HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

This is from "The Valley of Vision," a collection of Puritan prayers -- something to ponder as we approach the end of one year and look forward to a new year here on earth.

O Love beyond Compare, thou art good when thou givest, when thou takest away, when the sun shines upon me, when night gathers over me.

Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world, and in love didst redeem my soul. Thou dost love me still, in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.

Thy goodness has been with me another year, leading me through a twisting wilderness, in retreat helping me to advance, when beaten back making sure headway. Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead.

I hoist sail and draw up anchor, with thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past. I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.

If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation, thou wilt be with me in them.

If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation, I shall not drown.

If I am to die, I shall see thy face the sooner.

If a painful end is to be my lot, grant me grace that my faith fail not.

If I am to be cast aside from the service I love, I can make no stipulation.

Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial, as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

AMEN!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

auntie maring

yesterday, 12/10, one of my mom's sisters, marina wee, & her husband joe, arrived from baguio. they had heard about my mom's condition from one of my mom's former students @ FEBIAS, eden layda, who had told jacquelyn, my cousin, who then told her mom. my auntie maring told us that she hadn't been able to sleep since hearing about my mom being hospitalized and she felt that she could not rest easy until she sees my mom with her own eyes. so, they took a 6 hour bus ride at midnight wednesday from baguio to manila and then flew on cebu pacific from manila to cebu. mind you, uncle joe is now 80 and auntie maring is at least 77. but, she really needed to see my mom and my mom needed to see her.

auntie maring is a twin and she and auntie flor (who is now with the Lord) were born after my mom who is the eldest of 13. it has been 25 years since i've seen my aunt & uncle and maybe 27 since my parents had seen them. the last time was at my wedding in 1981...!

auntie maring was the one who paid for our wedding reception. she had promised me that, if i were to marry in the philippines, she would butcher 2 pigs for my reception! i took her up on her offer -- we were married in baguio 27 years ago (on friday!) and she gave us a scrumptious reception in her home that was really more like a grand family reunion... it was wonderful!!

there really is NOTHING like family to lift your spirits and make your heart sing!! despite being only 4'9," my auntie is a dynamo!! we were laughing SO much yesterday from all of her stories!! she is one crazy lady...! and i love her!!

she and uncle joe have 4 great-grandkids from 4 children. that really tickled my auntie to know that she had "surpassed" my mom in something...! i hope to be able to reconnect with my cousins. i didn't even know that my eldest cousin, kuya boy, has been living in hawaii for many years now...!! the others are here in the philippines, so i hope i can see them in the next few years. i would also like to visit auntie's home on the island of anda, the largest of pangasinan's thousand islands. maybe when all my kids come to visit, we can travel together and visit clark airbase, subic naval base, on our way to anda... i would love for my kids to meet their relatives on their grandma's side...

so, even though i've had to put my plans for Christmas shopping and buying pasalubong for our trip back to LA next tuesday on the backburner while auntie maring and uncle joe are here, i gladly do so, because it's SO good and SO important to reconnect with family!

Mom update...

after 10 days in Chong Hua Hospital for an asthma attack, followed by a heart attack & the discovery of several other ailments, my mom will be released from the hospital tomorrow (tuesday) afternoon.

i have to say that i'm very glad for this development. i was concerned that she might not be released until later in the week which would mean things would be more hectic around here because of the EL-TS Christmas Party on saturday, 12/13, and the EL Church-Forest Hills Christmas activities on sunday, 12/14. so, i'm thankful that God answered our prayers for an early release for her. not to mention the fact that dan and i leave in a week to return to CA to spend the holidays with the kids. i'm just very thankful that i'll still be here for a few days to make sure everything is working well for my mom here at home.

it has also been quite tiring for us to be going back and forth to the hospital. i'm getting concerned about my dad who is looking more tired with each day that passes. we can't afford to have him get sick also...! with my mom home, he won't have to make those twice daily trips to see her. our trips to the hospital also had to coincide with buying her meds for the next 24 hours. so, that means i usually go in the mornings to make the purchases and my dad comes after lunch to spend a few hours with her.

juliebeth tibon has been a godsend to us. she stays with my mom from late afternoon, through the night and doesn't leave until i arrive @ mid-morning. she will still be helping even when my mom is home, but at least she won't have to travel far to see my mom. (her family lives in the apartment on the lower level of ELIM compound.)

so, God IS good -- all the time! my mom had a mandatory "vacation" that included a full physical check-up. i believe she will be good for another "50,000 miles," now that she has all the meds that she needs to have a better quality of life. it will be more expensive, that's for sure, but at least all her physical problems (diabetes, asthma, heart) will be under control.

what's awesome to me is when she talks about telling God, when she was having such difficulty breathing, that she's ready to go home, she felt such peace come over her. she didn't have an out-of-body experience. nor did she see a white light. she just felt this tremendous peace wash over her...

i do admire her for her strong will and determination. but, i am most grateful to God for allowing us to have her around for a little while longer... i am also thankful that this happened after my dad had recovered from his depression. if this had happened last year, i seriously doubt that my dad would have been able to cope and it could have driven him into a more serious and deeper depression. so, God's timing is impeccable and He really does care about those little details in our lives.

the chorus of that beautiful hymn, "Does Jesus Care?" really holds true...

Oh, YES, He cares. I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief.
When the days grow weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Saviour cares.

AMEN and AMEN!!

November 29, 2008

This morning, we rushed my mom to emergency. She couldn't breathe and her nebulizer was no longer doing what it needed to do. she was diagnosed with high levels of CO2 in her lungs which caused her to lose consciousness. She really could have died, but God has graciously granted her a reprieve. She has pneumonia in her right lung. her blood sugar level @ 530 this morning was at 370, more than 3x the normal levels of 60-100. @ 5pm, her blood sugar was down to 127 and they're now only giving her 2cc insulin/hour (anyway, i think that's what they said...). her ECG showed some irregular schema, so my dad's cardiologist, lerma noval, was added to the roster of doctors. my mom says her heart is OK but she will have to be on maintenance meds from now on. same with her asthma. she really should have been taking maintenance meds for that long before now. right now, she's on a ventilator to help her breathe.

i'm thankful for my husband who drove us to the hospital this morning and stayed with us most of the morning. i'm thankful for the arcos and garingos who came to visit and pray with my mom this morning. i'm thankful for juliebeth tibon who is willing to stay and watch her this afternoon and part of tonight. i'm SO thankful for maribeth llamera for finding Dr Roger Sy and staying with my mom for several hours today and being the liaison between the hospital staff and the family. we are truly blessed to have such caring people around us!

the saga will continue in the next post...