On Mommyhood's Milestones

Found out that I'm expecting. Yahoo! So the following day, I went to the hospital for a check-up. First time to hear my baby's heartbeat. It was incredibly amazing how this little angel's heart beats so fast. I was advised by my OB to take a long month of bed rest until my 12th week, because I had a miscarriage last year.

After a month of bed rest, I was excited with a bit of nervousness for my next ultrasound. And on my 12th week, we went to our OB again. I was mesmerized by the blessed life I saw in the ultrasound. My little angel was swaying like a wave being tossed by the wind. My OB took a long while when she's examining our angel. After a long wait, she explained that the measurement of my baby's neural tube is between normal and abnormal. I had to undergo a triple test to screen any fetal defects. I felt scared because of the thought that my angel will turn out into something unexpectedly.

The test was done within a week after the ultrasound. The laboratory staff advised us that the result will be received after three weeks as the test will be done outside UAE. The lab staff took a couple of ml of blood from me. I asked her if I can pray for my blood sample. She smilingly said, yes. I took the 2 tubes from her and prayed in Jesus' name.

Without further ado, we lifted this test result to God. We asked for a prayer from our church leaders and workers as well. It's good to have a Christian community where we can share our trials and be lifted in prayer. My husband and I were praying every day and night for God's divine intervention and victory for the negative result of fetal defects. In my heart, I kept on hearing the word of God in Jeremiah 32:27 which says, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, is there anything too hard for me?" Tears came rolling down my cheeks. The Lord was speaking to me right that very moment. I felt peace and joy in my heart knowing that God is taking care of everything. We just had to trust in His Word.

One month after my triple test, we went back to our OB and she showed me the result of test. We felt relieved and happy from the bottom of our hearts - our angel is perfectly normal!. God indeed is a faithful God. I had another ultrasound and this time, my husband took a video of our angel. His/her heart was beating so fast.  Our baby was kicking so hard, swimming in his/her world. We were happy knowing that the OB did not see any negative fetal development. On my next ultrasound, we will finally see our baby's gender.

All is well that's end well. Nothing is too hard for God. We just have to lift everything to Him who is the God of all mankind.

As of this writing, my baby is moving a lot. We are more that excited to see our angel soon.

To God be the glory!

Boodle Fight for our Bible Study Break

Our Bible Study group started in the year 2011. Ever since, we have our Bible Study break. Every end of the six topics which runs two weeks per topic ( 3 moths), we do dinner at home, bowling, etc. And last night was our BS break again. We opted for a boodle fight dinner at home.

It was a fun night as everyone gave his/her share. The group was divided into four and each group has a distinct seafoods and meat to bring. We had crabs, squid, shrimp, chicken, crispy pata, steamed okra and eggplant, itlog na maalat, tomatoes, teamed up with different sawsawan/appetizers (such as bagoong, flavored soy sauce, atsara), fruits and drinks and plain and fried rice.

It's funny that right after the thanksgiving prayer, everyone attacked the table. We had our full as everyone used our hands to eat "kamayan style".

Photo credit to Bro. Alvin Capiral.

Why Tithing is Not Enough

I've been hearing a lot of stories of my friends and acquaintances about their financial suffering while living in UAE. One time, I learned from a friend that he is faithfully tithing but still in a financial mess. How can that be? God is more than willing to bless us with all our needs. He is a faithful God. I wonder why he is in this financial bondage.

One realization is that, aside from the 10% we give back to God, the 90% left is equally important in dealing with our financial stability. Yes, we are giving our tithes faithfully, but are we faithful enough to properly manage the 90%? God is not concern how much we give, but it is attitude of our hearts that God cares.

As a rule of thumb, Income - Savings = Expenses, and not the other way around. If God sees that we are managing our 90% properly, living within our means, He is more than happy and willing to bless us with more things. In purchasing things, always take time to think if we really need it. If it's just a want, then wait for a little while to have the sufficient fund to buy that want. Always stick to your budget.

I would like to share with you how our income are divided accordingly.

1. Tithes: We believe that tithes belong to God. We give beyond the 10%, and the 2% is our offering.
2. Savings: This includes our emergency fund and baby fund.
3. Life Insurance/Investments: We availed the VUL type of insurance wherein portion of our premium is invested, thus, accumulates cash. We started investing in the Philippine stock market. We both have accounts for our baby's college fund. When we complete our emergency fund, the succeeding savings will be invested in our start-up business and in the mutual fund as well.
4. Assistance to our families: We believe that giving financial assistance to both our parents is a way of giving or paying back all their sacrifices. Honor your parents, as the Bible says.
5. House Rent/Grocery, etc: Living expenses in Abu Dhabi is very high. I have my 'blue notebook" wherein I write down all our expenses, day in and day out. It includes our monthly dinner out.
6. Fun Fund: We both have fun fund where we spend for our personal wants. I usually buy clothes and my husband is fond of gadgets. So whatever we do to our fun fund, it's up to us.

So that's how and where our combined income go. I hope you learn from this simple article.

God loves to teach us even in the smallest part of our life. That's why He has given us His Word (The Bible) for us to learn and grow. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is a very good example on how we have to manage everything that God has entrusted to us.

25:29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

To God be the glory.

How to be Practical on Your Wedding Celebration ... Our Story Tells It All.

Yes, I am now married. Thank God. It's been a year when I was in a "no-rush" preparation. Meeting your envisioned celebration of a simple Christian wedding takes even a lot of preparation: food and venue, guests, entourage, photo/video coverage, invitations, etc and most especially, the budget. Though we are living abroad, I still wanted our wedding to be held in my hometown in Zambales. Gathering our family and friends to join us in our milestone as wife-and-husband-to-be, is a great social happening and a feeling of awesome wonder.

Being brought as "Ilocana", I wanted to squeeze out our budget and spend below our means. With only a month of preparation, we managed to bring all things together. And I can say, I owe it a lot to God who gave us the talents and wisdom to make this event a wonderful celebration, with just a few dirhams to spend.

How to Bring Your Immediate Family Member to UAE under a Tourist Visa for Job Purposes Part 2

Here is the Part 2 of my topic "How to Bring Your Immediate Family Member to UAE under a Tourist Visa for Job Purposes".


2. Prepare for Necessary Requirements. Both parties need to prepare the necessary papers needed in applying for a tourist visa and at the same time, papers needed for working visa. The following list will give you ideas on what papers to prepare.