Joy that Christmas brings...

Christmas always brings something special to me. Its as if the world pauses for a moment to reflect on the year that just passed, whether its been good or not so good. But one of my favorite things is when special things happen that would not happen other times- families and friends come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. To some it might be the only time they'll ever go to church or think of doing a good deed for someone in need. To others it might be the only day that people set aside their differences and just enjoy the wonderful moment this season brings. Though it may seem strange that these things only happen on Christmas (wherein it should have been happening all the time), for me, at least it happens.

In this season, my heart and my prayers go out to families...Families who have experienced tragedy in the past year, whether a lost of a loved one, a job, their home or anything else they hold dear; families who are broken, who are in despair because of an emotional disconnect within their relationships, especially to the children that suffer from their parents separation; families who have everything in the physical but lack in their love for one another, and also for families who choose to love one another in spite of the hardships and misunderstandings. I pray that God's agape love may truly abound in this season and the rest of the year to come...because only God's love never fails... :)

Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Blessed New Year to you and your family!!!

My light bulb moment!

Usually finals week is a crazy time in a college student's life. But for us grad students, its a bit different....its more difficult! Luckily though my classes took our finals earlier than the usual schedule. I'm really glad about that...gives me more time to relax before next semester. But in preparing for one of the finals I had for my classes, I discovered something amazing...I found a new way that's effective for me to remember important points on an essay or just to see how things connect! Usually I just do the old outline since that's what we're usually taught in school, right? But for this one, I found that flowcharts or graphic organizers are much better in organizing ideas. I'm a visual learner. I need to see things as a whole to make sense of something. I'm also a kinesthetic learner. I need to do it myself so I can learn it. The act of drawing arrows, shapes and connecting lines and using colors gives a better handle on the topic at hand. Plus, its easier for me to remember things because my memory remembers things like a picture instead of just words. I have to almost picture the page in my head to remember what I have studied earlier. I wish I discovered this technique earlier, but I'm glad I didn't discover it the semester I'm finishing the credential program. So hopefully, next time, when I do my essays and other papers, I'll know what I need to get it done...a big sheet of paper, a pencil, an eraser and some colors/highlighters.

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Thanksgiving weekend was awesome! It just came at the right time after I finished writing my papers. My professors were so nice to have us stress about them before the long weekend. I was glad for them to be turned in.

This thanksgiving, it was great to have a break from all the daily school stuff that needs to be done and the house chores that need to be taken cared of...etc. This time around, my family went to my cousin's house for 3 days! We had a blast! Sometimes when we have these family get togethers, it always feels like its not enough time. So we decided to do a sleepover. Of course we had the food too! (Food is the main thing!) But it was a Filipino style of thanksgiving. Our turkey was a gift from a family friend but it was a whole one it was just pieces to the whole thing, but that was good because our main thing was the ham! It was fabulous! My cousin's wife made it with her own special recipe sauce. I had to take some home to go.

Besides the food, we played video games, like Guitar Hero and this web cam thing where you see yourself in the screen and you become a part of the game. My son loved it! But we all look really silly when you just see us plainly as it is:) We watched movies like Spiderwick Chronicles and Mummy 3. Everything went great except the last day. My son, myself and my sister got really sick. Throwing up all day and couldn't really eat well. But thank God we were all better on Sunday.

This thanksgiving was really all about the family. The times we spend with each other is priceless. Those moments are always worth remembering.