Agent Glen Ize 007th Birthday

Last Friday, April 5 was our eldest son - Ize's 7th birthday and it was a very exciting day for him. Although we're a bit strict on our budget, we decided to celebrate it at Pizza Hut. They say that at age 7, they enter stage of adulthood after that we don't know when he'll be celebrating on a fancy restaurant again. And since he's on to his adulthood, the theme isn't like any cartoon or animation movies that he used to watch. Now the new theme is James Bond 007 (7 is his age, get it?).

Well, it was a very successful day for all of us and we're glad that we managed to pull it off. We thank God for letting us have this great privilege. I still can't believe that I already have a 7-year old son.

Agent Glen Ize

Here is the tarpaulin art I made for this event.

Wow! How long was I out of blogging? A lot of things have happened already and here in Saudi Arabia, things are just starting to happen. Recently, there has been restriction here in visas and iqama causing panic to most of our fellow ex-patriots. And now that the king has issued a grace period, I hope most of our Filipino expats take that chance.

So that is it for now. Here are the rest of the pictures from my son's birthday celebration.

Our cute angels.

The Family

The drama.

The Mama

El Papa

Buddies

Thanks for visiting Baul once again. Hope to see you again on my next update. Now, I leave you all with a short Bible inspiration.

Psalms 144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

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Family Reunited

Last October 12, 2012, we had our flight going back here in Jeddah and it would probably be the most difficult travels (not worst) I've made because I was carrying one infant (Noah) and three hand-carry bags which I practically maximized in weight. We traveled via Saudia Airlines and it was a non-stop travel.

On my back, I was carrying my laptop bag which also contains some traveling clothes for my children, in case they make a mess of their current ones. In front, I am using a baby-carrier which I am very thankful I had with me which of course is where I carried Noah while walking. Another bag is my camera bag which contains my Nikon D90 camera (below) and on top area of the bag is Noah's feeding bottles and milk. Last bag contains Ize's and Noah's toys, Noah's diapers and an extra can of Noah's milk. And I've also maximized our luggage bags, one weighed 34 kilos and the other I pressume was 24 kilos (thanks to the check-in stewardess for considering our 34 kilos luggage, it would have been a burden tor me to transfer most things to the other luggage while carrying an infant boy and three hand carry bags). You might be wondering how I ended up traveling alone with my two children. Well, my wife is already here in Jeddah and since we are dependents to my wife and she's currently working here in Jeddah, I have to carry all the burden.

My mom and brother-Tonton took us to the airport and there we have parted ways. Felt sad but at the same time excited while my son vocally told me how excited he feels about the travel. I'm glad I was able to carry-on this task without any problems or issues. The only issue I had were back-pains and shoulder pains and I've endured it for around four days. But it was all worth it because now that we are all together once again, we are a happy family again.

taken at the playground near our house

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Experience of a Lifetime

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. – James 1: 17 (NLT)

Being a father-at-home made me realize a lot of things and experience some great things as well. Losing a job could probably be a big deal for someone specially to a parent father - actually, at first - it was a big deal for me but time goes by I began to see great things.

Blessing of a father-children bondage

This would probably be the best ever blessing a father-at-home could ever have. I remember back when Ize (my eldest son) was still a baby, my wife is the one caring for him personally while I word at the office. I often get frustrated when I try to make Ize laugh, he just kept on ignoring me or he just don't want to react on my effort to make him laugh. With Noah (my second and youngest son) it was almost a no-effort to make him smile even to make him laugh; now Leah's the one who gets frustrated. Nothing beats the joy and happiness brought to us by our loving children.

My two cute sons. Photo taken from my new blog - Photoblog ni Noel

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Our Family Portraits

On my last article I've posted pictures taken by our brothers. Now I am posting some of my shots and my wife's shots. Photos are taken from my Nikon F60. I just felt a bit disappointed at the scanned film results because it would seem like my films were scraped and had some white dots on it, probably their film scanner is so dirty (grrrr!!). I'm never coming back there again even if they were the closed in the neighborhood. It's a good thing Adobe Photoshop has some cool effects to hide those scrapes and dots, I just made used of them to compliment with the damage (sigh! still disappointed).

Would you believe they have Nikon D90 and Nikon D7000 shortage (forgot this word) here in Jeddah, the shopkeeper told me most buyers were Filipinos. Anyways, if it is time for me to have my own DSLR, I'll have it. So here are our family portraits.

I love how he smiles, good thing my hands aren't shaky.

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11-11-11: Welcome to our Family, Noah Caleb!

I am supposed to be sleeping now but I can't help but to blog this great moment so here it goes. Today another great blessing has come to us and the gift came in a very small package. Today, my beloved wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy and we named him Noah Caleb and his cousin Ate Guian just gaved him a nickname already "NC" and thus his nickname shall be "Encee".

Wednesday morning around 7:30 am, during my sleep and while I was rolling my lazy and sleepy and slender (bwahaha!) body on my son's side I heared Leah said "Dad, dinudugo ako!" (Dad, I am bleeding!). Immediately, I stood up and said "Hah!". When your wife is pregnant, those words can't be ignored because it is not a small deal. I asked her how she feels and decided to wake up completely. After that I went to the other room and prepared to pack-up things so we could go to the hospital. When I came back she said that maybe if she didn't move and just lie down, it will go away. It never went away and one more thing happened, her water broke. It is not her due yet because tentatively, the baby's due is around 2nd week of December.

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Night Out with Mom

28th of October-2011, One fine Friday in Jeddah. After a long stay-in at home, Leah has fully recovered and to celebrate it, we went to family's favorite dine-in restaurant, Applebee's. Here in Jeddah, the nearest branch to us is located along Andalus Street near US Embassy. Wow! I suddenly realized why famous international restaurants were located around Andalus area.

When I told Ize that we'll be going outside and going to Applebee's, he was quite excited and asked if his mom was coming along with us. I assured him that his mom will be coming with us and he was so happy. It's been a long time since we all went out together.

We ordered Leah's favorite - Oriental Chicken Salad, Ize's favorite - Chicken Quesadilla and as for me, I ordered something new like their Double-Glazed Baby Back Ribs and tried their Strawberry Daiquiri if I remember correctly.

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1-1-11: Starting Balance for Year 2011

Before we withdraw money from our ATM cards, we often check our balances just to be sure that we have something draw. Now, before we start the year 2011, what balances do we have? I am not talking about the money in your ATM cards but what you currently have as YOU! Do you have a family where you could draw strength and inspiration? Do you have friends where you can confide in times of trouble? Do you have faith in yourself to finish this upcoming race?

Many used this great opportunity to change by changing their old self to a renewed one. Having learned of past mistakes, they set goals - make resolutions. But have we really changed this past few years inspite of the resolutions we made?

Isn't it much better to atleast TRY and do those resolutions we make (even our past resolutions)? In politics, newly appointed leaders often set new goals and just trash the old ones. If we try to analyze the past resolutions, it is quite good and some are even great. It would probably hurt them if they were able to accomplish the resolution and the credits will go to the previous leader. It probably didn't occur to them that it is a great accomplishment to make something work that others were unable to accomplish.

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The Quest to Find Happiness...

In our never-ending quest to find happiness in life, we often find ourselves empty and unable to grasp every detail of great things in front of us. Even the smile we give hurts us because we know it is a lie. Deep inside, the sorrow we feel never really went away. While we enjoy the fruits of our labor with our so-called friends, the sorrow still lurks within us. While we enjoy the company of a special person who we shouldn’t be with, it brought us happiness but sorrow never went away. We bought expensive things to brag on our friends, we laugh with them but the sorrow – yes, it’s still there.

It feels like the more we try to find happiness in life; it just brought us more sorrow. Just waiting for us to be alone so it can burst from within – and then we cry – we cry endlessly. “How can I survive?” we asked. And then we delve into a decision that may change our life – “Should I sacrifice everything for my happiness?” we asked again. We know what’s right but the emptiness is something hard for us to bear. We cried again, this time it is because we are about to make THAT decision.

Life became meaningful as we venture the fruits of our decision. We stopped for awhile and think – “Did I make the right decision?” and then you held your hand in me – trying to consult me if I am happy. I do feel happy! – I answered. And without regrets we held on to that meaningful moment. We sing songs of joy and dance while at it.

This time we are not alone because we found a person who can fill us with happiness – and we are happy. But I hear a voice inside me and I hope you can hear it too –it’s faint and I couldn’t hear the words clearly. “haaaa” you sighed then a sharp pain we felt like no other just burst from within. “Was that sorrow?” we asked and then I saw you shed a tear. But the pain went away easy as we grab on the person right next to us – we are happy.

We know that everything here on earth has its end; so we tried to make the best of what we have. Time goes by and that sharp pain keeps bursting indiscriminately within us and it is tormenting. Somehow, sorrow revealed itself again. It seems that even the relationship we just built with that person never washed away that sorrow. We ended the relationship because it was meaningless already.

And now we are back to where we were - the quest to find happiness. We asked again “How can I survive?” And the only solution just came out without a warning – “Let’s go home!”

And so we went our way back home to our family only to find out that it is broken already. It seems the family we built a long time ago was broken the moment our family knew about the decision we made – yes, with that person. And then the sharp pain came again, this time we endured it. This time there was nobody to cling on so you just held on to me – grasping me as you cry endlessly. It feels like we deserve it.

- your heart

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me - Psalm 66:18

Let God guide our hearts in our decision not our mind. If we strongly rely on our hearts, it will only lead us to temptation because we have a weak heart. Let us not rely on our own strength and understanding. Let God accompany is in our journey to find peace and happiness for ourselves and our family.

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31

Visit PEBA's website and be inspired by fellow OFW in their goal of strengthening OFWs family family relationship. Another thing is, please VOTE for my entry at PEBA - I am at #10. Thank you! Here is my ENTRY.While you're there, try and read other entries as well and be inspired.

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Are You a Kind Person?

"Mabait ka ba?"

(Are you a kind person?)

"Siyempre naman."

(Of course)

It is a very simple question that any person can answer. I thought, how about if I re-phrase it? A question that will give you the same output but have more thoughts in it.

"Mabait ka ba? Kung 'Oo' ang sagot mo, gusto mo bang balang-araw maging katulad mo ang anak mo o magiging anak mo?"

(Are you a kind person? If "Yes" is your answer, do you want your children to be like you or children to be?)

Then there is a question. I'm sure everyone will think about the mistakes they have done before they answer to this question and they might probably say - "Yes but not entirely like me!"

What's with that answer? It's like there's something hidden in it. I asked this same question to my wife and she did answer the same answer I said here. I asked this same question to myself and thought, do I want my son to be like me? Ahmmm. next question please.

Here is a thought. Home is still the best school for children and parents are the best teachers. "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." - Prov 22:6. Makes sense right?

Would you believe that most lessons learned by children came from parents? And most of those lessons are the things parents DON'T teach them. What I mean is lessons that we (parents) don't want or unknowingly teach them. How? In most cases, children's heroes were always there parents. They try to imitate them/us parents. Like my son when we had a baby visitor in our house, the baby was crying that time when he told me "I am Daddy". Then I asked him, who is he while pointing at the baby and then he answered "He is Ize." (that's my son's name). Then he lightly taps the chest of the baby and said "It's okay!". I laughed at what he just did. I did not teach him that but whenever he is hurt and cry, we (me and my wife) comfort him by saying "It's okay."

We (Parents) are their role models. So we should refrain from doing BAD things in front of them but to practice it - JUST DON'T DO IT! even when not in front of them.

The most important part of children's growth is their childhood. "Their mind is like a sponge." that's what my wife's doctor told me. So be it good or bad, they'll absorve it if you feed it to them so be careful what you feed them (I mean what you teach them or show them).

That is why their is a saying "Fruits don't fall far from it's tree."? Because people think that what you are always shows and eventually your children will learn from you. But I believe that people come to realize their mistakes and when they become parents they try not to let their children be like what they used to be. Thus, making them good parents and because of that practice they become good people.

So, "Are you a Kind Person?". For your children's sake, be one.

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By the way, before I end this article. I would like to thank God for his great blessings. I knew God will provide a way. On my previous article, I wrote about my boss not wanting to pay me for the month of March. I wrote him a letter - it's not a hate letter coz I know where it leads to. And I am glad I did it. He reconsidered everything and yesterday I just received my March salary with deductions. There shouldn't be any deductions but it is still better than not having any at all. Great blessings. Thank you God and thanks to all who prayed for us. God bless you all.

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You're Not A Monster!

From the movie Cars, Lightning McQueen, the main star of the movie is my son Ize’s favorite toy/character, etc. The story is about a rookie race car McQueen who loves to be the champion and be the first rookie to ever win the Piston Cup. Because of McQueen’s desire to win Dinoco as his sponsor against Chic Hicks and the current champion The King, he ended up in a place called Radiator Springs when he mistakenly took Route 66 instead of going to his next matches place. He was placed under public service and repair the roads he ruined.

Ever since Ize watched the movie (that was when he was still 2 years old), he loved the movie so much up to now. Lightning McQueen is Ize’s hero, his buddy, his champion, his most favorite companion when sleeping, his favorite drawn character, etc... It sometimes made me jealous to see him watching the movie repeatedly than being with me or with us (my wife). Sometimes we join him so we’ll get to be with him and interact with him. He’ll cry so much if he didn’t get to see his favorite pal, McQueen for a day.

Last night before sleeping, he was playing with his toy car McQueen while in bed so I tried to annoy him by pretending to be a monster and bite his cheeks and ears. He was laughing while I’m playing with him. I told him I am like a monster. But he said something that made me stop and this is what he said, “No you are not a monster!”. So I asked him – “What am I like? What is Daddy like?”.  And then he told me “You’re not a monster, You’re like Lightning McQueen!”. I hugged him and kissed him after that. We prayed together and we slept. I am so blessed, I could cry.

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Memories

This is not a literary work. I just want to reminisce the moments memorable to me. I am not sad but I just want to look back and watch my past happy moments. Sometimes it is good to look back so we can better see how blessed we are to have such wonderful blessings - FAMILY!

First video: When Ize learned how to eat yogurt, he became addicted to it.


Second video: My last vacation with my family, I rented a private pool for us.


Third video: Ize learned his ABC's and would like to share how to sing it to others.


Here is a slide-show of our pictures in Disneyland Hongkong 2009. A childhood dream come true for both me and my wife. I'll be using this slide-show on my upcoming Baul ni Noel blog theme.

Hopefully, God willing I hope my next vacation, we can go out of town. Airplane away if possible, don't want to ride our boats or ships (I am afraid and so is my wife).

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2009: Have You Received What You Prayed For?

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' – (NIV - Matt 25:21)

I made this article last Christmas 2009 for the year New Year 2010 article but I was unable to post it here and totally forgot to post it, so here it is. This is quite long, you can print it if you want to.

The year 2009 just passed and if we look back, how do we find the year 2009? I have two major questions for everyone who reads this article:

• In the year 2009, do you have a prayer that has not been answered?
• Have we ever wondered, why? Why did God NOT answered those prayers?
  

I have studied the main verse above (Matt 25:21) and here is my perspective of why we sometimes DON'T get what we have asked for.

UNFAITHFUL TO OUR BLESSINGS
Luke 16: 10 - He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

If we can be trusted with a few things God had given us then we can be trusted with more, if not then we can't trusted with much more either.

• In marriage, sometimes people fool around even when they're married. Even if we just think, we have already sinned. What more if we initiated or made our move. (Textmates, phonepals or any medium of communication) Waiting for some spark of hope that we could see.
• GOD, by having something in the middle of us instead of Him. Ex. Work, family, TV, friends, etc.. (Matt 6: 21 - For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.)

IRRESPONSIBLE TO OUR BLESSINGS
Malachi 2: 13-14 – [NIV] Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

In the example above found in the Bible, we often times ask why our offering to God is not acceptable. That is because we are irresponsible to our blessing, the example given above is the wife (Yes, wives are great blessings just like the husband to their wife)

• Finance, we don’t pay our responsibilities - debts, taxes, etc...
• Marriage, to husbands (we make our wife cry instead of her rejoicing the Lord, she is crying out for help) to wife (we provoke our husbands instead of submitting to them)
• A man’s responsibility is to LOVE his wife (Eph 5: 25-28)
• A wife’s responsibility is to SUBMIT to her wife. (Eph 5: 22-24). I know some of the wives reading this won't agree on this (What happened to equality?), well this is the word of God. Besides if the husband loves his wife so much, then the wife will be more than willing to submit)
• Like a parent giving toys to their children, how does a parent feel whenever they buy toys for their children and their children isn't responsible to their things?
• GOD, if you are given a responsibility – do it with your best and do it gladly. By giving, how much support do we give to God's church? Are we settled to give a few or our change? How responsible are we in supporting His church?

UNGRATEFUL OF OUR BLESSINGS
Matt 18:21 24 – The verses tell us of a King who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. There is one servant who owed him a lot and was asked to pay. The servant pleads for mercy and the King gave him mercy and blot out all his debts. But when this servant went outside and saw one of his fellow servant, he asked to settle the account but the other servant couldn’t pay so he asked for him to be imprisoned until he can pay his debt. The King knew of this and punished the servant who he gave mercy.

Are we as grateful as that servant who didn't give mercy when someone asked him?

• One good example is when we receive raises to our salary. Instead of saying thank you, we look and see how much the others got and complain why we only had that increase.
• Marriage, to husband and wife that is both working,  instead of the man putting the food on the table, the woman helps out because life isn't easy nowadays. Us men, instead of appreciating the help of our spouse – we expect more from our partners. To wives, how do you appreciate your hard-working husbands? .
• Being a housewife is also a big job, attending to our children’s needs, cleaning, cooking, etc.. Atleast, all we could do is ask how they’re doing and tell them thanks.
• GOD,  instead of thanking God for our blessings, we ask God for more and often times question why ONLY this.

DISTRUST TO OUR BLESSINGS
Numbers 20: 12 – [KJV] And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

In the earlier verses, Moses and the others are in a place where water is scarce and was asked by God to command the rock to give water for all the people. But when Moses came back to see the people, he got angry and strucked the rock twice. Moses failed but still he is saved.

• In marriage, TRUST is very important. They can’t do things as one if they don’t believe in each other. When trust has failed, marriage can’t survive. Imagine a husband and wife making their own decisions for themselves – can you call them husband and wife?
• GOD, if you don’t trust God then you have failed already like Moses did.

Now, what can happen if we DON’T have faith to our blessings? If we are irresponsible to our blessings? If we don’t appreciate our blessings? If we don’t trust our blessings?
Answer: God can take it away anytime He wants it.
Job says - Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. -  Job 1: 21

We are blessed since God don’t punish us like how he punished his unfaithful servants along time ago.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. – Malachi 2:2

So how can we prove God we are worthy of more blessings?

Treasure your blessings by doing the following:

FAITHFUL TO OUR BLESSINGS - Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. [LUKE 16:10]

RESPONSIBLE TO OUR BLESSING – Everyone has been entrusted with a great responsibility. To our family which is also our blessing – take good care of them. And to God:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. [Mark 16: 15] - SHARE THE WORD OF GOD.

GRATEFUL TO OUR BLESSING – To show our gratefulness. To our family, help each other, understand each other, support each other. And to God,
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. [1 Chronicles 16: 8]

TRUST OUR BLESSING – do not doubt our blessings that came from God. God gave them to you for all the right reasons.

Do we trust God? When He says..
[NIV] - Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. – [Mal 3:10]
God said ("Test me on this"), so do we give our tithes (God's part) to the Lord?

How happy are we when we give to God?
[NIV] - Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [2 Cor 9:7]

If we can do this to our blessings, will God be pleased? What will he say? I am most certain that he will say this words:

'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

God bless you all.

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The Fellowship

What makes a relationship work? And what makes it stronger?

Our recent hajj vacation proved to be very fun and amazingly addicting. Brothers and sisters in church all had a good time. Friendship between each and everyone grew more stronger.

Each family had their own adventure while spending with other families. Sharing their past hilarious adventures and joking with each others mischief filled everyone with laughter and joy. New memories were made to be cherished and past tribulations are forgotten.

The fun level is so great that even for a selfish reason of satisfying oneself results everyone's enjoyment. We really had a great time and we're glad we are part of this adventure.

Fellowship makes a relationship work, be it marriage or friendship and having God as its foundation made it more stronger.

If God is the foundation of your marriage, before you and your wife/husband settle something, pray. Pray for understanding coz serious matters often lead to misunderstanding and confrontations. Understand each other's point of view and try to settle things with calmness in heart, if your partner is getting tensed remind him/her that God is in your midst and both of you are trying to solve things not making it worst and continue being calm. Remember being one through marriage is not a competition, it is not about YOU anymore - it is about FAMILY.

If God is the foundation of friendship, you help each other by making each other stronger. Having fellowship with a friend in trouble is one way to make them stronger, a shoulder to rely on always gives new strength to anyone.This family of friends had their ups and downs and yet they continue to get stronger by making each other stronger.

The fellowship between a parent and a child is a great example of how God loves us. As a parent, when we are with our children, we protect them from harm, we always think of how we can make them happy, we think of the best things for them in the future. That is how God loves us.

So it is important that we always have fellowship with the people who we love and loves us, to have stronger bonds and most specially to Jesus our Lord and heavenly Father.

I am so blessed. Coz I get to enjoy every moment with my family, believing God is with us and for having such good friends.

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To My Beloved Sister

My sister is losing hope already. She is trying to apply for a job here in Saudi Arabia as a food server and she's losing hope already. Her current situation is what's making her lose hope.

She is diabetic and already taking medication everyday (injection - ouch! for life). Sometimes no matter what we do isn't enough but that doesn't mean life is unfair. Here is my message for her.

Dear Sister,

Life is full of randomness. God didn't promise His people to always have a great time. Trust God in the Lord always and he'll give you something great. Pray and believe. If God didn't grant you what you wish for, that doesn't mean He won't answer your prayer. God has 3 probable answer, Yes, No or Wait.

If God says No, it doesn't mean He don't love you. It's because he has a greater plan for you, much better than you prayed for. So wait for it. Be patient.

If God says Wait, then you just have to wait and be patient.

If God says Yes, then thank God.

What ever God's answer is, we should just prepare for what ever PLAN he has set upon us. And be thankful always coz no matter what His answer to your prayer is - HE KNOWS IT'S BEST FOR YOU.

Don't lose hope, God loves you and we love you too. Continue praying and prepare yourself, if not this time - in the future.

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. - Romans 8:28

This blog entry is dedicated to my dear sister. We are always here for you, especially me, your dear Kuya.

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Last Draw

It's the start of my vacation and I am left alone with my son.

This morning I prepared a traditional breakfast for my son. Fried eggs, hotdogs, coffee (that's for me), sopas (Philippine traditional soup) and pandesal (traditional bread of Pinoys) are Pinoy's top breakfast favorites.

Actually, I cooked the sopas last night for our prayer meeting and the pandesal was always in our stock of breads since it was my son's favorite since we introduced it to him. The 3 pandesal breads are the last piece of them, have to buy more later. The sopas in the pictre is the last bowl as well. The 3 eggs are the last pieces and so are the hotdogs. I guess we really need to go shop for more stuffs.

My wife still has work, they'll start their vacation tomorrow so it's just me and my son for now. It's great to have vacation once in a while. Now, I can concentrate with my project now, my personal project.

It's vacation, so I'll enjoy this. Hope you all have your vacation (to all Middle-East bloggers out there).

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A Walk To Remember

When was the last time you had a long walk with your family? If you can't remember then I think it's about time you have one now. It's best to do things while we have our strength.

It has always been about family. Why do we even work and struggle to live in a place where we are called foreigners?, where a lot of people look down on us? where others even struggle in having to wait for their long delayed salaries (probably this only happens in Saudi Arabia). Where others struggle a day working under the bright and hot sun.

I am blessed to have my family with me (I always thank God for it) and I pity all our kababayans out there who are working alone in this kind of place specially in Saudi Arabia. I get to spend a lot more quality time with my family whenever I want to.

Last night I asked my wife if we could go to the bay area near her former workplace. It's just near our house. It's not a few blocks away from us but it is quite near so we decided to go. The walk wasn't tiresome since it is quite windy. At first, we felt hot (coming from an air conditioned place of course) but apparently it became windy and it's a good thing that as we went near the bay side the wind started get cold (not so cold). We've walked from home to the bay area for about 25 minutes, I'm not really sure coz we did not notice the time.

We saw a lot of people there and we realized we are the only Filipinos walking there. With full of excitement, my son started running as soon as he saw the playground full of "friends". We told him to call other children "friends" not kids hehe and it's kinda cute when he say "Look Dad, there are lots of friends!".

I then realized that we should have done this back in Manila when we had our vacation. I should write it down. We brought our digital camera, I anticipated a really good view awaiting us and I'm glad we brought it with us. Took some pictures - KODAK moments! Guess you can call us the Kodak family coz we all love to have our pictures taken hehe! It's a good thing their government put up some of sort of machine to rehabilitate the bay area, I remembered the foul odor emitted by the water. It is smelly because they have closed some areas connecting it the sea brought by their continued expansion and reclamation. I heard they are going to make a new way to connect it to the sea - probably underground hehe.

We stayed at the bay area for about an hour or so. We just let Ize enjoy the moment with his local friends (Saudi children). It was almost Isha prayer (their last call for prayer for each day - night prayer, it is their longest prayer that takes about 20-30 minutes) when we left the area, again we walked.

We decided to retreat on a nearby grocery store called Marhaba in Hael Street. Good thing we brought Ize's stroller, he got tired of playing and slept while we are walking on our way to Marhaba. When we reached Marhaba it was closed for prayer so we have to wait for about 30 minutes. We took some pictures and made fun of their Pepsi billboard. When they opened, we bought some food supplies like egyptian bread (healthy bread - you should try it), youghart, juice and tinapa (I badly need it for my palabok that I'll be cooking later - my first attempt). I was always fascinated with Marhaba Superstore coz it looks elegant. I remembered we ate their along time ago and it felt like I am eating at the airport.

After we bought what we need we decided to go home but on our way we decided to just spend a few more minutes on the park along our way. By the way, we are still on our foot. The place could really use some tidying up, the trash is almost everywhere. We saw a lot of family there. Ize is already awake and wanted to run. We didn't allow him to play with the other kids coz we saw some broken bottles scattered and we're afraid he'll stumble on it. So we just took some pictures again hehe.

I got hungry and Ize could use some too so we decided to eat. We can see McDonald's banner from our location so we decided to go there and eat. It was out of our way but it is still near our place. We ordered McArabia (me and my wife's favorite) meal - UPSIZED it. I still have a few coupons with me given by a friend so I gave them my FREE McFlurry coupon and enjoyed it after our meal.

We went home happily. I'm surprised I didn't even get tired, it really helps to lose some weight. It was a great day. Again I thanked God for it. It was really a walk to remember.

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