posted by Jennie on Apr 30
Believe it or not, there is now such a thing as Philippine Spring Cleaning Day and it is happening on May 11, 2011, coinciding with our unico hijo’s 6th birthday. Spring Cleaning to begin with, may not sound so local as it is. Spring, being non-existent in our local geological context. But Spring Cleaning is really more than just a season.
Allow me to share the origins of “Spring Cleaning” via Wikipedia:
Another possibility of the origin of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient Jewish practice of thoroughly cleansing the home in anticipation of the spring-time holiday of Passover (Hebrew: פסח pesach). In remembrance of the Jews’ hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity there, during the eight-day holiday there is a strict prohibition against eating anything which may have been leavened. Jews are not only supposed to refrain from leavened foodstuffs (known in Hebrew as חמץ chametz), they are expressly commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants of chametz for the length of the holiday (Exodus 12:15). Therefore, for the past 3,500 years, observant Jews have conducted a thorough “spring cleaning” of the house, followed by a traditional hunt for chametz crumbs by candlelight (called bedikat chametz [Hebrew: בדיקת חמץ]) on the evening before the holiday begins.
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posted by Jennie on Apr 23
It is an honor for me to introduce Marriage and Beyond‘s first Guest Post – an article written by my mother who blogs via In My Solitude. It is essentially my mom’s influence that got me into journal writing. I used to do it the traditional way, armed with pen and an artsy notebook. But slowly drifted away from the practice until I went right back to it in 2004 as I desire to document my journey to motherhood.
My mother carefully preserved hard copies of letters filed in four enormous folders: two of which are labeled “Incoming Mails” and the other two “Outgoing Mails.“ None of which survived Ondoy. I have yet to find a person other than Mama who files copies of “sent” mails. The old school way, that is. We all know a copy is automatically archived in our e-mail’s Sent folder. Even in my grade school years, I admired how carefully written her letters are and saw the sentimental person in her through the way she penned her correspondences. Since she was practically busy in the corporate world during my growing up years, reading through those letters was an interesting way to “know” her.
In all the years I have been blogging, I have received guest posting proposals and offers, which I was too busy to look into to consider. Now that I’m publishing an article from the very person who has primarily influenced me to journaling, Marriage and Beyond officially welcomes guest posts. 
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Guest Post by Lynn of In My Solitude
When I came back from North America after my first visit there, I could see and feel the stark contrast between a first world country and a developing country such as the Philippines. The question “Why is it that some countries are impoverished while other countries are rich?” kept going on in my mind. Is God being unfair to make it that way? Or should we blame it on the government, or is it because of people’s attitudes and behavior?
There are many factors for the economic condition of a country. And I don’t think we should blame God for this. Partly, the government is responsible for the economic conditions of a country, and partly it is because of people’s attitudes and behavior. The government is partly responsible because they are the ones in power to create laws and enforce them. So people must elect leaders with integrity, who are impeccably honest, who are sincere, aggressive and with a clear vision to propel the country to its highest potential.
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posted by Jennie on Apr 21
The iRig that the hubby ordered through Amazon arrived via Johnny Air last week. He has been on it every single night fiddling with its effects, settings and whatever other things I probably might never get myself to figure out. There are just so many buttons! He also downloaded different applications he will need as he goes about his brand new music recording hobby.
Here are few of the apps that he downloaded from iTunes: (got the list from the email from iTunes ). But I’m not really sure what he used for this particular music.
1. GarageBand, v1.0, Developer: iTunes S.a.r.l. (4+) $4.99
2. AmpliTube FREE for iPad, Complete Fender Bundle, Developer: IK Multimedia US, LLC $14.99
3. AmpliTube FREE for iPad, Flanger, Developer: IK Multimedia US, LLC $2.99
4. AmpliTube FREE for iPad, Chorus, Developer: IK Multimedia US, LLC $2.99
5. AmpliTube FREE for iPad, Wah, Developer: IK Multimedia US, LLC $2.99
6. AmpliTube FREE for iPad, Clean Amp, Developer: IK Multimedia US, LLC $4.99
As soon as we got back from the the dentist’s office this morning, the hubby sat down and recorded the different instruments for the music. The song he chose to record was Hillsong Australia’s “Here in My Life.” Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jeff on Apr 20
The fire that struck Laperal Compound (but officially called Lateral Compound by NDCC) yesterday along EDSA, Bgy. Guadalupe Viejo, in Makati City at around 11:59AM affected more or less 2,700 families, left 9 people injured and around 900 houses burned. In the urban setting in Makati, a house usually has at least 3 families living under it depending on the number of rooms it has. Sadly, four families from our church were affected, three of which lost their homes completely without being able to salvage anything.
We opened up our church in Makati for these three families and asked our members and friends to help with used or new clothes, towels, beddings, canned goods, rice and toiletries to help meet their immediate needs. The three families are also part of the Manna Feeding ministry in our church. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on Apr 9
Right from the time our son first had his Time Out when he was just a year and three months old, we already explained to him why there are rules. Merely saying “No” to a child will never be enough. Even as a child has got to do what he’s got to do – that is to explore, parents should as well do what they’ve got to do- discipline, that is and explain the values behind rules.
Truth be told, rules go beyond just a list of Do’s and Don’ts. It is the very avenue that children learn values from that they take with them as they grow older.
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
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posted by Jennie on Apr 9
Summer has officially started and so is Promil Preschool’s i-Shine Talent Camp 2011. Last year, my son and I attended the 2010 camp held at the Activity Center in Shangri-la Mall and I remember him having lots of fun during the whole program. Too bad we had to miss this year’s event. But for those who are outside the Metro, you can still catch the schedules. Happening in SM Cebu on April 15-16, SM Rosales (Dagupan) on April 27-28, and SM Davao on May 2-3.
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posted by Jennie on Apr 8
Forgive my lack of posts. Our family has been busy with the little guy’s graduation from ABC’s with Ace and Christi. We have been rehearsing since last week and the week before that was his Karate promotion for Yellow Belt. Whoever said that a homeschooler’s life can be boring couldn’t be more wrong.
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