Happy International Women’s Month, Women’s Day, and Women’s Week to all the women who follow our blog! March 8 is International Women’s Day. In the Philippines, the first week of March is Women’s Week and March is National Women’s Month. Thus, I am happy that the series that I just finished watching over the weekend showed the struggles of women and what they did to fight for their rights. It also showed how women should help and support other women instead of pulling each other down because of envy or jealousy. I don’t usually watch TV or binge-watch episodes of a particular series. My norm i ..read more

Things are almost back to normal these days. There are fewer health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 in our country. But it still is good to play safe. I’m so grateful to God that my immediate family members and I survived the COVID-19 pandemic! I know that it is only by the grace and mercy of God that we continue to be alive today. I’m writing this blog post to look back at God’s faithfulness to our family, especially to our eldest child. Last year, when the economy started opening up and the country restrictions were lessened last year (2022), our Parish Priest asked if our eldest ch ..read more

I was invited by the Head of the Commission on the Family of our parish to join the Pre-Cana Core Group of our diocese probably early last year. I was hesitant at first because my schedule and plate were already full. I asked her what was expected of me if I join. She shared briefly and asked me to observe first if I can accommodate the new service or responsibility. I’m glad that I chose to be open to the call to serve in this new group. The desire to serve in this ministry has always been there. In truth, I had been wanting to serve in this ministry even before I got married. I have written ..read more

It’s that time of year again when we are asking ourselves what we’d like to do or accomplish, or focus on this year. I am one who likes setting goals each year. These goals help me to live with direction and intention each year. But more important than having goals, I want to live out my life according to God’s Will for me. Thus, I’ve decided to ask God year after year, that One Word that He’d like me to focus on and live out for that specific year. My One Word is usually taken from or a part of a Bible verse that I think and feel is what God wants me to be reminded of more or to live out more ..read more

I just finished reviewing my past year based on how I have lived out my One Word for 2022 which is SENT. I was amazed to realize and be reminded of what the grace and mercy of God have enabled me to do in spite of my grief of losing my father at the start of the year 2022. I also realized that I didn’t get to set goals last year because Tatay passed away in January and around a week before that, my husband had COVID. I was so busy taking care of the whole household and the things that needed to be done when someone in the family dies. I wrote about this in detail and how I was able to cope her ..read more

I was invited to guest at ABS CBN’s PIE Channel late last year before 2022 ended. Our topic was how to make New Year’s Resolutions and how to make sure we get to keep them. This was for their show LIFE GURO wherein they invite experts to be their Life Guru (teacher or life coach) for the day. I was grateful for this opportunity. I was recommended by the daughter of one of our friends from the chess community who is also a YouTuber. Let me share through this blog post what I have shared in that interview. I will also expound some more since we didn’t have plenty of time to discuss this in great ..read more

The Christmas season is almost over. Yes, it’s still Christmas even though it’s already January. Christmas will end on the Baptism of our Lord this month. So, we can still greet each other Merry Christmas and give Christmas cards or gifts to each other. That is also why I am writing about my Christmas gift to my youngest son in this blog post. I gave my 8-year-old child several gifts for Christmas. We gave him a waterproof jacket with a hood and dinosaur designs. We gave him new shoes and clothes. We gave him new underwear with a dinosaur design also. We gave him a new toy. But my real Christm ..read more

The year 2022 has been one extra challenging year for my family and me starting with major challenges at the start of the year in January. I wrote about it in detail here. But amid all the challenges that we experienced, we also received many blessings from God. In fact, I had a hard time limiting my list to 22 big blessings because we received so many individually and as a family. Let me share my list with you. Top 1: The biggest blessing that we received in 2022 is that no one in our immediate family got seriously sick that needed hospitalization. Even though my husband got sick with COVID ..read more

My husband and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary this December. I learned that this is called the Crystal Wedding Anniversary. I discovered that one of the reasons it is called a Crystal Wedding Anniversary is because although the couple has been together and weathered storms in the past 15 years, their relationship or marriage is still fragile. Therefore, they need to continue taking care of each other and their marriage for their marriage to continue and last much longer. I agree with this. My husband and I have gone through a lot of ups and downs in our marriage. Even though we pr ..read more

Long before my youngest child had his birthday this year, he already told me specifically what he wanted for his birthday. He, surely, knows what he wants! He said that he wants to have a bear stuffed toy and not just a small one. He wants a BIG one! He wants to eat spaghetti and chicken from Jollibee! He wants a chocolate cake for his birthday cake. He wants a shirt with We Bare Bears design. He wants to watch a movie with the family. He wants to stay in a hotel preferably in Tagaytay. Most of his wishes can be easily granted. And my husband and I were happy to grant him his wishes. But his w ..read more