days, he gets his golf set and plays golf at out backyard.

On ordinary days, he falls asleep while watching TV, which gives me a very good laugh!

On ordinary days, we sometimes drive to the shops and do some shopping.

On ordinary days my little bubbly girl showers me with giggles and kisses, even if I am showered by her laway as well. hehe. Oh I love the smell of her breath, her hands, her toes.

On ordinary days, I sometimes smell yucky, because of too much milk (breast milk that is). I am no milk drinker so smelling milk is a bit of a torture for me. But I am not complaining, it makes my baby girl strong and healthy, and that is all that matters.

On ordinary days I just let the house be. No sweeping, no mopping, no packing away. Just sitting down with the kids, playing with them, reading to them, singing to them, sometimes watching TV with them, taking care of them.

I love ordinary days!

Rolling Over

Now at 16 weeks old, our little bubbly girl can now roll over by herself.





Happy that like her Kuya, she's growing up to be one healthy and strong girl.

The Other Side of the Coin

I am a teacher for a decade now and being one, I feel that I am already familiar of how parents act when it comes to the schooling of their children. Well, apparently not. It seems that being being a teacher and a parent can teach you lessons and bring about different realizations. Now that I have my own kid going to school (pre-school), here are two of the things that I have realized:

1. You can never be a teacher to your own kid. Yes, I am a teacher. I am a patient person specially for kids who needs assistance, but I find myself being impatient when my son does not do what I want him to do on his spare time (like practicing to write letters, his name, etc-- don't want him spending the entire morning just watching TV). I lose it. Hehe. We end up mad at each other. Of course I teach him the basics but when it becomes me portraying an academic teacher inside the house? Won't work. Good thing I am in the course of reading this book, Raising Boys, and my perspective and attack on how to teach my son is changing. I got a better picture what goes inside his head and what he needs at this stage of his life. SO now knowing more about raising boys, I am in no hurry to let him do the things I want him to do. As the book says, boys really develop later than girls their age.

2. Parents will be parents. Being a teacher for almost a decade now gave me enough cases of dealing with different parents. I can sense if a parent becomes "defensive" and tries to justify the actions of their children. SOmetimes to the point of becoming a "stage parent". I promised myself I won't become one. But recently when I had the chance to have an informal talk with Liam's teacher, she mentioned that I should give him more puzzles to work on at home. This surprised me because at home he does his puzzles (28pcs) without any hitch. The first puzzle we gave him took him sometime (probably around 5 times) before he completed it without any help and in less tahn 3 minutes. The second puzzle that we gave him only took him twice to complete by himself. SO I was a bit surprised when his teacher told me. Not wanting to look like a stage parent I tried to explain this to his teacher, so his teacher showed me the puzzle he was working on earlier that day. It was smaller but it also had 28 pcs as well. I stopped myself from explaining further because I didn't want to sound like a "defensive" parent to his teacher. I suddenly realized, so this is how it feels. Hehe. Now, I realized that parents, when trying to say that their kids are not like that at home, can probably have a basis. Because Liam is not like that at home. He likes puzzles and he is good at them. ANyways, I was thinking that maybe what the teacher is saying is that he needs assistance because LIam has this tendency of giving up easily at the first try. You need to prompt him and encourage him and remind him to be patient. Well, he is my son.Haha SO that is a wake up call for me as well. Need to see me more practicing patience at home. I am just glad that aside from this comment nothing else should be worked on. His teacher says that he is a good and a bright boy. SOmetimes getting naughty in class with the other boys, but generally he is okay in class. I am not worried about that now (thanks again to the book ;))Boys will be boys. I'd rather have a whole-rounded son than a "perfect" son carrying with him many "baggages" when he grows up.

LIam has just started with pre-school and I know that as he goes up one year to the next I will get to realize more. I just feel happy that now, I get to see the other side of the coin :)

Does It Come In 3's?

They say it usually come in 3's. Well, I hope this time it's not. Number 1 bad luck: my dealing with this travel agency which I have already shared in my previous blog-- Ranting.

Ok na sana because yesterday afternoon when I checked my e-mail, my e-ticket was there already. It only took them 1 day after I have sent my e-mail. But the thing was, around half past 6 my brother called up only to inform me that I have been issued another parking violation ticket! This supposedly happened last Friday, 4 March. Are you kidding me?! Well, for once, after I had my first two demerit points and my first parking violation ticket last year, I was already very cautious, always looking at the signages even if I see a LOT of people not following these signs. It happened again when I was picking up my nephew and niece. Naiinis ako kasi our arrangement is I only pick them up (specially I have already two kids in tow, Liam and Sam), but the thing is, these two always come out late! So last Friday they were again late, longer time that is, I checked the area where I usually pick them up and the car can still fit, I looked at the signage and saw that it was a bus zone, arrows pointing left. The area where I stayed for less than 5 minutes while waiting for them to arrive was not in any way in the bus zone. There was even a car at my back! Nakaka-kulo ng dugo because I am trying my best not to get any more demerits and fines (sayang ang pera, 200aud++ for this violation). It did not help that Alvin joked and told me "ok lang hon, next time na kami bibili ng Wii (arrrgh, because the amount of the fine is just like buying a brand new Wii, may sukli ka pa!) My neice and my nephew pa was like walking in the moon when they went out the gate. I had to signal them to rush up! Bwiset! Now I have to do another appeal again, I plan to take pictures of the signage and hopefully it will be pardoned this time. Kainis! You know, the hassle and stress that goes along with it. Kainis lalo if ater all the efforts, your appeal will not be granted. Demerit points again and waste of money! ARRRRRGH?!

Next, (so this is the 3rd na?) well, our CFC community will start another CLP next weekend and we were asked if we can serve as asst facilitators. Alvin and I both agreed to serve. Only to find out a couple of days ago that we will be in charge of the child-minding activities while the sessions are on going. Child minding is the service where all members and participants will leave their child/children with you while they do the other duties in the CLP. I love kids, teacher nga ako, di ba? But you see, since becoming a full time mum and wife, I have never had the me-time yet. It's like being on duty 24/7. I adore and love my kids, but I can also get tired. If I'm not with Liam, Sam is there. If Sam is left with her Papa, Liam is with me. I haven't had the chance to go out alone, without a kid tagging along. On some days, I have more kids, with my niece and nephew under my care during school holidays and after their classes. So when I learned that I will be serving thru child minding, medyo napagod lalo ako. I became half-hearted with this upcoming service. I mean I have been taking care of kids all week already and the only chance I get a breather is on weekends when Alvin is around (di pa 100% yun ha!), then for 12 Sundays, I will be assigned to take care of more than 10 kids? Hello?! Hindi madali mag-alaga ng bata. Nakakapagod. And the thing is, even if I am a teacher, the environment is different inside the classroom. In the classroom a routine has been set early on, rules are established right from start, but here it will be a mixed age group! From 0 to God knows what age, 12?13? So I have to come up with an activity that will suit all kids left under my care. Alvin will be with me, but the thing is Sam will be there, so I am already expecting that he takes care of Sam while I take care of the rest. Iniisip ko pa lang napapagod na ko. We said yes because we thought that we will be asst. facilitators, joining and assissting in the discussions. But to be left with 10 or possibly more kids? It's not an easy thing. I still have to talk with my HH to air out my feelings and concers. Feeling ko, ngayong pa ako nag po-post partum.

I just hope this is the last straw. Don't know how to take the next stressing event that will unfold. Sana naman pahingahin muna ako. ;(

Ranting

It started yesterday. I just want to air out my frustration towards this travel agency that is handling our booking to Manila.

We chose their agency because they are the agency which will be arranging for the raffle prize -- return ticket Syd-Mla-- that Liam won last year. Anyways, we decided to choose them so as to have an easier time dealing with them, considering the background of the raffle prize that Liam won (a different story), and hopefully it will also be a lot easier for us to plan our trip if we are only dealing with one travel agency.

Well, when I asked for a quota early Feb, they gave me a quota right away and gave me a deadline. A deposit is needed (which is actually a thumbs down for me as this was the first time I heard of a travel agency asking for a deposit, it was non-refundable and non-transferable, I was expecting that we will just have cash out, paying everything in full, if our flight needs to be confirmed ), we paid a day late (because we thought it was toooo early to have the flights confirmed considering it was just Feb and our flight is still on October). Anyways, we were given two weeks to give our full payment for our flights to be confirmed. Of course, paying in full would also mean we are protected for whatever price increase they might have in the future, or are we? We gave the remaining balance for our flight way ahead of time. I was actually surprised when the staff informed me that the bank receipt will be forwarded to their boss for their boss to process our e-ticket already. I was surprised because usually when we purchase the tickets online direct from the airline company it only takes minutes for us to have our e-tickets. So anyways, I waited. But after a week of not hearing from them, I e-mailed to follow up. I was given Wednesday or Thursday of last week. But the weekend passed and I still did not hear from them. I am sooooo trying to be good and nice with them because as I have said they will be the ones arranging for the raffle prize ticket which Alvin will be using for his flight going to Manila (he wasn't booked yet because they said we had to wait after March for them to see the price difference of the promotional value given by PAL,ewan but they assured us that Alvin will NOT lose his slot for the dates we told them).

Now back to the story. I e-mailed yesterday to follow it up again only to be told that "there was an extension in the issuance of e-tickets for passengers traveling later this year"...meaning, that includes us! ANd not only that they gave us a time frame, hopefully we will be getting the e-tickets at the end of the month?! What?! A month of waiting for the issuance of e-tickets?! Wait a minute! That started it. I was resisting the urge to get mad, so I tried to be reasonable,thinking of ways on how to calm myself and justify the agency's reasons. But I still researched on the net, called up friends and asked my Kuya who is a frequent traveller. They all gave me the same answer, they get their e-tickets right away. The latest is 2 days. Sometimes delays happen if the client paid using a credit card but in our case, we piad in cash thru bank transfer. I was still not satosfied so I called up PAL, they said the latest for them to issue e-tickets is within 48hours, they checked for my booking reference, yes, our names are there but it also reflects that we haven't paid them yet, considering we have been paid for more than two weeks now! Di ba nakakainis? I was still hesistant to "fight" them because I was afraid that they will make it doubly hard for us when it's time for Alvin to get and confirm his booking. So I asked Alvin to call me at home told him that I will be e-mailing the agency already. Magalit na sila kung magalit, if they make it hard for us when it's Alvin's turn, well we have the Dep't of Fair Trading to rely on, all their emails and promises are kept. Alvin gave the go signal so I emailed them yesterday. This time I cc'd the boss (still giving the benefit of the doubt that it might just be the staff who is inefficient).

Anyways, I told them in my mail all my frustrations and surprise of having to wait for a month just for us to get our e-tickets. And the fact that if I didn't e-mail yesterday to follow it up I wouldn't have known that there was an "extension on the issuance of e-tickets for late travellers." The boss replied still apoligizing and mentioned that they don't course thru PAL their tickets, so saan? E we booked a PAL flight?! And that they work on different conditions. Anyways, they promised again that they will prioritize our e-tickets. I didn't e-mail them again. Up to now, I still don't understand why I have to wait this long. My friends and my Kuya all course their travels thru travel agencies as well so I don't know how this travel agency's system is different from the others.

Naiinis pa rin ako, well, let's just see if they will fulfill their promise of having our e-tickets before the end of the month. I will not name the agency yet, because I just mentioned that we still have to be nice with them because of Alvin's flight (if worse comes to worse I will ask the help of the org that had the raffle, they should be the one coordinating with them, right? But that will be our last resort). Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.

The Makings of a Shopaholic?

I am no shopaholic. Really? Really! Nakakaloka. The past few days the shopaholic bug has been pestering me! (again!) As I shared in my previous blog, I can already feel and see the difference with my lifestyle now as compared when I was still in Manila. Maybe I was deprived of signature items while growing up so now that I have the means to buy them, I usually find myself buying things (even if there are sill too much unused clothes or things at home!) not only for me but for my children, hubby, friends, family, godchildren and children of friends. Well it's not all signature items. But the past few days I have been bombarded with a lot of good deals in the internet and the shops catalogues, now, my mind can't seem to get enough of thinking of buying these goods -- clothes, foods, things at home,for the people I have mentioned earlier. It is not helping that we are going to Manila this year and that my little bubbly girl will be celebrating her birthday there.

I am controlling my urge to buy things and more things as pasalubongs, give-aways and prizes. I mean name it, I want to buy it: perfumes, make-up, signature cap, shoes, slippers, clothes, books, etc! etc! etc! the list would go on and on! I just want to share my blessings!! hehehe This morning, I found another good buy at the net and I was so close to purchasing them, BUT, I decided to ask "permission" from my hubby first. Of course he said yes, but I stopped myself. I told him to look at the goods I will be buying first. Nakak-guilty gumastos kasi right now I am not contributing to the family income (AND I just shopped for dresses again from Kmart this morning...not for me but for friends' children and godchildren in Manila). Hehehe. But hey, I have my allowance from the government for being a full-time mum! But still, I know that I still have the tendency to do impusle buying so I am soooo trying hard to resist the temptation. I must be practical. I should think of our long term goals, like our own home in the future. The other day I was just compalining that we still have toooo much new unused clothes in our cabinets. So until all of it has been used, I guess I should wait (?) Good luck!

I am just thinking of my friends who went abroad way ahead of us and recalling if they gave pasalubongs to everyone everytime they went home? Well, I guess the kids, but the older ones? Wala na ata. Nakakatawa kasi pati yung anak ng mga nang-ookray at nang-aaway sa akin dati sa Ateneo or sa family namin, gusto ko rin uwian ng pasalubong! Loka-loka ba ako? Minsan nagdo-doble ng nga! Am I trying to prove something? Maybe. (The evil grin on my face).

I feel scared sometimes when I go home from a shopping spree. Why? Well for one, my hubby and I are giving our children everything we know that will make them happy (that we can afford okay?) in a silver platter (because we were not able to experience and have it as kids)...they might grow up not appreciating things like the what we, their parents, do feel now. Lumaki kami sa hirap kaya alam namin ang value ng hard-earned money. E pano kaya sila? At pano kung isang araw magising na lang ako na wala na ang lahat at wala ng pambili? I put all these things in my mind and it does help me resist the urge. I should also lessen my internet time and going to the shops to resist the urge more? Maybe.

They say that shopaholics just buy and buy and buy without knowing the consequences and without really thinking if they have the means (all purchases are paid in cash and not by credit cards...even our holidays!) and do they need it or who will be using it. Now from what I have shared with you and my attempts to resist the urge, does that make me a shopaholic? No. Because even if I have the means to buy, I still weigh the pros and cons and I buy knowing that it will be used by people whom I will give it to. So I am no shopaholic! I told you so! ;) Do I have the makings of a shopaholic? I rest my case.

Dos!

On March 8 we will be celebrating our second year here in Sydney. What else can I say? Not much, except, MARAMING SALAMAT!

Yes, my husband and I can't be thankful enough that Sydney has been good to us. We are just on our second year here and we can already say that we can already feel a big difference with our lifestyle as compared when we were in Manila.

It was an uphill climb. The first year was indeed the hardest for us. Aside from battling home sickness, we had to deal with the global recession as well. For his first job, Alvin was not fortunate enough to land a job that allowed him to practice his profession. But as they say, sipag at tiyaga lang, and after two jobs and one year and four months, he is now again a Process Engineer, employed at a good company.I thank God that he did not give up and he didn't settle for anything less.

As for me, though not in our plans, I was able to fix my papers and accreditations and was able to start teaching again. Though not in a full time and permanent basis, I still find myself lucky and blessed because not all migrants here get to practice the same profession they had in Manila. Alvin and I are lucky. I have started a Certificate Course in Religious Education and by the end of this year, I will be grduating already. My casual teaching helped us out make both ends meet when we were just starting. Now that Alvin's pay is okay, my salary allows us to enjoy some extras and splurge a little as well.

As for the kids? Yes, after two years, we were able to add another kid in our growing family. A girl this time, again another blessing. The kids are the ones benefiting the most in our transfer here. They are able to enjoy fresh, clean air, safer environment and a whole lot of opportunities that might not be easily available to them in Manila. Special programs for reading, and play like Gymbaroo, music like Kindermusik, and sports like swimming are just some of the few programs that they got to attend. Lucky them. I hope that these programs will allow them to develop their God given potentials. We can now buy them signature things and we can now spend more time with them. Growing up without any help or yayas are doing them (and me too!) good. They are learning chores and the value of industry and responsibility quite early.

Financial blessings keep coming in. We were even able to spend for my in-laws' visit here (in time for my delivery). Late this year, we will be able to go home and spend a few weeks in Manila and Cebu. We have prepared a lot of things on that short visit and I guess, we are again blessed to have been given the resources to push thru with these things.

What is in store for the coming years? More blessings. We are claiming it for we know that our Lord only wants the best for us. We have now done initial steps in having our own home in the future. We are giving ourselves 4-5 years, but who knows, we might win the lottery? Kidding aside, the first two years of our stay here have been filled with so many blessings. We continue to pray for more so we can hopefully extend these blessings to others as well.

In the last 24 months our circle of friends is growing. We could not have done it as well without the people who helped us out: mu Kuya Jay's family, my Ate Cha's family, Alvin's relatives here in Sydney, our CFC and BESA families, and all the people whom God has sent to be angels and instruments of blessings, strangers and friends.

Two years. Dos. Wow. Such a short time for all the blessings that we have received and we are not complaining. Muli Sydney, Maraming Salamat!

What Matters Most

"What matters most is invinsible to the eyes, it can only be felt by the heart" -- The Little Prince

I watched the Academy Awards yesterday and I just can't help but notice that almost all of the winners will end their thank you speech by dedicating their triumph to the most important person of their lives -- mostly the wife, the parents, the children or the family.

It only proves once again that regardless of how successful you are, or how rich you are, what matters the most are still the people closest to your heart, The people who inspire you, care for you, love you and accept you. No amount of money or number of trophies or awards will match that.