A Mother's Day To Remember

Beata has been thinking about getting baptized for quite a while, since last year actually!  We have gone from "Yes, this Sunday" to "You are not ready yet, darling!" stage.  We just needed to make sure that she is ready and that she knows the reason for being baptized.  Baptism will not save you.  Your salvation is not determined by your baptism.  Baptism is a way to show others that you are following Jesus' example, and your way of telling others that you are saved and you trusted Christ to be your Saviour.

She has been ready since mid-April, but her grandparents are away on vacation in the Philippines and she wanted them to come to church and watch her get baptized.  So we waited for six weeks until they return.  And they came and watch on Mother's Day.  And not just them, but the whole family on Raymond's side of the family.

She was excited.  She kept jumping while she wait to get in the baptistry.  I kept asking why, she said she doesn't know.  She's just happy.  It brought a smile in my heart.  It's amazing what faith little children have, and how much we learn from them.

I am sure the last picture says it all.  

Though she's out of focus and my flash did not recycle and fired on time, 

I just have to post the picture. 

It's certainly a Mother's Day to remember.

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Shoot…sac

Got something in the mail back in March that I missed blogging about.

Something…

No, it's SOMETHING!

My shootsac.

My very, very early Mother's Day gift

from hubby and kids to me.

I coordinated all the ordering and stuff without them knowing it.

I'm smart, just like that!

Ahhh!  Love it.

Will put it to the test today at the wedding.

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Jakob's best Easter pictures ever

Good thing we had just about enough time for natural light before sunset before I almost forgot about the kids' easter pictures.

Hurry, kids and put on your matching clothes.

It's a bit windy and chilly but just pretend you're okay.

One, two, smile.

Okay, back in the house.

Let's do more pictures, one kid at a time.

Back in the house.

More group shots.

Jakob, smile!

Huh?

What?

note: 

unedited, straight out of camera photos.

I did not even bother editing them.

Well, maybe I'll do and save it for his wedding slideshow :)

In case you missed the last one, here it is up close.

Lesson learned:  

Cooperate with mommy when she is taking your pictures

or you'll end up on her blog.

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SOLD!!!! Plus a million other things.

Two and a half months of silence.  What's going on?

Well, there was a LOT that went on.  So much that blogging has to take the back seat.

- After pulling our house on the real estate market for a Winter break last year, we decided to put it back on the market this Spring.  Why?  Because after deliberation and calculations, we figured that it would be cheaper and wiser to move than to renovate.

- We spent March Break at home :(

- One week after we activated the listing, our house got an offer with conditions to be met and finalized in ten days with closing date in six weeks.  Yikes!

- We went crazy looking for houses so we will not be left homeless after six weeks.

- Seven days after the signed offer, the buyers released us from the contract because their condo unit is not "officially" sold because of some condo fund issue, which left us with no sale.

- That same night of release, there was a couple waiting at our dining table; waiting to give an offer to our house that they so badly wanted since they saw it last year before we puled it out of the market.

- Five days after the signed offer, they did not proceed with the sale because they were too worried about the roof condition, and their mortgage appraiser has not shown up.

- All through these, Raymond was having sleepless nights.  Anxiety, worries and panic.  NOT GOOD.  So we got out of private selling and we hired our realtor friend, Greg Brown to list our house on MLS.

- Craziest five days ever!  Buyers were constantly viewing the house.  We were hardly home.  No cooking, no messes, no clutter…nothing.  We were supposed to keep it "buyer-ready" all the time.

- Five days after being active on MLS, we had multiple offers!  Praise the Lord!

- Three days after the offer, we had a deal!  Praise the Lord!

- Our realtor was busy during the week, so we were initially reserving viewing houses on the weekend.  But we managed to squeeze five visits in two nights.  We found the perfect one.  Perfect location, perfect set-up, but price is a little more than what we were allowed to borrow from the bank.

- We made an offer the following day, praying that they will accept.

- The next day, Friday, they accepted the offer but negotiated on the price.  The asking price is exactly what we have been praying for.  Praise the Lord!  We got a deal!

- Insurance, financing and home inspection all in just two business days.  Deal was closed and closing date is June 3.

- June 3???  That's just 3 days after our trip to Virginia Beach.  I will most definitely have not enough time to pack in three days.  

So purging, organizing and packaging started ASAP.

- I've been buried in boxes since then…and I'm still not done.  

- All these plus two location photoshoot and one in studio…plus hours of editing…plus getting ready, practicing and educating myself for my very first wedding on Saturday.

- There are probably more that I have not written down, but I am already overwhelmed :(

See, I told you "a million other things."

We are still here.  Somewhere behind one of the boxes in the house.

And before I go, I'll leave you with a proof to show that we are still here

because a blogpost is boring without a picture!

The kids' Easter picture.
There is a story behind it…I'll tell you tomorrow.

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