Life without JESUS.

I am very blessed and will be forever thankful that I grew up in a Christ centered home. My family and I goes to church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesdays. My siblings and I studied in a school that also teaches about God. Most of my friends has the same values and faith as I do. And it's the life I would never trade for anything in this world. I cannot imagine my life without JESUS.

Do not get me wrong though, there were many trials... I cried many times. Life is not perfect. My parents was not in good terms and lived separately for almost 8 years. My older sister and I were also separated from my Mom and two younger siblings. I had to learn to do everything by myself and dealt with other issues in my life alone at a young age. But you see, life with Jesus is full of surprises! After being away and separated, we were all reunited again. My parents reconciled and decided to start over agin. We are now unseparable.

At 16 years of age, I was diagnosed with a mild  rheumatic heart fever. I had to get shots 💉 in my upper butt every month with this super painful medication. I was advised to watch my emotions that when I get too sad or too happy, it can affect negatively to my heart and health. But then again, life with Jesus is full of miracles! Having said that, this is not only the situation that God did a miracles in my life. Countless times. A year after, upon migrating here in the US with my family. Doctor did a test on me and found none. Everything was normal!

Last year, one of my dreams came true! I was able to visit London, Greece and Germany! Yes, I was in Europe! I never imagined or thought that it would actually happen. I'm a full time Mom and I don't have a regular income. I remembered seeing some of my friends' Europe pictures on Facebook and Instagram and telling myself that, "Oh I pray!". Again, life with Jesus is exciting! Today, you could be dreaming and tomorrow, He's making it happen!

I could go on and on.. so life without Jesus, is nothing. It's pointless and worthless. My prayer today is for you, my reader, to experience life with Jesus. I assure you that it is the best decision you will ever make! Feel free to send me private message if you would like me to pray for you. God Bless! Life is short. Start living your life with God and win every battle here on Earth!

In Christ's Alone,
Glenda 💕

Still Alive!

What isssssssss up blogsphere?! I'm still alive! PRAISE GOD! Wow, my last update was 2012? Seriously? I can't believe I didn't get to post any for last year. Well, I guess that gives an idea how my 2013 was?! Yup, it was pretty hectic, crazy good and bad, and definitely one of the most challenging years for me! I will try my very best to share the highlights of my 2013, but I will have a separate blog for it. For now, I'm just so happy to be back here. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all my fellow bloggers. Thank you so much to those who continue to visit my page. God Bless you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLLMzr3PFgk

randomness.

- There are things I wasn't able to do before I got married and have my own family, but none of those matter anymore now. Everyday I am the happiest and blessed wife and mother... I love every moment of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world.

- I will be forever thankful to GOD that He helped my parents to raise me and my siblings to have Him in our hearts! I wouldn't know what my life would be if I didn't have Jesus in my heart and life. It's amazing to be God's child.

- I go to church every Sunday and talk about God not because I'm holy. I go to church because I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, I'm weak without Him and I believe that only Jesus can help/save me. I talk about Him because I want others to know and feel the same assurance, comfort, and unconditional love God has been giving me. Life is not about getting the things I want or doing things I wish to do. I may get everything I desire and still feel empty and dissatisfied. It is only my relationship with Him that will matter in the end.

- I'm so glad that my husband is great in money handling and budgeting. We'd be totally broke if he isn't. LOL

- I wonder if I can still conceive or if I would survive having another child. HAHA Sometimes, I get a little jealous seeing other mother who has 2 or 3 children. Maybe another boy or girl, it doesn't really matter. I think it's fun to have a big family! LOL But then, can I skip the labor and delivery part if it happens again?

- I want to go back to school and study photography or culinary. I wonder if they offer online classes for those courses?!

- Our family vacation to Hawaii is finally booked. Oh I am very excited! Then, in August or December I hope we can go Disneyland and Universal Studio. I'm sure Jyle would have so much fun there! Yay!

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Thankful.

One of the many things I am thankful for is my FAMILY OF ORIGIN. In my 25 years of existence, they never failed to shower me with unconditional love. They are patient with me and their support for me is unending. I will never exchange them for anything in this world. I truly treasure every hour, minute, second I spent with them. I pray that God would give us mooooore years to spend together. I am happy because I know that I have them ‘til the end and I am here for them too no matter what. I love them so much!

I also thank God for Jyle, God’s most precious gift to me! When Jyle came into my life, a lot of things have changed! I became more driven, more loving, more patient. I became a stronger and better person. God revealed His love for me in a whole new way through my son. I will be forever thankful to Him for giving me a handsome and very loving son!

Last but certainly not the least, I thank God for my handsome bestfriend and lifetime partner, Jason. Everyday I thank God for giving Jason to me. He is very hardworking, understanding, patient, caring and loving. These are just a few of his traits that make me want to love him more and more.

-Glenda J.

Cooking

Cooking is something I never thought I would love to do. When I was young, I 'hate' doing house chores, specifically cooking! Yes, I know 'hate' is a strong word, but I think that's the right word to describe how I feel whenever my mom, dad, or older sister would ask me to do something in the house back then. I just thought it's complicated and so not for me.

Then things changed when we migrated here in the States. My parents worked double job 7 days a week, and I was left with my two younger siblings in the house everyday. I must admit, it wasn't fun at all. I mean, I honestly think we are starving! HAHA I got tired of eating the same thing over and over again. My mom would cook food for us before she leaves for work in the morning, and that's basically our food for the whole day. We had to re-heat it and or instead, we can just eat can foods like tuna, sardines, corned beef, sausage, and spam. Well, for my younger brother that's probably not a problem at all, because those are his favorites. But, for me and my younger sister, it's not something we can EAT everyday. We get sick of it!

Long story short, I finally realized that I had to help my parents out to look and care after my siblings more, most especially when we're left in the house alone. So one day, I just woke up and started researching for recipes online... practiced it and little did I know, I'll be able to reach this point where I actually want to go back to school and study culinary. Yay! :)

It feels great whenever my sister and brother would finish the food I cooked or when they would say how delicious it was. It motivates and encourages me more to prepare a good meal for them. Now, I can say that cooking has become part of my daily routine. It's like I feel crippled not being able to do it. :) Funny! I know! Anyway, I really hope I can go back to school and learn more... I dream of having my own cooking book someday. ;)
Happy cooking everyone! God Bless!

-Glenda J.

His name is Xian Jyle.

When I found out that I was pregnant, I was shocked. I was shocked not because I didn't like it. It's because I didn't expect God would give me this kind of blessing, despite of everything I've done wrong to Him. I feel like I don't deserve something precious and beautiful like this. There are a lot of things going through my mind at that time and I was super scared. I know that God gave me this baby for a reason... for a wonderful reason.

Please don't get me wrong, I love babies and children and I've been dreaming of having one of my own too, but just not too soon. Not this soon. I just felt like Jason and I are both not ready with all the responsibilities yet, since we're newly weds... It's just scary because I know that this baby isn't really my property, I'm just a care taker. So thinking about all the responsibilities scares me a lot. I'm not sure if I can raise him well.

But I guess, God must've really seen something in me and Jason for us to qualify to be the parents of this baby... or for me to be his mother. I believe that if God has entrusted me with something like this, it only means that he believes in me and that He wants me to learn something from this experience. So who am I to question God's decisions?!

Xian Jyle, my son, is now 8 months old and yet whenever I looked at him, I still feel like it was just yesterday when he was kicking inside me. Time flies so fast! I'm still amazed with everything that has happened, from giving birth and now raising this healthy, very sweet, and handsome baby boy. For the past months, I've learned a lot! I've learned that being a mother/parent is something you cant just easily say, "forget it!" or "I quit!". It takes and needs a lot of patience, courage, hard work, dedication, understanding, care, love, etc. It's definitely life changing!

...while I'm in labor

Waking up every morning with my husband Jason and my son Xian Jyle next to me, IS a blessing! Looking back from everything I've been through, now I realized that this is really something that I've been wanting to be from the beginning, to be a MOMMY! I love and enjoy EVERYTHING about it and it's just making me a stronger and better person everyday! I am grateful! :)

Yes, it's a very tough job! But, it's also very REWARDING & FULFILLING! Something I wouldn't trade for anything in this world! So help me pray fellow blogger friends! May God give me wisdom and strength as I now raise this baby! May He help me and Jason to equip Jyle and lead him to fulfill his purpose in this world.

ALL the sleepless nights and tiring days are all worth it!



Indeed, BABIES brings not just happiness, BUT joy.

Isn't he adorable?



He enjoys taking pictures too, like Mommy! :)

-Glenda J.

Our FIRST Wedding Anniversary Celebration!

Looking at the picture above reminded me of all the things we've been through... how everything started. Like how we became good friends back in high school, how he wanted me to be his Senior prom date, how he courted me, his reaction when I said I liked him too, how we explored places and things together, how we dreamed dreams together, and the list could go on. I still cannot believe that we are now married and already passed one year. God is really good!

Since we got married, our life has also become very busy and I really appreciate the fact that Jason still manages to do unexpected things for us to be able to have our quality time together or so we can at least be together. I love that he comes home everyday for lunch just so we can still eat together. I love that even if he's already sleepy and tired from work, he still watches my shows with me. I love that he now texts/calls/chats with me more than he ever did before. He tells me how he misses and loves me even when he is at work. Most importantly, I love that he gave up his Sunday work so he can go to church with the family. I am very proud of Jason because he has matured a lot.

I was also surprised with all the changes that happened to me since I got married. I believe that one of the biggest changes that happened to me is that I have more patience now in everything. I don't yell, shout, or say bad things anymore when I'm mad. HAHA or like say freely that I don't like the person that pissed me off! (I hope my family and friends who would be able to read this would agree.) Well okay, I still do sometimes. But I'm just saying, I have more control over my emotions now. :) I noticed too that I don't spend much money anymore with things that I don't really need. I mean, with the things that I just 'want'. Also, I am now learning to say sorry. Yes, I admit. When it comes to my family and Jason, it's always hard for me to apologize for the things I've done wrong. I guess because of the fact that they are my family and I know they would forgive me anyway, so I just let it go. But now, I have a better understanding of how important it is to say 'sorry'...

After a year of being married, I have no complaints at all. We've encountered numerous obstacles, but we survived and I know we'll continue to surpass them all! Jason's character, his unfailing understanding towards me, his endless patience, and his immeasurable love for me are also the reasons why everyday I can SMILE, despite of all those trials. I am very blessed to have such a superman husband and I thank GOD for He never fails to take care of Jason!

I am excited and looking forward for many more happy and meaningful years with my husband!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, ASAWA KO!

Moving on, this is where my handsome husband brought me for our first year Wedding Anniversary dinner. I must say, from the beautiful exterior, luxurious interior, friendly receptionist, knowledgeable server, to sophisticated and delicious menu/food, this is so far one of the best restaurants I've ever been to in the bay area. I give them 5 stars! :)



From the moment we entered the restaurant, Jason and I already felt the difference... we knew it'll be a very interesting and fun experience for us. We can tell that the people who go there are from well off families. Most of them were wearing signature clothes. We're like those couples in romantic comedy movies, who enjoy their adventure in a place they don't really belong, while getting to know each other. HAHA I don't know. It was an unforgettable night. We were just talking about a lot of great things that happened to us in the past years, what we look forward to in the future, and many more. We had a really wonderful time! I loved every minute of it! I love 'US' time! :)



Our drinks: fruit cocktail and Italian raspberry



Our appetizer: tempura short ribs
The meat is tender and the breading is super crispy. It's super yummy!




Our side dish: garlic fries and mashed potato



Husband's food: New York Steak



My food: Porterhouse Steak

The pictures might not look exactly how the food looks in reality, but I am telling you, they were all scrumptious and delicious especially the meats. They were cooked to perfection!



Our dessert: Summer Kiss (cheesecake and ice cream)



Alexander Steakhouse's thank you gift: cotton candy (cherry flavor) and caramel popcorn
It's interesting that these goodies are their choice of complimentary desserts. It's definitely something I wasn't expecting for them to serve. It was a great twist since everything in the restaurant is so elegant.



Our bill
So over all, we have come to realize that their food is actually reasonably priced and worth paying for. We will definitely come back!

Then the following weekend, we continued our celebration... a weekend escape at Hyatt Hotel! & for that, you guys will have to come back. I will be posting it this Monday. ;)

-Glenda J.