After the service last Sunday, I went down to Kids Church to pick up my son. Some of the kids had already been picked up. Some were standing by the door excitedly waiting for their parents and the after-class giveaway.

Surprisingly, my son didn’t wanna leave the classroom yet because he hadn’t finished his craft. It was raining hard that day, thus we arrived late at church. He was the last one to finish his craft. But what I found rather amazing was the fact that he had the heart to finish what he had started.

Good job, kuya Greggy!!!!

I am so proud of you, Greggy!

It’s time to go, son!

Greggy with teacher Ruth

We recently replaced our old “baby on board” car sticker with this one…

For some weird reason while looking at the drawing, I suddenly felt nostalgic at the thought of my kids growing up, getting married, leaving our home sweet home, and having a family of their own a few years from now. Oh nooo! Ngayon pa lang sobrang nalulungkot na ako. Erase, erase…

Time flies right before our very eyes. But for now what’s important is we have them and they have us. That in their eyes, daddy and I are the most precious people in the world.

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When I was in high school, I didn’t quite understand why my mom would always prohibit me from going to field trips or any out-of-town trips with my friends. I knew money had always been an issue back then, but apparently my mom had other things in mind. Hehe. She was playing detective.

During my teenage years, she had this habit of invading my privacy which I found totally obtrusive! She’s no Annabelle Rama, but she goes to the extent of reading my college diary, my love letters (or even letters from my friends!), and recklessly opens all the snail mails addressed to me as soon as she get her hands on them. Oh well, she’s lucky I wasn’t the rebellious type. LOL.

Having seen a lot of girls my age go through early pregnancies, I had chosen to see how my mom raised me in a different perspective. She wasn’t the religious type who would talk about Jesus and stuff when I was young, but there’s something in her parenting style that had kept me from falling into the “worldly trap.”

To this very day, I have no clue how she did it or if she put me under her magic spell. Haha. All I know is that it worked positively for me! Now that I am a mom myself, I understand her now more than ever. Yes, even the crazy ones she did just to protect me!

Surely, mothers know best! Thanks, mom! It is my prayer that I would be able to instill the same values into my children when the right time comes.

With that being said, let’s try to make our mom’s birthday extra special each year by giving her nice gifts and writing her a “thank you” card for all the things she did and sacrificed for us.

Check out this website for mother birthday gifts ideas!

When our little girl turned one and started walking, she didn’t want to sleep in her crib anymore. She now insists on sleeping with us in our queen-sized bed and likes being cuddled as if she were some grown-up kid. LOL.

One night, she screamed at the top of her lungs when I put her down in her crib. But to my surprise, she stopped crying as soon as I picked her up, looked at me straight in the eye wearing her sweetest smile, and landed a loud smack on my lips!

Whoa! She’s a real drama princess!

I loved the kiss though.

My parenting blog has a new look! I hired Anne to create a theme for me. I love it! Thank you so much, sis!

Click on the image

This blog has a new title too — Raising My Two Little Angels. Hope you can drop by. Wanna exchange links? Let me know! Thank you!

P.S: I’m still working on the sidebars.

I’ve just finished reading Raising Godly Kids by Harold J. Sala. I learned a lot from this book. As I flipped through its every page, it made me realize what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right when it comes to raising my children. So I guess the million dollar question that needs an answer is: How do we raise godly kids in this ungodly world? Read what this book has to say and don’t forget to jot down notes! I know as a parent I have made countless mistakes, but I won’t allow those mistakes to hinder me from raising godly kids.

With that being said, allow me to share the things I learned that I’d rather not forget for as long as I live. Things that will mold me into becoming the mother that God wants me to be…

1. Love in the family must be kept alive through little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness.
2. Every child has gifts and abilities. Find out where your child excels and encourage him or her without ignoring the fundamentals of education.
3. Give your child your undivided attention.
4. If you want to be the father or mother that God wants you to be, learn to listen to your child.
5. A reward for doing the right thing teaches the wrong thing.
6. There are no second chances with parenting. If you fail, you can’t go back and start over.
7. The wise parent has to balance protecting a child from hard knocks and letting him experience the consequence of his own actions.
8. Parenting is bringing out the best in our children without condemning them for what they cannot do or making them feel inadequate when they fail to meet our expectations.
9. Teach your child to evaluate what he hears and sees and to think of himself.
10. Strive to be the best message you want your child to see and hear.
11. You can’t pass on the baton of faith to your child unless you have it firmly in your grasp.
12. Be there when your child needs your help.
13. Model the value system that you believe is important.
14. Build your child’s character through moral feeding.
15. Teach your child to be his own person.
16. You have to guard the moral and spiritual nature of your child.
17. Knowing the difference between discipline and punishment gives parenting a different perspective.

I highly recommend this book to every parent who wants to make a difference in the life of his/her offspring. Dr. Sala is right when he said that there are no second chances with parenting. That if we fail, we can’t go back and start over…Years from now, I’m pretty sure none of us would want to look back and ask ourselves “What have I done wrong?”.

P.S: I’m getting more parenting books at National Bookstore this weekend. Feel free to recommend good ones. Thank you!