I had my 3D ultrasound last week and was very delighted to know that my second baby is a girl. (Well, that confirms the assumption of everyone which is a good thing). My parents and in-laws were so happy too. My mom and sister even screamed and jumped when I told them about the news. LOL. :sick:

Anyway, meet the little girl in my tummy…AYESHA KIRSTEN. :heart:

The truth is, we’ve already given her a name as soon as we found out I was pregnant. We just assumed that the baby is a girl right from the start. LOL. We prayed that God will give us a baby girl so we don’t have to think of a boy’s name just in case. :bleh:

And God was so generous for giving us what our hearts desire. :heart: :hearty: :love:

Oh before I forget, I’d like to thank Marlene for giving me this wonderful award. I’ll try to update my blog regularly from now on. Promise!

:exclamation: Super long post ahead! :sick:

The recent flood awakened me.
I realized that a person could easily lose everything in one snap of a finger, leaving him with nothing but faith.

So many families have lost their homes and loved-ones when typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) hit Metro Manila a month ago. My family and I were one of the victims too. Our house was submerged in a stinky flood up until my waistline so we had to stay at my mom-in-law’s house for four days until we’re done cleaning everything up. We even had to hire people to help us out. Some valuable things in the house had to be thrown away (our Play station, some photographs, books, center table, CDs/DVDs/tapes, PC monitor etc), some had to be repaired (bed frame, wooden racks, cabinets, dresser, sofa, car, etc), while some of our appliances (washing machine, ref, electric fan, component, etc) miraculously worked even after swimming in the flood. Thank God!

When the flood was rising fast I thought we were going to lose everything. My husband, his 82-year-old grandma who lives with us and I tried to save anything as fast as we could. It’s a good thing that my three-year-old son was at my in-laws’ house when the incident happened. Otherwise, he would’ve seen us panicking. In the midst of the storm, I remember myself shouting:
“Dad, yung photo albums natin!”
“Dad, yung toys ni Greg. Let’s keep them all safe first!”

I was so concerned about saving our photo albums because I know I couldn’t take back all the good memories we had in those pictures anymore. The toys (especially the electronic ones) were my second priority because I didn’t want my son to be sad over losing the things that are precious to him. I know we can still buy them again in time, but the thought of seeing sadness in his eyes was something I couldn’t bear.

We were too busy carrying things around for a few hours, but we forgot the most important thing of all – SHUTTING THE POWER OFF! As soon as my husband realized the danger we were in, he immediately shut the main power off. Thank God we didn’t get electrocuted! We could’ve died while wading in the flood.

Anyway, as the flood continued to rise, I paused and prayed, “God, ikaw ng bahala. If we’re meant to lose everything we’ve worked hard for, tanggap ko na po…”

Then I heard my husband say, “If this flood will continue to rise than it already is, I don’t know what to do anymore!”

I fought not to cry. I told him that if it’s our fate, then we need to accept it. We’ll just start all over again. Then I remember one of my favorite bible verses:

“Be still and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10

That’s when I realized that I had to stop and rest. Five long hours had already past. I looked around and saw that the flood had almost reached our dining table. I told God that it’s okay now to take everything away…

Then out of nowhere — just when I thought no one’s gonna help us — my husband’s cousins arrived. They were able to save some of our appliances. Ate Lot took grandma to her house where she could be safe. Then a few minutes later, my dad-in-law and Kuya Daboy (my brother-in-law) came to rescue me with an inflatable boat. I didn’t want to leave our house yet, but I didn’t have a choice. The stinky flood had already reached my underwear and I was worried about having a UTI if I stayed longer. Before I left, I told my husband that he could just leave everything behind. He nodded and said he’ll just lock the house. The only thing that I was able to bring with me was my purse and cellphone. No clothes. No personal stuff. Nothing.

On my way to my in-laws’ house, I started to feel the exhaustion creeping over me. Our village was submerged in chest-deep flood. I couldn’t believe it. Everyone looked so tired and helpless. When I saw the news on TV I got even more shocked at what happened to Marikina, Pasig and Cainta. People were stranded on the roof their house and couldn’t get out. Many people died. Cars were submerged on the road. Lots of properties were severely damaged. Drenched babies on the styrofoam broke my heart even more. It was horrible!

But you know what’s the most amazing thing of all? It’s how many people went out of their way to save and help others. Some even risked their own lives. Watching their heroic deeds on TV brought tears in my eyes. (Check thebrownraise.org for more touching and inspirational stories.)

It makes me feel proud that I am a Filipino. :hearty:

It’s true that Ondoy is not just all about flood, losses and deaths. Ondoy is also about life and heroism. k:

:exclamation: Disclaimer: I was supposed to post this entry two days after Typhoon Pepeng hit Northern Luzon, but was too busy to do so.

Everyone was rushing to go home while I, on the other hand, was rushing to go to work so I could finish the report I needed to submit before 7PM. It was only 4PM when I left the house.

The MRT station was jampacked with anxious passengersl ike I’d never seen it before. I received a forwarded text from a friend telling me that Typhoon Pepeng was expected to arrive at 9PM that night. People around me were talking about it too and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. The rain was pouring really hard outside.

It’s crazy how women tried to squeeze themselves in so they could enter the train as soon as the door opened. I was pushed too many times, but I patiently gave way and waited for my turn. I am 6 months pregnant and my tummy is really big. So you can just imagine how difficult it was for me to stand and wait for the train that would take me to work for more than two hours. Yes, you got that right. Two hours and 15 minutes to be exact. Then I stood all the way from Guadalupe to Quezon Avenue station for about 20 minutes or so.

By the time I arrived at work, it was already 8PM. And again, you can just imagine how exhausted I was. Unfortunately, I was too late for my report. But guess what? My friend did it for me. Thanks, Mae! I brought her donuts and gave her a big hug as soon as I saw her.

I checked Twitter updates about Typhoon Pepeng as soon as I was at my desk. Everyone seemed so frightened. Most of them were praying earnestly that the typhoon would change its course. I couldn’t help but feel scared since our house was submerged in flood up until my waistline just a week ago when Typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila with no mercy. We lost a few furniture and stuff, but it’s still nothing compared to others who had lost their homes and loved-ones.

I also posted my own prayer on Twitter, then I told myself that if the same thing would happen again I’d just leave everything up to God. That if it was His Will, then be it. What’s more important was the safety of everyone. Material things can be replaced easily as long as you work hard for it, but human lives cannot.

I watched the news next morning and found out that Pepeng had change its course. I was relieved because I didn’t think Metro Manila could take another blow that quickly. But I knew I couldn’t be happy knowing that my fellow countrymen in Northern Luzon was greatly affected. Seeing them suffer brought back sadness and fear that I once experienced during the Typhoon Ondoy.

It was heart-breaking, but I will never stop believing that every storm will end.