Archive for 2009

« Older Entries

Goodbye Glasses – My Lasik Experience

Monday, November 30th, 2009
Share

Just the other day, I had lasik surgery done on my eyes.

I can’t begin to describe how liberating it feels to wake up and not have to look for my glasses– and yet actually see everything clearly. :) It feels great to be able to watch movies and be able to cuddle with my dear husband properly, not worrying about my glasses getting displaced…to be able to play with my girls and not need to constantly worry about getting kicked in the face with my glasses on…to be able to stay out until late at night and not get my eyes irritated by my drying contacts…to be able to wear anything and not have to take into consideration whether or not my outfits suit my glasses…to be able to swim and actually get my hair wet…. aaahhhh! Liberating is the word! :)

I would like to thank my dearest husband for saving up for this procedure…and for being the one who convinced me to have it done. He says he’s only worried that now I get to see him clearly. I told him even with blurry vision, no one can miss those lush eyebrows of his. hehehe :)

Thank you Lord for this answered prayer! :)

Once again, goodbye glasses. Goodbye contacts. You’ve served me well, but still….I’m happy to finally bid you goodbye! :)

Category: random

Tags: , , ,
Posted in health and wellness | No Comments »

STUCK

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Share

We were on our way to meet with a couple when we got a call from another newly-married couple who are good friends of ours. Dennis was already in the car when he got a call from the wife, crying and wanting to talk to me. I was still upstairs at that time, saying goodnight to the kids– so Dennis sent me a text message telling me to bring our other cellphone which allowed for unlimited calls. His exact message was “Bring [unlimited-call cellphone]. Emergency.”

Upon reading the message, several thoughts came rushing into my head. Dennis is not the type who easily panics. He also knows that I easily panic, so he is definitely not the type who would just text me the word emergency if there really was no real emergency. So I hurried downstairs and got into the car.

As soon as I got inside, I asked him what had happened. He told me that our friend called, crying about something, and that they got cut off before she could say why she was crying. I then got a message from her, asking me to call her as soon as I could. Dennis and I looked at each other with worry. We’ve never seen this friend cry before. We’ve always asked both her and her husband how their marriage was, and it has always been with a very confident “we’re doing great!” answer. Dennis and I agreed that if there really was something wrong, we would have to cut short our other meeting and go to their house (it was late into the evening already).

I dialed my friend’s number and waited for her to pick up the phone. When she finally did, I heard a sob before the word hello. I asked her what was wrong. “Bakit?”– was all I could say, in a soft, sympathetic voice. I heard another sob, followed by an attempt to clear her throat and her emotions so that I could understand her better.  Then she told me what was wrong.

“We’re Stuck.”

“What do you mean you’re stuck?”

She went on to explain that they had an argument and they both could not come to an understanding and clear resolve. They could not see eye to eye in this particular situation. They both felt that the other person simply didn’t get it. They were stuck.

She also explained that they both agreed that they were stuck and they needed an outsider’s perspective to somehow help them get unstuck. They both agreed to call us. She was to talk to me, and the husband was to talk to Dennis.

I processed her thoughts with her, while Dennis processed the husband’s argument with him. By the end of the night, they were back to discussing the matter by themselves, and came to an agreeable compromise. There was no need to go to their house after all. We got to relax and take our time with the other couple.

As it turned out, their issue was really not that serious, relative to what other people might consider serious. But we all know that in marriage, it is the small stuff that make a difference. If we can’t handle the small matters in a way that would show love and respect to both parties, we certainly wouldn’t be able to handle the big issues properly.

As Dennis and I were driving home, we were talking about how we knew this couple would have a great marriage. I’m guessing it took a lot of humility (especially on the husband’s part hehe) to both admit that they were stuck, to admit that they needed help, and to be willing to actually hear out another person’s perspective.

Humility in marriage would go a long way. We don’t need to wait for a pressing problem before we swallow our pride and ask for help. It is with the seemingly-trivial concerns that we get to practice this humility which doesn’t at all come naturally to most of us.

I am extremely grateful to have couples who take the time to mentor us even before we get to that point of being stuck. :)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in marriage | No Comments »

Pins and Needles

Friday, November 6th, 2009
Share

Over lunch today, I once again had to tell Mika to sit properly. She has this habit of leaning and putting all her weight on one side of her booster seat, which renders her body unstable, causing her legs to also take on an awkward position just to somehow keep her from falling off the seat (in case the seat belt finally gives). She also rarely listens. I have to be the one to move her and show her how to position herself, only to find her shifting her weight again. I usually end up just letting her be, praying that the seat belt doesn’t snap.

Every once in a while, Mika would suddenly cry and complain of having an “owie” on her leg. I would ask her to point to the exact area of her owie, but she would just cry and cry and point to her leg, frustrated and irritated. This has been the case quite a number of times already and so I have figured out that every time this happens, it is a classic case of having pins and needles. :)

Ugh. I hate that– pins and needles. I know how annoying it can be, and I wouldn’t blame her for crying and kicking out of irritation. I can understand that as a toddler, she perceives the sensation as pain and probably doesn’t know how else to explain whatever it is she is feeling on her leg. I also know that there’s not much you can do about those temporarily-impinged nerves, except maybe shaking the affected limb to help hasten the conduction of nerve impulses and help bring them back to their normal state. But then again, even that is still not comfortable since it would actually heighten the sensation momentarily until everything goes back to normal.

So earlier, that’s what I did. While Mika was all “distressed” from the pins and needles and not knowing what it was that she was really feeling on her leg, I remained calm, because I knew what it was and that it was temporary and a normal part of how our bodies work. I gently held her leg but when I tried to shake it while assuring her it would be okay, she cried all the more and hit me, thinking that I was trying to hurt her some more.

And then it hit me– a lot of times we cry and get frustrated because of some discomfort we’re going through in life and we don’t know how else to perceive it but to think of it as being painful and confusing. We cry and we complain and when God– knowing that it is all part of this thing called life, knowing that what we are going through is temporary, and knowing how to hasten the process of “healing”—when God calmly tries to shake whatever it is that is causing the discomfort off, we cry all the more and get annoyed at Him for not helping ease our pain. Sometimes we think He’s not even doing anything about our situation. But in actuality, He just knows better. :)

Tags: , ,
Posted in God-moments, feeding times | 1 Comment »

No, I’m Not FAT!

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Share

My father-in-law came to visit us earlier today. Alyanna does love him, but for some odd reason, she just isn’t warm and sweet to him…not like how she is with my mother-in-law, at least. Anyway, as I was coming down the stairs, I overheard my father-in-law persuading her to give him a kiss. When I got to our living room, I took it upon myself to help him persuade Alyanna into obliging him with a kiss…or a hug, at the very least. I took her aside, and after a few minutes, she finally gave in and agreed to give him a hug….but she insisted that I hold her hand while she did it. I went with her, and she slooowwly walked up to her grandpa and stood there in front of him, her body somewhat inclined towards him as if it was saying “If you want a hug from me, then YOU come and get it from me.” I think my dad-in-law got the message and knew it was the closest thing he could get to a hug from her so he happily took her in his arms and hugged her– Alyanna remained still and somewhat stiff (the “shy” kind of stiff, not the scared or indifferent kind). What came after took me by surprise and just made me laugh…

GRANDPA: *Hugging her tight and cherishing the rare moment* “Alyanna, you’re so fat fat na ah!” *rubbing the sides of her tummy, perhaps implying that her tummy was getting bigger*

ALYANNA: *Quickly forced herself out of those loving arms and hands* “No! I’m not fat!!”

GRANDPA: “Yes, you’re fat na, see your tummy? very big already!”

ALYANNA: *Now very disheartened by the comment, swiftly moved away from her grandpa and sat on our coffee table with both arms covering her tummy, frowning* “No! I’m not fat. I eat healFY (healthy) food! I always eat healfy food I can’t be fat! I’m not fat. You’re fat, not me!”

…At this point I knew I had to intervene….

ME: “No, Alyanna, what Ankong meant was that you’ve gained weight since the last time he saw you, but of course, you’re still not fat….You just got bigger because you’re a growing girl remember?”

ALYANNA: *Walks away from the table and moves to the other couch, still frowning*

GRANDPA: “Yes! Alyanna, you’re not fat! you’re still thin, but you’re fatter…but you’re still thin..just fatter….but thin!”

ME: “Remember? Before, you just weighed 20 pounds..now, you’re 30 pounds already! You’re bigger! But not fatter….because you always eat healthy food right?”

ALYANNA: *Feeling better now* “Yes.”

*She now smiles…and she starts pretending to be a baby and talking like a baby*

….I would understand why she reacted this way if her parents (that’s me and Dennis!) were the type who cared a lot about not getting fat….but obviously, we’re NOT! So I wonder, where’d she get this sudden body image issue??? I thought this was an adolescent thing…She hasn’t even turned four yet! Oh, dear…

Tags: , , ,
Posted in alyanna dialogues, health and wellness | No Comments »

Hong Kong Diaries: Lost!

Sunday, July 19th, 2009
Share

July 13, 2009

My prayer just before leaving for Hongkong was, “Lord, please make this a stress-free vacation.” I knew I needed grace since this would be my first trip out of the country with the two girls.

I was right.

This was my first day “on vacation” but I got stressed out emotionally and physically. I wish I could say that it was because of the two girls, but truthfully, they had no direct involvement in causing the stress. I say no “direct” involvement, because it was, after all, their stroller that started it… (hehe go ahead, thammie…blame it on an innocent non-living thing!)

You see, we decided not to have the stroller checked in with the other luggages, thinking we would be needing it as our waiting time was quite long (international flight, three hours…). This was the case, so it actually was a good thing that we just surrendered it right before boarding the plane.

Upon arriving in Hongkong, Dennis thought that the stroller would already be in the baggage claim area. I thought otherwise. We were in a hurry (mainly because we were with my brother-in-law’s family and there was a van sent to pick us up) so Dennis sent me to stay and check where to get the stroller and to meet him in baggage claim number five. I agreed, and I went back to get the stroller. That took some time…I’m not really sure why, but it took them some time before they came back with the stroller. To add to that, Dennis had the claim stub with him so I had to convince them that the stroller was mine. Good thing I had Mika with me so I was very convincing. :)

As I was on my way to our meeting place, I realized how long it has been since my last visit here! Everything was so unfamiliar all of a sudden. I had to make sure my reading comprehension in English was still in tact so I asked two airport personnel where Baggage claim number five was. They pointed me to the same place where the arrows and signs were pointed at. When I got there, however, Dennis and Alyanna were nowhere in sight….and all my documents were with them. I had to go through immigration to get to the baggage claim area, but how could I go through immigration without my passport??

It was I think twenty minutes (according to Dennis, but I’d say almost an hour!) of waiting for them, looking for them, and praying that God would remind Dennis that he had a wife and another daughter that he left behind. I asked if they had a paging system which I could use they said no… I asked two security officers what if Dennis had gone through immigration already would he be able to come back to get us they said no… I searched the area… I asked three more airport people to make sure if that area was the ONLY place that everyone who arrived would go through to get to the baggage claim area they said yes…I called four numbers of immigration offices to ask if a mister Dennis Sy had already gone through immigration,I had different answers since they didn’t really understand me…I asked this very accommodating airport ambassador Koko how old she was when she got her ears pierced she said 11…and I told her she should come see the Philippines, our airport is much less complicated (since it’s smaller) she said she would love to some time…but still, no Dennis and Alyanna.

This whole time I was praying…and saying to myself, “I will not let this stress me out.”

Just when I was about to dial the last number, my last hope of finding my love and my sweetheart, I saw this man with thick eyebrows coming towards me, all sweaty in spite of the air-conditioning, and with a little girl tailing behind him…

DENNIS!!!

“Koko! That’s my husband!! They found me!!”

….And then Dennis made this face…that look of frustration when someone lets you down. At that moment all my composure left me. I started to cry…and I started blaming him for making me cry. I said the way he looked at me made me feel like I didn’t try hard enough to find them. He said it was just a look of worry and concern and fear and relief all at the same time. Still…I had to blame someone for making me cry. Hehe… I guess I didn’t know what I was feeling either.

A few minutes later, we were okay. (okay so maybe it wasn’t a FEW minutes, but at least it was before we got to the hotel! :) )

Today we learned that you should never leave your partner behind– especially when you are both in a foreign country with no international roaming on your phones.

Better yet, you should both just get international roaming. :)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in trips | No Comments »

A Dozen Nice Things About Me

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Share

I was browsing through some books earlier when I saw this in one of the devotionals: “Write at least a dozen nice things about yourself from your Heavenly Father’s perspective”. I paused and thought about it for a moment as I tried to come up with a list…

…………………The “moment” took longer than I thought…..and the list never came up! I was stuck. I knew I’ve done this before, when I would come up with a “godly” perspective about other people to encourage them and motivate them (and sometimes even so I could better understand them)…but today I was stuck. What was usually an easy thing to do for other people became quite difficult when it came to coming up with a list for myself.

Is this generally the case for most wives and moms (women)? Or is it just me? :)

…..Maybe with all the things I feel I have to think about daily, I just haven’t been able to turn on that part of my brain that was wired to think of these lovely things about myself…or maybe I was just trained this way, to not think of nice qualities about myself for fear that I would become proud. Hmm…. either way, it’s not a good thing. I need to start re-wiring and re-training my brain.

“Finally, brothers [sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” -Philippians 4:8

I think THAT, combined with THIS:

“…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”- Romans 12:3

…..it would be just the thing to help me come up with that list, and give thanks to my Father. :)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in God-moments | No Comments »

Am I Beautiful?

Monday, June 29th, 2009
Share

I was having a peaceful time reading my Bible when I heard Alyanna whining and demanding for something in the other room. At that moment, I was tempted to ignore her and thought, it’s supposed to be my “quiet” time with God, anyway. A few seconds later, however, I just knew I couldn’t go on with this alone time if I did not deal with her behavior right away.

I called her into my room and asked what was wrong. She continued to use her whining tone despite my reminder of the consequences that tone would bring about. She was whining because she wanted to wear a hair clip. I’ve told her a  few times before to wait until her hair was dry before wearing one, so this time I reminded her again. She then told me she did not want to obey. As petty as the issue at hand was, I had to deal with her heart so I disciplined her.

Usually, Alyanna would apologize, change her tone, and decide to obey after I discipline her–but this time, she didn’t. Instead, she looked at me and said, “I still don’t like to obey.”

This was not the Alyanna I’ve come to know, so I asked her why she was willing to get the rod from whining, just so she could have her way and wear that clip. She then started crying and said “I have to wear a clip so I can be beautiful! Because I want to be beautiful!”

In my mind, “WHAT?!? You’re three years old!! When I was your age……..I couldn’t even remember how things were when I was your age!”  ……..I decided to take this as a teachable moment.

ME: “Alyanna, do you think wearing a nice hair clip is what would make you beautiful?

ALYANNA: *sobs* “yes!”
ME: “Sweetheart, you know what? Even now that your hair is messy and still wet, I find you beautiful. You have to know it’s not what’s on your hair that makes you beautiful; it’s what’s in your heart–that’s what makes you beautiful. Do you understand?”

ALYANNA: *nods*

ME: *relieved that she got my point* “Okay Alyanna, let’s just fix your hair later when it’s dry okay?”

ALYANNA: “Okay…..” *smiling at this point* “Mom, can I wear my new dress nalang??”

ME: *thinking of the laundry–soap, water, time, effort…plus the wear on the new dress if she used it to play around…plus it was too hot and I was sure she’d get all sweaty as soon as she put on that dress* “Why? We’re not going out…”

ALYANNA: “Mom, because I want to be beautiful!”

ME: *withdrew from the place of relief* “Sweetheart, you know even if you’re wearing worn-out clothes, I still see you as beautiful! You know why? Because it’s not what you wear that makes you beautiful, it’s what’s in your heart. What makes you beautiful is if you have a heart that makes God smile. Do you understand?”

ALYANNA: “Yes, mom…but can I wear my new dress? I want to look beautiful!”

ME: *thinking: naku you better not be like this when you’re sixteen!*….. “Okay, love, but you have to know once you wear that it’ll be hot and you can not complain. You’re okay with that?”

ALYANNA:*excited* “Yes!”

…So off she goes to get her outfit. As I was putting it on her, she was beaming with excitement and when we were finally done, she asked me, “Mom, Am I beautiful??”

—————-

Amazing…this three-year old is already craving for someone to assure her that she’s beautiful.

I want to make sure she grows up knowing that she is– not because of the clothes that she would wear, nor the hair accessories she would put on…but because she would have a heart that honors God. I want to raise her up and guide her towards becoming that beautiful lady God has destined her to be–not just by teaching her how to dress well, but by training her to live a life that would make her Heavenly Father smile. :)

—————-

PS: Now, when I ask her “What makes you beautiful?” She gives me two answers: one, “If I smile.”, and two, “If I have a heart that makes God smile.” ….So far I say we’re on the right track. :)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in God-moments, alyanna dialogues | No Comments »

The Fear Factor

Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Share

It’s fascinating how our children, though they grow up in the same environment and interact with the same people, still end up with different personalities. Even by just looking at Alyanna and Mikaela (our one year-old), one can already see how different they are. Alyanna is very talkative, is into studying the details of things around her, and is very calculated with her ways. Mika, on the other hand, is the quiet type (so far!), is into watching the people around her, and is not as cautious and calculated as Alyanna. She can roll around our bed and could not care less about falling off the edge. I guess we could say that though Alyanna has Dennis’ looks, she is very much like me, and vise versa.

When Alyanna was a toddler, I appreciated the fact that she and I were so much alike– especially in the area of being cautious. I loved how I never had to warn her about not touching the electric fan and the electrical outlets, not opening drawers, and about how she should not just mouth everything in sight. I loved the thought of not having to worry about her getting injured or sick from “carelessness”.

Mika is just the opposite. I always have to watch her and be ready to tell her “no!” everytime she would try to touch the fan, lick the electrical outlets (yes, LICK!), open and close drawers, and mouth almost everything she sees. She loves to explore with all five senses! Ever since she could move on her own, I was so sure she would be the adventurous and daring type.

Lately, however, I’ve noticed that Mika has been more “fearful” of falling and getting hurt. I know that she is already physically capable of walking on her own, but somehow she freezes and cries everytime I try to let go of one hand (while still being held with the other one) and let her take a few steps. Lately she would not want to go down the bed on her own for fear of “missing” the floor even though she has been able to since she was 11 months old. I realized that this fearless little baby is slowly turning into a very calculated toddler as well–because of me!
Unintentionally, I’ve been teaching her to be fearful, all the while thinking I was just trying to “protect” her from unnecessary accidents.

I realized that though fear is a God-given instinct to us moms (thus making us quick to discern harmful situations), we have to make sure we are able to take control of this instinct and channel it wisely and well within balance. On one hand, we want to protect our children from danger, yet on the other hand, we do not want to cripple them by overly protecting them. There’s a fine line between being careful and being fearful. Being careful is when we take the NECESSARY steps to avoid the negative effects of what is PRESENT and REAL, while being fearful is when we take all precautionary steps –necessary and unnecessary — to avoid all outcomes of what MIGHT happen.

I don’t want my kids to miss LIFE just because they are afraid of what MIGHT happen. This means I myself should live life not constantly being afraid of them getting hurt, but always being reminded that we have a Heavenly Father who loves them much more than I ever could and who would take care of them and keep watch over them even at the times when I couldn’t. :)

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in God-moments, parenting, parenting help | No Comments »

I’m Tat!

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
Share

While we were eating lunch yesterday, Alyanna, out of the blue, said this to me:

“Mom, You know what? I’m so blessed to have you as my mommy.”

(Aaaahhh!!! The BEST!!!!)

ME: *with an exaggeratedly happy expression on my face, I suppose* “Really Alyanna???? That’s the sweetest thing to say! That makes me so happy!!!”

ALYANNA: *proud grin* “Are you tat mom?”

ME: “huh?”

ALYANNA: “Are you tat from what I said?”

ME: (Ah!) “Yeees! I’m sooo touched!”

ALYANNA: “Mom, you said touched? Is it touched? I thought it’s tat.”

ME: “Alyanna, you make me happy! ……What about you, what makes you happy?”

ALYANNA: *Stretches out her hand as if to touch my face* “YOU!” *big smile*

….Tat, tot, tet, tut…..I don’t care, anak. You made me feel all those things! :)

Of course, I know there will be another time when she’ll say she doesn’t love me, especially when I discipline her. That’s part of the whole mother-daughter dance. So for now, let me just savor the moment. :)

Tags: , ,
Posted in alyanna dialogues | No Comments »

Faith like a Child

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009
Share

One time, Alyanna stopped playing to help me with something (without me asking her)…
ME: “Alyanna, thank you for being such a good girl!”
ALYANNA: “Who’s the good girl?”
ME: “You!”
ALYANNA: “mom, God changed my heart already?”
ME: “Yes!”

Once while playing…
ALYANNA: (runs towards me) “Mom, can you please pray for me?”
ME: “What do you want me to pray for?”
ALYANNA: “that God would take off my cough” (coughs and coughs pero halatang drama)
ME: *says a prayer, while Alyanna keeps on coughing her pa-cute cough*
ALYANNA: “Thanks for praying for me mom! God healed me already!” (stops coughing and runs off)

*according to your faith, it shall be done…

While putting coins into her piggy bank one day…
ALYANNA: “mom, let’s give it away na ha?”
ME: (wondering what she was talking about) “Give what away?”
ALYANNA: “the money”
ME: “oh, We will give away the money? To whom?”
ALYANNA: “To the church”
ME: “WOW alyanna ang bait!!! What will we do with the money we have left?”
ALYANNA: “put it in the bank”
ME: “WOW ang galing mo alyanna!!! And then what about the money we will have left after that?”
ALYANNA: “uhm…. i don’t know…?”

*okay lang, what’s important is, marunong na magtithe! :)

one time after giving her the rod:
ME: “Okay, Alyanna what do you have to say to God?”
ALYANNA: “No! I don’t want!!” (knowing she had to pray and say sorry)
ME: “You know Alyanna, God loves you even if you sin, but when you disrespect mommy, you hurt God, not just mommy…” *i give a short “lecture” on this*
ALYANNA: *cries* “mommy!!” (leans towards me as if begging me) “please pray for me na!let’s pray na!”

*ayan, naconvict din! hehe :)

ALYANNA often sings this:
“The B-L-B-L-B,
yes that’s the book for me!
I stand alone on the word of God
the B-L-B-L-B…
BIBLE!!” :D

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

« Older Entries