My First Birthday Post

Today, I’m 39 years young. I’ve always wanted to start blogging, to write, to put my thoughts out there, to share my recipes, to start my “mommy blog,” unfortunately, it wasn’t until recently, that I had the courage to do it. I’ve been saying to myself for years that I was going to do it…if for nothing else then to leave something out there for my kids to read and for our family abroad to keep up with us and the happenings of me and my kids…

Blogging is pretty different from the black and white composition notebooks I’ve been writing in for my kids. It puts “us” out there. It puts my whole family out there and with it, will come more learning experiences.

After all, our lives are all full of learning experiences. One after another, after another and yet another. These learning experiences are strung together with memories which stand out for all of us, are what shapes us and helps us become who we were meant to be.

I suppose my most profound learning experience was the recent birth of my fourth child. As a mom, I know I changed with each child I birthed. I grew after each child. My understanding broadened after each delivery. I expanded. I healed. I learned. This last birth, this last and very special gift from God was the one that helped push me to understand so many things about myself. Everything about her shook me to my core. I was brought to my knees in my faith, but it is also because of her that my faith is stronger than it ever was.

Baby Girl is now 14 months old. While she is growing leaps and bounds, so am I. In fact, I would be so bold as to say that she, along with my 3 other big kids are my greatest teachers. My children can hold a mirror to me like no one else can. My children can challenge me to grow in ways that no other adults can compare. My children can give me strength when I didn’t know I had it. They can push me to the edge of my comfort zone…and I will go there willingly, because that’s what moms do.

Through this blog I hope to document some of my adventures with my kiddos. Adventures of a Momma in parenting, teaching, crafting, balancing, eating, and living in Manila.