Happy Father's Day!

Savannah, Gaby and I treated Robert with his favorites on Father's Day. We grabbed breakfast from East Coast Bagel Co. on the way to church. Then for lunch, we went to Wahoo's where we all enjoyed some good grub and conversation. Of course, we got coffee for the trip home! We stopped at the grocery store to pick up ingredients for the Rice Krispies treats the girls wanted to make for their Daddy, then we finally went home. From one place to another, Robert did not have to do one bit of driving!

Robert had a relaxing afternoon, laying out in the yard on the picnic blanket as the girls ran amuck and I spent some time sitting around indoors. In fact, he was so relaxed that he ended up taking a nice long nap under the trees.

The rest of the day was spent with Lolo. Carlo, Kelly, Judy, and Ruthella joined us for dinner. Thank you to both Mom and Dad--even though it was YOUR special day--for doing all the cooking!

A FEW THOUGHTS:

When we were having lunch at Wahoo's, I asked Robert:

"What has been THE MOST significant part in your life as a father? In general, and for each of the girls?"

I asked my dad this same question during dinner, and their answers were similar: TIME SPENT WITH THEIR CHILDREN.

It is just as special and important to children how much QUALITY time they spend with their dad's. I don't remember much from my first 3 years when my Dad was still with us in the Philippines, but my Dad recalled how I would wait for him to come home from work. One day, when my Dad was already living in the States, my Mom wrote to him that she couldn't find me for hours. She had looked everywhere and finally found me sitting outside the gate of my Lolo's and Lola's house. I was waiting for him to come home.

Savannah and Gaby are the same. Close to the time they know their Daddy is coming home, they are looking out the kitchen window or from our bedroom window upstairs. They squeal and run out to greet their Daddy before he can even get out of his car. And the hours they spend with both their Daddy and Lolo, making up stories, and running around screaming with delight--THESE are the moments they will remember their whole lifetime.

My fondest memories of my Dad were doing building projects to house another pet he helped me bring home. We would draw up our design, buy the materials, and build bird/rabbit cages and a dog house from scratch.

ONE TO THINK ABOUT:

Here's Robert's question:

"If you were to die today, do you think you would leave the legacy you want your children to have?"

It doesn't matter how long you've been a parent. What legacy are you leaving behind? What will your children remember about you? What lessons in life have you taught them so far? What do you want them to know and remember?

I don't want my children to remember that Mommy was always busy cleaning and cooking, but didn't have time to sit down and tell them stories or read to them. I don't want them to remember us sitting in front of the computer searching the internet or playing games, or spending hours in front of the TV and calling it "family time". I want them to remember the Saturdays we would get up and make our pancake breakfast. Weekend after weekend of baking homemade cookies and making ice cream from scratch. Doing arts and crafts and making cards. Playing hide-n-seek in the living room. Using Daddy as a slide or pretending he's their horsie. Daddy coming home and taking his girls our for an ice cream or hot cocoa date. Driving Lolo around in a pretend bus and visiting people and places in their imagination. Sitting out in the yard and gardening with Lola, and having Lola sing them to sleep with her made up "Lola-bies". Most of all, I want them to remember that we all talked to them about Jesus, and told them about God's love. That one day, having Jesus in their heart and evident in their lives WILL BE the legacy we leave behind.

Another Appointment Down...Two More to Go!

We're down to going every week now. I love this part because it makes the wait seem to go by faster! Two weeks and 3 days left, and I've only gained 25 lbs. so far!!

Serafina is stretching me out more than either Savannah or Gaby did during my pregnancies with them. My doctor made a comment that she seems to have grown a lot since the last time he saw me. I definitely am feeling the belly weight. My left knee hurts a little when I go up and down the stairs. It's getting harder to get up from the floor, so I try not to put myself in that situation. I need to support my belly just to roll from one side to the other. My entire body moves when Serafina moves.

Aside from the discomforts, and lessening amount of energy, I am enjoying these final weeks as a pregnant mom. I officially stopped working last Thursday. As an added bonus, I didn't even have a session on my last day. I did miss spending my last 2 weeks with one of my favorite kiddos, but was thrilled to be able to join him and his family celebrate his, and his sisters', 3rd birthday. So far, I have spent my time sleeping in, and relaxing more. Savannah and Gaby are thrilled that Mommy no longer has to leave for work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and have a line up of activities for me to do with them. In fact, Savannah's request upon finding out that I didn't have to work on my last day was for us to make pancakes for breakfast!

The girls' room, family room, and our bedroom are now all ready to welcome Serafina. I feel more at peace with my surroundings, give or take a few more things I would like to fix up. I am satisfied enough and can turn a blind eye to all the other little things. Pray that Savannah and Gaby will fall back into an earlier Night Night routine, and that Gaby will have an easier time falling asleep. We've also started introducing Gaby to the wonderful world of "going to the potty", and hope that we can stay consistent and get rid of another set of diapers/pull ups. Savannah continues to be my right hand, and super helper! I am truly blessed!

The Countdown Has Begun

Today, I am 28 weeks and 5 days. 10 more weeks before we welcome little Serafina into the world and into our family! We are so excited, and getting a bit anxious for that day to come. I am officially schedule for a c-section on July 10 at 7:30 am. I know I don't do so well being up that early, but if that means I'll at least be able to eat lunch by noon or a little later, so be it!

As far as the pregnancy itself, I am feeling like I'm carrying a huge watermelon. My belly has popped out more the past 2 weeks. I am growing more uncomfortable each day as the baby continues to take up more space. Work is a little harder and I'm not sure how much longer I can last doing 3 sessions on my work days--I'm sure some of the parents are wondering WHY I am STILL working at this point. Savannah and Gaby are constantly giving Serafina hugs and kisses, and insist that she wants to come out soon to play with them. Believe me, I want that too.

We are in limbo right now as to when my final day at work will be. So far, the plan is for me to continue working until July 2. By mid-May, I will be dropping my last case of the day. Then, after coming back from vacation, I'll either continue with the two cases, or drop it down to one. We'll see what actually happens. My brain has a tendency to be more ambitious than what my body can actually handle.

Nap Time and School

I've been very blessed that Gaby does really well going down for a nap. All she needs is her baba, soft music, and a quiet room. When she's all done with the baba, she sets it aside and goes to sleep (2-3 hours).



Savannah kept asking, or should I say "telling", me to put Gaby down for a nap. She was very eager to do "SCHOOL" today. So, as soon as Gaby was sleeping, I printed out some writing skills worksheets for Savannah and got her started on tracing while I took a shower.






We also worked on putting numbers 1 - 10 in order and writing upper/lowercase letters A - J.




She loves school time! As you can see, she is a hardworker and a bit of a perfectionist.

Lord Bless....

For the longest time, Gaby was just not interested in praying. We couldn't get her to put food down to thank God for our food, or distract her from wanting her baba at bedtime to thank God for the day He had given us. Things have definitely changed the past month! Not only does she interject her own prayers as Robert or I pray with the girls, but she has led our prayer time by asking:

Lord bless....Mama and Daddy, and Nanas
Woh-woh and Woh-wah
Gamma and Gump-Gump
Uncle Mike and Issa
Uncle Cah-oh and Ankie Keh-ee

What a blessing it is for us, as parents, to hear these words come out of their children's mouths, especially as young as Gaby!

Lord...bless Gaby!

Little Messages

About 2 weeks ago, Savannah started leaving little messages for us. She'll leave one on Lola's work space and Lolo's computer desk in the office, and leave ours on our desks in our bedroom office. It's a well thought out process. She gets a Post-It and cuts it in half. Then she folds it up and tapes it down so we can enjoy opening it. At first, they were blank. This past week, she has surprised us with her knowledge of print. I know she can print "A", "O", and "S". I was overjoyed to find out that she can also do "D", "L', "f", and "E". Her letters are not random either. For Lola, she writes "LOL". "OLL" for Lolo. "D" is for Daddy. She's still learning "M" and I can't wait to find one of those on my desk!!

We Have a Due Date

Within the last month, we have been waiting (a bit impatiently) to find out HOW pregnant I am, and when we'd be expecting the birth of our third little surprise =)

So, after two blood tests, three ultrasounds, and even starting to wonder if I am even pregnant or if the baby is in the right place, we are happy to know that, as of today, I am 7 weeks and 5 days, and that the little one is due July 17, 2009. WHEW!

My doctor commented how that is far down the road from now. Yes...very true! Right now, I am thankful that the baby is growing and has a strong, healthy heartbeat. Can you imagine, just two weeks ago, all you could see was a clear bubble?? And now, our little one is starting to take shape and it's heart is already beating! Children are truly a miracle, and a beautiful, intricate creation of God.

Now...if only the morning sickness will go away, so I can go back to enjoying the smell and taste of food =)