Merry Christmas!!!

Text Message of your Ninang Joy a few minutes before our plane left for San Francisco

April 14, 2008, 10:02pm - Text message of your Ninang Joy before our 10:30pm flight on our way to San Francisco: "on r way home d lord impresd ds-khit madaming pera, kung walang visa,di rin mkkapunta US.so rjoice dt ur able 2gt visa 4ur famly.njoy d blesing of God's provision. God bles u ol.tJoy".

Family Vacation: US Trip 2008

4/14/08 Noel Galvez - In 1981, when I was 6 (as Boing is now also 6), my port of entry was San Francisco. I never went there again till now when we are complete. Mommy used to cry whenever we would leave the country without her other children and the breakthrough now is that it is possible. However, while Kitkat was looking outside the window of the plane, I asked her why she was sad. She said she was both happy and sad. Happy because she's going to US, but sad because she said WE'RE NOT COMPLETE. At first, I felt like it was a case of not being thankful because as for me, we were complete. But to this next generation child, being complete meant having all her cousins travelling with her. I just told her to be thankful for what God has allowed her to experience, and believe that someday, God will grant the desire of her heart, as He granted mine.

(Boing, here you asked me, "Are we in heaven"?)

Kit and Boing, the day before we left for the US, we attended service at Victory. Ptr. Paolo mentioned that when David saw Goliath, he didn't see a big problem... he thought of Goliath as a target too big to miss. He believed that the same God who protected him from the lion and the bear would be the same God who would help him.

Kids, we are in the same situation. Today may be the lowest point in our lives and you don't know anything about it. However, the same God who rescued us from the problems of the past is the same God who answered our prayer in April of 2007 at Me and My Dad Camp when a pastor (probably Ptr. Jake Duque) told us to believe that God wants our children to see places. God allowed us to have our Passports renewed in just 5 days (April 4), our VISAs were given on April 11 (10 years, multiple entry), and now, we are in San Francisco. While praying for the people we left in Manila, your Tita Marvs sent a text message saying that your Tito/Ninong Obet got a breakthrough with Alaska. The same God has provided for everything that we and the people back home will need! God is good!

So when the time comes when you think you have a big problem, go back to this page and remember how God made something impossible... possible.

Here are some of the pictures taken today:
Boing, when your mom saw a pilot, she said, "Look, Boing, there's the pilot". You saw a tall man in blue uniform wearing a hat.
Boing: "Is that a guard?"
Mom: "No, he's a pilot."
Dad: "A pilot is one who drives airplanes."
Boing: "That guard drives airplanes?"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Kitkat, you were patiently waiting for our last box to arrive. I remembered myself waiting for Dy and Mommy Helen's baggages when we used to travel to the US.

Boing's Progress Report

Progress Report of Manuel C. Galvez IV
2nd Semester 2007-2008
The Learning Tree

Teacher Ruby (Jr. Kinder Teacher)- During the second semester, BOING has shown tru appreciation of literary activities presented to him. Read-Alone Time is an activity that he enjoys a lot. He would ask teacher if he can borrow the Scholastic Series that teacher has on her shelf. His books of choice would usually be the animal stories, riddle picture books and Dr. Seuss but he also enjoys poring over the big books and would ask teacher to place the cassette tape along to the story. One of his favorite big book is Jamberry by Bruce Degen. Continue to provide him with opportunities to exercise his phonetic awareness skills by providing games, for instance, forming words by changing the beginning, middle or final letter, encourage his love for reading through story telling before bedtime, asking open-ended question about the story read. You can check on his comprehension by asking him to draw what was read to him or to answer specific question about the story.

BOING has also shown excellent body coordination. He did not have any difficulties in following the Muslim dance steps for the Christmas Program. He can easily follow instruction on how to move his body. He truly enjoys playing "stop dance", and his is really quite good at in that teacher thinks that he doesn't even blink. The role of music and dance in preschool curriculum is quite important because music is a way of knowing. According to Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner (1983), music intelligence is equal in importance to logical - mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily - kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence. According to Thomas Armstrong (1994,5), "Intelligence is galvanized by participation in some kind of culturally valued activity and that the individual's growth in such an activity follows a developmental pattern; each activity has its own time arising in early childhood." It will be beneficial for BOING to be exposed to creative pursuits such as TREE-atro (theater workshop in the Grade school) and art classes aside from reading and writing activities.

Activity Period is where BOING's creativity would come to fore, any task given to him be it drawing about something we have read in class to writing a letter to a friend, he would always meticulously do his work. And you can expect that it will be as colorful as a rainbow. It is always refreshing to see him work in such way. He exudes so much fun in learning.

It was really a pleasure to have BOING in my class. May the Lord continue to bless you and your family.

Regina, Mika and Kitkat

Regina, Mika and Kitkat. This picture was taken on Dec. 13, 2007 during their Christmas Presentation wherein they sang Christmas Carols to raise funds for the orphans. They prayed for P8,500 but were able to raise more than P22,000! They performed at school. Thanks, Jill (Mika's mom) for sending us this picture!

Christmas Message

This year, we learned that...
God grants us miracleS each day of the year.
We sometimes get used to it that we don't remember to thank Him. Each day is an opportunity to do things better. You have to make the right decision at the right time. Whenever you don't make the right decision at the right time, you will still suffer the consequences,
but God will always be merciful and gracious when you acknowledge your mistakes and ask for His help. Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. (Prov. 18:12) In short, pride precedes the fall. We have lots of plans, but it's God's plans that will prevail (Prov. 19:21) The real meaning of Christmas is neither the gifts, nor the companions that we have who come and go.
Christmas is about God's love for us while we are still sinners.
He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, so that those who believe in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
[When the Magi saw Jesus with Mary, they bowed down and worshipped HIM (only). Matt.2:11] Worship is doing what pleases God. Every small good thing that we do makes God smile. To sum it up, "araw-araw ay magiging pasko lagi" (everyday will be Christmas day)
if, with thankful hearts, we will look at each day as a fresh start to do God's will - He who loved us first and promises to be with us whatever the situation may be. May you have a BiG CHRISTmas and a Sound New Year!

Cabraleses at Holy Cross, Marina, and Toy Kingdom

Dec. 17, 2006 - The family visited Tatay Pablo, Nanay Mimi and Uncle George at Loyola Memorial Park...

Kuya Jon, Ate Marie treated us to lunch at Marina located in Jupiter, Makati.

We then went to Toy Kingdom. Ate Ellyn asked the kids to get what they wanted. Kitkat got a Tamagochi whereas Boing got a VTech Laptop :) Thank you po Tito Ding and Tita Ellyn!

Family with Kuya Ding

Pics taken when Kuya Ding Cabrales arrived:Most of the pics were taken at Market Market, The Fort, Global City, Taguig.

Jenn Cooks

Feb. 10, 2007 - Mommy Jenn became conscious about the food that we eat. She wants us to eat healthy food, without MSG. Here, you can see Jenn preparing the ingredients of carbonara.