Bonding through Jesus Christ

The woman I bought our Kirby Sentria vacuum from is wonderful. She and her hubby brought down their asking price from $485 to $400 and just blessed us so much.

I drove to their house with all my children and she immediately let them go upstairs to play with her daughter. She showed me the vac and as much as she could even though her hubby was out of town and knew the vacuum's functionablity better. She let me feed and tend to Giselle and we had a great talk. I shared a bit about Lael ( I am not sure how it came up) and she shared how she lost her 18 month old son who had drowned only the previous August. it broke my heart and we talked about the support from our church families and the only hope you can have through Jesus Christ.

How do people function, cope, survive, live, grieve without Jesus?! We talked about how open and pure our children are about the whole thing. They just get it. They believe unabashedly the truth that their sibling is in heaven with Jesus and they long to be there with them. They talk about wanting to go to heaven and wanting to be with Jesus now. They don't despair. They are full of hope.

Both of us laughed when we talked about our kids wanting to set the table for one more, being for the one in heaven. I told her my loss is nothing like hers. I didn't act like I knew her pain. Her baby Luke was very much a part of their lives. He was their life. The center of the family being the baby. There are still pictures of him in their house as a baby and as a toddler. And his life was taken. She had such hope in the Lord and she gave glory to Him.


Hallelujah! Amen! Amen! Thank You Lord for the opportunity to meet a fellow Christ follower. Thank you for the immediate bond I can have with someone just because they know you, and that bond is so deep. Thank You that we have the blessed hope and assurance of joining our little ones in heaven. Thank You for working all things for good for those who love You. And thank You for being our comfort and strength and peace.

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I posted these pics because I took them the other day and was just amazed by God's work in the heavens.

Our Kirby Vacuum

Three of our little babes have asthma. Allergies seem to be a part of our lives, and because of this I rejoiced when our vacuum's belt broke. It was my impetus to buy a new vacuum. Sure, belts are cheap, but I am through with putting any money toward a machine that sucks up dirt, hair, dead skin cells, and food and spews tiny little particles of this nastiness back into the air all over every surface it's around.

I talked to MyLove and we were ready to get a good quality vacuum. At the time I was thinking a Dyson. We have a couple of family members who love theirs and I read some good reviews, but when doing research, the one I wanted ran between $300-$350. I decided that since I would be dropping this kind of cash that I would see if there might be a Kirby around that price range. I have always wanted a Kirby but knew it was impossible to buy one because they are rediculously expensive.

Long story short, we found a wonderful couple on craigslist selling their Sentria and we bought it for $400 (07.16.10). That might seem outrageous for a mere vacuum, but when you learn that these vacs go for around $2,000 brand new, you realize that this is a great deal. The vacs are made to last for at least 30 years and usually longer! And plus it's a shampooer and blower as well. Not to mention they are utter workhorses!

First impression: I love the metal!

Second impression: heeeeeavy!

First thing I did: cleaned vac, outer bag, hoses and all attachments. l

First-time using it experience:
A) it drives itself so the weight is no problem, I mean, it literally drives itself! It even has a "neutral" and "drive" setting
B) it sucks up everything! I can hear it sucking up a million things! (of course, it has been two weeks now that I have had a vacuum!)
C) I can't believe what filth is in my carpets!!
D) It actually lifts the carpet with all its suction
E) this vacuum rocks!

I feel like such a homely wife blogging about my vacuum, but if thirty years from now I read this and still have my Kirby Sentria vacuum, it will be $400 very well spent!

Giselle and Her Thumb

So, Giselle is the only one of our precious babes who found her thumb. At the beginning I was afraid 1.) because people are always touching her hands and I didn't want her putting all those germs into her mouth, and 2.) because I didn't want it to become a habit so hard to break. I had talked to a dear teen from our church (who I roomed with at the retreat and I looove her!) who sucked her thumb at night until she was like 13 years old. I also know of a man who I think is in his 50's and still sucks his thumb at night (He's got some serious issues . . . no really, he does. Not mental, but anger and other stuff).

Anyway, when I would see Giselle sucking her thumb I would pull it out and try to feed her or give her a pacifier. The problem is she would gag with them. I tried a few different ones and after about a week of this she finally took a pacifier but would get tense and cry if I moved my hand near her when she was sucking her thumb :-( I felt terrible and decided at once to stop. Now she sucks her thumb and I have learned to embrace it and just love it.

Well, yesterday we were getting soccer pics taken of the kids with their teams when one of Martini's teammates' moms came to me and started talking. While she was talking she all of the sudden reached up and took Giselle's thumb out of her mouth and said, "Don't you suck that thumb! You get that out of your mouth!" I immediately hugged Giselle and said, "Oh, no. It's O.K. I don't mind her sucking her thumb." She told me that her daughter just recently stopped sucking her thumb at night and that it is why she has buck-teeth (which it didn't look like it to me, but then she told me her overbite was really bad).

She is a nice lady and her intentions were good but rash! I have appreciated the fact that Giselle is able to self-soothe especially since I can leave her to sleep when she has finished nursing because she will suck her thumb instead of needing me to lay there with her. She is now able to tolerate the van too!

One day it might be a struggle to overcome, but for now, I will enjoy Giselle and her thumbsucking for the comfort it brings her. What freedom there is when we learn to let go and enjoy what God's given us!

" . . . take the free gift of the water of life."

"Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life"

-Revelation 22:17b, The Bible - NIV

Yesterday, we had the son of KP Yohannan come to our church as a guest speaker. His father was supposed to come, but had urgent business in India. KP Yohannan is the founder of Gospel For Asia.

It is a wonderful organization that reaches out to the Dalits, the "untouchables" of India and shares with them the good news of Jesus Christ. They equip missionaries in their own regions to share the gospel and they have schools for children to teach the Bible and feed them. MyLove and I just love what they do and what they are about.

Well, listening to his son, MyLove and I just had our hearts rekindled with the fire to reach those who have no hope. The desire in our hearts is one of the main things that brought MyLove and I together, and we have prayed throughout our marriage that the Lord would use us. We know that we must be willing to be used wherever we are, but our hearts have always loved different cultures and peoples and different languages.

MyLove felt led to Spain after graduating from seminary. When I was a little girl, I had the desire to go anywhere the Lord wanted to send me, especially remote tribes or China (because my dad had lovingly shared stories and books about Jim Elliot and Hudson Taylor when I was a child). Either way, we just want to go wherever the Lord leads.

So, last night, MyLove pulled out our new "10/40 Window" map, and showed the kids where India was, "introduced" them to our new missionary family and observed all we could in the picture. The kids were so interested and excited. The family has two boys and two girls, so the kids liked that. They didn't smile in the picture, so that was really throwing them for a loop. The only one smiling was the eldest boy who is a middle child.

MyLove was so sweet sharing all that was on his heart. He was excited and factual and had many things to share, but with the wee ones feeling the excitement and "meeting our new family," the questions from their imaginative minds were endless and quite random at times:

Martini: "Why are there countries that are named after food, because I heard you say Turkey and Greece!"
MyLove: "Good question." he says, with his nose flaring, trying not to laugh, but smiling. "These names are just coincidentally foods in our language."

Carmelita: (with hand raised, waiting her turn, then called on) "Why are there so many babies in my room?" We all started laughing.
MyLove: "You mean your baby dolls?"
Carmelita: "Yes."
MyLove: "I don't know. And I'm not sure how this fits in." And we all are laughing at this point, including Carmelita.

Ethan: "The Philippines is so far away. How did Mema get here?"
MyLove: "Mema flew here on an airplane."
Martini: "I wouldn't want to fly. I would just want to take a car or a bus."
MyLove: "You can't. You have to fly over the ocean to get there."

Martini: "Mommy, what was that chocolate movie we watched?"
Me: "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?"
Martini: "Yes. Willy Wonka is like God."
Me: (Hmmmmm?!) I'm thinking . . .
Martini: "He gives out these free tickets to go to this wonderful place. Except God gives His free gift to go to heaven!"
Me & MyLove: "Awesome, Martini. That's right!"
Me: "Except, Willy Wonka only gave five people tickets. How many people did God give His free gift to?"
Ethan: "Everyone!"
MyLove: "That's right! It's like God has given everyone the free ticket in their mailbox and all they have to do is go out and get it. If they were to try to go to heaven without the ticket, they wouldn't be able to. They have to decide to go get it."
Me: "And Who is that ticket? What gift did God give us?"
Kids: "JESUS!"
MyLove: "Right. You just have to believe that Jesus is God's Son and that he came and died to take away your sins. And you decide to follow Him. When you do, you will live forever in heaven."

The kids then started talking about Lael in heaven and how we would all get to meet her and be with her in heaven one day.

So, after dinner, MyLove had us all go to the couch and hold hands and pray together. He prayed first and then each of the kids prayed what was on their hearts.

Ethan: Our new family in India, that they could have money and food to tell others about Jesus. That God would help the poor people to have money and food and that we could tell others about Jesus.

Martini: That Uncle Daniel would find a godly and beautiful wife

Carmelita: That Mema would stop smoking and find a nice house and isn't too much money

Giselle: She babbled and smiled and was as sweet as could be :-)

MyLove and Me: Guidance, direction, boldness, fearlessness, compassion and realization of what is eternally at stake for the lost, confirmation, what country, unity . . . And praising the Lord with all our hearts.

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Note: spoke with a wonderful lady at church after the service for quite some time. She believes that she and her husband and son will be moving back France in a year. Excited about what the Lord is doing in their lives and we share our desires. We exchange info so I can send her some old pics of her son and my son. She says she really wants our info because she sees how serious and desirous we are to do what the Lord has laid on our hearts. And then she comments that maybe the Lord will have us work together there in Spain/France one day.

Although this is what seems to be a passing comment, it was such an encouragement from the Lord to my spirit at how quickly the Lord works. We have talked many times about how in the Christian life, you wait and wait and pray and pray. But when the Lord moves, He moves quickly. All the while, He had just been preparing you. When He moves, you better be ready!

Tank Top Dilemma

O.K. I have a dilemma.

Tank tops. Camisoles. Sleeveless shirts. Spaghetti straps . . .

I don't wear them alone. If I do, it is rarely and it is when I am with MyLove to play some kind of sport or at home with just MyLove and the wee ones.

When I wear them, they are layered under or over something. I am definitely a layerer. Before it was quite the trend, I used to layer a lot just because v-necks are usually too low on me and I just like the look.

Why, one might ask, don't I feel free to wear them? Weeeeeeeeell, I grew up with a Filipina mother who never let me wear tank tops. I was brought up to dress very modestly and not to show my armpits! I have many a time wanted to, even as an adult, but stopped myself because I felt like I was doing something uncouth. I would see other women wearing them and thought how nice and cool (temperature wise) it would be to wear them, especially in Houston!!

On top of matters, I have tried on things and asked MyLove and he doesn't like me wearing them either. I have even had comments from my Martini telling me I need to put a shirt on (he was only about 3 years old, but for some reason wanted me to cover up my camisole!)

Well, I wanted to get to the bottom of this mindset I had so grown accustomed to and asked my mom why I was always told not to wear tank tops. She said,

"Oh, annocong, that is for ladies. When girls are not yet married, we were taught that they shouldn't show so much skin and that if you show your armpits, someone might see into your blouse."

"What about older women or married women?"

"Oh, yes, it's fine. I wear a sleeveless sometimes and my mother used to wear them too."

Wow, if I had just asked sooner!!! I just wonder if I will ever feel comfortable wearing them . . . ever! Now, I just have to work on MyLove!

Ethan's Sweetness

Ethan is such a sweet soul. He is just precious.

He looooooves his siblings. Martini went to bingo for the first time with Mema the other day, and Ethan was a basket case without his best friend. He moped and cried and said over and over how he missed Martini. One day, Martini was going to get a spanking for being disobedient, and Ethan says, "Mommy, spank me instead." I cried. I hugged him and praised him for his heart. It was a tangible example of what Jesus Christ did for us. Taking our punishment on Himself! MyLove and I were touched immensely.

He lovingly will ask Carmelita to kick the soccer ball with him and include her when playing with toys.

He hugs and kisses and sings to Giselle all the time. He still enjoys holding her and when he sees her in bed, he will climb in right next to her to talk to her and hold her hands.

Ethan can not take music that shows tension or danger. Even if the cartoon has fuzzy bunnies or kids eating cotton candy, if the music changes to something intense sounding, he just can't take it. He closes his eyes, covers his ears and says, "Mommy, I'm scared!" He will run out of the room sometimes too. It is so funny. I have to tell him, "Ethan, it is just a movie/cartoon. Nothing bad is going to happen!"

Thank You, Lord, for entrusting our precious Ethan to us. What a precious soul he is. We have been so very blessed by him. It is such a privilege to be his mommy (and daddy). In Jesus' name, Amen.

Ethan with ranch squirted on his face!


. . . after eating a cupcake . . .


. . . being buried in the sand by Martini and Josiah . . .



. . . telling Carmelita how to spray him with the hose . . .

Kids' Quotes

The kids were watching the making of Revenge of the Sith (a movie they are not allowed to watch, but try to come as close to watching it as possible) and a scary scene of Anakin getting all burned up in the lave came on screen.

Me: Guys, I don't know about this. This might be too scary.
Martini: Mommy, don't worry. Just go ahead and go upstairs.

Hmmmmmm. . . . . Uncle Daniel says it's just the "director" in him coming out!

Martini posing with his cousin David and friend Bryan

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Carmelita was using the restroom and I was telling her something and she responds:

Mommy, please don't talk to me while I'm going peepee. I need my quiet time!

What???????? I seriously don't know where she gets this stuff. Sure, I linger on the commode to enjoy a bit of respite, but still!!!

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I often hear Ethan playing and then say, "hold on, I want to see Giselle" or "I'm gunna check on Giselle" or "I think I hear Giselle." It just melts my heart!


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About two weeks ago, Giselle said "mama." Now, she was just babbling with these particular syllables and had no idea what they meant, but that doesn't matter. She is the first of all our children to say "mama" first. All of our others said "dada" first!