Our 14th Year

Today I praise God as we celebrate our 14th Wedding anniversary, and look forward to more beautiful times together as a couple and as a family.

We treated ourselves to watch The Grand China National Acrobatic Circus Splendide in a famous coliseum in the city and enjoyed a good Chinese meal afterwards.



It is the first time for both kids to watch a live circus act like this, and they said they wanted to see more, and decided they wanted to watch another one -- the American version -- this time in a different place and venue. Perhaps we will do that before the year ends...

Gina gave me a beautiful homemade card...



And Yani gave me this book by Gary Chapman (relationship counselor and author of the The 5 Love Languages series)...



14 years, two kids aged 12 and 8... We've known each other in 1991. My Math skills says we've been friends for 19 years already... Praise God for this day.

An anniversary is a time
to celebrate the joys of today,
the memories of yesterday,
and the hopes of tomorrow.
Author Unknown

Pre-Christmas Gifts Opening

I just want to share this evening's most treasured highlight -- since the kids were bugging us to no end -- we allowed them to open some Christmas gifts!

My ever-generous Mom from NJ gave both kids groovy presents --

A magenta-colored tulle and satin party dress and a Disney Princess Enchanted Tales LCD watch with inter-changeable face (3 princesses' faces to choose from, which she may also wear as pendant) for Dancing Queen...



...and two wrist watches -- one formal one with several hi-tech features, and a funky (Nickelodeon) Sponge Bob one for Migs. Just what he truly needs.



Each also received a One Year Devotional Book and an inspirational bookmark made of pvc from us --

This is Gina's (for Girls). Just in time because she's almost finished with Grace D. Chong's "What's for Breakfast 2"...



...and Migs's (for Boys). He doesn't have to borrow from me anymore.



We received this one from Dancing Queen (oh how I wish even for just one day we could make a SnowMan like that here, haha!)



And I also got this book from Yani. It is one of the books I listed down in my year-round Wish List. Great to have this book in my collection...



Praise God for this day.

When you look at your life,
the greatest happinesses
are family happinesses.
Joyce Brothers

Treasured Moments

Migs feels a bit under the weather (no thanks to hay fever/sneezing allergies from my country's wishy-washy climate) and requested to sleep beside me, so here he is sleeping soundly on our bed.

Yani is understanding enough to allow our 12 year old tween to sleep with us in the room. When weekends or holidays like today is "in the house", we allow our kids to co-sleep with us. (Dancing Queen follows suit upon learning that her big brother gets to sleep in Dad and Mom's bedroom). We turn up the a/c and everyone gets comfy with thick, wooly blankets. We have cushioned mats to use on the floor, and soft puzzlemats covering our hardwood flooring all over our home's second level help sleep-buddies a lot.

We treasure moments like these and we are of course one small, happy family + one Maltese dog who also feels like she is every inch a human being. :)

P.S. Look again and find the human dog. :))

A family is a unit
composed not only of children
but of men, women,
an occasional animal,
and the common cold.
Ogden Nash

Dancing Queen's Facemask First Monthly Check-Up

Dancing Queen just came from her 1st check-up since wearing the Facemask a month ago.



Praise God because our doctor said her upper jawbone has moved forward already! Orthodontist and I documented it as usual and took photos of her profile. I am confident that by the end of our 3rd month, Dancing Queen will be able to go back to regular school. We are excited! That means we have hurdled the crucial first 3 months of intervention, which will allow Gina to wear the Facemask during bedtime only!



Although it takes a trained eye to see the difference from last month's file photos, we believe that God's mighty hand has moved and granted us favor in this.



We are very happy, for our labor is not in vain. Dancing Queen did a very good job of being an obedient patient -- wearing her Facemask for 20 hours a day without complain. Obedience and diligence truly paid off.



We ask for continued prayers for our daughter, and thank with all our hearts -- family and friends who prayed, and are constantly praying with us for Gina. May God bless you a thousandfold! I will be updating you again about our "journey" next time.

For more stories about Gina's Facemask, you may visit my past entries starting HERE.


And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

Steps Christmas Dance

Gina's Ballet school, STEPS had an informal mini Christmas concert in the school's Studio 1 this evening. Her highness, Dancing Queen danced well together with her Ballet-mates. Music was "Forget About Love", from the Disney animated "Aladdin II: Return of Jafar".



Dancing Queen enjoys performing even in an informal venue like this. During summer though, performing on a much bigger and more formal stage like the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) takes place.



Formal or not, she dances her best, and we always claim that someday, she will dance to honor and glorify God, her Maker and Creator. :)



Here she is with her very good teacher, Eurica Balagtas...



And the school's kind director, Sofia Zobel-Elizalde...



Even if she is undergoing some major changes in her life right now due to wearing her Facemask for 20 hours in a day, our Dancing Queen is blessed, and maintains a happy, cheerful disposition. She is one of two major blessings in our life, and we thank God for her.



Dancing with the feet is one thing,
but dancing with the heart is another.
Author Unknown

Home Economics Day

Apart from Homeschooling Gina in the usual academic subjects, we also engage her in activities that will make her into a more rounded child. We included Home Economics --specifically, cooking (or baking, sewing, etc.), in our subjects.

Here she is making breakfast -- Opening eggs and scrambling them to make Spanish Omelette...



And then (with our help of course), she tries to open a can of Sausage to go with our eggs. She says the can is hard and the can opener is tight...



After a late breakfast, Dancing Queen is seen here mashing boiled potatoes. Hmmmm... I wonder what is for lunch today...?
(Note that we've just taken off her Facemask here. These are the very few times that she is seen not wearing it, so we want to show off her cheerful, sweet face a lot!)


Those are Japanese bread crumbs...



The breaded stuff look good...



I think by now you already know what they are -- even in their uncooked state!



And here is our little cook, frying them (with our help again of course) in canola oil. She didn't stay too long in doing this step as the hot oil was splattering everywhere...



...And minutes later... Presto! We'll have Gina's Beefy Potato Croquettes for lunch! Yummy!



Tell me and I'll forget;
show me and I may remember;
involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese Proverb

More About Gina's Facemask Days

Dancing Queen slept in our room again. Eversince wearing her Facemask to treat her Class III Malocclusia, she has been under a lot of pain as the appliance pulls out her upper jawbone, and pushes in her lower jaw area...



As she lies down beside me, I try to put her back to sleep by rubbing any part of her body, as in massaging it to distract her from the pain she is feeling and to comfort her from what she is experiencing... Until she falls asleep...



This morning, DH bought me this orthodontic tool to help me put the Facemask's bands in place. It is indeed a great help when I insert the two tiny bands in Gina's fixed mouth appliance, also to hold the Facemask in place.



But before all that, I apply Burt's Bees to help moisturize her lips too. This is just her 2nd day, but so many developments are happening, and they are not easy. I guess the good news will be evident in a month after our doctor makes another assessment of her upper and lower jawbone. Only a trained eye and x-ray can see it...



This afternoon we brought her back to her doctor because after only one day of wearing the Facemask, Gina developed mouth sores. Her mouth had lacerations -- from the bands that are pulling out her upper jawbone. The doctor told us to put this kind of mouth drops to heal the wounds. We try to humor out our daughter by calling it the "20-second Magic Drops" -- but despite that, she cries whenever we apply it because of the terrible sting it gives. 20 seconds is all that is needed to soak the wounds in the solution, but it is painful. Effective, but painful.



We are praying things will improve in the next days. This week has been painful for us physically and emotionally. Especially for our little Dancing Queen. God is our guide in everything, and we are hanging on to Him as our Anchor in the storm.



I would like to write about good days again, and make things easier and happier for our daughter. But despite all this, we glorify our God for we know He will never leave us. He loves our daughter very much, and we know we will all come out of this wiser and stronger.



We have this hope
as an anchor for the soul,
firm and secure.
Hebrews 6:19

Gina's Facemask And Palatal Expansion Therapy

Finally, at 1 o'clock this afternoon, we went to our Orthodontist's appointment for Gina's Facemask installation.



We praise God because He helped Gina endure.



And we worship Him for a daughter like her, who, despite quietly shedding tears while on the Orthodontist's chair, can already smile now with her Facemask Therapy and Palatal Expansion appliance.



Most of our friends think Gina's condition is dental. It is NOT. There is nothing wrong with her teeth. Hers is a genetic, maxillary deficiency (jawbone problem), which needs to be corrected while she is still young, and before pubertal growth spurts happen.



More or less a total of 3-4 years are needed to complete the entire intervention process. This Facemask therapy is only the 1st of a series of treatment phases our daughter needs to undergo...



I am proud of my Dancing Queen... I thank God for giving us the wisdom to choose which Orthodontist to go. And I am grateful to family, friends, and co-workers who prayed with us, and for those who helped make things easier and less of a burden -- emotionally, and even financially. God knows who you are...



This evening after supper, Gina and I prepared for our first night of a detailed process of re-installing the Facemask. Before every meal, the appliance has to be removed. And since supper has ended, it had to be back on...



First, I Superflossed (a special kind of orthodontic floss with a dental floss threader) her fixed palate appliance (cemented in her upper). There are 3 wires underneath her upper jaw that need to be flossed well. Our Orthodontist taught me, but I wish my fingers and hands were smaller because I only reached 2 wires... So I asked Gina to brush really extra well. I know however, that in the next days, skill and ease of using my hands will set in. I requested DH to buy me an orthodontic plier-type of tool to help me engage the bands in her fixed mouth appliance. It helped a lot that she was lying down with her head lower than her body.



Next was putting on a fresh pair of tiny orthodontic bands on both sides of her mouth. The fixed appliance inside her mouth had 2 "band holders", but again, my fingers are too stubby for her little mouth. It helped that Gina held her upper lip out of the way. I think the plier-type of orthodontic tool am wishing for cannot wait until Christmas, I reminded DH.



After that, I comforted myself with the truth that all will be well with God's mighty help. He has helped us get through this after months of asking, searching, and waiting for what our steps should be. And He has directed everything from day one... With this we continue to ask for prayers, for patience, for strength, as we give back our gratefulness for His generous blessings from above. He has provided, and His provisions are timely and never-ending. We also pray that DH and I would consistently become good stewards to the children He has entrusted us with.

And for our little Dancing Queen, we pray good, sunshiny days, and sweet, comforting dreams...



"...But I will restore you to health
and heal your wounds,"
declares the LORD...
Jeremiah 30:17