How To Celebrate The First Day of October And Enjoy A Don Moen Concert

The first of October and my daughter gets done with her 3rd quarter homeschool portfolio.

I know, it's just the third quarter of our school year, three down and one more to go but somehow we always find a reason to celebrate different occasions in our homeschooling. For example, someone gets a perfect score on a quiz one morning, we run to the nearest grocery to get a gallon of ice cream to celebrate that little victory, sometimes never going back to school again later that day, we get carried away. 

Someone loses his last and overdue milk tooth, then we pop open Pringles and sodas in revelry of this significant loss, we find ourselves lounging in the family room for too long and later get amused that it's already dinner-time. Still, someone learns how to read phonetically and we get elated that everyone's reading in the family, we find ourselves staying up late at night watching impromptu movie marathon.

Maybe we're that kind of homeschoolers; serious learners but fun-loving and yet structure-hating; relaxed but panicky on deadlines; hardworking but procrastinating; home-educating but world-travelling. ( Okay, I got a little carried away with the last statement, maybe not yet .)  And always, there's a reason for celebrating homeschooling no matter what stage or age we're in. 

On our tenth year, yes, tenth year( ! ), we realized that we may have reached a stage in our journey that author Malcolm Gladwell coined as the "10, 000 hours of greatness" which is the "magic hours of greatness to be an expert." (Again, I'm getting a little carried away here, maybe not yet.) Celebrate, anyways.

What a way to spend the first evening of October by watching a Don Moen concert billed, "God will Make A Way." Out of our excitement, we made sure to come as early as possible to see the auditorium get filled by expectant audience that night.

Bad idea. I decided to have a tall cup of caramel "Blesspresso" while I killed time before the concert started at 8pm. My drink was loaded with a ton of caffein which kept me awake till 3am. I got tired of counting sheep.

As I said, we intended to arrive early to watch Don Moen crowd build up at the auditorium.

We actually wanted to take selfies as early as we can without the hassle of photo bombers on the background for posterity's sake...because this would be our first concert to watch as a family (as Noah puts it) e-v-e-r... So, for the record, since we've spent most of our homeschooling years from the boondocks, this would be the Mangyan Homeschoolers' first live concert date, "ever." 

And I bumped into these two beautiful ladies, Chet and Bubbles ( l - r )  who were busy ushering people to their respective seats. I sit down with them every "SaturDates" afternoon to Dgroup with them and pray with them and laugh with them and simply be blessed with them. And oh, homeschool with them, too.

What a privilege to worship the Lord that night as brother Don Moen invited us to join him in choruses. I felt like I was transported back in time during the days of the analog, from the wordings of the songs, to the music grove that was distinctly a 'Don Moen.' I'm sure all the 1990's crowd shared the same kind of feeling of "euphoria" that night as we sang songs that have become part of our daily devotions and our spiritual walk more than two decades ago.

There were no fireworks, no frills, no orchestra, and not even a choir that night but Don Moen simply ushered us into the presence of God as we sang songs like "God Will Make A Way," "God Is Good All The Time," "There Is None Like You," and "Give Thanks."

Then Lenny Leblanc was there as a bonus treat.

To a generation that belonged to the age of everything digital, the EDM's ( electronic dance music ), the rich heavenly sound of electronically engineered record albums, this concert served as a "bridging event" to our younger generation of worshippers. Noah kept elbowing me in his amazement, "Mom, I can't believe you know all these songs."

Tsk. Sorry for the blurry photo. We were this close to the stage at the end of the concert. Everyone clamored for "more!!! more!!! more!!!"

How To Be Robbed In Broad Daylight On A U-Turn Slot And Keep On Movin'

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that one day I will be driving through the congested streets of Metro Manila and to actually DO LIFE here on a semi-permanent basis. I mean, I love travelling to Manila, but it is the traffic situation here that I dreaded ever since. I'd tell my kids, "pinch me, pinch me, this is just a dream..." as we sat in traffic most of the time when we had to run errands, pick up our groceries, or go to church, or go to their piano lessons at school. A fruitful day would come by so fast and it was interesting to note that my 14 year-old girl and my nine year-old boy have adjusted well to our new environment in no time. We. are. home.

I wish I could say that our homeschooling journey has always been predictable and turned out the way we planned it to be. But I would be lying. Take this incident that happened to us last week on our way back to Manila from a short visit to our beloved Batangas City.

Driving from Manila to Batangas via C5 road - SLEX - STAR Tollway and vice versa? Ha, that was something else...especially when I was stopped by a traffic enforcer for "swerving" or "reckless driving" along E. Rodriguez Avenue, Pasig City. "Me??? A reckless driver?" "Yes, Ma'am, U-turn slot po 'yan, swerving kayo at reckless driving." I wanted to disappear at that moment as I imagined my kids and myself dissolved into thin air. Focus. I needed to focus. My kids watched me talk politely to the traffic enforcers almost begging "patawad po," I overlooked the sign that says "U-turn Slot No-swerving." "Ma'am sa Makati po tutubusin ang lisensya n'yo, 2,000 pesos ang fine, maghapon pong seminar..." In my mind , I said, Makati? What Makati? I don't even know the directions going there and my kids are late for their piano lessons at school! And we're on car-coding and we're just here because of your limited window hours!

"Ma'am, may porsyento ho kame d'yan, kalahati, para di na kayo maabala." Got the picture?

I got my driver's license back and headed towards our destination to CCF Center in Frontera Verde. I felt robbed in broad daylight for an amount of 1, 000 pesos that I unscrupolously handed them for a very minor offense that I've committed. There was no traffic at that time of 11:30am. My chest felt heavy for what just took place. I asked the traffic enforcers if they stopped every single motorists that made a little mistake of swerving along that area. But no matter how sarcastic I sounded, I still felt I was on the losing end. I wouldn't forget that sly grin on their faces.

Alrightee... crunch time! On our short visit to our beloved Batangas City last week, Bethany practiced her "Moths Scherzino."

 We braved the traffic just to see our very first granddaughter, and my children's very first niece by their cousin, my nephew. I hope I got that right. So, I'm a Lola.

We saw this face. The cutest girl on earth, her name is Abira Cymphony. Don't call me "Lola" just call me "Tita Mema," that's what I'm going to tell her when she's bigger.

Too bad Uncle Noah can't kiss her because he had a cold.

"Ate Mana," as my kids call her is Joanna, my niece, don't you think she's too pretty to become a policewoman someday? She also wears a black patent stileto to school.

Condo living with thirty-two square meter living space, my children are learning to scale down everything including this teeny-tiny origami boat.

But there's a bonus of spacious play area for kids.

"Mom, are you posting this on Facebook again? Please don't post this on Facebook."
"I won't post this on Facebook. I promise." Of course this isn't Facebook!

Before I left to get some groceries, I took a snapshot, a stolen shot of my kids doing school at a tea shop in Hypermarket. "Mom, please stop posting our pictures on Facebook."

This is The Mom's birthday treat happening on the month of October. Can't wait!

Batch-cooking is ideal when you are homeschooling and when you have a limited condo space. That way, you will have plenty of time to attend to other school-related activities. All you have to do is re-heat your food before each meal.

But these pancakes are an exception. You can't "batch-cook" pancakes to save for later because they sell like newspapers! In fact, this was what we had for lunch, one rainy day. What we had for breakfast earlier on was tinola. We like it in that order.

"Do Boys Always Have To Be Older Than Girls?"

This, I was asked by my boy one Sunday morning while we were enjoying our breakfast made from left-over food I salvaged from the fridge; yesterday's rice, diced spam, crunchy garlic and ground pork I patiently browned in salted butter and soy sauce and then almost always instinctively, I topped with sunny side eggs. Maybe I can call this our family's yang chow fried rice to be formal about it. I also made sure I prepared a mug of hot Milo beside each  plate.

Anyway..."do boys always have to be older than girls, Mom?" I tried my best to not over-react as I cleared my throat and mentally composed a wise response to my son's question. Out of the blue, one random question, but I knew that this question was important to him. Deep inside I felt glad that my boy was able to voice out a question that may cause embarrassment for a  9 year-old like him to ask for fear of being laughed at or judged by a family member.

I fully understood that he asked it from the context of a boy-girl relationship in terms of their ages. I assumed that when he woke up that morning he was consumed by the thought of this kind of relationship where a girl is older than a boy, or perhaps he wondered, would there be any chance, for a boy like him who stands almost a foot lower than a girl that's 5 years his senior...she has long brown hair, smooth skin, clear eyes, sweet smile, sweet to him. My boy is having a major crush on a mestiza that happens to be his older sister's friend. My mama heart sunk - fast forward - this boy is someday leaving the house to get married. Will I be ready for that day?

"Do boys always have to be older than girls, Mom?"

"Well, not necessarily so. Because I have friends whose husbands or boyfriends are younger than them. One year, two years, five years... I have a friend who has a boyfriend that's 14 years her junior. Another friend of mine who's a teacher got married to one of her students in high school. Celebrities like Batangas governor, Vilma Santos is 11 years older than her husband, Ralph Recto; Kris Aquino and James Yap have over a decade age difference; Nanay Dionisia Pacquiao is more than 2 decades older than her boyfriend." I noticed that as I named each of these celebrities, his eyes gradually popped, his brows raised and his jaw dropped. He wore this funny but cute, innocent face.

And then jokingly I said, "don't you worry, five years from now, you'd be taller than your crush and by then you wouldn't feel awkward any longer standing next to her."

"So, what do you think is the right age for a boy or a girl to be in a romantic relationship?" Ha, now is my turn to ask my boy.

"I don't know," he replied shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm serious. What age do you think..."

"Fourteen...(long pause) Ha, ha... I'm just kidding...Fourteen. I'm serious."

I grimaced trying to look funny, "are you serious?"

"I am, Mom."

"So, you mean, you see yourself having a girlfriend five years from now?"

"Uh huh."

He stared at me waiting for my reaction.

"Ha, ha!!! Got ya, I was just kidding!!!"

I secretly felt relieved. Then our conversation went on for another half an hour or so talking about the future five years from now. And what if, what if, what if he actually finds himself in a relationship at that age?

"Would you and Dad allow me?"

I didn't answer "no" because I wanted to keep this interesting conversation going. I also knew that when our children liked the food that's served in front of them, a simple home-cooked meal, it doesn't even have to be fancy, they become vulnerable, and they tell you what's on their mind. So, I sat there, cunningly extracting some more personal information from them! 

I was quickly reminded of the lengthy but enjoyable topic we had on Science a week ago. Our topic was about God's plan for order and how He desires order among His wonderful creations and what are the evidences that proved this. Certainly, there is a logical way of explaining Science as designed by the Lord, it is apologetics. Take the tiny vegetarian spider for one and its amazing web, how this  insect creates its home, how intricate the design is, the details are evidences that God desired order in things. And how about the dung beetle that literally live and eat on dung and how it is able to create a tiny dung ball for food and rolls it on the dirt with its feet and arms upside down.

"Your father's role as the head of the family is to lead us in following our Lord Jesus and to work hard to provide for us. That is his job. My role as a mother is to cook yang chow for you and ensure that all four of us are eating healthy, besides home-educating you and your sister. That is my job. Your older sister, as a teener, and you as a tweener...(he giggled over the word "tweener" because he can't wait to become a teenager as he always said) your role is to prioritize your studies and do well at school - get educated so that when you become adults, you can live independently and be able to fend for yourselves, find a husband, find a wife, and have children of your own ( he giggled even more )  and be a blessing to other people. That is your job.  Remember, there is a perfect time for everything and when we look at things based on God's design for order, it is easier to prioritize and focus on things that really do matter for the moment."

"Pass the yang chow fried rice, please."

To Be "Unshy" One Fine Day

What a wonderful experience it has been!

( This photo courtesy of TMA Homeschool)

So these posters were attached to the email I received from our homeschool provider two weeks ago. I felt my heart leaped as I read all the statistics and how the homeschooling movement had grown in the Philippines over the last half a decade. Then The Hunny and I decided right there and then we won't miss this TMA Family Convention for the world! It happens on a Thursday and our car is on number coding and aaah, we're homeschoolers, we'll figure out how to get there without our car. And so we ended up borrowing my sister's car to get to our destination first thing Manila-morning.

( This photo courtesy of TMA Homeschool)

Here's a screen shot of a txt message I received from our academic consultant from TMA two days before the event. Now my heart melted as I felt the butterflies flew like crazy in my stomach, ugh. What to say? How to say? Okay, we're homeschoolers, we'll figure it out.

And it felt like I was hyper-ventilating right after I sent out this short txt reply! Dear God, what did I get myself into?

Pastor Gerry Argosino, our managing director, as he spoke words of encouragement to homeschool moms and dads.

The ladies in photos below are just a few of our academic consultants and prayer partners in our homeschooling journey. 

These wonderful ladies on stage help us make it happen!

We've always felt we're in good hands...

Yep. This is The Mom being "unshy" today as she shares about their own homeschooling experience with other Filipino homeschooling families. And among the hundreds of them that have their own wonderful homeschool stories to tell, she was chosen along with three others to testify and be heard. She embraced the rush, took it as a challenge, took it as an opportunity, not as one to boast but as one grateful and humbled to testify of God's faithfulness---holding her family together. YES it can be done, by God's grace.

And a home-made video to boot? Hehe... thank you for being easy on her... and thank you for your time.

The Little Sparkle Is Now A Big Helper Diva

August 8, 2008

AVAILABILITY / AVAILABLE

Definitions:

-Qualified and willing to be of service or assistance

-Capable of bringing about a beneficial result or effect

(www.thefreedictionary.com)

“AVAILABILITY,” a character trait awarded to Eunice Bethany when she was on K-5 during their Moving-up Ceremony last July 28, 2007 at The Master’s Academy Homeschool, Christ’s Commission Fellowship 3rd Flr. Auditorium, St. Francis Square Bldg, Mandaluyong City. Text was written and read by Mom. At TMA Homeschool we believe in honoring the parents as we received recognition on the same day for “surviving” the entire school year “unscathed.” We also believe in honoring our children for putting up with us, parents. Kidding aside, here’s a verse from the Bible that continues to inspire us to school at home where our classroom is the world:

“And He (Jesus) went down with them (His parents) and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:51-52

We used to call Euy The Little Sparkle around the house because of her effervescent disposition. Being the only child for a time, she really brightened-up every dull spot in the house and kept everyone entertained each time she said something. It’ s really amazing that our “Little Sparkle”, with the coming of a baby boy last July 8, 2006, has transformed into becoming our “Big Helper Diva” around the house.

Euy has welcomed baby brother as a new member of the family with great anticipation. She was ready to become a big sister and friend to him. She has been an ever present hand-maid to Mom when it’s nappy changing time. She prepares milk for him (never-mind the little spills), assists during bath-time making sure puts away what was left and she can even be responsible in looking after him when Mom’s in the shower. She reads to him a lot, sweeps the floor without complaining, does the dishes, and buys “suka”, “toyo”, whathaveyou’s from the store across. 

It’s really amazing that she willingly does all these on a daily basis and is getting better at doing them as days go by. Being such a Big Helper Diva, she exhudes a happy disposition that is contagious as  she brings delight to us as her parents and we couldn't be more proud of her.