Money Sent

I just made two calls to my family in the Philippines. One last night to my father lasted for one hour and one this morning to my mother. It would have been cheaper if I was able to talk both of them last night but my mother wasn't home when I called so had to make another call when I woke up.

I called them to let them know I just sent them some money for the whole month of October. I was not gonna do it because I spent a freaking $420 to the USCIS for my sister's immigration application and I already told my mother, I am not sending them money for two months. I have to save some more for the upcoming immigration bills, you know?

But I sent anyway and they are happy especially my mother for she now has money to use to pay the bills and other stuff. If it wasn't because of my sister rushing me to give her budget to buy herself a girl scout uniform, I would have not done that. Anyway, I feel good after hearing they are doing okay and helping them in a way I can.

She Looks Like Her Daddy

This is the first time we see a close up photo of Paloma since we found her on Facebook two years ago. I so wanted to add her up so that we could see pictures of her but she declined the request. She even told us that she'll wait until 18 before she makes any further communication with her dad as  it is her mom's wishes to introduce her and her sister Sofia to their daddy in person (shall we believe that? we doubt that...).

I think that is very unfair. There is a father here that has been longing to see, hug and feel the love of his kids but then when we found the kids on the internet that was she had to say. Anyhow, we will wait for that very day when Paloma and Sofia would just come see their dad on their own... someday when the time is right... 

Looking at the picture, you could see how Paloma really got the look of her daddy. The nose, the divided chin and the lips you can see those are all Sandy's. Even I, when I first saw this photo of hers, I couldn't believe how this girl look exactly the same as my husband. Too bad though they have not seen each other for over a decade.... 

I Miss Her Already

If there are people that I left behind in the Philippines that I am going to miss, they are Papa, Alex and my little brother Adong. Inday Alex, the little sister despite of her being yelled at sometimes, she still showed respect to her big sister and give me that tight hug from time to time. The whole two months we were there, Alex was sleeping in the same bed with us just to make up the times her niece and big sister are near her for she knew full well, we are not gonna stay there for long.

Alex, I miss you already, in case you don't know that. I wish we can chat and do cam to cam chat!

4 Generations

Before I flew to the Philippines from Texas I planned of taking a picture or two of the hands of my family that shows 4 generations in total which came in to reality when we went to Davao. These pictures show the hand of four people each from the oldest to the youngest generation. These are of my grandmother Adi's hand who is 84 years old now, my father's 52 years old, my little sister, 10 years old and lastly Jadyn's (my grandmother's great grandkid) hand who is turning 3.

 I can compare them to a tree that is almost a hundred years old. My grandmother is like their root, father as the trunk, Alexia the little sister to be the fruit and Jadyn is the bud or the flower. Cool, isn't it? How many of you guys have the chance to take a picture of your family before they were gone in this world? I guess this only happens rarely so I took advantage of the great opportunity while grandmother is still with us.

Fun At The Beach

One of the many things I missed about the Philippines is the beach and  the fresh seafoods. Finally, Jadyn and I had our first swimming at the beach yesterday. Mike invited us to go with him and so we did. I brought my little siblings with me as well as the older one, Anderson. The salty warm water of the ocean is so relaxing for my tired body. W were all exhausted when we went back to the house kay daghan kiat. Here's just three samples of the fun we had yesterday.

.......... can you tell I loved being in the water playing with the kiddos...above photo is of my baby girl, little brother and little sister...

.......... second photo is when we were about to leave Blue reef..picture taking with Mike, Jacky, Adong and my little Princess...

...........and here's the usual food when at the beach, grilled milk fish, grilled pork and kinilaw bulinaw with matching guso!

Sheriff Woody

Our big girl's new toy is Sheriff Woody from the popular movie Toy Story. It was her dada's choice to pick Woody and buy it for our girl. For some reason, he'd like to share his interest with Woody to Jadyn. At first Jadyn doesn't like Woody but then when she learned that it has 25 different sayings she then learned to love the toy.  The toy  my husband bought is the one that Disney recommends. 

 

This Sheriff Woody looks just like in the movie and is ready for playtime with his own  "interactive" cowboy hat! He knows if you remove the hat from his head and he reacts! Place hat back on facing front and magically he knows and responds!

Ancient Pictures

I found tons and tons of interesting pictures of my husband's family from my father in-laws boxes. I wonder how or where am I going to put them all since I only got 3 empty albums to put them in. I tell you these pictures aren't just like any other pictures, they are VERY ANCIENT dated 1800s or older. There are pictures of my FIL's great great grandmother and other relatives. I even saw pictures of people whose name I only saw buried at the cemetery in Benicia, a lot of them my husband doesn't even know.

Looking at those very old pictures give me a creepy feeling. When I opened two albums that my FIL compiled before he passed away, I said to myself, "MAKAGABA NAMAN NI MGA PICTURA DILI JUD NI NAKU LAKDAN KAY HAWD KA KARAAN". It was so nice of FIL for doing the albums, through them I was able to take a glimpse of how his family looks like and mind you people, most members of his family were very well-educated and my husband's grandfather was a doctor.

It's cool to have those pictures. They are like antiques and should be properly kept. Those people were long gone and the treasured pictures we have is such a beautiful thing to have.

Fireworks Display

These are some photos I captured during the fireworks display in down Fort Worth in celebration of 4th of July last night. It would have been nicer if I had a superb camera to use in capturing those beautiful and colorful fireworks in the sky. It was my first experience watching closer to the fireworks display of my four years here in the states because my husband usually work during those past holidays.

I am glad we went there because the baby was able to see how amazing that was. I also have a video footage of it, I may have share it here later but first I need to upload it on youtube.

Feeding The Birds

Pictures below are of my baby girl feeding the birds. It was her first experience to really get close to the birds and feed them. I was happy and excited seeing Jadyn having so much fun doing what she did. It was quite an experience for her, I bet. Several times before she would try to catch or touch a bird in our backyard but never successfully did that. Birds are too fast and fly away from her.

She's The Reason

My baby girl is the reason why I celebrate tomorrow's occasion, Mother's Day and I am proud of that. Becoming a mom is easy but being a mom is difficult. You need to give your all for the sake of your child. Nothing is more fulfilling job in this world but being a mother, it is tiring sometimes but it's all worth my energy. Yes, taking care of a child requires a one full day of your time but it is all worth it. If there is one thing I can do and never get tired of it, that is watching my baby playing, being happy, being so bubbly and just being herself.

Ah what a joy especially when she calls me "Mommy!"

And here's a brief poem dedicated to all mothers out there!

A Mother...

When you're a child she walks before you,
To set an example.
When you're a teenager she walks behind you
To be there should you need her.
When you're an adult she walks beside you
So that as two friends you can enjoy life together..

Author Unknown

The 6-Year Old Gift

The gift on the picture is six years old already waiting for its owner to be opened. This is a birthday gift for Paloma from my husband which was sent last '04 and it was returned to sender. I hope that someday when the young girl decides to meet her daddy she will know that her dad tried to communicate with her as well as her little sister. Proof are the gifts complete with package and label in which they were addressed to. Give us three years and by that time, Paloma will be 18, old enough to decide herself, old enough to realize that their daddy never forgotten them.

Worry

I have no clue as to what to give to my baby these days. She is becoming more and more difficult to feed. Sometimes she would only eat once a day plus milk and that put a burden in my head because I am not used of her eating once a day. Filipinas eat three times a day and so does Jadyn. I try giving her food from time to time but all she could eat is just a tiny bit of it and the rest will be fed to the dog. As usual she'd put the food in her mouth and spit out to the floor.

I worry that she might get sick or something. Oh Jadyn! The only thing you can do to make your mommy happy is be healthy and eat good. She cannot eat good food but she can foods that are unhealthy like chips, yogurt, cereal etc.... very American and very light kind that I don't think can sustain her needed nutrients for her growth.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

I had so much fun watching this movie titled Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs last night. Even my baby stayed with us until the movie ended. She seldom stay awake for the entire time the movie is playing but last night she made it through. I thought the movie was so cool for it rained with lots and lots of food through the invention of this little gadget sent up above.

As the movie's tag line : Prepare to be served. That alone should give you an idea of what the movie is all about.

Synopsis here:

In 2009, Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Bill Hader will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior. James Caan plays Tim Lockwood, Flint's technophobic father. Andy Samberg plays Brent, the town bully who has plagued Flint since childhood. Bruce Campbell plays Mayor Shelbourne, who figures out that Flint's invention can put the town, and more importantly himself, on the map. Mr. T plays the by-the-rules town cop Earl Devereaux, and Tracy Morgan takes on the role of Earl's rule-breaking son, Cal. [D-Man2010]

The timeless tale has been adapted from Ron and Judi Barrett's book, which illustrates a world where giant pancakes and pasta fall from the sky as a scientist tries to solve world hunger. However, things go terribly wrong when excess amounts of food overload cities and towns. [D-Man2010]

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She Likes UP Movie!

Last night we watched half part of the movie UP! Jadyn was with us so she was able to watch it too and guess what? She never take her eyes off the t.v screen as soon as the movie started. I bet she likes it a lot than any other animated movies she had seen before.

I can tell if she loves the movie because she would closely pay attention to what is playing on t.v and one best example for it is the UP movie. Tonight again, we are going to finish it, for sure Jadyn will then be liking it even more. Huh, it was funny because she wouldn't want her dada to stop the movie but it was very late, it was past one and we had to go to bed.

Beauty and Brain

...that's what she is according to me and to the ones who know her. How many people do you know who possess the beauty plus the brain? I guess you rarely know someone who has a total package of beauty and brain just like my cousin, Mary Angelie Seno Enrile. Judging the photos here, you can easily tell that she got that gorgeous face, ain't she? Plus the fact that she's an intelligent girl. She is currently a nursing student in one of the Universities in Davao City and based on what I heard she is a dean's lister.

Yep, that's her, my cousin and I am sort of proud being related to her!

...... she is like a living Japanese cartoon character....

My Little Meow Meow

This is my little girl in her Little Kitten attire in halloween day. She went for trick or treating without me being there with her because at that time we were so busy moving our stuff to our house. I felt bad about I couldn't be there with her. Thanks to Rose, my friend for she brought my baby to her house and did the thing I was supposed to do. Cute is my Jadyn, isn't she?

Chatted With The Whole Family!

I can't believe of my voice chat experience with my filipino family tonight. It can happen only once in a blue man to be able to chat with my whole family just because my other siblings are busy looking for money and the younger ones are out playing with other kids. Tonight was exciting.

I was able to talk all of my siblings and my parents on yahoo, cam to cam too. Wow! Simple things that can happen is what makes me happy being far apart from them. We were not too close before when we were still young and living under one roof but now that I am thousand miles away, I feel closer to them especially to my brothers whom I hated so much when I was growing up.

Miraculous Mother of Mercy all of my brothers are now talking to me, every time they get online we always do the voice chat on yahoo and just talk anything we can think of. Wow this feels good! Thank You Lord!

My Grandfather Is Sick

When I called my family in the Philippines last Saturday, I wasn't able to talk to my mother because she went to see my grandparents down South. My father said that lolo is ill and is being admitted to the hospital. I sure worry about my old grandfather. Since then, I haven't heard anything from them. I might call at home sometime soon and see if I can hear any good news from Lolo Boning.

I hate it hearing any of my family or relatives getting sick. Of course nobody wants to be sick nor hearing any members of the family is ill, right? I am too far from them and I cannot come visit them anytime. I can't do any help except saying a little prayer for speedy recovery of my lolo. Please get well soon Lolo Bonz and we will see you when we are able to come for a vacation in the Philippines.

Practice Makes Perfect

My baby has been trying to put on her slippers for days now and each passing day she is getting good at it. It is really true that practice makes perfect. I take it as an example as I learn how to drive, as long as I keep practicing, I will get better and eventually driving on my own.

I Am Grateful

.... for having such a lovely baby. I have been watching her playing alone, entertaining herself and making babyish sounds for couple of minutes now. She is so quiet as if there is no baby around here, quiet means she is not whining or crying at all. So nice to hear just the sounds she makes by playing her toys putting them in and out of the cap! Earlier, I caught her grabbing her dog's leg so she could put her Mickey slipper's on haha silly baby!

Truly I can't ask for more. I have everything I wished for in life, a wonderful husband, a healthy marriage, good financial status and most of all having a baby that is incredible! Simple things make me happy and my family makes me absolutely happy. Thank You Lord for being good to me all the time.