With all the tragedies, catastrophes and bad lucks that happened around the world today, I take this moment to ponder and count my blessings. Though I'm thankful that our family was spared from heartaches and loss, my thoughts and prayers are with those ones whose lives are being rocked with unfortunate events. May God give them the strength to carry on amidst their grief and sorrow.
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Year 2004 was a good year in our family. We are blessed with so many graces in all aspects of our lives. Good health, abundance, happiness and joy to name a few. Here are the highlights of the year.
January - Hubby and I started the new year by working on our basement. Throughout the month, my ever handy dandy hubby, singlehandedly finished the basement. From setting up the electrical, cable and network wiring to installing the drywall, floating floor and ceiling as well as painting the wall. Of course, he had great help from his assistant, moi and his dad. Nonetheless, most of the time, my work was basically to pinpoint mistakes...hehehehe...
February - We blew our credit card buying furnitures for the basement although until now it is still in the state of 'work in progress' because we are not done yet completing the decor. There's still the mirror and paintings to mount on the walls and hubby has yet to build his office corner. Also, we need more storage for media,toys,linens, seasonal clothes and craft 'abubots'.
March - We've got the 'call'. Finally we are parents to a baby from China. Since we logged in our dossier last June 2003, we waited expectantly to receive a call from our adoption agency to notify us that we have been matched with an infant from an orphanage in China. It was a thrilling moment. I was crying and babbling like an idiot while I passed on the good news to my family.
April - It was a whirlwind of preparation for our trip to China. We and my inlaws scrambled to prepare Bebe S's room. My MIL took care of sewing the curtains while hubby and I painted the walls and refurbished a 'hand-me-down' crib courtesy of my SIL. On top of this, I had to pack our stuff for our trip. We took several trips to Walmart and other stores to complete the list to bring. The hard part though was how to make it all fit in two luggages under 70 lbs.
May - Bebe S was placed in our arms on the day the world celebrates motherhood. I became a Mom on Mother's day and it was so fitting to be blessed with a child on that day. Until now, my heart swells with joy everytime bebe S calls me 'Mama' and gives me a hug. Our lives changed when we got her. There is so much happiness and love in our home now because of our baby's presence in our lives.
June - A week after we arrived from China, we celebrated bebe S's birthday. It was just a small gathering of immediate families. We were still adjusting to parenthood and our baby was also adjusting to the new surroundings and people. Needless to say, in spite of hardwork that comes in parenting, we couldn't really complain. Just the thought that we have a little angel in our midst lifts our spirits up and buoys up our energy.
July - We left for Toronto to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday. It was bebe S's first long car drive. Half of the time, she was screaming on her seat and the other half, she was dozing exhausted from her crying bouts. As sidetrip, we went to Niagara Falls, an hour and half drive from Toronto. Traffic was so bad that we were not able to enjoy the trip much. Surprisingly, bebe S enjoyed the ride happily munching 'pandesal' throughout the trip. A week after, she was welcomed in the Christian world. Her baptism was so stressful for me and hubby because our baby chose to be in her crankiest mood during the ceremony as well as at the reception. Few days after, two teeth sprouted on her lower gums. Ah, finally we found the culprit of her grumpiness!
August - It was a great summer. Cool and breezy. Most of the weekends, the three of us went for car drives around the city and suburbs. We also met up with families who also adopted babies from China.
September - We went to Quebec City for a little bit of R&R. Also to celebrate hubby's birthday. My PIL were with us and we had great time exploring the city. It was my nth time to visit the capital of Canada's belle province and everytime it has something new to offer. I don't think I will be able to get tired of its charm and beauty.
October - We suffered sleepless nights because of my cluelessness. It was a tiring month and bebe S really drove us to exhaustion. Juggling office work, household chores and parenting duties was a no mean feat! Hubby and I are both lucky that we have the flexiblity to work at home and manageable working hours. Otherwise, we will be crawling up the walls because of fatigue.
November - We played big shots this month and purchased big items for us. We bought another car because our trusty old one cannot really fit our baby's paraphernalia. It took us awhile to get the car because of an ineptness of one sales manager. We were almost cheated with our deposit. Good thing that hubby knows the art of complaining. He brought the matter up to the car dealer owner and he promptly gave our money back. With the money that we saved from car discounts courtesy of our company, we were able to splurge a new dining set. Hubby was planning to build one but because of time constraints, I eventually convinced him to just buy a readymade one.
December - We were caught up with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I tried to lessen the stress by not putting up over the top Christmas decorations in our house and buying too much gifts. I also opted to serve store-bought holiday feast and just cooked a dish or two during Christmas and New Year's days. I wasn't really in the mood to celebrate but seeing bebe S's delights in seeing christmas balls and lights firmed up my resolve to pass on the magic of the season.
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Well, it's the beginning of the year. Time to plan and list our goals and wishes. I hope and pray that God will continue to shower us with blessings. May He continue to guide us and light our path as we live the days and months of the year 2005.