It's a Girl!

We're having a girl!

I think I asked the doctor 5 times if she was sure that it's a girl. I couldn't believe it because girls are rare in the family.

The day after and it has sunk in already...we're having a girl! I now have someone to dress up in cute pink clothes and share other girly stuff with. More importantly, I have to learn how to raise a boy and girl.

Truly, nothing is impossible with the Lord! Now, I pray to carry this little girl full term with no complications. All by God's grace!

Mommy Again

Having a son is such a blessing and I'm excited to be a mommy again for the third time. Yes...we found out that we are expecting another bundle of joy which is due to arrive February 2011.

My hubby has been bugging me the last three weeks that I am pregnant because he noticed changes in me that I quickly dismissed. Last night, we got our confirmation.Thank you Lord for the blessing of life!

Mustard Seed featured in Junior Magazine

Mustard Seed is featured in Junior Magazine's March issue. Our favorite Bug Bite Relief and other insect repellant products were featured.

Grab a copy and don't forget to visit us at http://www.mustardseedmanila.com

My Strength

In the crazy days (weeks even) that has passed, I've grown tired and almost burned out. I just want to stop, rest and do nothing but we all have things to to do that we should do even if we don't feel like it.

It helps that my husband is my biggest encourager and to know that I am doing what He wants. To be at the center of His will is where I want to be. Burned out or not, I will do what He wants. He is my strength, healer and provider.

"I love you, o Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1

Bad News

Getting bad news is not fun. It's been three weeks since our helper left for her vacation and she never came back so now I am left to do all the house work, cook, take care of the little boy and run a business. Hay! Thank God my hubby is helping me lot with the chores and we usually eat out on weekends plus my son helps with the chores too.

While at the beach, I came across this very encouraging and comforting verse.

"He will have no fear of bad news;

his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."

Psalm 112:7

We can look at bad news through God's perspective. It's not bad news but merely a change that will bring about good things according to God's perfect plan.

Beach Break

The beach is such a nice place. The white sand, relaxing sound of the waves and the fresh air.

We were blessed with a trip to the beach and had the best time. We ate, slept, relaxed, swam and had fun. It was the perfect weekend getaway, the best way to celebrate my hubby's birthday and see the wonders of God's creations.

Villas

perfect sized kiddies pool

playing on the sand

sleeping after a hard day's work

Mustard Seed Manila

The new website for Mustard Seed is finally up. Praise God for all the blessings!

Bugs Away Insect Repellant

Joy All-Purpose Sanitizer

A Year of Blessings

Another year has passed and how time flies. Where did 2009 go? We finished with Christmas already and we are now waiting for the start of a brand new year.

The year 2009 was filled with blessings, not so good things, love and generosity from friends and family.

We always start the year with the joint birthday celebration of our son and myself, our wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday. Blessings abound from the Lord. More than the material blessings, what we are most thankful for are the intangible blessings of love, grace, and generosity from family, friends and strangers who helped us pick up the pieces when we were badly hit by Ondoy.

On that fateful day of September 26, 2009, we lost almost everything we had because of the flood but material possessions was graciously replaced by the Lord. What's important is that everyone in the family is safe and with us.

2009 was a blessed year for us. It was another year that we felt God's love for us. He never fails.

The year that was....

It's been so long since I last wrote here simply because I was so busy. Busy with the hubby, baby, Pink & Pearl and all the things that Christmas brings. 

The year 2008 has been filled with blessings upon blessings. The year started when I became a mom again with the birth of our second son Timmy and ended with the birth of the business that I was praying for. We were also blessed with memorable vacations with the family. 

I could go on and on about the details of 2008 but bottom line is the Lord has been faithful. He has allowed good and not so good things to happen in our lives to bless us in the end. 

"He is the Rock, his works are perfect,  and all his ways are just. 

A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."

Deuteronomy 32:4

It's Christmas Time Again

It's that time of the year again when shopping malls overflow with people, bazaars are everywhere and roads are packed with cars. Everyone is busy buying gifts and preparing for the festivities that sometimes we lose sight of what Christmas is all about. I too am guilty of that sometimes but God has given me a reminder of what the true essence of Christmas is. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and they are the reminders that.

Christmas is all about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate December 25. It is His birthday and we should truly celebrate this for without Jesus Christ we are nothing. Thank you Jesus for coming into this world and for dying on the cross for us. Happy Birthday Jesus!

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

Matthew 1:21-23

Happy Birthday Zion!

It was our eldest son's birthday yesterday and I tried not to be sad that he is not with us. He's two years old now and I imagine him to be a little big boy playing with his angel friends in heaven. 

It still hurts that he is not with us but I am at peace knowing that he is with the Lord our father. My life has changed so much because of him. I miss you so much son. I look forward to see you one day in our Father's house. 

Hugs and kisses to my little boy. I love you very much. 

Canon Ixus 80 IS

photo taken from Canon USA

Hubby and I have a new toy. It's the new Canon Ixus 80 IS! We sold our two DSLR cameras since I'm not using the 20d and the other one's value is slowly going down. Anyway, we replaced the 20d with the blue Ixus today. Than you Lord! We chose the Ixus because of it's impressive features, 8mp, image stabilizer, it's compact size, nice design and fun colors to name a few. It's value for money too. 

I went to Hidalgo this afternoon after 3 years of not going there and the place has changed. It gives me the creeps now. Well, that's a different story. Anyway, when we got there I went to Watson's photo supply since they were the only one who had the blue Ixus on stock. I went to Mang Ramon first and he said he could deliver the blue Ixus tomorrow if I'm willing to pay the shipping fee of a whopping! 800 pesos. Heck no! so I ended up at Watsons. 

I'm so excited to try the camera and take photos of anything and everything which would mainly consist of Hubby and Timmy hehehe.....ha I miss shooting. How I wish I could go back into shooting photos but that has to take a back seat to give way to more important things like family. 

PInk & Pearl Now Open!

At last, Pink & Pearl online shop is now open. After much prayers and preparation we are now open for business. 

Pink & Pearl caters to modern moms and their happy babies. Please check out our online shop at pinkandpearl.multiply.com. 

Happy & Content

We're a few days away from September and all I can think of is how fast time goes by. Parang kailan lang Timmy was a teeny tiny baby and now he's a big baby boy na. Now Christmas is just around the corner.

I sometimes catch myself humming a Christmas tune thus I'm excited for Christmas because this will be Timmy's first Christmas and Kuya Z's second Christmas in heaven. I still can't believe that I've two wonderful sons. Wow! I can't be any more happy than I already am. Through good and bad I know that I've a wonderful family to hold my hand. Thank you Lord!

Downside

I've been stressing out since Tuesday because it's taking a little bit more to take care of Timmy. I was just starting to get used to his new schedule when BANG! Timmy fell from the bed and got himself a black eye. Hubby and I decided to take him to the doctor because he was showing signs of concern. He was more sleepy, not his usual active self and he vomited. We had him checked and by God's grace he is fine but since he is in pain he is more clingy than usual and we have a hard time putting him to sleep. To ease the pain the resident doctor in the E.R. told us to apply a warm compress over his eye and I'm pretty sure that this resident did not have a child :) I was chasing Timmy all over the bed just to get the warm compress over his eye and if I did it would only touch his eye for 2 seconds. Aside from that he would grab it from me and put it in his mouth.

I'm not very good at handling stress. I tend to react in a not so pleasing manner much to my husband's dismay. Through all this I pray and pray and came across this verse "In your anger do not sin" Ephesians 4:26. This is a struggle for me. I should not let my emotions get hold of me instead I should let the Lord control me. God has blessed me with a son and having one is a test of one's character. You should be a good role model, calm, loving, patient and a million other things but at the end of the day I pray that God will bless me to be the kind of mom that He wants me to be for Timmy.  

It's very hard to be a full time stay at home mom that sometimes I ask myself why am I doing this. It's easier to be employed because you only work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and when you get home you leave it all behind. Being a stay at home mom is a 24/7 job. No weekends. No vacation leaves. No sick leaves. You can't say 'I think it's time to move on and resign'. So why am I doing this? Because I love my son. God has led me to this direction and I know that I am where I am for a reason. Through good and bad all I can say is Thank you Lord. 

7 Months

Happy 7 months to our little bundle of joy!

Love, 

Dad and Mom

What a Ride!

The past two weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me. It was a high and low of emotions and mish mash of events. 

It all started when Timmy got sick with cough that eventually worsened to a viral infection, bronchiolitis. He was crying and coughing all the time and reached the point that he was already vomiting so that he could breathe. Poor baby. Imagine my panic while this was happening. I was alone and sent a panic text to my pediatrician and when she didn't answer immediately I contacted my other doctor friend for help.  Thank God for these people. 

The sleeplessness nights and tiring days lasted for more than a week. Our days would be filled of forcing him to take the medicines and the smart cookie would shut his mouth and would scream his lungs out. Our nights would be about putting him to sleep which would be filled with crying and screaming again. In between that would be feeding him and giving him water which he refused because his throat was sore. In a word, stress!

This is the first time Timmy got sick and I wasn't prepared for it. I guess we are never really prepared for the things that come our way but what matters is what we learn from these experiences. Going through this made me appreciate more the people in my life. I appreciate my husband more because he was there all the time to help. Friends who go the extra mile to help no matter what. Family who are there to lend a hand. I realized the value of relationships. It is a joy and a blessing to have a child and equally joyous to have these people in my life. It was one crazy ride but I would go through it again knowing that I have these people in my life. 

Waiting on the side

Since I got pregnant with our first child I had to immediately stop working. My days then were filled with bed rest, eating and family activities. During this time I learned how to bake, sew, design and a few more other things.

I did enjoy it and still do enjoy being a stay at home mom but there are days that I want to go back doing to freelance work and I'm still holding on to my dream of having my own home based business in God's time.
Right now, I'm still waiting. Waiting for that time I can go back to freelance work. Waiting for that business I can start. Waiting on the Lord and simply be thankful that I am where I am.

Blessings

It's been almost two months since I gave birth to my son and I'm just at awe at how much God has blessed me. Sure I'm tired most of the time, there still those sleepless nights but it is nothing compared to the feeling you have when you wake each morning beside my hubby and a smiling baby boy. It is just amazing. 

God is good!