Baby no. 3 Archives - Truly Rich and Blessed

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Days 18, 19, 20 and 21 — Waiting in Hope

April 20, 2013 by Tina 1 Comment

I know, I know… It’s been almost FOUR whole days since my last 50 Days of Amazing Grace post! And it may have been slightly depressing for some, because I wrote about the Boston Marathon bombing and the horrific Gosnell murder trial. (*shudders*) But the point of that post was to remind all of us — including myself — that evil really does exist in our world, and we really, desperately need to pray. And that we desperately need grace.

Also, despite all the bad things happening around us, we need to be reminded that there is always good around us too — and more often than not, good overshadows evil.

And always, always, God will give strength to His people. He will give us peace.

Meanwhile, on the homefront, it has been a bit hectic since my last post, but I am grateful nonetheless for all the blessings God has been sending our way. Since I have been no longer on bed rest since Tuesday, I was able to squeeze in some proofreading work to help out my teammates at the office. I was also able to respond to email inquiries about sponsored posts and ad placements, and write a few more articles for other writing projects.

God has also been using people to affirm us of His generosity and kindness — we’ve been getting gifts again that will be super useful for me and Anne. 🙂 {Lord, bless those oh-so-wonderful people!} Earlier today, I was able to spend some time with the kids (after — I guiltily admit — spending too much time on the computer, catching up on other things).

As I write this post, I am already 3 cm dilated, as per my OB check up this morning. Which means labor is progressing. No contractions yet though. But I am beginning to feel more discomfort.

So now, I am waiting in hope. Because even during the times when I felt things were hopeless, especially during this pregnancy, God was able to bring hope.

We have come a long way in this pregnancy, and we are blessed to have had you, my dear readers-whom-I-consider-friends, along with us on this journey. We wait in expectant hope for the gift that Baby Theodora Anne will be (but wait, she is already a gift — even in utero) to our family, to our community, and dare I say, to the world. 🙂

Her name, “Theodora” actually means “gift of God,” or “God’s gift.” The saint after which she is named was one of the early Christian martyrs. “Anne” is taken from St. Anne, the mother of Mama Mary, and the grandmother of Jesus.

Yes, I wait in hope. And even if I am a bit anxious about giving birth (yes, it’s my third time but I still feel a bit worried), I choose to trust in the Lord again. And be still. And know that He is God.

Today, April 20, actually marks the 40th day since my father-in-law died. We will be visiting his grave and having Mass and prayers for him later. So I don’t know if I’ll be able to post again later or tomorrow or the next few days, as I may already have given birth by then (and I have yet to master publishing posts via my phone). But I want to leave you guys with this message:

P.S.

If you don’t see me around here in the next few days, I guess you’ll know what that means. 🙂 I’ll be posting updates on and though (or at least I’ll try to), so feel free to check them out if you want! 🙂 Also, I might still be able to write my weekly posts for Philstar.com (via my phone, ha, ha!) so you can check in there, too! 🙂 God bless, you guys!

Note: All images from the .

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Days 14, 15 and 16 — On Delighting in the Lord

April 15, 2013 by Tina 4 Comments

I wasn’t able to write posts for the 50 Days of Amazing Grace series on Saturday and Sunday, so I’ll just combine everything I wanted to say in today’s post. It was a very blessed and busy weekend for our family, and I am just OVERWHELMED again at how faithful and true God is.

On Saturday afternoon, I got a call from my Tita (aunt) that the car they were willing to lend us was ready to be picked up. My Tito (uncle) and Tita run an agri-ventures business and they have one car (one of their agents’, I think) that they are selling off. It was that car that they so generously said we could borrow in the meantime, so that when it’s time for Anne to come out, it’s easier to go to the hospital. (And well, easier for preggy me to move around if needed, like going for check-ups and to Mass, etc.)

Believe me, after having two late-night/early-morning trips to the hospital and needing to wait for a taxi both times, knowing that there’s a car readily available for our use, especially in emergency cases, is such a big blessing! 😉

So hubby and the little boy immediately went to Malolos to get the car. They came back in the evening and we ended up sleeping at my mother-in-law’s place (free aircon, ha, ha!), which is why I didn’t get to write a post for Saturday — I was too tired and we didn’t bring my laptop either! 😉

We used “our” car (ha, ha! Feeling!) the next day to go to Sunday Mass. 🙂 Needless to say, Tim was ecstatic that we didn’t have to ride a jeep! Ha, ha! Thank You, Lord, for Your generosity, and thank you, Tito Boyet and Tita Fe, for being a channel of God’s grace for our family! 🙂

We arrived at church early, so we were able to spend a few minutes in the Adoration Chapel — it was Tim’s idea! Now, I don’t know if he wanted to go in because it was air-conditioned inside and scorching hot outside (he admitted to this being his reason for wanting to go in one time before, LOL) but I’m grateful nonetheless that he knows what and why there is an Adoration Chapel in the first place. 🙂

After Mass, we ate lunch out because I’d forgotten that we didn’t have any food to eat at home. And then hubby goes, “Hey, instead of our friends from Timor Leste (two of them are here to attend the Youth for Christ or YFC conference and other activities), coming over to visit us at our {messy, cluttered} apartment, why don’t we go to your parents’ place instead (my parents were hosting them for that day)?”

So off we went — oh the simple joy of having a car to take you to places you wouldn’t normally go to because you’d have to commute! 🙂

And we ended up having a great afternoon with my parents and our young Timorese friends:

The kids took a while to warm up to Aleixo and Jina, because it had been a long time since they last saw them. But they eventually lost their shyness, and ended up playing with them long after Anthony and I had left, according to my mom. Yes, the kids are at my parents’ place again! This seems to happen every time we go there — they end up wanting to stay over! 😉 Oh, the “magic” of grandparents!

Aleixo (shown above with the kids) is especially close to us, because the first time I met him, way back in 2002, he was still in secondary school. I was in Timor Leste for a short-term mission trip with another YFC missionary (he’s a Jesuit novice now!) and we conducted a Youth Camp in Aleixo’s school.

Little did I know then that the seeds of faith God allowed us to grow back then would bloom so beautifully — now, Aleixo is one of our fulltime missionaries in Timor, and Anthony had the privilege of mentoring and training him while we were still in Timor. We will always cherish our times with him and our other Timorese brothers and sisters, and I am SO happy that the kids remember their Maun or big brother and got to spend time with him yesterday! 🙂

Anthony and I felt a bit sad for leaving the kids behind, but I know that spending time with their grandparents is also good for them. I can also catch up on last-minute tasks while they’re gone. I haven’t “popped” yet but feel that Anne will come out soon! Thank you all for your prayers — my OB is back in Manila, so even if I “pop” anytime soon, I can rest a bit easier, knowing that she’s available! 🙂

God also surprised me with extra “bonuses” last weekend — a few more mompreneurs and former blog partners whom I now consider friends contacted me, saying they want to send gifts for Anne and me! 🙂 We’re already so blessed by all the pre-loved and brand-new items that people have been sending us (either on loan or given), so getting these additional gifts is wonderful! Oh how God’s love overflows!

Also, a professional photographer offered to do a FREE maternity shoot for me and Anne! I’ve NEVER had maternity shoots before (not even a pre-nup shoot with Anthony before we got married) or other kinds of professional photo shoots, simply because they’re not part of our budget. So it is REALLY a HUGE blessing! 🙂 I had to turn him down though, since I may give birth anytime soon — I asked if we could have a family photo shoot instead, when Anne’s already out, and he so generously agreed! (I’ll reveal who he is later on, OK, when we’ve already done the shoot! 😉 Heehee!)

Right now, I am just OVERWHELMED at God’s overflowing generosity and love, as shown through all the people around us! 🙂 {This deserves a different blog post altogether actually!} Thank You, Lord, and thank you, everyone! 🙂

Everything that happened this past weekend is just an affirmation of this verse (image source ):

Admittedly, I don’t ALWAYS “take delight in the Lord” — in fact, many times I forget Him and turn away from Him and don’t show Him that I love Him, especially when I’m being a “mean mom.” So it’s really comforting to know that despite my failure to delight in God at all times, He still knows my heart’s desires, and gives them to me, according to His plan and purpose. 🙂

You know what, friends? God looks at YOU the same way He looks at li’l ol’ me. 🙂 Try delighting in Him more, and He will surely give you your heart’s desires, though sometimes it may not be in the way that we wish. Just trust that He knows best, OK? 😉

50 Days of Amazing Grace — Day 12: Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry

April 11, 2013 by Tina Leave a Comment

I can’t believe Baby Anne will be 37 weeks already tomorrow! 🙂 We’re almost there! It seems like only yesterday that I “confessed” the truth about my pregnancy and asked you all for your prayers.

And now, here we are: {Do forgive the photo — hubby only used my phone to take it. ;)}

Thank you all for your prayers! 🙂 Starting tomorrow, it will be medically safe for Anne to come out, though we want her to wait until Sunday onwards, when my OB will be back in Manila.

Indeed, St. Pio’s words are oh-so-true:

With God, all things are possible.

With prayer, miracles can happen.

Thank you all for being part of our “possible,” and for helping make miracles happen. 🙂

God bless, everyone! 😉

{Photo source }

Word-filled Wednesdays: When Things Don’t Go The Way We Planned

March 27, 2013 by Tina 2 Comments

When I chose my one word for 2013, i.e. {in}Courage, I didn’t know then that I’d REALLY be needing lots of courage and lots of time to dwell in God’s presence. But He must have known — well, He knows our lives, past, present and future, right?

Those of you who’ve been seeing my updates on and already know what happened to me last weekend — thus, the lack of posts (again!) here. I was trying to catch up on my backlog at work and other projects last Thursday, which was the first day I had gone back to the office after almost two weeks of bedrest, when I started feeling pain in my back and abdomen.

That was around 11.30pm. I tried lying down but the pain was still persistent. Then I felt a continuous “flicking” sensation on the left side of my tummy — I wasn’t sure if it was Baby Anne or something else. So I asked Anthony to try to see if he could feel it too. He could. And then I said maybe we should go to the hospital, just to be sure. He had actually been asking me if we needed to go the moment I started complaining of pain.

So we went. It’s a good thing we were at my in-laws’ at the time, since we had been sleeping there since my father-in-law died — we left the kids with my mother-in-law.

And this is what happened:

Yep, I got admitted. I felt SO guilty when I was told I was having premature contractions and that my cervix was open 1 to 2 cm! 🙁 NOT good! Bad Tina, you should have been more obedient! Oh no, Anne can’t come out yet! We haven’t even prepared her stuff! And she’s too small! Oh, look what you’ve done!

Yes, thoughts like these raced through my head. I started crying! It’s a good thing the doctors around me reminded me that it would be better for me to calm down. At the time, I still had my phone with me, so Anthony, who was waiting outside the Labor Room, was also texting me, telling me to calm down and assuring me that “All is well.”

I stayed in the hospital for one and a half days (a very costly one and a half days, in my opinion). I was sent home with bedrest and “house arrest” orders until it’s safe for Anne to be born — not for another 3-4 weeks! My OB said April 15 onwards is OK, but she prefers April 20 onwards.

So here I am, typing on my side while in bed (not a very comfy position, mind you). I’ve been TRYING to rest as much as I can, though a lot of people know I’ve been on “bedwork” mode most days since my discharge from the hospital. I had SO many plans for this Holy Week — an outreach activity with fellow homeschoolers, Holy Week-themed activities for our homeschool, participation in parish activities — and the weeks before my estimated date of delivery (EDD) — events to attend, summer classes at and Mathemagis for the kids, shopping for baby things, finishing all my work-related tasks before I apply for maternity leave, and so on. But I guess God has other plans. Which leads me to the truth behind this verse:

I’m not blaming God for my situation now. I do blame myself a bit. But I also know that maybe He let this happen for a bigger purpose.

Since being on bedrest, I’ve still tried to meet my obligations at work and other projects. I’ve also asked people to share their prayer concerns with me, so that at least my time in bed will be more meaningful. I must admit though that these past few days since coming home from the hospital I have been too short-tempered again with our kids. I need to “fix” that these remaining days of the Holy Week!

I’m praying and hoping that even if I can’t physically attend the Easter Triduum activities in our parish, and the at SMX on Easter Sunday — where Anthony will be serving for the first time as Big Events Manager — I’ll still be able to reflect on the true reason for this blessed week: Jesus’ great love for you and me. I plan to do the Visita Iglesia online and other online Holy Week activities, like this recollection here.

Anyway, I really thank God that Anne is still safe in my womb so far, and despite my whining at times, I thank Him, too, that I can still do my work from home and while in bed. Of course, I need to slow down and take things easy. Hopefully, I can really do this starting tomorrow!

I want to thank all of you, too, for your prayers, messages of concern and support and encouragement during this difficult time. Thank you for “sticking around,” even if I haven’t been able to post regularly, and may not be posting as often as I want to from now on. 🙂

Even if I haven’t been “around” here lately, I have been writing elsewhere on the web, aside from my tasks for my main job, of course. Here are links to my more recent articles and posts and “work,” in case you are interested in reading them:

On Smart Parenting:

Amazing Grace: The Healing Power of Forgiveness

Amazing Grace: Faith and Our Miracle Baby

Amazing Grace: Nothing Is Impossible for Those Who Believe

SP’s Summer Classes and Activities Directory for 2013

On Philstar.com:

Holy Week Reflections for Parents: The Need for Faith

On Trusting Your Mom Instincts

When a Loved One Dies

Catholic Filipino Academy’s Home Base

So yes, I have been a pretty busy bee. I don’t want to be one anymore, actually. But there’s a need to be one right now, especially given our financial needs both present and future, when Anne comes. Don’t worry though, I will do my best to slow down. Really.

So… if you don’t see any posts from me this week, you’ll know why. 😉 Though I do plan to try blogging with my Blackberry in the meantime! Hehe! Thanks to my fellow World Moms Blog mom/WAHM Patty for the tip!

Here’s to a blessed and meaningful Easter Triduum ahead, and an AWESOME amazing grace-filled Easter to all! And remember, Jesus, not the Easter Bunny, is the Reason for this GLORIOUS season, and He has great plans for you and your life! 🙂

Source: https://

To Our Dear Little Baby: Please Forgive Me

March 9, 2013 by Tina 8 Comments

Dear sweet little one in my womb,

It’s been a while since I wrote a letter to you. Actually, I think it was only that one time, after our first ultrasound scan — the first time we ever saw you!

So many things have happened since then — good and bad — and I only pray that despite the ups and downs your Mama has been going through physically and emotionally, God has been keeping you safe and sheltered in my womb.

I also pray that Mama Mary has been whispering words of comfort and love to you, especially during the times when what you could hear from the outside world were shouts of anger (from your Papa and me, whenever your siblings would get out of control) or cries of frustration (mostly from me, whenever I would feel so tired and overwhelmed).

Which brings me to the topic of this letter, dear baby. Please forgive me. Please forgive Mama.

I am sorry that I have been pushing myself too hard during my pregnancy with you. I wasn’t like this when I was pregnant with your Kuya Tim and Ate Rysse. We were still in Timor Leste that time. Did you know Papa and Mama used to be fulltime lay missionaries? That’s why your Kuya and Ate were both born in Timor. We were busy then but at least I still had lots of time to rest whenever I needed to.

I’m so sorry it’s not the same now. Papa and Mama have been called to a different kind of mission — we both work for the ministries of your Tito Bo Sanchez now, and we’ve been in the Philippines since June 2010. Mama is an editor and writer, and Papa handles Big Events.

Don’t get me wrong, darling, I’m/we’re not complaining about our workload. Actually, we’ve been very, very blessed — financially, spiritually and in so many other ways. Mama is also blessed to be able to work from home three days of the week most weeks, so I can teach your Kuya and Ate (well, sometimes your Ate) at home. I’m so excited to teach you, too, Baby. I just pray that I can do it — teaching three kids (or more).

Aside from my job, sweetheart, Mama does other writing and editing jobs, mostly so we can save up for your birth and your needs after that. And for your Kuya and Ate‘s needs too. Your Papa also works hard so we can have a good life.

Of course, having extra work means I sometimes don’t get enough sleep. And I feel so guilty about that, sweetie. Again, please forgive me.

Right now, your Lolo is sick. He’s your Papa’s daddy. He’s very sick, and we’re praying for a miracle. In the same way that we prayed and are praying for you, and asked others to do the same, we’re asking God to heal him. Of course, we also submit to God’s will and plan for him. God knows what’s best for all of us, honey.

Before your Lolo got sick, Mama had been going through a rough patch. I was super tired (I still am, but thank God I’m feeling better now) and I wasn’t being the best parent to your siblings. I was overloaded with work — my fault, I know — and having backaches and whatnot. I was stressed, and I am so sorry if you could feel it somehow.

I’m feeling better now though, Baby, thanks to God, your Papa, your siblings, our extended family, our friends, and all the wonderful people who have been praying for and with us. Your Lolo Mon and Lola Tita have also been terrific sources of support, and I know when they get back home from their mission trip in India, they’ll be raring to help us out again before they leave for Brunei to visit your Tita Lisa and her family there.

Even if we’re facing another trial now with your Lolo, and yes, Mama has been crying at times too because of it (I’m emotional like that, honey, but you’ll find that out soon enough), I know that God will see us through this, especially your Papa and his family. He’s always been so good, kind and faithful to us, Baby.

Anyway, I just wanted to write this letter — this apology letter — to you, because I feel like I haven’t been treating you as well as I should have. I will try to get more rest from now on, dear little one. And be more healthy overall, in mind, body and spirit. Papa and I have even been attending childbirth preparation classes with Ms. Rome Kanapi, so that he can be with me when you finally come out. It’s a good thing for me, too, so I can re-familiarize myself with the labor and delivery process. Yes, it may be my third time to give birth, but I still feel nervous about it sometimes!

Well, sweetie, Mama has to go first. Please know that I, we love you very, very, very much. We haven’t prepared much for your birth, and most of your Kuya and Ate‘s baby things were given away to our Timorese “brothers” and “sisters,” but hopefully, we’ll be able to gather what we need soon. We are SO excited to see you in person!

Till then, my love,

Mama

{Image by luigi diamanti on www.freedigitalphotos.net}