Howell will be leaving for Germany tomorrow. His flight is at 4:45 PM via Gulf Air. (I know, I know we could have chosen a much better airline like KLM or Singapore Air but Gulf Air offers the cheapest rate and since he is traveling on business, he has to select the cheapest airfare since the company is paying for it). He still has to drop by his office before his flight as he still have a lot of things to turned over to his staff since he will be gone for 25 days. He won’t be going home before the flight and he will go to the airport straight from the office as he doesn’t want Bela to see him with his big backpack as he fears that Bela might cry. I am sure if that happens, Howell might leave the house crying too.

May parents together with Bela fetched me at my office then we fetched Howell and we decided to have dinner out before Howell leaves. We ate at Blue Bay, one of the restaurants along Roxas Boulevard strip. You know those restos beside the Luneta Grandstand and Ocean Park and beside a big parking lot which was used to be a children’s Playground. (You know, that big parking can pass as one of those rv parks that are very common in the Unites States. I always dream to have one of those here and then we can go on a road trip with our rv.) Anyway, back to my story, we had dinner and then we went home to pack for Howell’s things. Howell is keen on just bringing a back pack for this trip as he said that it will be more convenient for him but I will still bring a trolley bag.

Please pray that hubby will have a safe trip to Germany tomorrow and though I still feel sad for leaving Bela, I am a little excited now as in just a few days I will be following him there.

Got this tag from Jan. Thanks girl and glad you're back to blogging again and sorry if I haven't visited your blog in a while. I have been super busy lately. I miss your Coffee Break series.

Happier faces. Beaming smiles. Sunnier dispositions. Roaring laughter. What's the reason for all of these, you ask. It is the end of work week and everyone seems happier today than the rest of the week. It is Be-Happy-It's-Friday!

I'm sending out this Be-Happy-It's-Friday tag to 3 friends: all my MBAP friends. See you all on Sunday.

Most of you might know that my daughter had a congenital heart disease when she was born. I was crying almost every night ever since her cardiologist confirmed that she has a hole in her heart. My heart was in pain imagining the condition of my daughter. Of course, all parents only want the best for their kids and I was really worried if she will still have a normal life if ever the hole in her heart will not close. We were lucky though because of the prayers that our family and friends had offered for Bela, God made a miracle because when she turned two, her cardiologist confirmed that the hole in Bela’s heart is now close.

I can’t explain the different kind of happiness that me and my husband felt when we had Bela but because of Bela’s heart condition, it somehow gave me a trauma and I got scared of having another child for the fear of having to go through all the pain again when we found out of Bela’s condition. But I realized that I am being selfish. I know how much Bela will love it to have another baby brother or sister and I know how much my husband is dying to have a second child (he wants 5 kids actually). At first I was telling myself that I am a bad mom and a bad wife for not wanting to have a second child but my friends are telling me that in time, it will all come back – I will enjoy giving out baby birth announcements again and I will enjoy the idea of having a second child again.

And they are right. Now I think I am finally ready and I can’t wait to send out birth photo announcement to all our friends and relatives. Even my friends and relatives are all excited to finally receive photo birth announcements from us as they have been waiting for it for years now.

And since hubby and I will be going on a trip this coming August, we are hoping and praying that a few months after we get back from this trip, we will be ordering Announcements Birth Cards from Cards-411.com to announce the coming of a new blessing in our life. So please pray for us and wish us luck.

Since we will be leaving Bela for 20 days when we go on our trip this August and I am really feeling so guilty for doing it, Howell said that we will make it up with Bela by going on a family vacation before the year ends. (I am really crossing my fingers that we will be able to save up for this trip as I really wanted to treat Bela and spend some quality time with her especially since we will be leaving her for a good 20 days.)

I was checking for possible places where we can go and the site of Karisma Hotels and Resorts caught my attention. Bela always loved the beach and I know she will have a great time if we go to one of the resorts of Karisma in the Mexican Riviera Maya.

Judging from their website, I can really tell that we have a relaxing time there. They also have a lot of activities in the resort that the whole family will enjoy like snorkeling, swimming, play volleyball and the like.

Just imagining my whole family enjoying a perfect day at one of the Karisma hotels is keeping me out of stress already, what more if we can actually go there. Hopefully, someday soon.

Hubby is so thankful since he received a number of bookings for this month. He covered a wedding, a first birthday party, an and outdoor shoot. He even got a gig to setup the network system of one company in Ortigas and the pay that he received for doing a one day job was really good. He even has to say no to one of the event since we have an appointment already on the 26th (of course, we can’t miss the MBAP party).

I on the other hand is so thankful also since we finally received the news that we have been waiting for months now – we will have an across the board increase come August and retro active pay will be given for our salary from April. This means I have extra money (yes, I consider this as extra money since it is not part of my budget for April – July.) This means I can use it to buy something for myself – a bag or a watch perhaps? So I am really excited.

I am also so happy and thankful since Bela is really having fun at school and everyday she always brings home stories of her fun experiences at school. She has also improved specially for her writing skills since her teacher said that she is starting to work independently now.

And of course, we are so thankful because God has been really good to our family. He has always been protecting us away from harm and he has been keeping our family safe and healthy which is the most important thing for me.