@kayedeves, 12/25/11 2:23 AM

Christmas Eve masses always give me so much pride in being a Christian/Catholic.

@kayedeves, 12/25/11 2:22 AM

Christmas is my personal Thanksgiving.

@kayedeves, 12/25/11 2:21 AM

Signing off... Need to wake up early tomorrow to give meds to another sickly bird. Still, thank You Lord for all the blessings. :)

@kayedeves, 12/24/11 10:57 AM

Btw, thanks Jeshua for making our Jeshua feel better today :)

@kayedeves, 12/24/11 10:56 AM

Aki trying to wake me up -- "I wanna hold mommy's hand" daw. Aaaaaawww sweetness! :)

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 8:18 PM

Hala ganito ba talaga to? Bulag pero open ang eyes pagtulog?! Love u sweetheart!

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 6:55 PM

No fever but still very restless and cranky. "i want Mommy lang" daw. Mommy can't leave his side kahit tulog na sya.😥pic.twitter.com/9TmhrBCC

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 3:21 PM

Uh oh. The little boy is starting to be irritable and feel warm to touch na rin. Hope it doesn't turn into a full-blown fever.

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 8:38 AM

After taking a picture... Aki: And then.... Kaye: Then...? Aki: It's SHOWTIME! Anodaw?! Hahaha

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 8:37 AM

Day 5: cuddling with the little guy so we won't need to get up muna. pic.twitter.com/4nLrii0

@kayedeves, 12/23/11 8:20 AM

Got the sniffles since last night. Hay nagkakasakit talaga ako pag malayo sayo. #cheesy #eew #feelingteenager

@kayedeves, 12/22/11 11:38 PM

And Buding is back home! So taba na!

@kayedeves, 12/22/11 11:35 PM

600+ eBooks now in my phone! Feels like heaven!

@kayedeves, 12/22/11 11:42 AM

Walang magawa in Day 4. Should I go ahead and get an ultrasound? parang hobby lang -- thank you, Maxicare.

@kayedeves, 12/22/11 10:55 AM

Kaye: Sino'ng kamukha mo? Aki: Si Daddy po! :)

@kayedeves, 12/22/11 9:18 AM

Starting now I'm gonna start copying my tweets to the blog that I have for my kids. Mmmm... Errr... No BF/GF until you're 23! Hahahahaha

feelingteenager

Hmmm dumadami ata pimples ko pag naka-stay at home

Day 4 of holiday vacation

Thanks hubby for giving me those few extra hours of sleep... Yaaaawwwnnn... Now where is that Buknoy? :)

Hi Iya!

Kuya and I are just lounging here while you're doing somersaults in mommy's tummy. I love you! :)

Job 1:21

Tonight, I thought of how I'd like to die already just so I can meet God face to face, kneel in front of Him and plead for your sight.

It seems that your light perception is dwindling but let's still be thankful for all the blessings that we have in our life right now. When we first started this journey, we were told that you were completely void of sight. Still God gave you the chance to see light and bask in its beauty. Now, we offer this gift back to God and pray that maybe, someone else needs light perception more than you do. Remember to count the things that you have instead of those that you don't. You are blessed to have a family that loves you dearly and provides for you. Most importantly, you are blessed with good health and a happy heart.

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord."

I love you so much, sweetheart.

Hatboard

Aki (hawak ang headboard ng kama): HATboard
Kaye: No, headboard
Aki: Hatboard
Kaye: Headboard
Aki: Sige na nga, HATBOARD NA ;)

On Michael Phelp's Mother

“I knew that if I collaborated with Michael, he could achieve anything he sets his mind to.”

Debbie Phelps

(mother of Michael Phelps, who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 9, now an Olympian gold medalist)

On Moses' Mother

 “This mother understood (that) if she’s (going to) influence her son in a positive way, she had to look at him the way God looks at this baby.

She needed eyes of faith. She needed to see the greatness of the destiny that God has placed in Moses.

And if we would ever want to see greatness in our children as parents, then the first thing we have to see is we have to see them the way God sees them”

Gilbert Foliente

VCF pastor discussing Moses’ mother

Today

Sweetheart, you're going to be a kuya! ;)
Love your brother/sister and take care of him/her ha. Mommy and daddy love you both sooooo much!

Unity

Unity does not require uniformity.

Marriage

You can stay under one roof and not be married because marriage is about being united.
Richard Dy

Book quote

"Factual knowledge... won't guarantee excellence, but excellence is impossible without it."

From the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths"
Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton

Love You Forever

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.”

– From the book Love You Forever

By: Robert Munsch

RH/Divorce

Just wanted to let you know that if the Philippine government decided to pass the RH Bill, I can let that slide. But if they pass the Divorce Bill, I will join protests against it. I will not let them humiliate my religious leaders by passing a bill that fractures the sanctity of marriage.

Sleeping time

Kaye: O bakit andito ka na naman sa pillow ko? Give me space! Dun ka sa space mo!

Aki: This. Is. My. Pillow!

Dr. Seuss again

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." 

Dr. Seuss

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

Workout

Playing with you is the bestest workout ever! I love you!

Today

I love dancing with you, Sweetheart. I hope you never forget these little moments of ours.

Tupperware

Aki (hinahawakan ang lalagyan ng food): Tapelwer
Kaye: Tupperware...
Aki: Tapelwer, tama?

Love your lola

I made merienda for lola today. She was doing a bit of gardening and I just realized that it's been a while since I prepared food for her.

Love all your lolos and lolas ha. Love you sweetheart!

Don't forget

There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
WHO KNOWS WHAT MIRACLES YOU CAN ACHIEVE
When you believe, somehow you will

Handsome

Kaye to Aki: Hello, handsome!
Aki: Hands mo? Hands?

If tomorrow never comes

Sometimes late at night,
I lie awake and I watch her sleeping,
She's lost in peaceful dreams,
So I turn out the light.
I lay there in the dark,
And the thought crosses my mind,
If I never wake in the morning,
Would she ever doubt,
the way I feel about her in my heart...

If tomorrow never comes,
Will she know how much I loved her?
Did I try in every way?
To show her everyday
She's my only one.

And if my time on earth were through,
She must face this world without me.
Is the Love I gave her in the past...
Gonna be enough to last?
If tomorrow never comes!

'Cos I've lost loved ones in my life,
Who never knew how much I loved them.
Now I live with no regret,
The natural feelings for them
Never will reveal

So I made a promise to myself
Say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance
To tell her how I feel

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way
To show her everyday
She's my only one!

If my time on earth were through
She must face this world without me
Is the Love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last?
If tomorrow never comes

So tell that someone that you Love,
Just what you're thinkin of...
If tomorrow never comes... 

iPod

Aki and Kaye are listening to music using an iPod with speakers.
Aki: (tapping on one of the speakers)
Kaye: masira yan! don't tap on the speaker.
Aki: speaker ng iPod KO!

After almost a week in a hospital --

Kaye: ouchie tiyan tiyan ko
Aki: you want injection? Nextrose (dextrose)?

Credit Card

Sweetheart, it's been awhile since I last wrote you a note. I'm happy that i can do this now beside you, thanks to mommy's new phone and the pitfalls of my credit card management.

If you have a credit card by the time you're reading this, let me tell you now -- YOU DO NOT NEED THAT. No, not for emergencies, not for gifts that you need to buy, especially not for your groceries or daily needs.

Cut up that card, or I will cut it up for you.

I love you Esha.

Superman

 

Aki: (singing) Bahay, bahay, bahay ni Superman...

Kaye: Ay I'll teach you a new song! (Starts singing the same tune) Alive, alive, alive forevermore. My Jesus is alive forevermore...

Aki: Alive, alive, alive SI SUPERMAN!
...
aiyks! :)

Grateful

Let’s thank God, sweetheart, for people like Tita Paula, who includes our family in her prayers. May you be the same blessing to others.

I love you, son.

Negastar

I was going to write to you because I noticed that whenever you make the decision to be meek, the more people seem to annoy you and make you lose control. But look at what God said to mum through the daily reflections that I get from Kerygma.

Negastar

“We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us.” – Numbers 21:7

I was a whiner and complainer. If Sharon Cuneta is the Megastar, I claimed the title Negastar. It’s a character flaw I asked the Lord to correct. Maybe that’s why He sent me to His boot camp for wayward servants.

At the start of the Feast in Alabang in July 2009, the Council was plagued with harassments — illnesses, family emergencies, venue troubles, clergy problems, relationship difficulties. Besides that, I had secretariat ministry hitches piled on top of my deadlines.

I was also on Mommy duty. At the height of the AH1N1 scare, my elder son, boarding in far-off Quezon City, had fever. I rushed there after serving at the South Feast to nurse him. That same week, my younger son’s exhibit opened on the only night I had no meeting or practice. I ran around like a headless chicken.

After months of getting used to similar hyperacidity-inducing situations, I noticed that I complained less and dealt with glitches more serenely. The Lord was slowly dislodging my Negastar crown through the obstacle course He makes me run through. Lella Santiago

(mirellasantiago@yahoo.com)

Stay steadfast sweetheart. Mommy loves you.

Aki: Keyi keyi

Kaye: I can't carry you

Aki: Keyi keyi

Kaye: I can't carrry you kasi I'm in the office

Aki: Sige na nga. I can't keyi you eh.

Congratulations, sweetheart! At a very young age, you already inspire a number of people with your life story. May this motivate you to do good all the time.

I love you!

Isang gabi, nakuha ni Aki ang libro sa ibabaw ng lamesa.

Kaye: What's that?
Aki: Book. Read. Read.
Kaye: Sige, read the book. Open it.
...
Binuksan ni Aki ang libro. Maya-maya, hinawakan nya ang mukha niya.

Aki: Mommy! Face?
Kaye: Yes, that's your face.
Aki: (Hawak sa mukha) Face. (Hawak sa libro) Book. FACEBOOK!

aki at 3:00am:

Aki: sama ka? broom broom tayo!

hala! :-P

PART 2: Aki is eating and practicing his chavacano

Aki: Kaba ya (meaning finished na daw sya kumain, ayaw na nya pasubo)
Kaye: kaba ya etu kome? (tapos ka na kumain?)
Aki: Kaba ya. Kabayong bundat!
...
wahahahaha

PART 1: Aki is playing

Kaye: What's that?
Aki: Kabayong bundat.
Kaye: Eh what's this?
...Aki: Kabayong bundat!

(ay missing si Kabayong Buntis)

Dumating si Kaye galing sa office.

Kaye: Hi anak! Mommy's home!
Aki: Telephone!
Kaye: Embrace muna kay mommy kasi kakadating ko lang

Aki: Telephone!
Kaye: (na-deadma ang nanay) You want to borrow my phone? Sige na nga. (Inabot ang cellphone)
Aki: (Hawak na ang cellphone) Telephone!
Kaye: Ayan na nga anak, hawak mo na telephone.

Aki: Telephone! Ka-kinda busy! Telephone!

"Ka-kinda busy!" :)

Mga hirit ni Aki kapag ayaw matulog

Kaye: Sleep na
Aki: Everybody's sleeping?
Kaye: Yes, everybody's sleeping. You sleep narin.
...Aki: Sabi ni Father (priest) sleep na?
Kaye: Yes, sabi ni Father sleep na.
Aki: Sabi ni Jesus sleep na?

toinks!

One windy day...

Kaye: Can you hear the leaves moving? Kasi sa wind.
Aki: Sa aircon?
Kaye: Not aircon, wind.
...Aki: Aircon?
Kaye: Not nga aircon, wind.
Aki: Sige na nga.

Tito Pangke's baby Part 2:

Kaye: You help take care of the baby ha. What will you do when the baby cries?
Aki: Turn off baby!ü

Kaye: We're gonna have a new baby in the house. Tito Pangke's baby will live with us soon.
Aki: Baby?
Kaye: Yes, Tito Pangke's baby. Then you'll become Kuya Aki.
...Aki: Si Mommy - Kuya Mommy? :)

I’m in the office and am currently listening to my phone playing sound clips of you singing, laughing, talking, etc.

I love you, Sweetheart. J

:(

Mommy’s feeling blue today. I feel like I’ve been making wrong decisions left and right. Just small decisions, like what bag to buy for daddy or what color of jacket to buy. Still, I keep making wrong choices and that makes me feel like I’m not good enough. L

Hug mommy when I get home ha. I love you.

.

My Greatest Fears

• Die or be an invalid before I see you and your siblings able to provide for your own.
• See you or any of your siblings be miserable or selfish or unkind, especially to the less fortunate.
• See our family break apart.

My Last Will and Bilins

Sweethearts, I do not intend to sound morbid pero alam nyo na, we neither know the day nor the hour. Wag kayo mag-alala, nagrequest na ako kay Lord to at least make me stay long enough to see you succeed in life before He takes me. Still, don't forget my wishes pag nauna na ako sa inyo.

• Invest in stocks, Sweethearts. Read Bo Sanchez's book (My Maid Invests in the Stock Market). Soon, I'll start investing in our employer. And when I have extra, I'll invest in local companies naman. I entrust them all you, with the guidance of your dad ofcourse. Do not sell them all! Read on how to invest in stocks and hopefully, this will be your retirement fund. <Update: okay, I haven't been religious in investing in local companies. I'll try to be more consistent in putting in small, albeit regular, amounts in there. I have been investing in our employer, though. And I am hoping that it is a good buy>
• Invest also in real estate. Not sure if I can do this in my lifetime but I suggest you do. Buy then have them rented out. <Update: Dad and I have already started and bought one property to be rented out. We're also planning to convert Dad's old house in Antipolo to a three-door apartment, one for each of you perhaps.>
• Mommy is a member of our company's savings and loans group. Since I have my insurance for you, please give my savings to lolo and lola if they are still alive.
• Lastly, once the doctor pronounces me as "brain dead", donate all my viable organs to those who need them. ALL. As in lahat ng pwedeng kuhanin sa akin, ibigay mo na. Di ko na yan kakailanganin. And I want you to make this your mission too -- to promote organ donation. I read in an article once "Do not bring your organs to heaven; heaven knows we need them here". Tignan mo, if you donate at least 3 of my organs, those are 3 new persons whose lives were extended because of me; that's 3 more persons through whom I can channel my love to you through. 

I'll update this post, sweetheart, from time to time. I hope you get to read this. I love you so much.

Dad's Powers

You know Daddy has this special gift – when I am mad, he knows what to say or do to lessen my anger and to make me happy again. For that, I know God really paired the two of us together (mushy!)

I really hope you inherit that gift, especially during your teenage years.

I love you, son.

You may also want to read about me loving dad.

To my Jeshua Khalel

Do not forget that even Superman needs Jesus.

Here is an invitation from one of Tito Pangke’s Catholic group’s seminar. I really like the image on this. Jesus is shown hugging Superman. Near Superman, the text reads “O Lord, You are my source of strength (Ps 28:7)” and Jesus seems to say “With God, all things are possible (Mt 19:26)”

<to follow>

  Image courtesy of Hans Christian

Something to Ponder on

Sweetheart, if the possibility of failure were erased, what would you attempt to achieve?

Let me know when you read this. I love you.

You're TWO!

Happy birthday to my...

• Sweetheart
• Jesus Superman
• Aki
• Buknoy
• Esha
• Baby

Mommy loves you very very much!!! :)

Our Favorite Things

You're turning two in a few days and I just wanted to share a number of things that made Mommy's life easier and happier since you were born.

• Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder -- Number one on my list because I think this is revolutionary! (Forgive me if this has been around for sometime now and Mommy has been naive not to know. hahaha) Even before you had teeth, I can place fruits and vegetables in this and you can suck on the juices without Mommy fearing that you might choke.
  
• Farlin Electric Steam Sterilizer -- Yes, we still kept the stove top sterilizer for when you stay overnight at Daddy's house in Antipolo. But this helped Mommy work on other things while waiting for that orange light to turn off, signaling that your bottles and pacifiers are germ-free. Oops! Must not forget to dry the heating plate once it cooled down so that it won't easily rust.
  
• Baby food maker -- There are lots of kinds in the market but Mommy especially likes the one with juicer, grater and strainer. I love making food for you -- tomatoes, bananas, apples, mangoes, even if sometimes you don't like the food that Mommy prepares
  
• Pacifier -- You can't sleep without this until two or three months ago. I had to ask three dentists if this can really damage your teeth. All three said yes, so we had to tell you that our dog ate your pacifier. You asked for milk instead.
• Superman Pillow - Mommy had a doll named Nini Bunini. You have your Superman pillow. We have to wash it during the day and pray to God it dries before nighttime so you won't notice that it was gone from the bed.
  
• Corococs -- the Crocs imitation that we had you wear for walking around the house. It prevented your toes from splaying and it was easy to don and doff.
  
• Mommy's Me Time -- doesn't mean that Mommy loves you less. I sometimes need this to keep my sanity and my cool. I feel that sometimes, you want time off from Mommy too (you get that from your dad. ) I know this when you pretend to like your nanny and call for her to carry you and make pasyal sa malayong malayo.
• Daddy, Yoyo, Wowa, RBI teachers, ACN colleagues, and family and friends -- We've been through a lot this first two years but it was due to the people around us and to those who watch over us that we remain steadfast in God's eyes. I hope you never forget what they have done for us during our sad and happy days.
  
• Papa Jesus, Mama Mary, Papa Joseph and all the saints and angels -- talk to them, Sweetheart, in any chance that you get. Get closer to them by reading your Bible and praying all the time. Talk to priests, to your Tito Pangke and other mentors who are godly, and I am sure you will never feel lost or alone.
  

This is my list for now. I'm looking forward to the next two years. I love you!

---

Dear Jeshua

Let me start of by saying Mommy loves you very much! I have so many things to tell you, stories and random thoughts from the past and present, as well as my future plans and aspirations. Since Mommy tends to have memory gaps (Ü), let me try to put my memories into this "pensive" for you to look back on when Mommy is no longer able to remember them all. :)

Read Mommy's thoughts, learn from Mommy's mistakes and know that though your eyes have failed you, Mommy and Daddy won't. See the world through Mommy's eyes and let nothing limit your potential to learn.

I love you sweetheart!