beaming with joy

God is so awesome and good all the time. He never cease to amaze and bless my family with great things - especially my children. All the praises and honor goes back to Him. To my daughter and son -- your exuberant thirst for learning and success both inspire us to thrive for better ....thank you for the joy you gave me and your dad today, a gift that is both pleasing and fulfilling......you guys rock and I am so proud of you both!!! xoxo

incredibly blessed and happy!

Earlier today I received a phone call from my kids' teachers and that me and my husband are both invited and literally have to be present on Monday (28th) to witness the school's annual awarding ceremony. I was at work when I received the news and after I had taken the call, I can hardly concentrate on the numbers I am working on....I must say, it was one of the best news I've ever heard so far and one of the best blessings ever received!

It is supposed to be a secret as my kids do not have any idea what award they are receiving or whether they are gonna receive one. Ashley would be receiving a 'Best in Academic Achievement Award' for overall 4th graders while Andrew would be receiving 4 awards of which I do not have a clue yet what are those.....

I can't be thankful enough for such blessings! Words are not enough to describe how happy I am for both Andrew and Ashley, for being recognized in their excellence in their class for this year's school term. The thought of endless hours of constantly reminding, motivating, supervising and tutoring for their tests, homeworks, researches and projects really brought tears to my eyes thinking that hard works really pay off with great results.... The thing is, they are not just deligent and determined about their studies, they are also very passionate on pursuing and aiming their personal goals.... And so I honestly think that they deserve this recognition not only for their amazing accomplishments but also for their commitment and consistency in all the things that they do.

It is very rewarding on my part as a parent to see that my children have grown to be responsible and independent in their study habits and that they really put efforts in developing and discovering their God-given gifts and potentials both in their academic, social and extra curricular activities. They have both shown tremendous amount of interests and had always been brave to go the extra mile on any assigned projects and term papers. Things that would really help them bring out the best positive attitude towards learning and the value of education. It is also a great privilege that my kids have been given the chance to be involved in a lot of community services and also other advanced and independent programs being offered by the school district.

But all of these would have not been possible if my husband and I are not blessed with the guidance, strength and wisdom that we needed as both busy and full-time working parents. The kind of wisdom, peace and inner strength that only comes from God....and I always believe that if we invest time, plant seeds and nurture its' growth on our children, we would definitely begin to see new sprouts growing and later on, down the road, be able to reap its' fruits...

I sincerely want to give my appreciation to my dear and doting husband for his endearing support and assistance, to the teachers for their great motivation and dedication and a huge huge thanks to God for His grace and all the guidance and protection He has given my children. God is so good to us and He's the one who deserves to be praised!

back-to-school jitters

Hello everybody! Today marks the first day of school. I am sure some of you are probably wishing it’s still summer and that you could ‘ve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning. Yup, it’s hard to imagine that summer is over, sleeping-in is over, no more late-nights and definitely, long-days has come to an end.

I don’t know about other moms out there, but I am having a little bit of a back-to-school jitters too…mixed emotions though. Both relieved and worried? But I know I’ll be fine after couple of days, once my kids and I have settled and back on our good-old-normal-school-days routines. Anyways, I only sense some tummy butterflies when I think of the to-do list and some back-to-school challenges such as these – who wouldn’t be?

breakfast preparations
pack lunches (ideas, ideas, ideas!!!)
bathroom competition
missing socks,
forgotten planners
gym days
laying out clothes the night before
homeworks, homeworks & homeworks
newsletters, announcements, schedules
science projects
term papers
school choir
Christmas plays
field trips,
parent-teacher conferences
bullying & other performance concerns
recitals
winter blues /snow episodes
clutters, clutters, & clutters
papers, papers & papers!!!
the list goes on and on…whew!!!

But you know what? In spite of these back-to school anxiety, I am also looking forward to another full 10-months of new learning process for my children. I am glad that they are ready to take on new challenges and take it to the next level. Homework, researches, home reading, journals, spellings & math problems & quizzes you name it…They can be tough and sometimes tedious tasks to do you know, and not only for our children but for us too. But hey my fractions skills is refreshed! True, some school activities can be bit over the top and it’s tough on our part especially when we moms, have loads and tons of other chores to do on top of our full time jobs, not to mention a basket of clothes to iron or stacks of papers waiting to be filed away!

But on a positive note, homework and school projects really is a key part of a child’s education. It’s there to help students remember and understand more of the school work. They develop study skills that they will use after graduating high school and later on foster into independence, responsibility and time-management skills.

I can hardly believe that my son is a Sixth Grader now and my daughter is in Grade 4. It only seemed like yesterday when they were just in kindergarten. Anyways, last night as my kids and I bid our goodnights and said our prayers, they shared me their excitements and jitters too. They expressed their expectations, hopes and goals for this school year. I am touched because theirs’ were so simple, honest and pure. If their young minds can set some simple goals and raise their bars higher, why can’t I? Their honest to goodness goals motivate me to make this school term a more meaningful, less stress, more easier, more enjoyable, plenty of educational and fun stuffs activities and lots of interesting learning experiences for both kids and parents.

Bottom line is -- Education is a key tool for any children’s bright future. And no matter what my children want to do with their lives — I guarantee that they will need a good education (coupled with strong faith and values) to do it. They’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it. And I promise them from the bottom of my heart that their ‘dear mother’ will be there to support them in every step of the way.

the mom i am meant to be

There is no greater privilege in living than bringing a tiny new human being into the world and then trying to raise him or her properly during the next 18 years or so. Doing that job right requires all the intelligence, wisdom and determination you will be able to muster from day to day.

Everyone has an image of and some basic assumptions about what a mother is. We have all experienced of being mothered in some form or another and we have complex feelings about that experience. What becomes clear now is the extent to which a mother and a daughter/son relationship is focal from the day the baby is conceived in her mother’s womb to the early days of mothering. Mothering is such a joy to almost all women, but what is also missing in the understanding of mothering is there is also an extent of how painful sometimes it can be and how exhausting, and often a thankless, occupation. In the world of media, art or literature, and other fantasy world, we are exposed as “happy mothers” or sometimes "super moms". We reared with the idea of children fulfilling our dreams and yet with little idea of how that should come about.

When I try to examine this ancient biblical ideal of a motherhood, we do not find the stereotyped mother or a housewife occupied with dirty dishes and laundry, her daily life dictated by the demands of her husband and her children. Nor do we find a hardened, overly ambitious career woman who leaves her family to fend for itself.

What I find is a strong, dignified, multitalented, caring woman who is an individual in her own right. She is her children’s mother, her husband’s partner, and she is completely trusted with the responsibilities to nurture, protect, care and to bathe her children with the greatest love and attention.

I believe that a mother is special human being, a very pure and deserving entity who disciplines a child by her virtues, values and emotions. But in the eyes and level of understanding of youngsters, a mother is just a mom, guilty of doing mom things – setting out restrictions and house rules, and making demands, and sometimes preventing children from making certain turns, life turns.

Mothers are also classified as “good mothers’ “bad mothers” or “good enough” mothers. Universally, all mothers are determined to assert to be “the best mother” of all times. We mothers try to explore in every fantasy and reality of it all. And at times, we fail. But you know, it is in the failing that we succeed and in the badness that we “transcend” into “good enough” and make “great mothers”.

As a mother, I have learned a lot of things. I have learned to deal with temporary frustrations and abundant joys of motherhood. I can recount how I am transformed from having second thoughts of motherhood to embracing it, and I’ve learned how to love my children more than ever by accepting God’s unconditional love for me.

My son Andrew is 11 years old and my daughter Ashley is 9 years old, pretty much, they are now in their pre-teens and sooner or later I will be facing much bigger challenges in raising teenagers. Don’t get me wrong, Andrew and Ashley are both very delightful and lovable. They are both equally competitive hardworking and exceptionally good and made me a proud mother. But as they are growing and developing in sizes, heights and all, their level of thinking and behavior changes and matures too. This transition is what worries me a bit. I am having trouble giving away a dash of freedom to them even in choosing what kind of hair cut or hair style they want to have. I am used to the idea that I run the show most of the time and they are just the actors who always have to follow orders from the director, to act out the script and expected to give their best performance. But it seems that this is not the case anymore. And so I have to consider to make some changes as well accordingly.

Being a mother has plenty of challenges and thousands and thousands of chores!!!! Pretty much you have to flip your hat from time to time from one role to another, one moment you are a director, next you are a chef and then you become a symphony orchestra conductor. And why is that so? Because it is a conductor’s role to synchronize the various instruments to produce a dynamic rhythm and a pleasant sounding music.

Here’s an overview of mothers’ functions: organizer, supervisor, adviser, counselor, teacher, overseer, nurse, tutor, cook, nanny, janitor, seamstress, caretaker, a ‘cool’ or perhaps a-not-so-cool-mom’, a friend, but here’s my favoriteone: a guardian angel. Here’s also the list of a mother’s specialized areas: homeworks, projects, researches, piano lessons, swimming lessons, drama club, spelling bee, sports fest, play day, birthday parties, dentist appointments, parent-teachers-conference, and a lot more, the list goes on and on… Couple of times I had moments and almost “losing it”. Most of the time I had given and given until I had nothing left to give. There are times I find myself frustrated, angry spirit was quickly replacing my "good mommy" attitude.

All moms experience moments when they feel unequal to the responsibility of motherhood and think: "I just can't do this"! "I don't have the strength and wisdom for raising this child". But you know what? In spite of it all, I am going to face all these mothering challenges for the next couple of decades, I am so determined to continue my role. It is a significant, and most rewarding role of a lifetime. It’s not easy but I don’t know what I would do without them either. They give me so much joy and meaning.

I think moms need to have the confidence and support they need to connect with their kids. I try to understand my kids’ temperaments and learn to value them more. I also learn to discover their learning style. I believe too that teaching them to pray plays a significant role. When they realize that talking to God is as natural as talking to their friends, they begin to enjoy prayer. I think listening to them and investing in the relationship is very much needed. To me, discovering and capturing my children’s amazing God’s given gifts and imagination is such a wonderful experience. It is almost like taking advantage of beauty’s nature in my own backyard.

And of course, the ultimate goal for mothers of faith is to give each child an understanding of Scripture and a lifelong passion for Jesus Christ. This is, I believe, the most important responsibility for those of us who have been entrusted with the care and nurturance of children. Every mother has dreams for their children. We know what is the best for them,but it is not for us to decide. It is God's plan. We are there to mold them as how God wants them to be. All we need to do is to trust God fully, give Him all our fears and worries. And never forget to pray and ask for His wisdom, guidance and protection.

That's what moms are meant to be. To all moms out there: Hats off to you! and Happy mother's day!

sugar and spice and everything nice...

Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what my little girl Ashley is made of!

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. I have to pinch myself and believe for myself that Ashley really had already turned 9 years old. It's not so long ago when she was just this cuddly and chubby-creased baby in my arms.

I remember the day she was born. So pink. So cute. So soft. So delicate. And hmm smells so incredibly good too. The moment I set my eyes on her, I thought to myself, she is the most beautiful girl on the entire planet earth (i think that's how every proud mom felt about their own child). It’s not really that hard to recall the time I gave birth to her. Who would forget a 1 and 1/2 day of labor pains! I won’t. That’s 36 solid hours. I won’t forget the excruciating pains I went through with her. Little I knew and realized on day 2 that she was distressed too. In as much as I wanted her to come out, she couldn’t because she was also struggling. I thought she was too comfortable in the warmth of my cocoon-like womb that she does not want to come out at all. But for some reason, my ob-gyne and I didn’t have a clue why suddenly the umbilical cord was found tied up and encircled on her poor tiny neck. But she was such a strong baby and a brave one so to speak. She held on to me tightly as much as I held unto her. I tell you, there's nothing like labor pains, it is the mother of ALL pains...well at the end, it is so worth it. I am rewarded with an angel sent from above. How fitting the saying "no pain, no glory" is!

I also remember the first day she was home from the hospital, couple of days after she was born. She was wearing this baby pink cotton dress, matched with pink mittens and bonnet, wrapped in pink soft and fluffy blanket. Her clothing almost matched the color of her cheeks – pink! She was surrounded by all her cousins, aunts and uncles. All gaping at her, wanting to touch her, cuddle her and sniff her, and I even beg them to be quiet and not to wake her up just as yet. As if she knew what exactly was going on, she suddenly woke up from her serene sleep, opened her eyes and there! she gave us the most incredible sweet smile that made everyone say "awww"...

Ashley is such a happy child, she loves to frolic and gives everyone a sweet and adorable smile that just makes their hearts melt away. I have so much happy memories that I can recall…from being an infant baby, to toddler, to pre-schooler, to kindergarten. She likes to hum and dance even she is still in the baby crib. Ashley just makes my day after a hard day’s work. I used to take plenty of photograph of her. And she would always give me her best smile the moment I have my camera with me.

Even she was just in my tummy, she moved a lot every time I read a story on her. From day 1, Ashley already loved books even before she learned to speak. In fact she started reading a book before she turned 4 years old. She also loves pink a lot. There’s the pink blanket, pink socks, pink dresses, pink sweater, pink head band, pink toys, pink dolls, pink tutu’s, pink ballet shoes, pink books, pink bikes, even her room was painted pink and purple. Seems every single thing she have is in pink!

But now according to her, pink is no longer her favorite color. She said, “no offense mom but I am ‘almost’ over pink color” Take note, she uses ‘almost’ so not to hurt my feelings. She also said that pink is not that “in” and “cool” anymore and in fact she now likes the shade of blue. Out with the pink, in with the blue! And red, and yellow and orange!

I was like…this is not happening….it can’t be real! How can this be? My little girl does not like pink anymore. And you know what does that mean? It’s like a casual announcement without being warned. That she not a baby anymore. And before I know it, here comes a girl now emerges. I just remember her in her bibs, diapers, and pigtails, carrying her baby bottle. Now, I saw her just walked across the hallway to her room carrying her DS electronic game.

From pink to blue. From the Teletubbies to Treehouse. From Brahms lullabies, Barney’s songs to the Hanna Montana, the images of a girlhood have been projected.

There are numerous of things that I like about my daughter. I like her when she welcomes me with her hugs and kisses and tells me she misses me so much and asks me how's my day. But what I like about Ashley most is - (even she had outgrown her love of pink colors and barbies). She has this big and beautiful and generous heart and has a very genuine spirit. She loves God so dearly and she thinks that God made such an amazing job creating everything in this entire world. She also made it quiet clear that she and Jesus are very close friends.

Ashley is described by her teacher as an outstanding bright and hardworking student who strives for excellence and is always up for a challenge. I describe Ashley as a very loving and gentle-mannered girl who has a young mind, strong spirit and has a determined dream.

As she turned 9 years old yesterday, I can see that she has grown into such a lovely little girl. But to me she is still a baby. And she will always be my baby. That’s my girl. That’s my Ashley. I just want to thank God for her life. I wish her a bright future ahead of her and all the good things in life...Happy Birthday sweetie!

daddy's little girl

There’s nothing like a daddy’s embrace to his precious daughter. When a father wraps his arms, his words, his time, his love and his faith around his daughter, he enriches a lifelong relationship to blossom and flourish, and in return the daughter learns to measure the world through her father.

my pride and joy

Meet my son and my daughter Andrew and Ashley. They are both my pride and joy. They are my heart and soul. They are my hope and my reason. And they are my only precious treasures. I cherish, value and enjoy my children more than anything in this world. They bring life, meaning and inspiration into my life. There is nothing like a special sense of satisfaction and a pure joy that I get from them. They are the best reward I’ve ever received and I just love them so much.