MOMMY, ARE YOU HERE?

Kaitlyn woke up at 630 am today. She is usually up and excited to play at this time of the day. She would start rubbing my face and start her vocal practices of Coo, Coo, Baba, Mama and Ahh ahh. Since she is already pulling and pressing down her kuya to try to awaken him, i took her out of the room and led her to the living room.



She then had her breakfast and started walking around on her walker while i was checking my mails. After a while, i brought her to our room to feed her.



About 8am Sev woke up, went out of the kids room and shouted, MOMMNY, ARE YOU HERE?



I was shocked to realize he can already talk so clear and can communicate what he feels. Several times, Sev would wake up and look for me. When he realizes i went to the office already, he would start to cry and would even tell his Manang: "Manang, iwan ako Daddy, iwan din ako Mommy. When our Manang told me about this my heart felt so heavy and somehow a part of me vowed not to leave him anymore especially that his Daddy is our on a 3 weeks mission to Europe.



And so today, when i heard him look for me, i joyfully shouted back, YES SEV, MOMMY IS HERE. He then ran from the living room towards us. He was so happy to see me and Kaitlyn. He started kissing us and hugging us. Then he rushed to the CR to pee.



Sev's question, "Mommy, are you here?" affirms me of a decision i am making now. After almost a year of discernment and consultation, i have decided to pursue another calling which which Motherhood. I have been a lay Missionary for Couples For Christ for 9 years now. Right after graduation i offered myself to be a Full time worker for the Lord



In a weeks time, i will be a stay at home mom (SAHM) and eventually become a work at home mom (WAHM).

It will entail a lot of adjustments for me and my family but somehow i feel so at peace with this decision. I know in my heart God is calling me to take care of my family, my kids and my husband.



Kirby remains to be a Missionary for CFC while i will support him through taking care of his children and our home. I'll be there for him when he needs my support in his service



Being a Missionary for 9 years is a very long time to serve the Lord in all means. I have so many wonderful memories of it.

I have yet to write my resignation letter after talking to my elders and co missioanaries but i realized its very hard to start writing. Several times during Holy mass when i offer my decision to God, i would cry hard because i see my 9 years of mission work flashing back. Memories of long bus rides in mindanao, being alone and scared in the Mission House with Marlou, traveling to Brunei for my first mission outside the country with Don, throwing up because of stress from preparing conferences,crying and laughing during meetings with kuya marco, dancing for kfc ikvs, praying hard for events, giving a talk and sharing before sfc and cfc, meeting kirby, getting married, building houses in nueva ecija with batang bayani team, working with great people in CFC and GK,meeting wonderful and amazing coordinators, loving and listening and praying. I cant even ennumerate all my memories as that would entail long time to finish.



wow, 9 years and now im answering another calling, as important, as noble and as challenging.

i look upon Mama Mary as my guide and the many amazing Moms in CFC, GK, Latch, Mompreneurs and Babymama as my inspiration.



i've always wanted to leave Missionary work not because i am tired, or i lack money or im disappointed but because i am being called by God in another area. And now i am very happy to be blessed with this. The grace of the Lord is rich to pursue another calling. Motherhood is one noble calling to pursue and the Lord is clearly leading me here. Its very difficult at first but the Lord just allows you to start loving it.



And so now, i am excited that i will be there for Sev and Kaitlyn when they need me. When they start asking where i am, i can say I am here in a blink. I want to be involved and be there on the growing years of my kids. Staying at home and doing business at home will allow me to have more time with my kids. I know God wants me to be with them now that they are in their formative years. Maybe when they grow up God will lead me back to Mission work or another area but for now, I know where God wants me to be. And I know that God can only bless us when we are in a place where He wants us to be.



This will also give me a lot of time to evangelize as well. Im busy with organizing the Regular Mass in Royal Palm residences where we live, then by start of next year, we're excited to conduct CLP for the many young couples who live here by the grace of the Lord.



There are many things i am excited to do and i know that even if im not a Full Time Missionary anymore i still can do my share in bringing people to God. im so excited.



Dear Sev and Kaitlyn,

Thank you very much for being wonderful children

Remember always that Daddy and Mommy are here for you, at all times, anytime of the day.

You simply have to call and we will be there faster than you can imagine.

We love you greatly

Love,

Mom



My heart is full of gratitude to CFC for the wonderful 9 years i've spent serving God through you.



Blessings to us all.

Expressing Favor for our Children's Good Works

While it is important to affirm our children of their physical attributes, we are encouraged to affirm them more of their good works. We want to highlight the values that they have learned and make them remember that we have affirmed them. According to Ken Wilson, author of the The Obedient Child, he writes, "We look for opportunities to 'catch them doing it right.' And we let them know when we have caught them doing it right by saying, "Well done."

He further writes, "Instead of making a big fuss over things such as good looks or natural athletic ability, we should express our favor concerning the things that are pleasing to God." I was struck by this line since I noticed that I have a greater tendency to tell my kids how good they look in the clothes they are wearing or with their new hair. It's a natural reaction for me because I find pleasure in seeing my kids being presentable and just being cute. But I realized that it is more important to acknowledge their good works. One time, my 2 year-old, Sev, shared his chocoloate drink with his Mom. Remembering this point, we then took time to say, "I'm proud of you Sev for sharing your favorite drink." Then he gives me a big smile, knowing what he did is good.

Expressing favor is an important part of raising our kids. With a mix of discipline and affection, we hope to form our kids to become closer to the character of Christ.

Giving The Best Milk For My Baby

Being a mom is one of the greatest blessings I've received in my whole life. When i gave birth to our first born son, Sev Philip i was determined to give him only the best! Even when Sev was in my tummy we would pray for him, caress him and talk to him. I ate only nutritious food, veggies, fruits and drank daily my Anmum milk and fruit juices. I never drank an ounce of Soft drinks nor any alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. We followed doctors advises and took all the vitamins that an expectant mom should take.

When Sev arrived, it was already given that i will breastfeed him. Mom's milk is the best milk for my baby. A friend once said, " Why will I give my baby cow's milk when She's not a cow?!!!" Breastmilk has endless benefits to moms and babies. I fully breastfed Sev until he was 6 months old. No water, no food, nothing but my milk. At 6 months he started eating boiled Brown Rice, Potato, Squash, Sayote with my milk. Sev was feeding milk from me until he was 1 year old and 9 months old.
I have a reason to believe Sev is strong and healthy because of the milk and our love for him. Despite all the inconvenience of breastfeeding, its blessings are a lot more!
I've breastfed Sev in all areas you can think of, at home, in the office, in church, in the mall, in Enchanted Kingdom, in Dubai, in Lost Paradise Bahrain, in the plane, in the boat, in the jeep, in the bus, and yes, even in the toilet!
I don't have a slightest regret in giving my son the best milk I can give him. Because of breastfeeding my bond with my son is strong, nothing and no one can break.

Making Champions of Your Children

I have read a portion of Stephen Covey's book Principle Centered Leadership that talked about Making Champions of Your Children. Here are his 10 tips:
1. We work to build our child's self-esteem
2. We encourage primary greatness (character building)
3. We encourage them to develop their own interests
4. We try to create an enjoyable family culture
5. We plan ahead
6. We try to set an example of excellence
7. We teach them to visualize to help them realize their own potential
8. We adopt their friends
9. We teach them to have faith, to believe and trust others, and to affirm, build, bless, and serve others
10. We provide support, resources, and feedback

Our hope for our kids is to have a winning attitude. This can be brought about by a positive influence from us parents. May these principles help us in raising our kids.

Amazing Benefits of Breast Feeding

Two days ago, my wife won a contest over facebook. The contest was about voting for a picture of the "wierdest place you have ever breast fed" by clicking 'like' on the picture. She won a Spectra breast pump from BabyMama Co. She was so ecstatic about it.

Amazing how the Lord has provided Moms with all the food that babies need at birth and in the next 2 years. We always hear in TV commercials, "breastfeeding is still best for babies up to 2 years." So it is true. According to Wikipedia on breastfeeding, here are the benefits of breastfeeding to babies:

Less necrotizing enterocolitis (acute inflammatory disease in the intestines of infants) in premature infants
Greater immune health
Fewer infections
Less tendency to develop allergic disease
Protection from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
Higher intelligence
Less chance of developing diabetes
Reduce the risk of extreme obesity

Here are the benefits of breastfeeding to the Mom:
Bonding
Hormone release
weight loss
natural postpartum infertility
long-term health effects

Amazing! God indeed provides. Happy breastfeeding to you Moms out there!