Things To Look Forward To

The last week of the term came with a lot of surprises and blessings. I was not prepared to receive them but I am just in awe on how our good Lord really works.

A week before the term ended I was actually looking forward to the school holidays. I had a chat with the boss and he said that my full-time contract expires on the last day of Term 2 as the Asst Principal will be coming back next term. I was already planning of what to do during the school break and was ready to embrace a more relaxing terms 3 and 4. But our good Lord had a different plan for me. 

In the middle of being stressed over "stage parent" with unbelievable expectations of their kid I was again called again to the Principal's office 4 days before the term ended. To make the long story short, I was asked to continue with my post not only for next term but up until the end of the year! I was overwhelmed! I didn't have any chance to think it over as they were expecting me to give my answer straight away. I knew I was in for a more challenging term since my in-laws are due to fly out mid of this month but I said yes anyway, not only for me but for the kids who are under my care. If I said no, it would only mean a new teacher will be coming in and it will already be their 3rd teacher for the year! I think I owe it to the kids.

I am just thankful that when I had the parent-teacher interviews, most of the comments I got from the parents were positive. They liked my strictness, they liked the way I am handling the class and the changes they see in their kids, their kids like me (well, I can actually sense that because I can see them responding to me and my challenges) and they like my class management. The feedback I got boosted my self-confidence and it made me accept the offer much easier. Not to mention that the set of kids I have now is such a group of beautiful kids (they are not perfect but they are sensible most of the time).

Now, aside from this huge task that awaits me, I have busied myself planning and preparing for our forthcoming trips! Yes! Even before the position was offered to me, the trips were already in place. We have one this winter break and one in Spring break. We'll go back to Snowy this winter and we're going to Perisher this time. We'll be bringing my parents and my in-laws with us. We hope it would be a more enjoyable trip this time. As for Spring break, I'm really looking forward to our New Zealand trip! Took a while before hubby and I finally decided where to go. He now wanted to go to Japan but I was not up for it especially after viewing the documentary about the government's news blackout on the real status of the radiation in the country (effect of the Tsunami). In addition to this, we will be spending more money when we go to Japan. During the time that we were deciding where to go, my contract was still not extended and with the settlement of our lot getting nearer, we needed to be more practical. I did try to convince hubby to try Cebu Pacific and fly to Manila for Christmas but hubby is not keen. He said the next time we will be going home to Manila is when one of our younger siblings finally decides to tie the knot!

I am nervous. Yes, I know that it will be more difficult and challenging for me and hubby running our household when both of us are working full-time but more than that I would like to focus more and put my energy on the other blessings we get to enjoy. I am happy that we get to travel again as a family and fly as a family. I am thankful and grateful. I am happy and excited!

Can't Wait!

It's been a very busy and hectic term.

So many new lessons about life to be shared.

So many new things to blog.

So many things to look forward to.

Can't wait!

My hands are warming up :-)

Sam 3 1/2

My ever dearest Sammie,

Mama's first letter for you this year is a month early because come next week, Mama might become a bit busier.

The last couple of months have been really special for the two of us. I have seen you grow from that little bub, slowly moving away from our shadows and now slowly having your own personality.

Mama will be starting her full time work in a couple of days and I feel guilty. I know that after my teaching block last year, I said that having a full-time job will not be an option for me, until both of you are already in the big school. That is why I feel guilty, most especially for you. Part of me is saying I am being unfair to you as when Kuya Liam was your age, I was a full-time mum. Believe me when I say I want to be as fair to you and Kuya, spending the same amount of time and attention...but our circumstances have changed. The opportunity which came two weeks ago was too good to pass and was a big blessing not only to me but to the entire family! I thank you and your Kuya for allowing Mama to get the job. For assuring me that we will all handle it and as always, all shall be well.

Let's try to make the best of the remaining precious days, okay?

How about recapping the hi-lights of the last six months?

Here are the things that I have observed, things that you did, that made me thank God everyday for giving you to us!


You are growing up to be a fashionista! I can't count anymore the number of times we had an argument all because of the clothes you wanted to wear! When you have set your mind into something, there's no making you change your mind! You are into dresses and boots at the moment. You feel like a princess everytime you wear one. Can't blame you because indeed, you are our princess.

You have started with you Physie classes and you have enjoyed it to bits! I remember there was one instance when you didn't want to do one routine because you had to shake your bottom. You were so close to tears, but you muttered enough courage and did it! Well done Sam!

You are very observant and you remember stuff with precision! I always get into trouble every time I promise you something and hope you won't remember it, because you do! I have ran out of excuses!

You now understand that rules will always be a part of growing up. I am happy that you try your best to follow them especially when you are at school.

You became a Frozen fanatic! I can't count the number of times you've watched the film, sang the theme song, and pretended to be Queen Elsa! I love your mini-shows and concerts! :-) You've even wanted to dye your hair blond and wanted to grow your hair instantly just as so you can have the same hairstyle as Elsa!

This blew my mind off...one day, after picking you up from school, you told me you had a boyfriend, Darcy. You told me a LOT of stories about him and even told me that when you grow up you are going to marry him! Alarm bells went wang! wang! wang! You didn't want to open and share the stories involving Darcy to your Papa. For you, it's a girl thing! Ha! Well, I'll try my very best to keep all our secrets, safe.

There was a time when you kept on bugging me for a baby sister. There was a even a time when you requested that our family have 5 girls and 1 boy. As if it's that easy! You were assuring me that you are going to help Mama take care of the kids, you even said that you'd skip classes so someone can change the nappies of the kids! hehehe

You are a sweet girl and I know that you are always on the look out for all of us. You might be a bully at home, but when we're out, you are always there to protect your family. When you hear me say ouch or I get into a small accident at home, you come running or ask straight away, "Are you okay mama? Do you need help? Be careful!" You will then kiss that hurt part and try to soothe it. You are like that with me, Papa and Kuya. Yesterday, Kuya was getting all upset because of his Lego Chima. You painted him something so "he can be happy again" without any of us asking you. You are such a sweet girl.

You had some bleeding episodes and though it made us worry a bit, we're thankful that it was nothing serious.

"I promise" this was your favorite line when you get into trouble (like being silly, or when you again poked my eye!) and process the whole thing with you. "I promise, I will" was what you answered when I asked you if you'd still do the silly faces that make me laugh when I'm sad or say "You're the best Mum ever and I love you!" when you're all grown up. I am hoping, you would.

You definitely made my day when you presented me an award, for "shopping, painting flowers and
butterflies." With that award I realized you were aware of the special days we spent together, just bonding and enjoying each other's company.

You are one artist. You love to paint and it took you for me to learn to let go some more of my being a cleanliness freak! I love all your creations! I m a very proud of you! I plan to continue to expose you to different forms of art and hopefully help you hone this God given talent.


Sweetheart, let me just tell you some things we need to work on...you have the tendency to compare yourself to others and rely on their approval first before you can actually feel good. Lately too, you have started to become more expressive when you do not agree or when you are upset. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, yet. Remember that you are a joy to us. A breath of fresh air from the toxicity brought about by the stress or worries we have. I love hearing your boisterous laugh, your giggles and screams. I will forever cherish each moment and thank God everyday that I get to see most of these special moments.

I love you forever.

Mama

Back to School

As the saying goes, you're never too old to learn new tricks!

Australia as they say is the land of opportunities (kung hindi ka maarte, okay?) and I am taking advantage of what is available for me, hoping that it in the future it will be of use to me and my family.

Even back in Manila, I have always dreamed of putting up my own pre-school. That was the reason why I actually took Educational Administration for my Master's degree. But destiny intervened and we migrated here and that plan was put aside.

I was blessed to have been able to still practice the same profession as I had in Manila and it was also an opportunity for me to study the ropes of the trade. In our almost five years of stay here I have learned that they are stricter when it comes to your training and the work you're after. Unlike in Manila, where you can teach even if your course is not related to teaching, here you can't. Much more when you deal with smaller kids.

Sa atin, kahit ang layo ng kurso mo, kung gusto mo mag-teacher, go! Kung gusto mo magtayo ng pre-school (syempre dapat may pera ka) kahit kulang ang qualifications mo o wala kang ni isang kurso sa early childhood, go pa rin! Dito hindi. BAWAL.

They take your training seriously. Ako nga, Educ graduate na, hindi pa rin pwede magturo sa elementary unless mag-aaral ulit ako ng Teaching in Primary School (nakakturo ako kasi tinignan nila yung seven years teaching experience ko sa grade school).

Back to my blog. To make the long story short, I have reignited that dream of mine to hopefully put up my own pre-school (and childcare) in the future. You always have a guaranteed clientele for childcare here as nanny or yayas are not really part of the culture. In Sam's childcare alone, there are already 5 unborn kids who are on the wait list! Yes, unborn kids! With the standard of living getting higher every year many parents have no other choice but to work and that is when childcare centres goes into the picture. There is really a need in chidcare especially in our area where there is a boom in real estate!

Thankfully, both my undergrad and Masters' degree were validated and were accredited as to being comparable to Australian degrees. Now I only need to work on my early childhood qualifications. This is the reason why I decided to pursue a Diploma on Early Childhood Education and Care.

It took me a couple of years to muster enough strength to actually do it. It took a lot of emails and researches, comparisons, and inquiries to different schools and providers. I am not just sure if my timing is right as now my plate is already full because as I start with this, we are also very busy with the home project.

I chose to do the course through online study. It will be my first to do online studies and after 3 weeks, I can say that I still have to establish a routine or a style that will be most effective for me. I have three years to finish the course. I am hoping that I could finish that before the deadline.

Thankfully, I didn't have to shell out a single centavo as I am qualified with the government aid, being an Australian citizen. I can study now and pay later, as soon as my annual salary reaches their cap. At this point, I am still not worried because if I continue to work as a casual, I am safe of having to start the repayments to the government. So even if we have started with the mortgage payments, I can safely say that it will still not add to our expenses.

Finishing it in three years' time does not mean I will already leave the teaching force in the big schools. Putting up a childcare here is costly, no make that very costly! I plan to make baby steps. But as for now, I'll just take it one subject at a time.

You might ask, why study again when I can already teach here? Well, as I've said, when I'm much older, I wouldn't want to still be inside the classroom. I want to see myself and my career evolve. I hope to have moved on from teaching to doing the admin work, more of the person behind the curtains.

Big dreams? Yes. I see nothing wrong with it. It's worth a try, right? Libre mangarap. At least when I'm there, I can confidently say that I am ready to cross the bridge.

Keeping the faith!

Growing Together, Praying Together (Overwhelmed - Part 2)

Yesterday, I mentioned to one of my friends, Mitch, more than this dream becoming a reality, I am more thankful of the opportunity for me and Alvin to again grow together and work together both spiritually and mentally. After this, particularly last Saturday, I felt our relationship went up one notch higher.

When I wrote that we continued to pray for it, we were not pushing for us to buying a house. We were praying that if it is His will, let things fall into place. We were praying for guidance for every decision. And most importantly, we were praying for His grace to prepare our hearts, so we can humbly accept His will for us.

We grew together, mentally. Since the time we started sitting down only three or four weeks ago, we had a lot of intelligent and mature conversations. I am the type who feels bad whenever he "audits" me every now and then. I was surprisingly okay when he asked where our money went and why our savings only reached a certain amount. There were a lot of computations involved in those after-dinner conversations. Both were very patient and open to suggestions. We worked together in a way that he led and I did the supporting role by doing errands that were needed in this "project."

On the day the priority numbers were released (which was only last Saturday), we again, like in the past, came as a family (me, hubby and our two kids). Everyone was present and everyone patiently queued. Everyone had a say especially when our first two choices were gone already! Everyone prayed for it.  It was a family thing and I couldn't be happier!

Although we were 18th on the line and started queuing before 7am, (some people were more desperate than us!) we still didn't get the original lot we wanted. It could have been a better choice, a bigger lot, a bigger house, a better plan for the value of money (it's bigger but it ends up cheaper) we're paying. But God had a different plan for us. He directed us to another one, which was actually our 4th choice. Initially, we were sad that we didn't get what we wanted (the ones who got our first two choices spent the night in the queue!). But looking back, we were thinking we could have been spared from a possible stress because of the builder assigned on that lot and God probably pointed us to a different lot so we can be more comfortable with our future finances. The lot that we were able to nominate is 8 thousand cheaper than our first choice. (Now there is NO immediate need to sell our lot).

We took a gamble.

I was scared to let go of this opportunity because I felt that the prices of properties will just continue to rise with the rate things are going here and it would have been harder for us to buy our own home. (The first release was only two months ago and prices have gone up $12000 more!) One professional advice we got recently is, "if you have the money now, then go for it!"

I guess, the gamble paid off.

At this point and looking at the future it's still not 100% kink-free. There are still some areas that causes me and Alvin to worry. But I guess, God would want it to leave it like that so we can have an opportunity to have faith. So we can learn how to trust Him and let Him be in-charge!

The kids did and are doing a marvelous job of helping us. They helped us pray for it. They helped us by being patient when we visited display homes, talked to builders, and even when I queued last Saturday for 3 hours! They are helping us save money. They are excited as us, helping Mama and Papa choose possible themes for their future rooms.

The praying part is not over.

We will continue to pray as we continue to grow on with this part of our journey, as a family.

This is the second release which we tried our luck on :-)
The peach-coloured lots were part of their first release,
two months ago! Our future home will now be in front of the park.
Our future community will have our own shopping centre and will be just across
the newest Ikea and Costco, how convenient is that!

A glimpse of our future home.
We really wanted a 2 car garage so we can house both Maggie and Ben.
But after consulting our financial advisers and family,
we humbly embraced what God might have prepared for our family.

Keep an eye on this space as I will continue to share the developments of this part of our journey. 

Overwhelmed - Part 1

Overwhelmed.

That is the best word to describe what I am feeling right now.

Emotions are running high.

Overwhelmed.

Another big dream is about to materialize and we can only thank and praise God for it!

We are one step closer to getting our dream home! Our own home!

The past week was the peak of our discernment process.

In my last blog entry, I told you that I, we, were willing to wait and see if everything will fall into place.

And it did.

Our plans of buying our first home has happened earlier than we have planned.

Proves that God's plans for us far better than what we have for ourselves!

After we met with the broker almost two weeks ago, we had the impression and got to a conclusion that it's not yet time for us. We were still thankful for that meeting as it paved the way for us to set our financial goals so we are better prepared when another opportunity comes. That was Tuesday, 21 January.

Long weekend. Even if we were sure that it will be impossible for us to buy, much more try, a home on the 8 Feb release, we kept on praying for it. Over the long weekend, we went to the Sales Office and hubby got the plans and prices of the home and land packages for the upcoming release.

Seeing the prices, our dreams came crashing down at us again as the prices has increased tremendously from their last release end of November 2013. The cheapest now is $544k and the most expensive ones were somewhere around $720++ thousand!

Another reason for us to give up, right?

We really didn't give up 100% because we kept on praying and discerning for it, still.

And in His goodness, He sent people our way to help us arrive at a decision, to gamble.

My friend Vera got the actual land value of the package and it gave us hope!

The funny thing is, the ideas to continue trying came in dreams and very early morning! As my friend puts it, a Eureka moment!

Alvin and I haven't really told one another to make computations and see if we can work out something, financially. But when he gets home from work, he starts talking about the topic and lo and behold, we have, on our own made some plans on how we can possibly try to work it out. And from there, we sit down and discuss Plans A, B and C. Including the implications for each. I've never had a more interesting discussion than the ones we had last week! Maths. Big Time!

Mid of last week, we have our eyes set on a particular lot which costs $560thou. We were ready to gamble but there was fear in our hearts. First, it will deplete our savings and I REALLY need to have plenty of casual work to have enough funds before the land settlement late this year. This is just in case the amount being loaned to us by the bank doesn't meet the amount we need. And another implication is we REALLY need to sell our lot in Manila.

But God in His goodness had a different plan for us.

New Sacrifices

Before I start my new entry let me just share two "messages" I got yesterday and today.

Yesterday morning, as soon as I woke up, the first thing in my mind:

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and everything shall be added unto thee."

This morning when I read the reflection of today's reading, the message that struck me was:

"Our God is a God of surprises!"

I guess these two messages set the "stage" of how I am dealing everything what's on my plate now.

I remember mentioning in my previous blog entry that one of our major goals this year is to buy our first home, LATE this year.

I don't know what happened but one thing led to another and we suddenly found ourselves being led to buying our own home, NOW.

It's a big decision alright!

Hubby and I were just reading articles that will keep us informed and knowledgeable of the processes but in two weeks' time so much has happened!

We really haven't bought the house but we are finding ourselves doing baby steps.

We've studied our finances, asked advice, watched and looked at the market for the last two weeks (in two weeks there was so much movement in the market), visited possible sites, compared buying old and new houses,  talked with builders, studied the buying process, registered to new home and land releases and prayed like we've never prayed before! We're not praying that He grants our wishes but we're praying for guidance as this is really a very big investment. To make the long story short, we're new to this and we don't want to make any mistakes so we're carefully doing one step at a time.

Nakakakaba talaga. 

With this new investment comes a whole new set of sacrifices.

If you have been following my blog, you know that there is a deep desire for me to travel locally and globally because I felt I have deprived myself of that when I was younger. I really wanted to go to the US April of this year because I know that once we take the big plunge of buying our own home, travelling will be the first one to be sacrificed. And yes, my worst dreams came true!

Hubby and I had an initial study of our finances and it will be very difficult for us to squeeze in traveling for the family (to give you an idea how much new homes now cost in our area, it ranges from $500,000 and above). Unless I work full time and get the full annual pay of teachers on my level, then talagang maluwag kami, maraming sobra. But I still decided to work as a casual mainly because of the kids. At the end of the day, it will be a choice between spending time with my kids and taking care of my family well over the extra money and owning our own home with much ease.

Knowing me, I should be all grumpy and already super sad because of the would-be scenario. All traveling plans for the year and the next few years, scrapped. But I'm unusually okay. I'm not crying, I'm not grumpy, I'm not mad. I guess I was ready for it. I have long faced the music and so when we found ourselves already in that situation, I was ready emotionally.

I am thankful I'm taking all these things positively. I am also inspired by my kids as they are also cooperative and making their own little sacrifices in helping achieve our goal of saving up for our own home. When we go out and they see something they like, we just tell them NO and remind them of our future plan, and they are okay with it. No more crying and whining, especially for Sam. Everyone is focused on the big project!

I am actually not giving up. In my heart I know that all will fall into place. That there will be a time for all those traveling plans to happen. It might be a difficult start for us, but I'm keeping the faith that it will be easier in a few year's time -- the time when the kids are much bigger and I can go back to work full-time.

The search is on and our hearts are in place ;-)