Baul ni Noel

QT10018: Eph 4: 26 (Be Angry BUT Do Not SIN)

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:18:00 +0000

Be angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: - Eph 4: 26

This may be the hardest thing for a person to do; that is to get angry and not sin at the same time. The incident at the NAIA3 with Raymart Santiago and party vs Mon Tulfo has been a trend topic for almost a week now. After the said incident, an exchange of angered words were express by both sides. We do not know whose side is telling the truth but we all know that the fight started with anger.

Have you ever said something regretful to someone while you were angry at that person? It is not your fault if ever you have said it, the reason it came out is because it was in your heart. You mean to say things more when you are angry because you pour every thought and feelings whenever you are angry - most of the time it is hard to control.

But God actually allowed us to get angry but gave us a warning at the same time. In Ephesians 4: 26, it was said there "Be angry" but the warning said "and sin NOT". If both parties were able to get angry and talked things out with calmness then the fight never happened. Now after the video has gone viral, I've read a lot of rude comments against both parties which reflected negative to all of them. That's why in a war or battle, there is no winner - you are a winner if you can avoid it.

Now, the reason we tend to say regretful things whenever we are angry is because during our anger our heart gets weak. Physically and scientifically, anger can even kill you according to studies and that is because the heart couldn't take it. Spiritually, when we get angry our heart gets weak to temptations. We are tempted to say bad things or could even hurt people.

Lastly, the verse also tells us that we should not let the sun go down while anger is still in our hearts and is still unsettled. Forgiveness is the key. Remember if you take care of things, it grows be it love or anger so the more anger you keep in you heart, the more it grows just like what is currently happening with Raymart/Claudine vs Mon Tulfo now. If they were normal people, I believe it did not come to this resolution where they have to sue each other.

Phil so Good

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:56:00 +0000

Yehey! I am counting days before our coming vacation or should I say exit. I was browsing the net for places to go to and checking for the cost of transportation and everything but was quite taken back by the overwhelming cost. Hmmm.... Thanks to the tv show "Ang Pinaka" for featuring top places to go for families, now I have new ideas on which places to go.

Anyways, our itinerary would be to go to Doha-Qatar for two weeks first before going to Manila. We'll be visiting my in-laws there, it's kinda like a reunion. We're all quite excited now since it has been years since we've last seen each other. They're already planning a pictorial so better make my self look good and fit and not like some chubby dad.

Bleh! We are going home soon!

Our original vacation was to go to US but because of lack of time we are forced to make new plans. My son's new passport arrived late, if it only came as we have expected and as the consulate have told us then we would have had time to apply for US Visa. Anyways, we don't have regrets and it actually made things a lot better. Our US trip we'll have to wait then.

We are also excited about our trip back to Manila. It's a must that I go to Enchanted Kingdom this time, I just hope that rains won't spoil our trip. We're also hoping to visit our very own Manila Ocean Park to explore it and enjoy our moment.

I have lots of things to accomplish back in the Philippines and I am hoping that this vacation will be a fruitful one.

I Phil so Good! (just like the french artist that featured our country on his song, you can all watch the video below - it is so good). I was browsing the net awhile ago when I found a lot of things and one of it is this one while the other one is not so nice to watch (Raymart Santiago vs. Mon Tulfo). That is it for now. Have a nice day and God bless.

Hongkong 2009 Vacation: Day 3 - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:44:00 +0000

So let me continue reminiscing our 3rd Day in HK. So we were told that at night, the best places to go were The Harbour in Kowloon side and Mong Kok which is like Divisoria in the Philippines. So my wife then asked for assistance from a friend who resides there in HK, Pam. Pam is my wife's classmate for 5 years (college of dentistry) and also my oldest son's beautiful and sexy godmother. We met on a mall and decided to go to The Harbour first.

Click image to view a larger picture.

Because The Harbour is quite famous to foreigners like us, the place was so busy and the people around us were busy taking pictures. It was so challenging to take pictures because we only have a digital point and shoot camera. I have to take some pictures to see the outcome before I take our actual shot and have I mentioned the heat? Just take a good look at our pictures and you'll see how wet we are. It's a good thing we have a digital camera because if it was a film camera, we would have wasted a lot of films. I was able to setup my video camera to capture the light show which started around 8pm I think.

Mong Kok, sadly I was too busy to look around and search for something I can buy so no pictures were taken (nyek!) and besides I was so tired already, I was carrying Ize's stroller, tripod, milk bottles, changing clothes for all of us and some food and drink for quick snacks. We bought some toys for Ize to play with because we didn't bring any activity book or toys with us and he often gets bored when we pause for food or fall in line on counters. Here are the rest of the pictures taken while we are on our way back to the hotel.

We were all happy and fulfilled. Next day will be our side trip to Macau! See you all on our Day 4. Thanks and God bless.

Meeting McQueen

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:38:00 +0000

I can still remember when Ize started loving (not liking) Lightning McQueen, he was 3 years old back then but up to now he still loves Lightning McQueen. When he watched Cars 2, he replayed the movie for over 100 times, he still watches the movie if its shown on the TV.

Yesterday my wife told me that he overheard two Pinoys talking about Lightning McQueen being in Toys 'R Us, the real McQueen car. She asked the two pinoys and the two guys confirmed it. I was the one actually excited for him to meet the real thing. So I decided to bring both Ize and Noah to Toys 'R Us and see if it is real. Once we got there Ize was asking to go inside immediately, I am quite surprised he didn't see McQueen on the side - he's probably affixed on what's goin' on inside the store since it was months ago since we've visited that store. I told him "Don't you want to have a picture with McQueen first?" and then he said "Oh wow!" - only two powerful words matched with a jaw-dropping expression.

Anyways, at first I was hesitant to take the picture because there was a guy with a professional camera on his hand and a security guard beside McQueen. I thought maybe they won't allow taking of pictures and taking pictures aren't free. I took a shot with my smartphone camera but they just ignored me, the picture wasn't nice because the big light is making a fuzzy effect on my camera so I decided to take out our digital camera and took a shot. Since it is night time I am having difficulties looking for the best preset to take the picture. The two guys didn't object so I continued and asked Ize to take a pose.

At last they have met. Lightning McQueen will be at Toys 'R Us for a limited time only and it's until Friday - April 27. It's a good thing we came or else its just another wishful thinking for him to finally meet Lightning McQueen.

Hongkong 2009 Vacation: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:31:00 +0000

Since we're on our way to our vacation (my exit in Saudi Arabia) this June, I try to reminisce my last vacation which was last 2009. It's been a long time since I've had a real vacation and this coming vacation, hopefully it will be good one too. We have plans on great places to go but it's another story to tell for another day. Okay let me just continue the story of our Hongkong trip.

After our Day 1 and Day 2 adventure, we figured we could use a little rest while enjoying our day. So we decided to enjoy the hotel's rooftop pool. It's not really the only thing we did for that whole day, it's just one of the things we did. We decided to start the day with a breakfast and then had fun swimming at the pool - it's relaxing and full of fun at the same time. It's like two birds in one stone.

CLICK the images to view a LARGER picture.

After having fun at the pool we went out and decided to get a peek of "The Peak". Near our hotel is the Peak Tram, it was just a bus ride to go there. What's cool is that you'll get a preview of Madame Tussauds' wax sculpture on Peak Tram terminal, Jacky Chan welcomed us there. It was amazing how they made it really life-like.

When we reached the top, we went inside the mall where you can find Madame Tussaud's wax museum. If you want to go inside it will cost you, for us we were quite content on having a picture with Jacky Chan and Bruce Lee who's just waiting for us at the museum's entrance.

We did a few browsing at the shops, funny thing is it kinda feels like you are in Greenhills, Makati-Philippines. We bought a few cute souvenirs and decided to go up "The Peak" - hey it's what we came for. Just check out the rest of the peak tram adventure we had.

And so you thought our third day would be all about relaxation, it's about to get more busy. I'll probably have to make a part 2 of the third day. For now, hope you enjoy our adventure. Don't worry, I'll do part two tomorrow or should I say later (It's morning already!). Good day to you all and God bless.

Residence Permit Application for New Babies in Saudi Arabia

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:38:00 +0000

If you are a Filipino or an expatriate in Saudi Arabia and you just had your new baby, then congratulations to you! Anyways, you might be wondering how your baby can have their iqama (residential permit). Here are things you might want to prepare before going to Jawazat:

Your baby's new passport and photocopy.
2 pcs picture (Iqama size).
Original and photocopy of Birth Certificate - Saudi issue (You can get it at Saudi Civil Service I think). If you don't have an idea what it looks like, just check the picture below.
Original Marriage Contract and photocopy (with arabic translation)
You and your wife/husband's original and photocopy of iqama.
If you have another child before that was born in the kingdom, it would be best to bring his/her original Saudi birth certificate too.
Jawazat form - get it from the front desk

Saudi Birth Certificate of Noah.

The form you'll get from them will be in arabic but do not worry, once you get your form in front, get out again and you'll find a lot of people there asking for them to do the filling-up for you. Most of these people are now using a computer so your form will now be quite neat.

I didn't pay a dime when I processed my son's iqama. I only paid 20SR for letting the people there fill-up the form. You can get the Iqama or Residential Permit the same day you have processed is so it is quite convenient. It took me around an hour to process it. So here is my son's new iqama.

Hope you find this article useful. Requirements may change so it's best to ask local friends if they have an idea of what the requirements are.

Happy 6th Birthday Ize!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Today is my son's 6th birthday and he is already so excited about his special day which will be celebrated later at 6pm til 8pm at McDonalds. This will be the first time we'll celebrate his birthday on the exact day of his special day. All preparations were done already. I've finished designing the poster and got the printout last Monday and packed the loot bags for the children as well. Last year's theme was Cars from Disney Pixar's Lightning McQueen and now since he loves to play Super Hero Squad on PS2, I made the new theme about superheroes and he immediately loved the idea. Here is the poster that I have designed.

Here are some other teasers I made.

Noah is dressed up as Superman for his older brother's 6th birthday. He is so cute.

To promote the Superhero costume contest, I used Angry Bird's Angry Heroes.

I had no idea that there was Angry Heroes until I found a shirt with this cute prints. I almost bought the shirt but I was so cheap to buy it (lol!) - I didn't like the design anyways. To all who are invited, hope to see you there later.

Ssssshhh! He has no idea of our special gift for him. He waited a long time to have this special gift - a brand new PSP. A good tip for everyone: It's a good time to buy a PSP now since PSVita has just launched and Sony just dropped PSP's price. Oh man, this just made me feel cheap again, lol!

To my son,

Happy Birthday to you. I can't ask for anything less and just hope for the best. I am always proud of you. Keep up the good work in being a good son and a good student. God bless you and we always love you.

You'll find some of my other designs at DeviantArt here.

Rise of the Guardians: Teaser Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:25:00 +0000

I may not believe in these tales but I love it when I'm watching movies about the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, etc... And the idea of putting them all together in one fantasy-comedy 3D movie makes it more interesting. Too bad, I won't be able to watch it as soon as it reaches cinema but still it is a movie I know I'll be watching with my kids. This could probably be shown before or during Christmas this year.

I enjoyed the preview and anticipating it already. Enjoy!

Experience of a Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:18:00 +0000

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. – James 1: 17 (NLT)

Being a father-at-home made me realize a lot of things and experience some great things as well. Losing a job could probably be a big deal for someone specially to a parent father - actually, at first - it was a big deal for me but time goes by I began to see great things.

Blessing of a father-children bondage

This would probably be the best ever blessing a father-at-home could ever have. I remember back when Ize (my eldest son) was still a baby, my wife is the one caring for him personally while I word at the office. I often get frustrated when I try to make Ize laugh, he just kept on ignoring me or he just don't want to react on my effort to make him laugh. With Noah (my second and youngest son) it was almost a no-effort to make him smile even to make him laugh; now Leah's the one who gets frustrated. Nothing beats the joy and happiness brought to us by our loving children.

My two cute sons. Photo taken from my new blog - Photoblog ni Noel

Jump freeze with Ize - Photoblog ni Noel

Learning new things

Yeah, you read it right. I love cooking and eating but that doesn't mean I know a lot of recipes to cook. The beauty of having an internet at home, you can learn a lot of recipes you desire with just a click of your mouse. I always liked "paksiw na isda" but never knew how to cook it so I checked on the internet how to cook it and found out that it was such an easy task. I'd probably cook this recipe more often since Ize liked it too.

I learned to appreciate the value of a housewife
I already knew before how hard it is to tidy up the house and at the same time take care of the children but I never knew it would be this hard, it's harder than I thought. Well, I am getting a hang of it though it took almost all day for me to catch up with everything. I never imagined how hard it is to manage two kids (1 baby and 1 kid) specially when both are hungry. I can manage if both child are the same age or almost a year apart but 1 crying baby and 1 clumsy kid that almost crashes everything he touch is a bit frustrating, almost drives my patience away. Thank God for giving me patience :) and for exercising it.

Anyways, here are just a few of the things I've experience for the past month. I enjoyed this wonderful experience. I am not encouraging husbands to stay at home and let their wife work but I just want you all to know that it's not so bad to be a Dad-at-home person. Wow! It took me almost a week to finish this article, I'm glad I was able to finish it - so busy. God bless you all.

Our Family Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:09:00 +0000

On my last article I've posted pictures taken by our brothers. Now I am posting some of my shots and my wife's shots. Photos are taken from my Nikon F60. I just felt a bit disappointed at the scanned film results because it would seem like my films were scraped and had some white dots on it, probably their film scanner is so dirty (grrrr!!). I'm never coming back there again even if they were the closed in the neighborhood. It's a good thing Adobe Photoshop has some cool effects to hide those scrapes and dots, I just made used of them to compliment with the damage (sigh! still disappointed).

Would you believe they have Nikon D90 and Nikon D7000 shortage (forgot this word) here in Jeddah, the shopkeeper told me most buyers were Filipinos. Anyways, if it is time for me to have my own DSLR, I'll have it. So here are our family portraits.

I love how he smiles, good thing my hands aren't shaky.

Black and white version.

Used sepia effect to make the damage look like a realistic old photo.

Oww! I love this cute baby!

Haaay! My cute son peacefully sleeps at last.

My handsome son - Ize pretends he is Sora of Kingdom Hearts.

Bonding with Dad.

New Year Eve 2012

My beautiful angels.

It's always happiness with your family.

Mom and NC.

Playtime (hand me down baby gym from his Kuya Ize)

God bless to all and thanks for viewing and visiting my blog.

Baby Pictorials

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:45:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, if I am not mistaken, some of our brothers (church mates) had a baby pictorial and we were invited to be on it - actually, Noah is one of the stars. To learn more photography techniques, I encouraged my wife to join their pictorial. Here are some sample photos taken by our brothers in Christ - Adonis and Archie. Thanks guys and God bless.

It was fun doing the pictorial. I am so excited to set my own pictorial. God bless to all.

QT10017: Psalm 56: 3-4 (God is Our Protector)

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:23:00 +0000

When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
-- Psalm 56: 3-4

Reading 2 Kings chapter 18 and 19, I was really amazed of God's power of protection to his children. That time, Assyria took over some fortified cities of Judah. Hezekiah told them they did nothing wrong and asked what do they want. After giving tribute to Assyria, they kept on challenging Judah, mocked their king-Hezekiah and his faith to God to persuade the people to join them.

If you were on Hezekiah's situation would you continue to pay tribute because you are afraid or condemn God as your protector? If you are afraid where or who do you turn to? Who would you trust?

Instead of hiding and doing more favors to the king of Assyria, Hezekiah prayed to God and continued to trust in Him. In the end of chapter 19, God answered Hezekiah's prayer. It was a success for Judah and they did not even lay a finger on them.

God told Hezekiah to continue trusting Him and he did and God did as He promised. The great thing about being on God's family is that you are always included in His promises. So if He promised to guide you, protect you and continue to provide for you - you better believe it. Remain faithful to God and He will remain faithful to His promises. He's like our father that protects their children.

God bless to all.

It's Finally Here! Baulninoel.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Baul ni Noel finally has its own ".com". It's long overdue now; my plan was to change the theme and get a domain name last December (before New Year) but my mind was full of complicated things. I've found a simple one here and try to modify it this coming weeks. Now it looks cleaner than my old theme. I'll surely miss my old header (my son - Ize's first one-page masterpiece).

This could only mean that there will be more updates soon! To all who have bookmarked or added my link to their blogrolls, please update your links now. God bless.

BNN Joined Semidoppel's Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:42:00 +0000

It has been awhile since I've joined a contest. Just for fun, I've decided to join a contest that a fellow blogger conducted. It's also my way of preparing myself for re-designing Baul ni Noel's new theme - practicing Adobe Photoshop. I've tried re-designing this blog's banner using the free application called GIMP but I was having difficulties using it so I decided to go back to Adobe Photoshop.

First, let me describe the blog "Semidoppel's Report's". The author's name is John Philip Mamaril, an anime lover like me (based on some of his blog entries). I also believe he loves to play PC games coz his first entries were mostly about his adventures in Ragnarok Online game. The blog is a mixed-bag of topics and is always updated. You'll also find some current event news there.

About the logo.
This is actually the second logo I made. The first one, what I did was separated the word "semi" from semidoppel but not knowing anything about the story behind the word semidoppel, I designed a new one maintaining the whole title.

Here is my entry for Semidoppel's Reports blog logo:

And here is how it will look like on his header:

You can find the contest details at Semidoppel's Reports blog logo if you'd like to join. You can win a LIFETIME hosting of blog domain and a t-shirt.

Update: (I decided to update the logo and put lines inside)

This contest is brought to you buy Semidoppel’s Reports sponsored by Jehzlau Concepts, and Two-Sided Perspective.

Will You Continue to Serve Him?

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

After reading a news article from Yahoo, I felt saddened but not afraid. According to the article, there were Christian Ethiopians who were performing a private prayer service when Saudi authorities raided their place. Around 35 people were detained (mixed men and women) and is now facing deportation.

It was said that men were kicked, beaten and insulted by branding them "unbelievers" while two women were strip searched by lady officers for illegal substances hidden in their body - basically their genitals. There were no words from Saudi Interior Ministry when asked for a comment.

Although it happened around mid-December last year, no news were published regarding this matter. I've looked for reports through their English online newspapers such as Arab News and Saudi Gazette but found nothing.

If this was ever true, I can only pray for all those detained people. I just hope that the Saudi government will be true to their words in giving rights to other faiths in practicing their faith because if they keep on persecuting other faiths how can they share their faith to countries abroad.

True or not, I still will serve God. Paul remained and continued to serve God even persecuted because it is where he stands. This is where I stand and believe.

image from: http://sodivinemagazine.com
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

1 Corinthians 15: 1-4

Reference: Christians 'face deportation' in Saudi Arabia.

The Five Important Baby Words, AMAZING!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:53:00 +0000

This morning I was chatting with my Mom and my sister and had an exchanged greetings. Afterwards, my sister shared a video to me about a woman who supposedly discovered 5 important words that babies say to their guardian which were actually baby's reflexes. I watched the video and was amazed at how familiar the words are to me because we always here Encee here it. So to test if it is true, I tried to memorize the words or sound's meaning.

Here they are:

neh - the baby is hungry

eh - the baby wants to burp

heh - a very common sound I hear from Encee which means discomfort, mostly about their diapers being full

owh - the baby is sleepy

eair - the baby has gas or they are having some stomach ache

After watching the video, I kept in my mind the words I've learned and try to really listen to Encee's words and was really amazed. The first words I've heard was "Neh" which means he is hungry. I gave him milk immediately and was more amazed that he really was hungry. It followed the words "eh", "heh" and "eair" and like Priscilla Dunstan said - our babies do really communicate to us and what all she said was true.

Here is the video of her being interviewed by Oprah.

Amazing isn't it? I really am going to need this since I am going to be an at home Dad from now on. God bless to all and thanks for visiting.

2011 Year of Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:43:00 +0000

I think everyone would agree when I say that year 2011 is the year of challenges for most people specially for the victims of disastrous calamities. In all my years, I can never think of any year that is as challenging as what the previous year have brought to everyone, even to me.

I remember, 2011 started with a challenge to my company's financial stability and throughout the year it has been a challenge for everyone of us - I think I've only received my salary 4x last year. My year ended with a big bang - I got terminated from my company.

Well, I actually resigned around the month of September but my resignation was denied. I'm glad they did because my wife had some serious health problems after that and to think she's all alone and has a baby coming. It was all according to His plan - it is what we always say and it really is what God had planned for us and it is the best.

I don't know how it works in any other country but here in Saudi Arabia, when you have resigned, you will only receive (I think) 1/3 of your benefits compared to the amount you'll receive when you are terminated which is 100% plus they'll pay my end-of-service calculated up to my finished contract which happens every August (yearly automatic renewal).

Year 2011 may have brought me a lot of hurtful feeling specially with regards to my company. Having no support from them on my financial issues with regards to my health insurance and even financial support so I can go to my designated office which was very far from my place (costs me about 25 SR or 270 pesos or double it if going back and forth). I ask my manager how I can go to the place if I don't have money and all he says is "I don't know but you still have to go there." and they deduct if I didn't go - was there justice to it? Was that even fair? Our company owes us around 7-8 months salary plus 3 vacation pays and tickets for me - they keep denying my vacation.

But year 2011 wasn't so bad. After all, we received one of our greatest gift - Noah Caleb. He is a great addition to the family. My wife got to open file at King Abdulaziz University Hospital and was admitted there for free - yehey!. Noah was born there and was under a photolite therapy for more than a week and my wife also has to stayed there for almost 10 days and we didn't even pay a dime nor asked for a donation money - it was a blessing. My wife also got a permanent job on a clinic nearby our house which has a very good standards with regards to paying their employees on time plus a very understanding employer - bless them dear God.

In total, we are blessed. God is good for making all things according to His plan. Now for the year 2012, I hope everything would be great. And with a starting balance of no job for me and a great family, I believe this will be an interesting year and for sure a blessed one too.

Goodbye 2011 and welcome 2012. I leave you all with an inspiration from the Bible.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" - Ecc 3: 1

God bless to all.

Merry and Peaceful Christmas to All!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:54:00 +0000

It's really hard to say thank you when you are facing a tragedy just like the typhoon Sendong which killed a lot of Filipinos in Iligan. I know a lot of people there are still mourning for their loved ones that passed-away and what's worst - they'll be spending Christmas without them.

I know this may not be the merriest Christmas of all to everyone but I still pray for everyone to feel the spirit of Christmas. Another test of unity for our countrymen. I believe we can all overcome this with each and everyone's help.

May God bless each of us this coming Christmas. And to all who lost their loved ones, I pray for their strength and blessings from God.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9: 6

God bless you all and may we all have peace in our hearts. Merry Christmas to all.

My Christmas Wishlist

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:11:00 +0000

Nineteen more days to go before Christmas and more and more people are getting into the spirit already. People nowadays are busy making their shopping lists; some are busy decorating their houses with Christmas decors and ornaments while most people are preparing recipes for their Noche Buena this coming Christmas Eve. Some are even making their lists of special things to buy for their loved ones or made their Christmas wishlist already. Christmas is the most-loved tradition and most favorite occasion among Filipinos. And because it is a tradition, most people already forget why they celebrate the occasion –they just happily celebrate.

Our pastor sent us a message through Facebook reminding us why people celebrate Christmas. Why do we really celebrate Christmas? The root word for Christmas is Christ which pertains to the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Christ is the very reason for the season.

Our new cute bundle of joy - Noah.

A Blessing of Hope

A week ago, while I was buying some decorations for our Christmas tree, an Arab lady was standing right next to me. She was looking for a very nice Christmas decoration for their wall. She approached me and asked me if I found a wall decor that has a Santa Claus in it. I showed her the one that I saw while browsing most of the store’s items. She said “Thank you and Merry Christmas”. I replied happily and said “You’re welcome and Merry Christmas to you too”. Before I went out of the store, I saw her meet another Arab lady carrying a lot of Christmas decorations and heard their conversation about what other things to put on their Christmas tree. It wasn’t the first time for me to find Arab people celebrating Christmas but I am still surprised whenever I see one. Actually, there is this happy feeling inside me whenever I see an Arab person celebrating Christmas. I must be hoping that they celebrate Christmas because of Jesus as well and hope that they are Christians and have the same blessed hope.

My Saddest and Happiest Christmas

I remember my first Christmas here in Saudi Arabia. I was still homesick that time because I just came from Manila that time. I came here in Jeddah - Saudi Arabia on the 8th of November-1998 so you can imagine how sad I was to be celebrating Christmas far from my family. I was beginning to get used to the new people around me when the news of us going to Riyadh came. To make the story short, the four of us (Filipinos mostly – Jon, Waltz, Jef and I) were sent to Riyadh and we went there to finish a project that was started before I even came. It was my saddest Christmas ever and to make it worst, we extended our time there until after New Year so it was also my saddest New Year ever.

Our two wonderful gifts from God.

Fast forward to the present, I am still here in Saudi Arabia but I am not going to be sad this time. This time, it’ll be my happiest Christmas ever. God gave us a very special gift in advance and we are happy to have him with us. Noah Caleb “EnCee”, as most of you know, came to us earlier than we expected and we were very thankful to God for giving EnCee safely to us. I am so blessed to have my family with me that is why even though we went through a lot this year, we are happy because it is not usual for an OFW – Overseas Filipino Worker to have their family with them.

Yesterday, I read about Samsung's new promotion for coming Christmas and it was actually what inspired me to do this article. How, I wish my wishlist to be among the digitally drawn wishlist. I asked my son Ize what he wanted for Christmas and guess what he asked for? A PS3, PSP or an XBOX 360 - he actually read my wishlist in my mind (lol!). Actually, two things kept on battling on my head - a brand new Nikon D7000 or a new laptop but both are optional since we are in a very tight budget.

One Christmas Wish for All

Their is one particular wish I have on my list this coming Christmas. I hope and pray for all to have a very blessed Christmas. Family is still the best medicine for conquering sadness this Christmas. So for all OFWs celebrating Christmas far from their family, it is best to equip yourself financially by earning enough at least to make a phone call and have a quite long conversation with your love ones or have a chat with them. God bless.

Car Troubles That Will Make You Think!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:43:00 +0000

I found some funny photos I like to share to everyone. Here are car troubles that will make you think "What or How did it happen?".

Worst parking ever.

Look hon, it's a flying cow!

I know what you are thinking.... how?

The first car probably has great breaks.

Alright kids, just sit quietly at the back please, that is if you find the backseat.

Edward, I think I found the problem.

Ugghh... I probably can't think of anything if this was my car.

Okay, that's it for now. Have a happy day guys.

Happy Birthday Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:17:00 +0000

I would like to greet my ever dearest Mom a very Happy Birthday.

We've been through thick and thin before and now we are both thin (chubby lol!) - we are still here. We've been through difficult times and still is probably but I know in my heart that we'll get over it soon (hope pretty soon). Slowly but surely. We may not be in control of the bad situations happening around us but God will not allow His children to suffer.

It's been a long time since we have seen each other or been together but I know in God's grace we'll all be together. I miss all the fun and laughter we had with Candy and Tonton.

I thank God for making you strong and I am praying for you to be more stronger. I can only offer my prayers for now but I promise to help in every way I can. Now there is a new member of the family that will love you too. Hope we'll be able to have our vacation there so you can enjoy a time with your new grandson - Noah Caleb.

My beautiful Mom.

Always remember that we love you always and always remember what God said in the Bible on Heb 13: 5 - "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." Have faith, God will not abandon us.

Love, Life and Marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:11:00 +0000

It has been brought to my attention through mail that Facebook's Notes will be removed soon. True or not, I decided to check if I have some important notes that I should back-up and while doing so, I found this old note I made dated December 14, 2009. This was supposedly a response to a note made by a friend about her experience in her past relationship (marriage) that has gone wrong. I feel sad about what happened to her and I can't say anything negative or even judge her since it is how she believe what Love, Life and Marriage is to her. I do hope the best for her. Best-friend Ilyana! Hope you are doing great where ever you are and hope your love-life is great. And before they delete my notes, I wish to share to all my visitors and hope they share the same view as I am. I still believe in my statements below. This is a perception in general and not just because I am a Christian.

image from Flawboard

Marriage is when a man and woman decides to be one. Marriage doesn't work one-sided, it should be worked-out by both parties like you said.

When one acts on his own for his own desire then marriage will start having problems. Why? Because they are already acting individually and not as one.That is why, when one wants or desires something for his/her own the other should know so they can both decide as one, understanding should be there.

Fall-out-of-love happens during the time one acts individually, only thinking of their self. And when this happens, it doesn't mean the end of the relationship or marriage, it means the relationship needs FELLOWSHIP. They should start practicing the marriage once again by making actions as one. When they start to enjoy their renewed fellowship, falling-in-love can happen once again because love was there already, just covered by our own selfishness. Both should submit in the idea of making actions as one and making the marriage work again, if not then the danger comes.

Marriage is not like a light bulb that when the light starts to flicker, you must buy a new one. Great thing about marriage is if both submits to the idea of making the marriage work, the success of marriage is always there even in the midst of crisis.

Marriage failure happens when their foundation starts to fall. If your marriage is founded by happiness, it will fall once problem occur. Same goes with marriage founded by money or wealth, if wealth is gone then marriage will fall. So the secret to marriage was always the foundation.

What is the best foundation then?

Being a Christian, God founded my marriage. When something happens, we both reach out to Him by prayer and make our decisions wisely as if God is in the middle of our conversation. Of course having God in the middle makes the conversation mild and less provocation to one another.

I also found people who grew old together in their marriage who aren't christians. Their secret, they founded their relationship with their friendship. Treat your partner as if he/she is your best friend, no secrets. If you can make your friendship last longer, why not your marriage. Highly applicable to Christians as well.

Did you marry the right person?

Well, before you decided to get married you have answered this already. The only difference this time is you've known each other better and you've seen the bad side of the other person.

Like I said earlier, the foundation is very important in making the marriage work. If you married that person because you just believe he/she is the one then your marriage is already bound to fail. Why? Because if you continue to ask that question during marriage or while your marriage is in crisis, then that means you still have doubts. That is why one should eliminate these thoughts before deciding to get married.

You said marriage is a career, in some way it is. If you don't practice your career, you will not excel but if you practice it very well - PERFECTION!

Well, it is just my opinion. God bless to all.

I just noticed today, this post is this blog's 200th post.

11-11-11: Welcome to our Family, Noah Caleb!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:47:00 +0000

I am supposed to be sleeping now but I can't help but to blog this great moment so here it goes. Today another great blessing has come to us and the gift came in a very small package. Today, my beloved wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy and we named him Noah Caleb and his cousin Ate Guian just gaved him a nickname already "NC" and thus his nickname shall be "Encee".

Wednesday morning around 7:30 am, during my sleep and while I was rolling my lazy and sleepy and slender (bwahaha!) body on my son's side I heared Leah said "Dad, dinudugo ako!" (Dad, I am bleeding!). Immediately, I stood up and said "Hah!". When your wife is pregnant, those words can't be ignored because it is not a small deal. I asked her how she feels and decided to wake up completely. After that I went to the other room and prepared to pack-up things so we could go to the hospital. When I came back she said that maybe if she didn't move and just lie down, it will go away. It never went away and one more thing happened, her water broke. It is not her due yet because tentatively, the baby's due is around 2nd week of December.

To make it short, we went to the hospital and prepared ourselves to a probable early birth of Noah (we already thought of this name before). When the doctor checked her she was already 2cm and water is still gushing out of her. Fast forward again (Sorry, I am getting sleepy now), she was admitted. The doctor told us that she'll be undergoing an induced labor because if the water continues to flow it will be very dangerous for the baby to stay without water.

Fast forward again, 2:22 am November 11, 2011 or 11-11-11 when Noah Caleb "Encee" Libed Ablon came out. He was so eager to meet us already, probably jealous of us laughing altogether while he continues to swim on his mom's womb. I heard him cry loudly, probably wanting to ease our worries and saying "I am healthy so quit worrying!"

Thank you dear Lord for your wonderful surprise and for ending my wife's burden. We hope and pray for her continued good health and the baby's good health too. Here are the photos and more to come.

By the way, thank to all the brothers and sisters who visited us awhile ago. To all the people who prayed and support us, God bless and thank you.

Night Out with Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:01:00 +0000

28th of October-2011, One fine Friday in Jeddah. After a long stay-in at home, Leah has fully recovered and to celebrate it, we went to family's favorite dine-in restaurant, Applebee's. Here in Jeddah, the nearest branch to us is located along Andalus Street near US Embassy. Wow! I suddenly realized why famous international restaurants were located around Andalus area.

When I told Ize that we'll be going outside and going to Applebee's, he was quite excited and asked if his mom was coming along with us. I assured him that his mom will be coming with us and he was so happy. It's been a long time since we all went out together.

We ordered Leah's favorite - Oriental Chicken Salad, Ize's favorite - Chicken Quesadilla and as for me, I ordered something new like their Double-Glazed Baby Back Ribs and tried their Strawberry Daiquiri if I remember correctly.

As usual, we enjoyed the food and the ambience. We loved the baby back ribs, it was very tasty and nicely cooked. The Strawberry Daiquiri however didn't work for me. The minty taste combined with strawberry didn't go well for my taste and I still prefer their bottomless Iced Tea. It's a good thing my Omnia 2's camera is fixed, we were able to capture the moment and here they are:

Before we went home, we decided to drop by at Tihama Bookstore to check out books to read and I was able to buy a new dictionary with thesaurus and a grammar quiz booklet to test and to hopefully sharpen my grammar skills (hope I pass lol!).

I just thank God Leah's doing great, I am hoping and praying for her continued good health. I am also glad the baby is doing fine. We all went home happy and very satisfied. Hope you have a great day ang God bless to everyone.

Tired but Happy!

noreply@blogger.com (Noel) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:12:00 +0000

Tiring day or should I say tiring month. Because of the deadline plus my wife's condition I wasn't able to have a complete rest everyday-I feel so restless. I am not frustrated just tired but I am glad and thankful to God that we were able to finish this week with so much achievements. First, to my work and then to my family.

We were able to open up a file at the King Abdulaziz University Hospital for my wife. King Abdulaziz University is a school for medical practitioners here in Jeddah or probably in the whole kingdom. It's a great blessing to be accepted at that hospital because we won't have to worry about any expenses anymore since it's all free. Prayers are really so powerful and I would like to thank all who prayed for my wife. She's doing great now - thank God.

I admit, I kinda felt numb these days on what is happening around me. Like for instance, even though we experience difficulties there aren't any heavy feelings within me. And like now, I feel the tired but I don't feel sad about these difficulties. I don't know if it is positive or a negative thing. I think God made me not feel these burdens so I could concentrate on what I can do and not on what I can't do. We know that when a person is being pressured, they panic and start to think of what they can't do and be frustrated about it.

I did almost everything at home like cooking, washing the dishes, washing the dirty clothes, ironing clothes, preparing Ize to go to school, etc... plus my work. I was just glad that my boss allowed me to work at home. I never imagined it is such a hard job working at home. In case you are wondering why I am doing all this stuff, my wife got another blood clot and the doctor strictly told us for her not to work and even walk. Here is an info about her health problem - check it here.

Before I was wondering what God is trying to teach me or us (me and my wife). But now I realized that God taught me these things:

This was taken at Baksh Hospital when Leah was confined.

Trust - I do trust God but He made me realize that all things are possible and he will never ever leave you or neglect you.

Prayers do work - like I said, God listens. Sometimes He just wants to hear what we need. Ask him diligently in prayer. And of course with the prayers of your friends.

Faithfulness - God was so faithful even if we weren't faithful to Him.

He works in mysterious way - like when the time when we were in the university, the assigned doctor was too lazy. From the time he went on his schedule he up to the time he ended his shift, he only accepted three or four patients of all the 30 people (I think) that came. We were only accommodated before that doctor ended his shift and was endorsed immediately to the next doctor who was accommodating and was more willing to help us. He was the one who approved and made the recommendation for us to open a file at the university which is quite hard to achieve there.

For short, I am dead tired but I am happy. Thank you God for such blessings. God bless to all.