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For many years, I have stopped writing down my new year’s resolution. Not that I don’t believe in one but I have set too many unrealistic goals that I have lost count of those that I have not kept!

But this year is different. I am bent on improving my own and my family’s life. I have now have four kids and raising them up would take some extraordinary skills and talent from an otherwise ordinary mom like me!

1. Write everyday. Write in my journal or blog about my kids’ activities so I won’t forget what they are like when they are very young.

2.  Continue reading one or two books each week with Danielle and Joshua. Read to Jojo and Daphne.

3.  Create a scrapbook for each child. Write down their accomplishments the entire year.

4.  Plant with the kids. Create a backyard garden.

5.  Read the scriptures with the kids everyday.

6.  Take a family vacation each year to a new place. Document the vacation.

I’ll stop to number six. They say that new year’s resolutions should be shared. I am sharing this in my blog so I would feel some accountability at the end of the year.

Happy New Year everyone! May 2012 bring us more happiness, peace and contentment.

After many months of silence, I’m back! Year 2011 has given me another baby girl, baby Daphne Hannah who was born on December 11, 2011 at 1:47 PM. I endured 24 hours of labor, was induced, had an epidural, experienced the most severe birth pains and finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl…

Can you define happiness in one word? I would. And it’s ‘Kinilaw!’

Kinilaw that my father's hand made!

Seriously. I got to taste this native fish sumptuous delicacy six months ago but it was not made by my father. He only got to add in the last native vinegar and some really spicy ‘sili.’ The last time I tasted kinilaw made by my father was two years ago during the holidays. When my parents visited during the holiday season- Joseph and Papa immediately went to the wet market to scour for tuna. And voila!— ‘THE’ ultimate kinilaw… Yummy!

My parents went home early today… They were here for the holidays… I miss my mama and Papa! Wish I could be the little girl again in our old house, counting down the seconds before the clock ticks to 12:00 midnight. I would remember my parents sternly reminding us not to go out of the house when all our neighbors fire up their crackers. They’re afraid we might get hit by stray fire crackers or worse, by stray bullets! We would stay in our home- all of us seven children, eating up the food leftovers in the earlier New Year’s eve dinner. We would tell stories until the wee hours of the morning and sleep.

Mama and Papa at the 'Ruins' during New Year's Eve

How time flies! Now I am a mother to three kids and would be building our own family tradition for my little children to treasure when they grow up. Well- the new year’s eve was not that remarkable for my three little children who slept through the noisy fire crackers in the neighborhood. It went on for a full 45 minutes! While we love to watch fireworks, we did not bother to wake them up. We just found out that Josh gets really scared of loud firecrackers.

This year was interesting– the merriment lasted longer than expected. I am guessing that the year 2010 was relatively prosperous in the neighborhood- almost everybody bought and lighted up firecrackers. It was not like this in the new year celebrations we spent in Bacolod.

To everyone- HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish 2011 for you and me would be prosperous and full of peace, contentment and joy.

It’s almost two in the morning and I am supposed to finish a paper. But guess what? I am posting in my blog instead! It’s Christmas eve and I’m working The company representative called me earlier and he was really kind to ask for an extension for me… Hmmm, I still did not receive a call or email telling me that it’s ok… Alright- I’ll finish the paper, sleep and spend the entire day tomorrow with the kids, the hubby and my mama who’s here for the holidays and my youngest brother who just arrived 6 hours ago to attend our ward Christmas party.

Oh, I love Christmas! It’s a time of looking back and reminiscing the event that happened more than 2000 years ago and celebrate the birth of our Savior. I gave a Christmas message during our church Christmas party. So to everyone– MERRY CHRISTMAS! Enjoy the holidays (got to go back to work)

Danielle had her first school Christmas party last Friday and they presented the nativity scene. She was an angel with three others. It was really very nice to look at all 16 of them at Nursery Cherry class perform the nativity on stage. Here are some of her pictures:

Smiling Angel

The Nativity by Nursery Cherry Class

Danieille with her teacher mel and chinese teacher janice and her classmates

Christmas gift

With Darah, her best friend

Mama is here for the holidays and she also attended Danielle’s Christmas party.

We had a full schedule for Danielle. She had her Christmas ballet presentation too during the weekend:

I don't know how to change the setting, hence the poor resolution

With the proud Lola and Joshua

Danielle with Daddy and Josh

The ballet presentations were beautiful. Danielle’s age group presented A night before Christmas and they had stuff toys as props. The older and advanced classes really danced beautifully. I just love watching ballet dances. Personally, I think it’s one of the greatest art form ever created. Don’t you just love how they make dancing look so supreme and effortless?

Whenever I check out my website (which I rarely do), the most searched term in my blog is ‘masskara’ or the phrase ‘masskara festival’ even when it’s not time for the festival in the city.

Well, here are some interesting things about the masskara festival:

1. MassKara festival was created at a time when Bacolod City, the sugar capital in the Philippines, experienced a fortune reversal. The time was 1980 and the market for Philippine sugar in the world dropped. In the same year, a tragedy at sea claimed the lives of many Negrense. It was in this dire circumstances that the local government thought of creating a festival that would reflect the resiliency of the Negrense people.

2. Masskara is a combination of the words- mass and cara . The former signifies many or mass of people while the latter is a Spanish word for face. Hence, Masskara literally means mass of faces.

3. To celebrate this festival, dancers gyrate in the streets wearing crafted paper mache masks of smiling faces.

4. The festival is held every October and has since then serve as a major tourist attraction for Bacolod City.

I had my first masskara festival about four years ago. The air was very festive and one can sense how people in Bacolod continue to be resilient and happy despite difficult times. Every year, I got to experience how my second home celebrates this festival and bear witness to the resiliency of Filipinos. I hope you too could come and visit Bacolod and witness firsthand how the city of smiles celebrate life.

I am supposed to make another paper/article on a topic but I am declaring a brief morning holiday!

Several weeks ago, we visited Cebu Philippines Temple (of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It will always be a beautiful and peaceful experience to visit the house of the Lord. After our almost one week stay in Cebu, we went to Bohol to visit Joseph’s 90 year old grandmother, my parents in-law, some relatives and finally took a tour to see the chocolate hills, tarsier and get aboard a 200 year old ship and a floating restaurant along Loboc river.

I love vacationing! Joseph and I decided that we will make it a family tradition to have a family educational tour once a year.

Here are some highlights of our trip:

aboard a 200 year old ship

Jojo enjoying his mini pool

chocolate hills

200 year old ship (yes, it is still working!)

Danielle

Joshua

Jojo