Happy Birthday David!

My first born is 5 years old today! What a wonderful blessing he is!! He truly brings a smile to my face everyday since he was born. Mahal na mahal kita (I love you very much) my David!

The following are some pictures taken on his birthday parties. One for relatives and friends (indoor pictures didn't come out)at our home and the other at his pre-school ... a giant pizza for all the 40some students and teachers.

His actual birthday was spent with the immediate family. I baked a giant birthday chocolate chip cookie for him and the family went to Chik-fil-A and saw the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks".

Better Late Than Never?

My dear friends, I am so sorry that I didn't get to send out Christmas cards this year. I really was thinking of you. This month was just soooo crazy for me and things just didn't flow as I would have liked it to. Anyway, the following was the Christmas card/letter that you would have gotten.

December 2007

Our Dear Family and Friends:

Here’s the annual Christmas letter we hope finds you well … This year has certainly been kind to us. We’re all healthy and happy. And as you may know, our family is growing. Our second son is due mid June next year. His conception came as a surprise but certainly welcomed. Just meant few changes in plans which Dave is quick to adapt. For instance, we are moving to our other house in March next year instead of next fall when the initial big remodel was to be done. The house won’t be as grand as initially planned (big kitchen, two offices, third garage, …) but that’s OK. Much less cleaning for Jinky!

Dave continues to be a very busy man. In his fortieth year he had wanted to accomplish something big. He thought perhaps compete in judo or run the marathon. Instead he completed a masters degree in criminal justice, became a part-time judo instructor for Cal State San Bernardino, and is a co-chairman to Police Privacy Counsel here in town (and still works full time for the State!). But to Jinky, his greatest accomplishment was the conception of their third child and of course being an awesome husband and father.

Jinky is surprised with the pregnancy. Her plan next year was to talk Dave into having another child but … Anyway, the morning sickness was not pleasant of course but she’s grateful that it was not as intense as it was when she was carrying Sophia. Her great accomplishment this year was becoming a blogger (www.jinxpad.blogspot.com), the virtual way to keep up-to-date with family and friends. From that she is able to “scrapbook” her family’s journey. She loves her new calling in church as a Primary Teacher and totally adores her students! Needless to say, she continues to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom (though still works twice a month as a dialysis nurse) and tries to be a good person.

David was a handful this year probably because he thought he had to compete for attention since Sophia came about. He often wants to play baby, with him being the baby. However, he’s also been a big helper. We can ask him many small tasks and he’ll do most of them without complaining. He loves his little sister and they play well together most of the time. He continues to enjoy pre-school, playgroup, and Primary and from those he’s more social. He loves to sing, he’s good about praying before meals, and he never cease to bring a smile to his parent’s face everyday!

Sophia is a joy to watch grow. Her developmental skills is right on track. She’s a happy and fun little girl. She had been trying to walk when she was nine months old but didn’t get it just right until a day before she turned one. Her favorite words are: “dad”, “bob” (for Sponge Bob), “up", and “dirt” (that’s what it sound like to us but she’s actually saying juice). She clearly said “mama” at six months a few times but it fell off her head after that! Now she says it mostly on cue and occasionally on her own. She is the apple of her daddy’s eye and a diamond to her mama. You can’t help but feel joy when you see her crunch her face, curl her lips, or see that big bright eyes and happy smile!

Our sincere holiday wishes to you all. We are continually grateful for your love and support. We delight in this season for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ and the knowledge that He lives and loves us unconditionally. -- Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Love,
The S. Family

Happy Birthday Honey!

Today is my sweetheart's birthday. I'm not going to say how old he is because I'm not that far from there so here's 21 wonderful things about him instead:

1. He's an awesome husband and father
2. He's got beautiful brown eyes

3. He's a hard worker; no lazy bone in his body!
4. He loves and respect me
5. He treats his mother well
6. He's a teddy bear ... his stubbles on his face grow out soft
7. He's smart
8. He's sexy ... if I owned a magazine, he'd be in the front cover as "The Sexiest Man Alive"
9. He can be funny ... sometimes he makes me laugh
10. He's my rock
11. He'll do the laundry and even fold them!
12. He's a good provider and protector
13. He's kind and thoughtful ... he picks up goodies for me after work (like Tommy's hamburger) when I ask him and even when I don't ... how sweet!
14. He's incredibly calm and level headed
15. He doesn't get mad (maybe disappointed or a little upset) ... he just doesn't see the point of wasting energy that way
16. He's a great lover
17. Did I mention, he's sexy? 'cause from time to time I look at him from the corner of my eyes and still get hot & bothered!
18. He always gets me a dozen or two roses on my birthday, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and our anniversary
19. He's generous ... a regular charity supporter
20. He's gentle and caring beneath that tough exterior
21. And my favorite, he's my personal singer ... he sings to me on our anniversary



Happy Birthday Honey! I love you deeply and eternally.

He's A Boy!

I went for an ultrasound nine days ago to determine size and date for my doctor since I wasn't sure of the exact date of my last period. The technician told me that she can't tell me anything about what she sees except the sex of the baby but being just over 12wks at the time she said that she may not be able to tell. I asked her to let me know anyways if she happens to see. Sure enough she did! "It's a boy!" she exclaimed. Oddly enough I was surprised. I was feeling like I would be carrying a boy ... being that I had milder morning sickness than I was when I was carrying Sophia ... but I had a name picked out for a girl and still have tons of girl clothes that Sophia didn't get to use so a girl would be practical. Yet, a boy would be great for Sophia. Two brothers to look out for her would be nice and she'd remain the only princess. Truly either way would be awesome. I'm just thankful we're blessed again with another child. May he be strong and healthy I pray.

I'm Feeling Better ... Hurray!!

Yeap! For about a week now I've been free of the morning sickness. Wow! What a nice feeling. So this means I've been trying to catch up on those things I mentioned I've put on the back burner.

This month is a busy one for the family ... along with Christmas it's also Dave and David birthday month, so I'm busy shopping extra for them and planning for David's 5th birthday party ... Transformer theme of course. Also, I'm trying to catch up on my house chores. My sweet visiting teacher is helping me out with that. She's watching the kids for me this afternoon so I can do some cleaning. What a big help!

No surprise I can't find my camera! I had planned to get the pictures developed this morning to get ready for sending out Christmas cards but well ... Maybe it's just not going to happen this year so in advance I apologize and wish you all truly a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

That's all for now. Thanks for your patience, concerns, and prayers. You're wonderful!!

My Little Cowboy

How totally cute is David? This was taken at his pre-school this past October. Pretty clever idea of the photographer, eh? I don't think any parent turned down purchasing a picture of their kids on this pony!

Life Goes On

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this nauseating roller coaster ride doesn’t last the entire nine months! It’s not as bad as it was when I was pregnant with Sophia but unpleasing just the same!!! I can’t catch up with my house chores and I was already a terrible house keeper to begin with. I have so much in the back burner it’s not funny. I can’t stand so many scents (eg. shampoo, conditioner, detergent, …) and I cry about anything so I’m sappier than I was. Oh, my bed now is the leather recliner. It’s the only place I can lie down comfortably enough to sleep. I miss my husband but it’s better than taking the chance of throwing up on him lying flat (propping pillows didn't work!) in bed with him! But otherwise everything is great. The kids are happy. I manage to feed them everyday and bathed at least every other day (of course Sophia’s diapers are changed as needed). Dave, I throw love thoughts when I’m not nauseated. Life moves on and I go and live it as much as I can ... the kids' must go activities first then mine. I'll probably do a "Potpourri" blog later to catch up with the in-betweens ... though I must admit, I've been terrible at taking pictures lately so I'm not sure if there's much to blog about. Well, that's it for now. Got to find some gum ... seems to give me momentary relief from the nausea ... hint hint ... that's what I want for Christmas!