Thankful Thursday 33

What CHRIXEAN is thankful for this week For friends who have expressed their love for me and my baby! I was thrown two separate baby shower parties by my friends from my highschool and my friends in our Christian community. They were all truly pleasant surprises and I enjoyed their company, the food (of course, hehe) and the fun games they prepared. The first party's theme was an "all-pink" party. Unfortunately, it was a surprise party and I wasn't informed of the color theme. But it was a really lovely set-up with all things pink -- from the wall decors, to the mini-scrapbook and the pink baby gifts. The second party had the "baby scrapbooking" theme, where each couple gave gifts that had to do with completing Keira's scrapbook. It was a great idea since I had already began to layout the initial pages. The assorted gifts I received -- scrapbook baby accessories and pastel colored papers, greeting cards and prayer notes, as well as actual scrapbook pages already laid out ready for photo collaging -- were perfect for me to complete my personalized baby book for Keira! Here are the pics from the two parties: The Pink Party: Expectant mommy and daddy With my two best buds, Jennie G and Ging. Winners of the baby shower games show off their prizes :) Great gifts! Mom Ging and daughter Andee Noy and I strike a pose. The pink ladies and their kids. Baby Scrapbooking Party: A pink rose amongst the thorns :-) Sexy sisses all in a row I love the pastel colored decor, especially the hanging pieces! It's so cutie! I want one for me too! Cute scrapbook accessories to add to my pages! A game favorite - guess my waistline size! To all my friends who made these parties happen, especially to my hubby who coordinated the schedules and the arrangements in secret, thank you so much! Keira and I feel extremely loved by all of you! Kisses from mommy and baby... mwah! mwah! Links to other Thankful Thursdays --> A Child of God A Revision As My World Turns EPH2810 Friday's Child Imagine Bliss Journalling Through the Valley Momma's Life Mommy Needs To Vent Mabuting Balita.Net Nightingale Looney Bin For Sure no_average_girl Show Them Through Me Uzi's Musings Blog Charm Russell And Aine's Haven Reverberate - My Echo Gabrielle

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Mood Swing

Your Mood Ring is Light Blue

Emotions mixed Unsettled Cool

Mood Ring Generator

I've been feeling out of sorts lately. I feel a little better this morning, but I generally feel tired. It has been a long and emotional past few weeks for me and I think it's taken its toll on my body and my emotions. The stress of work (had to finish layout of an entire magazine for a client in between preparing layout concepts for an anniversary book for another client) and the emotional and physical stress of losing a dear aunt to leukemia has affected my mood and my body. I experienced really strong contractions and hyperactive movements from the baby since Saturday evening after my aunt's cremation, which prompted my OB-GYNE to make me stay in bed till Monday morning. The rest (coupled with my Duvadilan medication) helped a lot, and my contractions have somewhat subsided and allowed me to get better sleep. I am hoping for more time off in between my working days (i know, I have to make this time off happen!) when I get my new graphic designer (my previous designer resigned!). For now, I just take in what I can and try not to worry too much about deadlines and trying to be everything to everyone.

I'm currently dreaming of.....
A foot spa at Tips N' Toes
An overnight stay at a hotel -- just to sleep and eat and sleep some more
A shopping spree for the baby (I still lack a lot of baby girl stuff)
Hair color treatment (I look dreadful....)
Food tripping (what the heck, it's just a few more weeks...)

Thankful Thursday 32

What CHRIXEAN is thankful for this week For all the prayers I received from friends, family and bloggers, and for the time the Lord has granted me to spend time with my Aunt Mercy. My Aunt Mercy passed away yesterday morning after 4 years of battling breast cancer and 4 months of battling the aggressive stages of leukemia and bone cancer. It has been a difficult past few months for me and my entire family. To watch a very dear family member wither away in front of your very eyes, to watch her struggle to live, to watch her family put up a strong front in the midst of sadness and fear, and to watch each one surrender her fate to the Giver of Life. It has been quite stressful for me especially, being pregnant and having to go through another death after just a few months of dealing with the passing of my Aunt Minerva. Through it all, I hung on to prayer for strength and renewal of faith. I had to re-learn the realities of the life we lived on this planet -- accepting that all things are temporary in this life and learning to let go, believing that there is indeed a better life for all those who have left us here. I say "re-learn" because these are things that we already know and believe in because the Bible has taught us about it. It just becomes more difficult to apply when these situations happen to you and your immediate family. So to all of you who have been praying for my family and my Aunt Mercy's help from the very beginning, thank you. BTW, please visit all our other Thankful Thursday participants listed below and on our TTh blogroll. We've added quite a number of people to the list recently and it would be great to add them to your list of frequented sites as well! Links to other Thankful Thursdays --> A Child of God A Revision As My World Turns EPH2810 Friday's Child Imagine Bliss Journalling Through the Valley Momma's Life Mommy Needs To Vent Mabuting Balita.Net Nightingale Looney Bin For Sure no_average_girl Show Them Through Me Uzi's Musings Blog Charm Russell And Aine's Haven Reverberate - My Echo Gabrielle

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Prayers Wanted!

Need urgent prayers for my auntie Mercy who has been diagnosed a few months ago to have an advanced stage of leukemia. She was rushed to the hospital over the weekend due to an extreme drop of her blood pressure and a decrease in her heart rate. We all thought we would lose her, and our entire family has been by her bedside since then. Last night was a rough night for everyone as she was struggling with her breathing and was slipping in and out. We still believe in miracles, no matter how advanced the stage of illness is. And so we pray for the miracle of healing to still prevail. But if it is the Lord's will for her to go through this and to welcome her as early as now into his kingdom, we pray that He would take her in peace -- without the pain, without the struggles.

Thankful Thursday 31

What CHRIXEAN is thankful for this week For feeling slightly better after a week of having a bad cold. Thanks to antihistamines, lots of juice, my husband's TLC, and of course, papa God's healing touch. For God's provision in the preparation of the kids' new room. Was finally able to set-up the kids' room to make space for Keira's arrival. Because Nicky had SOOOOO much stuff that we needed to store and because he had outgrown his toddler bed, we managed to build a custom-made adult-sized bed which could store all his toy cars, dinosaurs, trains and tractors underneath it for less than half the prize of one that we could have bought in a department store. With the money saved, we were able to buy Nicky and the baby brand new cabinets and book shelves, Keira's crib, beddings, toiletries and other immediate baby necessities, and additional storage boxes. I am so happy that Nicky was so cooperative and was so willing to share his room with Keira. His excitement and enthusiasm when we were setting up the spaces gave me the extra energy boost i needed to make sure the task was done well. I forgot to post this picture last week. It was the awarding ceremony for our win in the Parent-Child Book Making Competition. Nicky and I are shown here (I am the whale in the middle wearing pink, hehe) together with the other book winners (moms and kids on the right) and the gradeschool heads. One of the women in the photo (2nd from left) who is currently the gradeschool principal, was my old prep teacher from the same school! Boy, was she proud to show me and my son off to her fellow teachers. :-) Links to other Thankful Thursdays --> A Child of God A Revision As My World Turns EPH2810 Friday's Child Imagine Bliss Journalling Through the Valley Momma's Life Mommy Needs To Vent Mabuting Balita.Net Nightingale no_average_girl Show Them Through Me Uzi's Musings Blog Charm Russell And Aine's Haven Reverberate - My Echo Gabrielle

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Sucks to be sick

My body finally gave out. Never realized how dependent I had become to my multivitamins to keep my body strong and resistent to illnesses. For the last 8 months I had never gotten the cold virus nor the cough. I missed just 2 days of drinking my multivitamins (because we ran out and forgot to buy some), and now I'm down under the weather. I can't breathe, my throat is sore, my eyes are swollen and my sinuses are throbbing. It really sucks.

Just thought I'd gripe about it....

Thankful Thursday 30

What CHRIXEAN is thankful for this week • For winning 3rd place in the Parent-Child Book-Making Contest! Woohoo!!! Of course, I would have preferred 1st place, but then..... hehehe. To read more about this contest and how our entry looked like, click here. • For waking up after a good night's rest. Sleep is very difficult to enjoy lately due to Keira's heavy weight. To actually sleep a straight 8 hours with a just a few bathroom breaks in between is already a reason for me to celebrate. • For the wonderful Saturday night I had. I met up with my old college buddies who I haven't seen altogether for 11 years, and I had the time of my life! I ended up laughing for a whole 5 hours straight, just recalling all the crazy college stories being thrown across the table. The past weeks have been very hectic for me in terms of work and preparations for the baby's room, that this was truly a much needed break. Links to other Thankful Thursdays --> A Child of God A Revision Anna's Place As My World Turns EPH2810 Friday's Child Imagine Bliss Journalling Through the Valley Momma's Life Mommy Does It All Mommy Needs To Vent Mabuting Balita.Net Nightingale no_average_girl Show Them Through Me Uzi's Musings Blog Charm Russell And Aine's Haven Reverberate - My Echo Gabrielle

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Thankful Thursday 29

What CHRIXEAN is thankful for this week God answered my prayer! I’ve been asked so many times by my OB-GYN and by friends if I wanted to have a 4d ultrasound done so I could see Keira’s lovely face up close. Of course I’d love that, but spending so much for such a procedure (which costs 10X more than an ordinary 2d ultrsound!) is to me impractical and extravagant. Even if I could afford it, I cannot bring myself to spend that much on something which is unnecessary. Plus, I know the money could be used for other more important things that need to be settled. So my answer was always, “I’ll have the 4d done ONLY if God blesses me with it”. Meaning – if He gave it to me for free. How could I have doubted that such a gift would not be given to me? As I was touring the hospital’s Diagnostic center facilitiesfor a commemorative book project my company was commissioned to do, I was told very casually that they had just recently acquired a brand new 4D ultrasound machine! And the best part of all, I could have an ultrasound demonstration for FREE! I was in shock! The words FREE rang loudly in my mind. Thank you, papa God! Oh my! So below is the first ever 4D portrait of my lovely baby girl 8 months inside me…. Everyone…meet Keira! My company My Left Hand Creative Solutions celebrated its 5th year in business. I would NEVER have imagined that this business would have made it this far. I started the company as a reason for me to have work while I shifted from my corporate life to that of a stay-at-home mom. 5 years later, I have more than 60 clients in my portfolio, a husband who works with me full time as head of marketing, a creative team and staff who supports the company’s growth through their marvelous work contributions, brand new equipment and a newly-renovated and expanded office. Praise God for his love and faithfulness in providing for our company’s growth and for using the business to be a vessel of blessings to other people. Links to other Thankful Thursdays --> A Child of God A Revision Anna's Place As My World Turns EPH2810 Friday's Child Imagine Bliss Journalling Through the Valley Momma's Life Mommy Does It All Mommy Needs To Vent Mabuting Balita.Net Nightingale no_average_girl Show Them Through Me Uzi's Musings Blog Charm Russell And Aine's Haven Reverberate - My Echo Gabrielle

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In My Stables: MOM's MUSINGS

Hi everyone! As you all may have noticed, I went on a long "Rent My Blog" hiatus due to my erratic blogging schedules. But my stables are back in business again -- fresh, clean and with a new coat of paint -- and now I am welcoming a new tenant again to stay for the week.

Please all welcome Ruth from Mom's Musings! APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE!

Ruth is from Ontario, Canada and she is a home-schooling mom to 4 children. I enjoyed reading her blog because she shares a lot of issues or thoughts about her Christian journey and church life, and I feel I can relate to a lot of what she talks about. I particularly like her latest entry where she struggles with trying to keep God's word in her heart. I feel this way a lot of times especially when the enemy's attack is targetted strongly on me, so this post is a lot like my own personal diary entry -- except that she had more guts to talk about it than I did. She also has a lot of fun stories to share about her daily mommy experiences (which I am sure all you mom readers will enjoy), which makes her blog a light, relaxing read. You may already have visited her on occasion through Wordless Wednesdays and Thursday Thirteens, but nonetheless, visit her again and let her know just what a great blog she has!

Well, have you all forgotten the drill? Go on over and trot over to the thumbnail on my right sidebar and give it a click now! And don't forget to tell her that Chrixean whispered to you her name :-)