Being Far from Home

When I completed my tour in Guam, I chose an assignment close to home so we could spend time with my Dad. We lived with Dad for about a year and we saw great change with his health, he got so energetic again. My sister Crystal told us when we arrived that Dad wasn't doing well when my Mom died but when lived there he changed. I thought that they would just let me stay until I retire but I was wrong. We're relocated again here which is far from Dad and I feel bad that I have to be away from him now that he is old. It's hard to be elderly in the States, they felt so alone because their kids have their own family. That is why even if we bought a house there, we see to it that we visit him everyday after I go home from work, makes him happy seeing our children. But now every time we call him on the phone, he always say things like he might not make it till we go back there. Getting us worried here. I hope and pray that we could still make up the time with him.

This picture was taken we were living at Dad's. Rylie was only 5 months old here..

The Star says....

I grabbed this link from Malou and tried mine and I must say that this thing hit me pretty hard hehehe... Although I'm not physically sexy anymore hahaha. This stuff is pretty neat, if you want to try what does your star say about you, try this... You'll be amazed..

Matching Outfit

I noticed that Moms like to put clothes that are alike with their daughters. My sister did that with her daughter too, now I see it with my wife and daughter hehehe. As our daughter is growing up, she likes to buy clothes that she sees her mom wears.

Just like this matching coat that they are wearing, she told her Mom one time "How I wish I have a coat like you Mom" and the next thing I know, my wife was looking for a coat similar to hers hehehe.. We bought our daughter's coat at Gap Baby.

these moments...

Every moment that we capture with our children is a story that will be told when they become adults. Page by page, they will be able to comprehend the true meaning of love, the love that parents have for them. So capture those moment every chance you get, its worth more than a million treasure that you could find. Its PRICELESS...

Happy blogging everyone!

Sunday Reflection

"Peace I leave with you,

my peace I give unto you;

not as the world giveth,

give I unto you.

Let not your heart be troubled,

neither let it be afraid."

JOHN 14:27

With reference to our call/tasks in life, we may go through period of reluctance when we just do not feel up to our previously made commitment. Such reluctance is part of human nature. However, our first reaction to do something about it should not be a visit to a lwayer. As mature peiople we should have an honest discussion, seek counselling, and pray to God. The message for today's gospel is: Our call in life may be a challenge in the future may not always be clear, but we must respond in faith, and in repentance, when we have failed.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone! Thanks for visiting..

stages

Usually, you will see this first..

And then this..

And end up with this..

Does this situation happen in your household too? Good night everyone and happy weekend!

3 days weekend

I have a three days off this week so my wife showed me how to make the chicken pasta that she always makes for us. It seem so easy and simple to do and I guess I would be able to make it some day but I am not sure hehehe. As usual, it was delicious, my son can throw this pasta down in his pipe hehehe.. So here you go guys... YUM!Happy weekend everyone!

Coffee Mug from My sister with Love

The package that my sister sent for Christmas present for us just arrived today and I am so happy that she sent me some too! I love this mug which has a dedication on it that say:For My Brother

Together we shar3ed a child's world

We talked, we disagreed,

we shared personal hurts and joys,

and the older we grew,

the stronger the bond between us became.

I was always so proud

to have you as my brother

Now life has taken us down separate paths,

but your well being and happines

will always be foremost in my thoughts.

Neither the span of miles nor years

between us can ever change

the feelings I have for you....

I LOVE YOU!

I love you too Chris! Please take care of Dad for me, we miss you guys so much!

civil wedding celebration

These pictures were taken when we celebrated our civil wedding anniversary (August 12 last year). It was a simple one, we went to church and ate lunch at Turtle Cove. After we ate, we hang out at the restaurant's lawn and enjoy the perfect weather and the beauty of nature.

Uncertainties

As I was getting near with my retirement, I have so many worries about my kids. What if there's no good paying job available for me out there. I know that when you are a retired service man, you have the preference over others in getting a job but it doesn't mean that it will pay you enough for your family's needs. Whew, I have so many what ifs. But I am keeping my faith that He will guide me through this.

guilty look

EJ love scribbling pens and other kind of coloring materials in walls, papers, and just about everywhere that he likes... including his arm. When his Mom caught him doing it, he had this look of guilt on on his face, I find it hilarious because he immediately say "Sow" which means sorry.

House Upgrade

These pictures were taken when we first bought our house. We've renovated pretty much everything before we moved in. We repainted the walls and ceilings, changed the carpet, and put other details to the house like crown moldings and stuff. We did the remodeling by ourselves with the help of my family members. Thanks guys!

There's Rylie sitting in the dining room floor.

This is my sister Crystal

The hall to the foyer

Here's to the bathroom, you may notice that evero room has different carpet, that's why we put a new one to the entire house

Here's the living room

Here's the kitchen

At first we painted the dining room with bright yellow but later change it because it was too bright hehehe.. The professional painters lol... My dad and Rose painting Rylie's bedroom.

Here's my wife Rose painting our master's bedroom

The women of my life bonding together...

story teller

Every night before going to bed, I always tell my daughter a story or two. But tonight was different, when I went to her room to tell her a story, she told me that she will be the one to do the job. I was amazed that she remembered every stories I told her and made into a one whole story. I think our daughter would be a great story teller someday lol.. Just sharing guys.

Rylie's pictures when she was one year old, 5 months and the last one was 7 months old..

routinary mess

My wife is getting tired of dealing with this scene everyday hehehe. I don't know why our kids love to play with the cushions. For me its okay as long as they enjoy it, you know let the kids be kids. They enjoy doing that so, I just help them putting it back together when they're done. My wife on the other hand can't stand seeing mess lol..Have a blessed Monday everyone!

Sore Muscles

Whenever my work out is not regulated ( i worked out like 3-4 times a week and if I stop that routine), I always have muscle pain the day after I work out. If you experience the same here are tips that could help you ease the pain.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers these suggestions to help manage minor muscle pain:

• Allow your muscles to rest. Don't engage in any heavy exercise while they recover.
• Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to ease pain.
• For the first few days, ice the area. After the first two to three days, apply heat to the sore muscles.
• As you recover, try low-impact exercises such as swimming, biking and walking. Gradually work your way up to longer and tougher exercises.
• Sleep, stretch and avoid stress.

thanks to everydayhealth.com for the info

korean bibimbap

Oh boy, I got so full yesterday when we went out for dinner at one of the fine dining restaurants here. I don't know what is with this Korean food that makes me crave once in a while. I like their variation of foods because it contains veggies and spices which make it very good and its healthy. I like their bibimbap the most, it's very tasty!

Happy Birthday SON!

Happy Birthday to our son EJ, you are now two years old. Oh boy, the terrible Two's that every parent is avoiding hahaha. We are wishing good health always son, may God bless you all the time. We love you so dearly!

Father & Son Bonding

When my wife started working with her part time job, I became so much closer to my children especially my son. He can just sit by me or climb around me when we are watching TV. This is his new style of watching TV with me.

Code Name

Okay here's a revelation of how I came up of using Joops as my username here.

Instead of calling her brother EJ, my daughter preferred to call him Joops which we find very cute. So for those who wonders why my name is Joops, here you got it..

I would like to thank all my frequent visitors here, please pardon me if I would not be able to visit you for 3 days because we are leaving tomorrow for our hiking trip. Hope you would still come here, while I'm gone, I'll visit you back as soon as we're back.. Promise!

My thanks to God!

I was looking through some of our kids pics and decided to post these. I thought the alarmed look on my son's face was hilarious and the last pic looks like my daughter experienced one of her mother's farts. We are so blessed that God gave us kids. They truly are an overall enhancement to adult life. It's kind of like getting to live your childhood over again......but with some worry involved. Their personalities are really different. Rylie is outgoing and really talkative and EJ is quiet and gets fixated on things which involve his deepest thoughts. Kids truly are the product of love. They start from love and they make love flourish throughout the years. Thank you God for everything. Even my wife's farts.