Juan Paolo Andre

Here are some of Juan Paolo Andre M. Agustin's (or Polo for short) first pictures

4D Ultra sound at 7 months

He looks like an angel to me! :)

Awwww..look at him feeling safe in his mother's arm! :)

.......more picture soon

A Short one

"If you can! Everything is possible to one who has faith!" MK9: 14-29


We are done with all the shopping for our son's arrival. Everything is in order and we are just patiently waiting for Juan Paolo Andre to spring out to this world. The grandparents from both sides are full of excitement. Boxes will arrive from US and it mostly has his things in it. Our room now is already filled with Polo's stuff. Thanks to my in-laws, Polo has his own place in the room already. A wooden-white crib! : ). Jopay and I assembled it last Saturday night. Our friends from Smart on the other hand gave Polo his own car (stroller). Great! He has his own cabinet since his clothes are already pushing my clothes out of our cabinet. Ok, Polo. You may come now! :)

I breathe in the goodness of this world
As I breathe out the things of past
Renew my heart today, Lord
Strenghten my spirit

Amen

Poem or letter

You are always in my mind
Not a single day that I have not thought of you
Every where I look I place a mental image of you
To see you, would bring much joy to all of us

I read to you three different magical stories last night
I knew you were listening as I felt your kick in your Mommy's womb
After our story telling, I spent an hour or so
Imagining the things we are going to do

I filled in the gaps but I know later on
You will be part of the decision making
I guess I will enjoy everything while you are still a child
A time will come when I have to let go of you

That will be, hmmmm maybe the middle chapter already
I will not jump into that yet
Today and while you are still a child
We will do things together

In the later part of your childhood I hope to guide you
I hope impart to you wisdom and help you
I wish you to be independent and later on interdependent
Then you are ready to go into this world

There are just two important lessons in life
that I wish you will take with you as grow up

One. To love and honor God with all of you heart, soul and mind
Allow Him to be your true Father
I wish that you will establish a personal relationship with him
and feel His comforting life to surround you.

Two. My child, love your mother. Never miss a day without letting her know
How much you love her and how much you appreciate her. Let her know how beautiful she is
Not only from the outside but in the inside as well. Take care of her until she grows old and weary. I'm telling you. She is not difficult to love. It is so easy. Just look at her and you will see what I mean.

Life they say is too short. I guess it is
So, when you come on board.
We will have fun and enjoy this life
We will make beautiful memories together.

I love you.

I am Sick

I am sick since yesterday and I shouldn't be sick. I have to be strong and healthy especially in the days to come. I have a flu. It is really hard when the weather is so hot then suddenly be in a room that is so cold. I just felt getting sick the other night. It isn't a full blown sickeness since I'm hoping that I will be cured by the meds that I am having now. Though, I think rest is still the best remedy of all. I have to rest. It is useless to work feeling this way. No energy.

Chili, our fish I think is dead. I saw her aquarium empty this morning, without water. :( The thing is, no one has yet informed us whatever happens to our little fish. She lived a long life. Several people told me before that fish like that will only last for just a few months. She lived for more than a year. Well, I knew that she has changed from a bright colored fish (that's why she is Chili) to a white one. She has done her purpose in our lives. Her presence helped us relax after a tiring day. The children loved looking at her and later on she became part of the sala. A bigger, wider world for her! Wher ever you are Chili, thank you so much for your stay! :) We are happy to have had you in our life. Too bad, our son Polo wasn't able to see you anymore. Maybe another fish will come!

Josephine and I went to the cemetery last Saturday to visit my grandfather, Papang. It took myabe ten minutest before I was able to find his tombstone. He died when I was still young but I can remember being in his boat! Yup, he is a Captain! I introduced our little one to this great man. Polo is named after two great men. One a Captain (my lolo) and the other one a Principled Lawyer (Josephine's lolo). If one day Polo asks us why he was named Paolo and Andre then we can proudly explain to him where his names (he will have three names) came from. I do hope that he will be able to live a life like his great grandfathers! I was just surprised to find out though that my father (Igmidio) was named after his grandfather (Emihio). My dad became Igmidio because of his gradeschool teacher but it his birth certificate it was Emihio. Imagine, I continued something that I wasn't aware of.

just some notes:

1. TK, thanks for your comments. How lovely are the ladies in your life! I have shared your blog to my wife and we both agreed that they are indeed little cute Princesses! May God continue to shower you with His blessings!

2. Tin - his name will be, Juan Paolo Andre M. Agustin and the number 7? :) it happened last Friday. It is promising so please pray for us and someday I can freely share it with you. Basta, I was very happy after it happened and now I have to wait.

3. Pia - ey, Amori is now a starbucks baby? :) how cute!

4. Others: my other readers from the different parts of this world. Please feel free to drop a comment or two. :)

thank you all!

Ephphata! (Be Opened)

That was part of the gospel reading (Mk 7:31-37) that struck me. Jesus cured a deaf man by saying ephphata! The gospels lately were all about healing. It is a good time to pray for others who are sick. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For sure, His mercy will be given to those who seek and believed. Have faith my friends! Seek the healer just like the mother of a dead girl, or the woman who was bleeding for years. Jesus performed miracles to all of them. Even to the Gentiles.

I chased the wind to all corners of the world
I followed the waves until it disappear in the shore
I counted the stars only to find more
Nothing worth pursuing

Unless
You stand on your own
Define your heart's desire
Align yourself to God's plan for you
Follow Him follow Him

Our hearts belong to God
It knows His voice
A voice full of hope and compassion
Set your heart free

Then bow to your knees at the end of the day
In humility, give back to God the glory
Accept in open arms His guidance
and rest in His arms

Two weeks and six days

If you've been following my stork updates, you will notice that the little Pilot is nearing its destination, "Welcome to your life". I can't wait to hold you in my arms. To spend sleepless nights with you. I really, really, really won't mind. For me as early as now, I see it as my an opportunity to be close to my son. A time to get to know him and to imprint in my mind his little face and create every situation into beautiful memories. I'm lucky I have this blog because later on, he will be able to read our story. I can imagine myself feeding him while I watch over him or simply watching tv or playing PS2. Whatever. It will be a grand time for both of us. I promise you that Little Mr. Agustin!

I'm exited with so many things unfolding before my eyes. And, it is just February! Truly, God is in our midst. He is here. February has so many events to attend to. I think I mentioned it before but I want to repeat it. 1. Jaz's bday. 2. Lunch with family (Agustin and Mara) 3. End of Pre natal class. 4. Baves' wedding 5. Ethan's first birthday 6. Of course, a chance that Mr. Polo will be delivered this month. 7. An --------- from a dream ---! :) Go figure it out.

Then March will come. Hmmmm.. I will just wait for March to come before I say anything about it. We are so busy this Feb that I should just keep my focus here in the present moment.

I have a question. Is coffee really good for your body? Or, is it bad? I am a coffee drinker. Three full mugs a day. I think it is good but I realized that I might be getting addicted to caffeine. I dont want that! I decided not to drink anymore coffee before sleeping (it has no effect on my sleeping). I will lessen my coffee intake. Promise. Like when I gave up drinking softdrinks. At first it was really difficult because I long for it. Now, I am not sure what part of my brain just decided to boycott softdrink drinking. I don't look for it anymore.

Simple Day

I silence my heart today
Let myself be quiet even for just a while
It is in this moment when I hear You clearly

Not only in the night when I usually call You
Not when the lights are out
But right now, I want You to be with me

Work with me. Coach me. Lead me.
I bring You here and allow You to be near me
Let Your wisdom overcome my arrogance
Humble me and teach me patience

I am comforted with Your presence
It makes me more confident, knowing I will never go wrong
I only have to follow You
My Lord, My God

The little boy is near

"Few more weeks to go, Mom". Finally, our little child will be out of your tummy. I'm sure carrying him for more than nine months brought so much change in you. Physical and emotional. What a sacrifice you have done to bear our child. You never have been or will ever be categorized as a difficult pregnant woman. Nope. I never experienced any extra ordinary requests that required extra ordinary effort from me nor from anyone.

The long wait is about to end and your sacrifice will be forever appreciated and remembered especially by me. I will live as a father teaching our son (or children) to love you and respect you forever. You will always have a special place in our hearts.

When the day of the delivery comes, I will just be on your side. To give you the support more than I have ever given you. It will be all about you and our son. I will take care of you guys as I ought to do. I am not afraid to enter this fatherhood because I know I am guided by our Father above. I am ready.

The countdown has begun and as the days pass by I am but all excited. I am thrilled to imagine how our little room will be in chaos, full of baby clothes, bottles, crib etc etc., I am happy to live in such chaos. I'm sure it will not bring the grouchiness in me but instead just pure joy. Something I have never experienced before. I am also excited to hear our son's first cry and laughter, giggles. Yeah, I can't wait to see him.

I love you my dear Josephine and thank you so much for bearing our child.

Relaxation technique by Josephine

January is over. Good bye! I kept myself busy but maybe not enough. Or maybe it was. There were times that I have so many concerns inside my head. If you split my brain into two, there you will see all the things that beg for my attention. There was a time when I asked Josephine what she was thinking because she was just staring blankly. I was intringue to know of course. It could be a problem or something. She said, "Nothing". Can that be possible??? (Nope, we weren't fighting or had an argument before the blank stares). I asked more and probe what exactly was she thinking. Still she said nothing. She wasn't thinking of anything at all. I can't believe it. If I stop talking and be quiet, most probably I would spend it thinking of something. What I have done so far in that day, my plans, concerns, funny things, what kept me busy, basketball games, politics, problems of the world... etc etc., in other words I have so many uncessary "thought issues" that are sometimes unnecessary. Yeah, it is good to know but sometimes I must learn not to entertain such thoughts. Live for the moment.

Anyway, going back to my wife. Ok, what was Josephine thinking at that moment? She shared to me her thought at last. She said that she is glad that she is home on a soft bed resting and it feels good to by just lying and relaxing. Not having to think of anything important but to rest. Whoa. whoa. whoa whoa.... I never did that ever! Whenever I am about to sleep I think of...you know the story.. so that's the reason why my wife can sleep peacefully in a jeepy. Imagine I learned something simple and yet so important. I felt sad that all throughout my life, that's not how I sleep. I should learn to relax then.

I'm happy that my YM is back. I can chat with my sister, Mariel once again. Almost five long years since I've last seen her. She is now 14 yrs old. Good thing is allowed to use the internet and I have access in the office too. Hmmmm... I feel that she is doing fine. She has straight A's. I haven't heard any complaints from our parents. Unlike me when I was still young.. hahhahahahaahahhahaha.. I was there headache. But I want to believe that I turned out ok eventually. :)

Time to end it. Thank you, Lord for January and I love everything that I learned during that month and I welcome February. There is so much to look for this month. Feb. 2 will be our 8 yr anniversary as bf/gf. The day when we both gave our commitment to one another. Feb. 7 is Princess' birthday and how time flies. She's an adult now. Feb. 14 is Valentines day. And Who knows, maybe this month Polo will arrive. :)