Category: Family

This all about being a wife and a mother all at the same time.

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Faith Family

A Child’s Prayer

In our family, we commit to make it a point to start our day with a prayer. At times, we pray together as a family or pray individually. Our boy is now 4 years old and we encourage him to do the same as he wakes up. We started to teach him how to pray and what to pray for when he was around 3 years old. And now he has his own way of praying and what he prays for but at times we still guide him.

Last week, he was the one who volunteered to start our family prayer. As he starts praying, he started to say his thanks.

childs-prayer

“Lord, thank you for today,

Thank you for all the blessings,

Thank you for the sleep and good night, (he started to look around our room)

Thank you for my toys, and the TV

Thank you for the pillows, and the bed,

Thank you for the windows,

Thank you for daddy’s “puter” (pertaining to the computer. 😀 Hehehe)

Thank you for our work (pertaining daddy and mommy’s real work and his play time that he calls work :D)

Thank you for the electric fan…”

I forgot the others he said thanks for. I think he almost said everything inside our room. Hehehe. His prayer didn’t end there. I just want to focus on the part of his many thanks. As he was praying, besides on “naku-cutetan na kami sa kanya” and already smiling on what he was praying for, we were also reminded.

Reminded of what? Reminded to see, appreciate and say thanks to all things whether big or small. We didn’t say that we don’t say thank you to God…Yes we are always thankful about many things, a closed deal, provision for bills paid, provision for check payment, new client, the food that we eat, family, good health, the house we leave in, etc. But we forget to see the smallest things that we are blessed with like the comfy bed and a pillow that we sleep at, the clean floor that we step and play on, the window that fresh air comes in, the aircon that makes our sleep more comfortable, the computer that help us accomplish a lot of things, a TV that gives us leisure to rest and unwind, and a lot of things more.

Hearing our son’s prayer put our thankfulness to God’s blessings more seeking… seeking even for the smallest things to thank for.

Encouragement: As we begin to see how God has blessed us even with little things in our life, we begin to see life better, appreciate more, bless others more and live a life of thankfulness and contentment. 😀

“always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians  5:20 (NIV)

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Family

Folding Plastic Bags the Right Way

Do you have a problem of storing your plastics? Does it get bigger and bulky every time you shop or make make your grocery? Does it look this way already? Or maybe it is taking so much space?

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I also have the same problem. Even if I reuse them as trash bags, still the pile gets bulky from time to time and it gets cluttered. But that was before when I learned a Technic in folding the plastic the right way.

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My niece shared to me how her grandmother pack and store their plastic bags. I will show you how to reduce its bulkiness by a 3 step guide.

Step 1: Fold Lengthwise

Fold the side of the plastic bag to 1 1/2 inches. Start from one to going to the end. As you fold, flatten out each fold with your hands to remove the air inside the plastic to reduce bulkiness.

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Step 2: Create a Triangle

Create a triangle at the bottom of the plastic bag (not where the handles are located). Fold the triangle following the edge-to-edge rule (folding it like a flag. I don’t know if you know that too… but I learned that when I was in highschool). And make it tight as possible.

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Step 3: Tuck-in

As you end in folding the triangle, tuck inside the excess end of the fold to the middle edge of the plastic. Hold tight the folded triangle plastic and tuck it inside. See image below.
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And that’s it! Easy, Clutter Free and Organized! Once you make all your plastics like this, definitely it can store a lot more! 😀

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Family

Reasons why we attend Marriage/Family Seminars

Me and my husband loves attending marriage and family seminars. Recently, we just attended a seminar in regards to couples entitled Happy Wife, Happy Life by Kuya Chinkee Tan (I’ll blog it soon on what I have learned and experienced there). We attended not because our marriage is on a rough wavy sea status but mainly to protect it.

I want to share to people why we do it.

New Insights

In every couple there is something different on how they handle their marriage and family. As we listen to them, we learn things that works and doesn’t work in their family. It’s like picking fruits; you would want to pick and bring home fruits that are ripe and fresh. We don’t want to bring fruits that are rotten. Same thing with picking up ideas from others, we should get insights, values, etc. that might work in our family or marriage. And as we practice that in our family, we definitely get better and better and at times develop an improved version on how we handle our family/marriage.

Get renewed and refreshed

At times, as time past by with many things pre-occupying our time and mind, we forget how we should be or what we have learned. As we attend, we get to recall and be refreshed of what we already know. It is also a time to reflect are we still practicing what we learned or not. This also keeps us in check.

Learning from others

We have a thinking that “Experience is the best teacher” but I say not. The best teacher is when we learn from others mistakes. Isn’t it better to learn when people have experience it already and not to commit the same mistake/s that they made? Why would we want to suffer the same pain and agony, if we can prevent it already? And I think that’s a better option.

Build and Protect

In a marriage/family, it is important to build it strong and protect it from being destroyed. As a couple, this is one of many things we do to protect and preserve our marriage and family. But before you can protect and preserve your relationship, you must first build it. It is important for us to act in defense and offense already before there is an actual attack. Meaning, we do things to strengthen our relationship before greater problems arises. And if in times that we experience such problems, our foundation is deep, we won’t easily give up on each other.

In all of this, this are just helping tools in protecting your marriage/family. Yes it helps, but if God is not at the center of it all, it will still crumble down. Only God can hold things together.

Have a blessed day!

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Family

Who do I prioritize first? Hubby or Baby?

I have read a post on a group I’m in asking, “Who do you prioritize first, your husband or children?”. It made me think, who do I prioritize?

Before I have a mindset that children are first to priority before anyone in the family because they are still small and helpless. But when I was practicing that in our family, our relationship (husband and wife) is starting to get bitter. We had frequent small arguments of little things that becomes bigger of an issue. I felt tired, stressed and easily angered (to husband and baby). I love my family but it became as if it’s an obligation of work rather than doing it with love and joy. Doing the chores, taking care of the baby and adding to that, I had to look into the issues of hubby. When we fight, it also affects how I am with our baby. In short, it was a disaster. Hehehe.

We had to stop this. As husband and wife, we had to talk about this. We talked about our issues to one another and how we can turn this around. With our conversations, it made me realize that same as our kids, our husbands has also needs that we as wife should take care. For example, when they go home from work, of course they are tired. They want someone to take care of them. Or at times, they just want someone to talk to and spend quality time.

Knowing and understandin where he is coming from, I had to change my priority, putting my husband first then baby. (But of course God first then husband second). And like what the Bible says…

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

– Genesis 2:18

“Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’, for she was taken out of man” .”

– Genesis 2:22-23

The Lord made woman for man (wife for husband) and not for children. And of course, I’m not saying that we will not take care of the our kids. Of course we will! But in our priority, husband goes first.

Think like this….If your relationship as husband and wife is chaotic don’t you think your children won’t get affected by it? Or if you get separated, won’t the children’s life be ruined. As children needs a mother, so also they need a father.

As a result of changing my mindset and practicing…our relationship is more healthier. Even our family is more happy. And adding to that, he became more appreciative of what I do and even share with the work I do around our home. On some circumstances that I need to prioritize our baby, we both agreed on it that I have to put first our baby before him.

By the grace of God I am able to do it constantly in realigning my priorities.

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Family

How Do We Parent – Giving Discipline with Love

parenting-featuredNo one really taught us to be parents even our parents.  Parenting is something we learn as we have our own. We see our parents as we grown up, how they love and discipline us. (Don’t get me wrong with this I love my parents) but at times there is something we see that they are doing wrong or we just don’t understand why they did that.

As I became one (a parent), my husband and I had a fear on how to bring up our baby. We had thoughts of maybe we might miss lead our baby, how to guide him properly, how should we respond properly if we are mad, how to apply discipline with love, maybe our discipline is over and etc. And I think many parents can relate with this dilemma. With this fear lingering in our thoughts, we never forget to pray and ask God for His guidance and co-parent with us in our family. I get our confidence and assurance from Him.

I’ll share to you how we base and apply our parenting by concepts (This is also based on the reading plan I’m reading through my mobile bible app). This will be in series (para hindi mahaba and boring basahin) 😀

 

Discipline and Love

We all know it’s hard to give consequence to their bad choice but we should think “What is the most loving thing we can do for our child?” Is it to just to let go and not giving them correction without learning or give them the consequence they earned to learn the lesson God designed for them.

A good consequence is given with understanding and care, applied with love and the respect for the freedom of choosing and his ability to learn from the consequence of a bad decision.

As stated in the Bible from…

Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

and

Proverbs 3:12

“…Because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

 

Discipline, Character and Hope

When our children suffer their consequence from their bad choices, our initial action is to save them or just want to protect them to not experience those pains and hurts. But what we are really doing is preventing them to learn. God’s plan is to mature a person through their trials.

“Character-building lessons are rarely learned from the triumphs of life. Rather, it is the trials in our lives that teach us how to persevere despite the pain.” – Parenting by Design (Mobile Bible App)

When we inhibit our children from experiencing their trials, we inhibit their chance to grow, build their character, and learn to continue in hoping in the Lord.

In Romans 5:3-5 (NIV) states that…

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

 

How do we apply it? 

Right now, Pao-pao is now in his “Trouble-Two’s” stage in which he is exploring, learning and experiencing. When he do something that isn’t nice, we give him the rod or talk to him. We just give the rod on the hands, lower legs or butt. We don’t do it anywhere else and in moderation meaning not too hard. Just enough to let him feel a sting. And not many times, most is at 2. We give it only when he does something consecutively not good or something that is too much. As much as we can, we talk to him.  At times, it hurts to give him that because you can see him crying (even if you give it not that hard). Then after he has cried, we explain to him why we do it and explain what he has done wrong for us to give that. And we tell him that we love him, we want him to learn that’s why we are doing that.

But you know, when we have establish that (“If he does something isn’t good, his consequence will be the rod”), we have given him the rod lesser. He now knows that if he does or continues doing something isn’t good, he will receive the rod. But of course we remind him of that and then he stops and says sorry.

Just a reminder, don’t give the rod if you are in anger but instead in love. Always keep in mind, you are doing that because you love you child. And if in anger, you might abuse the rod.

 

I hope this brings added knowledge and enlightenment. Hope that you all like this and follow the next part.

Thank you… 😀

Categories
Family

Requirements for PhilHealth Claim

When our baby, Pao-pao, got confined..we needed to prepare the requirement for Philhealth to be able to get a claim to lessen our expenses for the hospital. And it was really a great help for us…it maybe not the whole amount but it was a great less.

Here’s are some tips and list of requirements.

REQUIREMENTS:

    • CF1 FORM

You can get this from the hospital or download it at www.philhealth.gov.ph. Fill your information together with the patient’s information then give it to your employer to be filled-up.

    • CERTIFICATE OF CONTRIBUTION

This is a certificate of your contribution to PhilHealth from your employer. It should state at least 6 months of contribution. Stating your participating amount, date of payment and OR number.

    • MDR (Member Data Record)

This your record from Philhealth together with your beneficiaries. This is a proof that your are registered at Philhealth. You can get this at any Philhealth center near you.

    • PROOF OF RELATION

If the patient is not registered with your Philhealth (shown in your MDR), you need to provide this requirement.
If the patient is your spouse, you need a Marriage Certificate. And if the patient is your child, parent, or sibling, you need their Birth Certificate.

TIPS:

    • COMPLETE AND COMPILE AHEAD OF TIME

Prepare all the documents needed prior to confinement or as early as the day of confinement. It is easier to get the claim when it is included in your bill than reimbursing it after the confinement.

    • ASK YOUR DOCTOR

Ask you doctor, if he/she is accepting Philhealth. So that they will be informed that they have to deduct Philhealth from their charge.

    • KNOW YOUR BENEFITS

You should know the maximum allowance you can claim. Click HERE to see the benefit table.

    • SUBMIT REQUIREMENTS

Submit all the documents and requirements prior to the check-out at the hospital; so that if the hospital has an additional requirements or things to be changed, you will still have time to take care of it. And with this manner, your check-out will be processed easily.

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Family

Pao’s First Hospital Confinement

Last July 11, 2011, Pao-pao was sick with colds and cough and he’s having a hard time with it. His sickness is about 3 days already.

And later that day, we noticed that he was having a hard time breathing not the typical cough and cold. It is like he was having a asthma. We continued to observe him the whole night, and I wasn’t able to sleep. I was afraid that if I sleep, i’ll find him not breathing anymore. Paranoia hits me!

The following day, we decided to bring him to the doctor and have him checked. Hoping that the doctor will just give him prescription then we’ll go home after……..but in our surprise…..immediately after checking his chest, the doctor said that he has to be confined because of SEVERE ASTHMA AND PNEUMONIA and said “Buti he was able to survive the night with his condition”. We were shocked that Pao’s condition was really that serious. Immediately, we arranged his confinement without thinking of the expenses.

Simultaneously, while arranging his room he was already being medicated at the ER. After that, it was time for the dextrose to be put. He was laid in the bed and covered his body with a blanket, leaving one of his hand exposed. When he was being injected, he was crying so loud. I got teary-eyed… as if I was also feeling the pain. I said to the nurse…”Kung pwede lang sana na ako yung lagayan ng dextrose for him”. Nakakaawa talaga! After the procedure is done…..I hugged and comforted him….WAWA BABY BOY!

After all are settled down at the hospital…we we’re already very anxious when will he be cleared to go home, thinking and hoping the following day he can go home already. (Thinking also the bills that we’ll pay..hehehe! We know that we don’t have any money to pay for this.)

The next day, when the doctor visited, I asked her when can Pao go home,….”Maybe later this day? or baka tomorrow morning???” (Laughing after that). She said “Kakapasok nyo lang, gusto nyo na lumabas agad…mga 3 – 4 days sya or until his chest is cleared”….Grabe, tagal pa! (Thinking about it).

Fast Forward:What we did was pray for Pao’s fast healing and recovery and gathered resources as much as we can..then trust God for the rest. “We can only do so much, but God can do all things”. We are just limited on things that we can do….as much as we want to do things….it is not enough. But with GOD….He will complete the things that we cannot.

On the third day (not sure if pao is going home), we went to arrange documents for the PhilHealth claim. I went to the NSO at Muntinlupa and Wil waited for the certification.  While I was filling for the birth certificate of Pao…the lunchbreak cut-off is near. I’ll have to wait until afterlunch for the document to be released…Eh I was in a hurry to go back to the hospital kasi baka lumabas na si Pao. I was praying na “Lord, sana hindi ako maabutan ng cut-off” again and again. Then when it was my turn to pay, I saw in my receipt that I have to wait until after lunch for the document’s release. So I just settled with it…thinking “Okay nalang, atleast today pa din irerelease rather than tomorrow pa yung release”.

After waiting for just a few minutes, a man named “Edward” came to me and said “Ms. Elizabeth…Tapos na po, ginawa ko na…hintayin mo nalang sandali nalang yun”. I was very surprise and really really happy. He added “Taga VCF ka po pala…kinasal kayo sa VCF Galeria” I said “Pano mo nalaman???….taga VCF ka din”. He replied “Yes, sa VCF Alabang”..then we went out for his break. Isn’t that amazing???? Coincident???? NO….I call it God’s work. I believe that, if God doesn’t want it to happen…it will not! And if God wants it and it will happen. After getting the certificate, I left there with so much amazement and happiness of God’s work.

Later that day, we were able to go home and just continued his medication. With God’s grace and guidance, we were able to surpass that situation…emotional and financial stress. God is so faithful!


“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”

– Psalm 121:2


“The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”

– Psalm 121:7-8