what to do with envy

farm life.

cottage home.

apple trees.

cows.

windmills.

tractors.

white front porches.

grass.

schedules and routines.

wisdom.

bookshelves.

order.

excellence.

I am seriously envious.  And these are what's on top of my envy list.

But I stop and not let them take root in my heart.

I won't let them grow into wistfulness and covetousness and bitterness.

I sift through the list, and ask for the things that God could grow in me.

I plant them in the soil of contentment, water them with perseverance,

 and let them soak in the light of God's word, which promises

        wisdom without finding fault

        everything that is necessary for living the truly good life

        and everlasting arms underneath.

Yes, I will be content.

"Wherever you are, be all there.  Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

                                                                                             - Jim Elliot

Billy Graham Museum

Quilts of men of God and their famous lines...awesome to walk in a circular room and be surrounded by these cloud of witnesses.

elisabeth elliot's school

Surreal to walk the paths they walked, my heroes of the faith.

rory's chicago tribune

Walking along Magnificent Mile in Chicago

my february

grown-up ielle

I didn't have time to write this the last time. I took the time to remind myself of how you were with ielle. Mak didn't have any bilin at all so I thought maybe nothing much has changed. Before I could ask her if she wanted to weewee, she told me already na she thinks she needs to because her knees kept touching each other hehe. But in the next minute she saw the castle and when I asked her, her reply was, "I can handle it." So I made a mental note to ask her again after 5 minutes. I got something from the other room and when I came back, mama said ielle asked her help with weewee. so that was the first time. then mama went away on an errand. the second time, ielle again by herself asked for help to weewee. she's really a big girl na. when dinnertime came, i just prepared her plate and sat the two down. ielle asked for a fork (spoon lang kasi nilagay ko at first) and i was so impressed that she ate all by herself!!! and, take note, she didn't stand up til she finished what was in her plate. she was really being an ate to iola. iola kept going down from her seat and every time she did i reminded her that ielle wasn't finished yet and she had to wait for their playtime. "look baby iola, i'm not finished yet. ninang, doesn't she remember that i'm not finished yet?"

naku, i have so much more kwento but i can't write it all. let's skype, shall we? my username is poupness. please add me. i have miga_tasch already.

yes, the sulfate free shampoo is pureology. but i like their sister-company's better, red ken smooth down. after just one application of shampoo and conditioner, nawala ang frizz ng hair ko the whole day!!! imagine if i had a bottle! grabe siguro effect. will look up the name of the keratin treatment. and will look for the video baby monitor. thanks thanks thanks. hey, before i forget, let's resume the pictures ha?

will pray re the issue. by the way, i have chismis about it. we have to skype.

happy aral in the meantime!

wow!

When they told me ielle went with you by herself i couldn't imagine how you could possibly handle the handful! Million needs times two! Ielle doesn't know yet how to eat by herself, she needs to be reminded to weewee, she has yet to learn to be patient with a playmate, she needs to be prevented from scratching, she'll be in a bad mood when she gets sleepy etc.. But then i finally got to talk to ielle. She was so excited as she recalled the cupcakes, the fish and tuna, the castle that baby iola's lola bought from the states, etc.. Thanks so much for the extremely huge effort of letting the girls have their playdate! Grabe, i can only imagine how you could've handled it! Is it true she pooped daw? hahaha! Nag behave ba? or nag frown and nag throw ng things? She gets really wired up if things don't go as she planned.hehe.. Oh, kumain ba ng dinner? Did she ask you to feed her? hehe.. She had such a blast! Ayaw daw ni ielle kay baby gab, baby iola lang daw gusto nya.hehe..Woke up mga 6am and saw your text. Was wondering why you were offline sa skype. I think your username in my skype is ate nona's. Mine is miga_tasch.

About the video monitor, hanap ka sa net then send me the link, pwede sa amazon coz we have prime account so pag may prime logo free delivery. Found lots pero wala yung talk back, baka may mahanap ka sa net. Yung purology(?) shampoo for colored hair lang nakita ko, yun ba yun? What was the technology nga na better than rebond? Will see if meron dito. Teng wants me to choose 3 destinations for her weeks off pero wala pa ko maisip. Tricky if out of the country kasi baka mag ka problem re entry ko so out na ang canada. haay, mukhang malabo talaga ang "operation". Well gotta pray some more! So far ok naman ang aral coz i chose the easiest for the 1st subject.hehe..Have my own room but it's weird coz i realized i have never had a room to myself before so i still sleep on the couch :) I just go up there to ligo hehe..

Since i got here, marami na rin nangyari. Re acquaint with people, hosted lunch, assisted rina when she delivered their 1st baby, museum with adrian, movie with gianina...pero i still haven't talked to teng about the issue. Please pray coz i'm thinking this weekend cguro coz next week na birthday nya. It's parang this white elephant in the room na i need to get rid of. Please pray that i may have wisdom and that the timing would be good.

cge, back to aral! muah!!

day with ielle

yesterday i asked daf if i could pick up ielle and bring her to lagmay. when she asked me if i was sure i could handle ielle, i answered ,"kayang-kaya!" i pushed the doubt away from my mind when i remembered i had no chona and there was no helper in lagmay too. carry on. poor little girl waited a long time since i had a gerd episode and our preps for lagmay got delayed. we fetched her before 3pm, mak brought her to the car and wished me good luck. what was i thinking? i thought. but soon, dear wadi became filled with screams of "ninang joanne" (by both girls) and ielle's whys and remembers and laughter and i knew i made the right decision :)

our day was filled with cupcakes (which jen and jay baked) and chocolate moustaches and castles. "ninang, why does iola have a castle? because she knows i like princesses?" i pretty soon learned that i do not have to answer ielle's whys because the because would follow in the next sentence. they played and learned how to share and iola kept pinching ielle. "why does she do that?" "because she wants to know if you're for real, if you're really here." "ate iellleeeeee!!!" "my baby iola is soooo funny. why does she want to be a twin, ninang?"

haaaay, simple joys. we had a blast. googled up the time in michigan and found out it was 3am onwards. you were sound asleep ata hehe. we wanted you to see their chocolate moustaches.

missed you.

i survived

hi. sayang i missed your call. the phone was already in my hands when it stopped ringing. i called kaps agad when i read your text. been very tired because ive no more chona. i just survived a week without her, and i feel tired but free and very productive. at the end of the day, i'm glad to be truly tired - physically, not just emotionally/mentally.

ironically, i'm able to do more without househelp. i'm able to focus on what's important. i'm able to prioritize, and simplify things. iola has my 100% attention. i've been moving my butt a lot. it's a blessing.

this week will be exciting. ate puring isn't coming. by God's grace, i'll survive :)

my friend mia suggested i get a video baby monitor. i think its a brilliant idea! i've always complained how this house isn't toddler-proof, and i can't cook or hang the laundry kasi i can't see iola from the kitchen/laundry room. but that gadget will let me be in 2 places at one time. if you have the chance, pa-survey naman how much. preferably one with a talk-back feature.

hope your body clock adjusts na :) how's review moving along?

love,
jo

hello michigan

hey, how are you?

I just wanted you to know i'm thinking of you. i hope you've adjusted well and ready to tackle the world of MLE :)

Here's an SMS from jeeb while he was in tagaytay for a wedding with pat:

nabasa na ni jason email mo
ang lupet mo raw magsulat
title pa lang hahahahaha
gagawan daw niya ng paraan

WHEEEEE!!! :)

departure

this is it! feb 1 bcd-mnl then feb 3 mnl-grand rapids...final na :)

new toy

she holds one end, pretends its a microphone, and sings nobody but you in front of the mirror
then she runs with one end in her hand, and pretends the other end is running after her

two mornings

sunlight streaming through our makeshift curtain one morning

iola sleeping on her own bed (finally) :)

False alarm..hehe..feb daw. Buti na lang coz di na namin pinabalik yung yaya ni ielle since umuwi.. ok sana sya but the privileges we give her she abuses. So will interview two yaya prospects pa. Ma-observe ko man lang kahit a week.

i think i'm leaving tuesday

Was walking on the beach one morning when i saw this..and more..will post coral letters series this week
(show iola):)