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!

Museo Pambata

A couple of days ago, we decided to take Timmy out to an educational trip. Since we've already decided to homeschool him, we might as well start exposing him to things other than toy stores and the mall.

After choosing from several options, we ended up taking him to Museo Pambata. I wasn't sure if this place was good so I prayed really hard that it's where we should go.

Scale Model of a Spanish Galleon

By God's grace, it was a nice place for a kid. You can touch most of the things there so Timmy was very happy with that. The room had themes from science to old Manila.

Mini Jeep

All in all it was a great trip. Timmy enjoyed it and he was happy with the museum.

Timmy's Favorites...

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

Do Not Worry

Worry is probably what most people have in common.

You worry about your health, money, parents, kids and just about anything and everything you can think of. After all the worrying, what did we get out of it? Probably nothing but wrinkles, a few frown lines and a feeling of anxiousness. Do we want this?

I believe that the underlying reason for worrying is the fact that we want to be in control....of everything. In reality we're not in control.

We don't control how people react. We don't control other people's thoughts. We are not in control.

There is only one thing that we can control, ourselves. It is up to us how we react to certain situations and how we treat other people.

I am reminded of a song by Carried Underwood that tells about who is in control of our lives and everything else.

He who created the heavens and the earth, He is in control.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat;

or about your body, what you will wear.

Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn;

yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Luke 12:22-25

Weekend Treat

We had a short, short break last weekend from all the chaos in the city. We went up to Tagaytay, relaxed, ate and spent time with the family.

It was a blessing to be able to take a short trip with the family. Cool weather and some quality time with the family. Nothing beats that.

enjoying munchies

Apps to Pass the Time

With the all the apps in available for the iPhone you can easily get lost in it.

Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Tweetdeck

My hubby was the one who got me into Twitter and I found it to be a good way to catch up on news and current events. Tweetdeck is a sweet application that let's you organize your contacts, send out tweets and read tweets in a organized manner.

2. Facebook

A social networking application that lets you read updates on the go.

3. Evernote

An excellent digital notebook. You can use this to read pdf files and photos. Best thing about it is you can sync it with your desktop computer.

4. Flickr

Browse through your account and upload photos with this handy app.

5. Reeder

Simple rss reader

6. Yahoo Messenger

7. Best Camera

Apply nice effects on your photos with this app.

8. Camera Bag

Edit photos with this handy app.

9. Color Piano

Just because my loves to play musical instruments.

10. All Recipes

Plan your meals with a ton of recipes to choose from a ton of recipes to choose from.

All apps are available at the iTunes Store.

Keep on Praying

We may not get what we pray for but know that God is in control and He has a plan for us.

The Lord answers our prayers in three ways. Yes. No. Wait.

Never stop praying.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

1 John 5:14-15

I Choose Love....

In a world like ours, it's so easy to feel hurt and anger when somebody wrongs us and disappointment when things don't go our way. These are natural reactions but is it necessarily the right one?

I've read somewhere that unforgiveness in our hearts manifests through physical pain. If you've been harboring ill feelings towards someone it is you that suffers and not that person.

I admit that showing love and grace to somebody so unlovable is difficult. You can't help but think about what was done to you and just thinking about it makes you irritated but when you think of what Jesus Christ did for us in the cross while we are sinners He still chose the cross, gave His life for us and loves us then how can we not show that same love for others?

Going through these is a test of character. It strengthens us and our faith.

Do we still want to have these ill feelings or do we want to enjoy God's love and share this with others?

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:13

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. 

French Vanilla Ice Cream

A few months ago hubby and I ordered at amazon a Cuisinart ice cream maker and it arrived via a balikbayan box last week. Oh boy! we were so excited! 

Last night we tried our hand at making our very first homemade ice cream. It took us awhile to decide what flavor to make and we decided to start with the basic french vanilla ice cream. We had all the ingredients on the table, placed the ice cream tub in the freezer earlier that day and had our Ben & Jerry's recipe book on hand. 

It was quite easy to make it with eggs, heavy cream and milk. What was difficult with making ice cream was the long wait. After churning the mixture we placed it in containers and the long wait began. 

This morning I inspected the finished product and wasn't 100% happy with it's appearance. The taste was SUPERB! Yummyness! SUPER! but it looked blah. It was rich and creamy. a bit too sweet for me but it was really good.

After much assessment, we came to the conclusion that it lacked air. Ice cream is suppose to  be 25% air and this had like 5%. 

Since it was too early (in the morning) for ice cream, hubby decided to make  milkshakes with it. SARAP! I like my vanilla milkshake unadulterated while hubby wanted his with decadent dulce de leche. The vanilla milkshake with dulce de leche was good but it was too sweet for my taste. 

And where was timmy in all this? He was sleeping while his parents were making ice cream at 10pm and the next day he was curiously watching while his baba made milkshakes. He was drooling over the vanilla milkshake so we decided to give him some and he LOVED it! 

Now, we will play around with the recipe to get the texture and taste we like. Of course we will make flavors that just oooooze with yummyness...so now the journey begins hehehe

Epicenter

A fairly recent book is the talk of the town today because of it's relevance in our world today. Epicenter by Joel Rosenberg is about how the events that are happening in the Middle East will change our future.