Annalise's Birthday

Annalise's thoughts about her birthday.

Before:	During:
Excitement	Excitment
Joy	Happiness
Wanting to Dance	Joy
It is twindlish	We made hats.
and windlyishus	Made pizza.
It is the most wonderful thing	Open gifts
I played	Made cupcakes
I am having a spa	Ate

My Place

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever find,

The groove that was supposed to be mine.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get to,

The link in the chain that is supposed to be me.

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever locate

My piece in the puzzle.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever find,

My place in the play.

I wonder when I’ll find out whom to be.

I’ve tried to be like someone else.

But I have to come to understand,

That it is not really me.

So I guess the secret is

To find who I am.

Then I will figure out what is my groove.

I’ll reach my link in the chain.

I’ll find my piece in the puzzle

And my place in the play

Because I will be

ME.

Alexie

The Bamboo and the Butterfly

Recently, I have been inspired musically. It began when we met Kuya Eryk (“kuya” means “big brother” in Tagolog and is used as a title of respect). Kuya Eryk has the God-given talent of making instruments out of bamboo. He showed us a bamboo saxophone and flutes he had made. He also can PLAY by ear!! His flutes sound like Mr. Tumnus’ in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. However, I can’t make a sound out of the standard flutes so Dad bought us a clarinet. Maybe later, after practice, I will be able to play one of the flutes.

He told us the story of how he made the one of the instruments. Three times he passed the dirty bamboo root on the garbage pile. He felt God told him to pick it up. He cleaned it and felt as he was working on it, God was working on him. It hurt when he made the holes. Sometimes, he wanted to quit, crying “God, it hurts!” But over and over again, he heard God say “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.” Finally, he carved it with scrimshaw and the stars of the Philippine flag and polished it so it shone. He felt such satisfaction and knew it wasn’t him that did it but God working through him.

When we were in Baguio, we went to see our friend, Arabelle, perform in the Musar School of Music recital at the mall. There was a black swallowtail butterfly fluttering around overhead the entire time like an elusive muse. It flew around the entire time, landing on instruments and hovering around one of the singers’ hands. Hurray for Arabelle! You did such a wonderful job singing!

I have to go practice my clarinet,

Love,

Adriana

Our bamboo clarinet with the case Alayna crocheted

Three Years...

On Saturday, May 28, 2011, we celebrated three years of living in the Philippines. We also went to Baguio, but that was not my choice, and because nobody likes to hear complaining, I am not going to talk about that. This post is about the three-year anniversary not Baguio as anyone can tell by the title. So anyways, as I am trying to focus, I think it would be a good idea for us to say three things we have learned from living in the Philippines.

I, Adriana, will go first:

1. Being with people is important. Before when I was in the U.S., I did not enjoy being with people because I felt so awkward. I’d rather sit and read a book. The awkwardness hasn’t completely disappeared. I still need alone time and will always love reading, but I now have a desire to spend time with people.

2. Courage. Face up to your fears. Before I came here, I was afraid of change and heights. I have grown more flexible.

3. The world is a big, amazing place with so many people who are not that different from me.

Alexie

1. I learned what a great thing it is to have sisters. When I first moved to the Philippines, I remember crying because I did not have any friends. But now I have 3 good friends that live with me. I know that I will know them for the rest of my life.

2.I have learned the reality of the spiritual realm.

3. I have learned the trouble with having customs that tie in to your beliefs.

Alayna

1. The value of generosity

2. The difference between friendliness and true friendship

3. Crocheting

Annalise

1. That if you eat a lot of candy and don’t brush your teeth, they rot

2. How coconuts and bananas grow

3. What a banana tree looks like

Whew! Wow! Yikes! Yay! Awwww!

In case, you didn’t understand the title, we had an extremely busy week. We finished school. (Whew!) We went to Baguio (Yikes!) on the same day we celebrated three years of living in the Philippines (Wow!). We heard our friend, Arabelle, sing in the mall, saw her new baby brother, Nathaniel, and went swimming (Wow! Wow! and Yay!). Mom and Dad celebrated their twentieth anniversary. (Awwww!) Now we are back in Bontoc (Yay!) and school started Monday (here we go again). Hopefully, we will able to post more details but I wanted to post this because it has been so long since we last posted.

Love,

Adriana

Mother's Day

I know this is a little late but oh well. I want to wish all the mothers (and those who someday wish to be a mother) HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!! J But the person who I want to thank the most is my Mom. Thank you so much Mom. Here are 7 reasons I love my mom:

1. The first and foremost reason I love my Mom is because she loves me no matter what I do or say. She still loves me even if I yell or stomp my feet.

2. Mommy likes us to spend time as a family. Sometimes after dinner we can play a game or watch a movie. In the afternoon we might go to the market together.

3. Mommy reads aloud to me, she just finished Homer Price.

4. Mommy has homeschooled me all my life. She taught me to read and now I love to read.

5. Mommy plans me wonderful birthday parties for me. Everything goes along with the theme. For example when I was 6, I had a duck party. We did a relay race with flippers on and other duck games. My birthday cake was in a shape of a duck. There was blue punch with ducks floating in it.

6. She is an awesome hair stylist. She can make any hair style imaginable and do it well.

7. She is always happy for a hug or kiss. Even when Mommy is very busy she will stop for a hug or a kiss.

These are only 7 of the many reasons I love my wonderful Mommy!

Love you Mommy,

Alayna

Lang-ay A Little (Okay, A Lot) Late

A girl wearing an abaca fiber shirt waits nervously for

her group's turn to compete in the street dancing contest.

It appears she's not the only one.

Other girls talk while they wait.

An Igorot Princess

(or Obing nga Babae nga Napintas, if my Ilocano is correct)

Street Dancing

Boys in g-strings watching the cultural presentations.

(Don't worry, these tattoos are just ink and will wash off. In the past, the thorns would be used to prick patterns in the skin and ash would be rubbed into the holes. Much more painful.)

The Same Boys After They Saw My Camera

I love Lang-ay! I always enjoy learning about different cultures and Lang-ay and Am-among Festivals with the street dancing and cultural presentations are the perfect opportunities. Unfortunately, we were too late to get a good place to watch the most of the street dancing presentation. Thus, I took many pictures of the spectators. This was good because they were focused on something else and after two and half years of living here I try really hard not to appear like a tourist.

However, having white skin makes that difficult. We were approached by many journalists and we heard that Mom was on TV Patrol. I don't mind so much because it's fun to answer questions.

Sorry, we did not have many street dancing pictures. You can see a video from a previous Lang-ay at my parents' blog or you could comment and ask for more pictures.

Love,

Adriana