Good News of Great Joy: A Christmas Pageant

What  great joy to see  a children's presentation depicting the birth of Jesus.  St. Joseph church this this  Christmas pageant every year.  Selected students at St. Joseph School performs  it beautifully every time.  It's always uplifting to see  our kids participate in this  event.

 The pageant  comes before the mass.

 When my daughter was in first and second grade, she was one of the angels.  Starting last year, she  joined the bell choir of the school.  

 EJ was part of the  crew this year,  He is the chief shepherd.

 The bell choir of the fifth graders.

 The play was being described through narration and songs.

 It is beautiful to watch.

 Every cast member of the play  did their part really well.

 The choir sung so beautifully and play their instruments really well.

 The final song was fun.  The choir sung an action song where they dance and do stuff.

 My son's class who participated during the play.

 My daughter's besties.

 I took pictures of the kids after the mass.

  I am glad that my son's fear is now disappearing.  He used to be so nervous when he is part of a play but now he is more  comfortable with it.

 Wish my husband did not go to the car yet so we could have taken some photos with him and the kids.

This year was a really good year for us especially for the kids.  The kids didn't really got sick compared to the previous years.  I am very thankful for that.  I hope that 2016 will be a great for all of us!

#StarWars #Shopping and #FamilyBonding

Last weekend, one of my son's classmate/friend invited hm to watch the  movie Star Wars  at Carmike Theatre in Steuben Mall.  I was sniffling and  coughing  so I told my husband to accompany him  and daughter and I  went on a little shopping  spree.  

She did not want to watch a movie so she went with me.  After we split from  the boys, we went at Sear's to look around for deals first.  I accidentally left my iPhone in one of the shelf at Sears when I took off my  coat luckily, a good hearted person found it and returned it at the counter. I was at Macy's when  I thought of checking out my phone, it wasn't in my bag!  I looked for it at Macy's and backtracked all the aisle we went to and did not find it.  We went back to Sear's look for it there and didn't find it so I asked the  associate at Sear's and she told me that  someone had  returned, oh boy I was relieved!   I was able to retrieve it from the Sear's office.  Whoever you are, thank you very much!  The photo below  was taken after I found my phone.  

My daughter and I only bought two items, her gift to his brother and my treat to her for shopping with me.  I found this cute cardigan and it was on sale.  Her gift and this  piece  cost $37, I used the  Macy's reward that I got from the last shopping that hubby and I did so I only paid $7 for our  items, not so bad.

 She really love this cardigan.  It's thick and she never had any piece of clothing like this so she 's very happy.

 I Love shopping with my daughter because she is fun and never get tired of looking at clothing lol.  We get along so well in trying on clothes.

 I took these photos when we got home.

 She wants to  use this on their upcoming Christmas pageant performance at church on Christmas eve.  She is part of the bell choir and they will be playing  songs.  My son is part of the play as well so it would be fun for us.

 They are now counting the days till Christmas.  They can't wait to attend the play and and the mass and the much anticipated  cheer, the opening of gifts on Christmas morn.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas!  May your holiday be merry and bright!

What I wish to Have for Christmas

My daughter has been asking me what I want for Christmas.  I told her that I already have what I want and that I don't need anymore.  She made me a somethng  and wrapped and that's  exactly what I want.  But if Santa would ever  visit my kitchen, I would like an  organizer for my pots and pans just like this in the picture.  Right now, my pots and pans have no organization at all because there is only  two shelp two put everything in.  So Santa, wherever you are, I hope you can read this post hehehe.

Great Books to Read over the Holidays

My son is beginning to count the days till Christmas.  He can't wait to open up his presents laying underneath the tree.  He asked me a couple of times if he could open up one gift so I let him open the one that his godparent  gave him.    We finished  shopping for gifts last weekend.  I will do  some more wrapping tomorrow and that's about it.

Anyway, some of the gifts that the kids are receiving  is books.  I always get them some books to read especially that they are off  from school  during the holiday.  It is important to keep them busy during the cold days and get their mind working.  I got my son two books from Wisdom Tales.  First is this President Lincoln  book.  I have mentioned before that my son  is very interested in reading books about  past US presidents so I thought this book is  a perfect one for him to keep him inspired and motivated. 

This book is coming out in February of 2016.  I got one of the advance copies which I am very thankful because it is perfect for Christmas  gift.  I don't know much about  President Lincoln since I wasn't born here so I read this first before I  wrapped it.  It is very interesting to reas a book about a famous man and this book,  President Lincoln: From Log Cabin to White HOuse is such an inspiring book to read of any people of  age.  I love the illustration of this book, I am sure my son would be delighted to read this.

Here's a summary of what you can expect about this book:

From a small log cabin in Kentucky to the steps of the White House, Abraham Lincoln rose from humble beginnings to the very height of prominence and prestige. Leading America through the momentous events of the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the abolition of slavery, the story of “Honest Abe” is one that all children should know. President Lincoln: From Log Cabin to White House is not only a powerful teaching tool, but an entertaining and age-appropriate introduction to a man who has become one of the most influential and admired presidents of the United States.

Another book that I would love my son to read is the story of Saint Anthony the Great.  This is a great book to get inspiration  from if you are feeling unhappy and sometimes jealous of  other people's accomplishment.  This man  became a saint because of the sacrifices that he did.  He gave up all of his material  possesions  and live a life that is meaningful and helpful to other people.  

This book shows how hard it is to do what is right all the time but  it is possible if you  you really try your best.  It also a testament that life is full of twist and turns, so many temptations will come along your way even igf you are trying to do  what is right.  

Here's  what you can expect from this book:

Saint Anthony the Great tells the story of the father of Christian monasticism, who lived in the Egyptian desert just two hundred and fifty years after Jesus’ lifetime. This beautifully illustrated book will capture the attention of young readers and help teach them about Anthony’s struggle to acquire a pure heart. Here is a timeless story about the victory of good over evil, inside us and around us.

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the product/s mentioned  to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

Altar Servers

For a while there, I have been  encouraging my daughter to try  serving at church through an altar server but she did not want to do it because  of my husband's reservation about  church altar server.  As parents, you can't help it but think about the bad  news you see  about kids being molested by priest so he was against it at first.  Since we knew the priest at our church, I told the kids to just try it.

 My daughter tried it the first time on her brother's first communion and she loved it ever since.  She wants to serve every single Sunday which I am so glad.  Then our son tried it ad  also like it so  both of them have been serving during masses and it makes me so happy to see them both at church doing it.

 I never had the chance to do this when I was a kid but back then, only boys are allowed to be an altar servers.  In fact, I have never seen a girl do this  when I was still back home.

 They still have a lot to learn but they  are getting better at it each time.

 Whenever our kids don't want to try things, we  don't give up on them.  We want them to try things because   they never know if they like a thing or two unless they try it.

 They have so many things that they reject at firstbutwith our fuidance, they tried it and learned to like it.

Just like being an altar server.  We are so proud of you kiddos!

Summer 2015 Fun Times with Furry Friends

Summer  time is such a fun times for most people.  I know we  are always looking forward to summer because the fun-possibilities is endless.  My kids love it because aside from them  having a break from school, they also get to do things with us outdoors.  We get to visit places sometimes and do  simple things but fun for all of us.

 During their summer break this year, we were able to  visit Hershey Park and the kids had so much fun out there.  We don't let our kids just sit in front of the TV or play computer games but we encourage them to go out and play.  We play with them, we did some long walks (9 miles was the farthest we've walked).

They helped  around the house, in the garden,  and even took  a  small summer  job for our our neighbor taking care of their dogs when they are at work.  This is such a big learning experience for them that taught them responsibility and the  joy of earning a little bit from doing the things that they love.

 These dogs are their furry friends whom they look forward of seeing every time they get the chance to.  They served as their extended family.  I thank our neighbor  for this opportunity that taught them a valuable lesson.  They might not realized the  lesson they have learned but I am so glad that they are doing great.

 As parents, it makes my husband  and I realized that we are raising good responsible kids.  I hope that their sense of responsibility will continue on.

 They don't even care about the  money they get from this "job" because they said that they would do it for free but our neighbor insisted to pay them.

 Their dogs are the best because they are so  gentle with kids.  It seems like they have known our kids   ever since they were pups.

 Kyra and Mandy are just  two of our neighbors four dogs.  It is not actually our neighbors but her  kids  pets.  Whenever they are going somewhere, they ask their Moms to take care of them but since their Mom  is always at work, she asked  our kids to  look after them.

 Their furry friends are such a blessing for my kids.  They love  dogs and they even gave up   our vacation just to keep our dogs when we were not able to find a place for them.

 I am truly thankful to our neighbor, to their dogs, and to our kids who keep me and my husband  inspired to continue  raising our kids the way we are  raising them.

 They actually miss  seeing them.  They wish that they would see them everyday and that makes me very happy.

 I joke at them one time that we should just put our dogs for adoption so that we can go anywhere whenever we want to but they beg  us not to.

 They always have fun when feeding Mandy because she  doesn't stand up when eating.  She lays on the floor and eat.

 Kira is such a sweetheart, she  love being hugged, rubbed, and play with.

Taking care of the dogs are just some of the fun times that they did this summer.  It's one of the  things they will always remember.