After Christmas Sales 2011 - Arts Cow 50% Off

As I mentioned in another post, we will be bringing our children to the store to buy them their Christmas gifts hoping there will be some sale. Before Christmas, we were so busy with other things that it was only after Christmas that we were able to go. There weren't any after Christmas sales in the store we went to. Anyway, these are the gifts our children chose for themselves.

The two boys got an addition to their Wii game - the Skylanders game. My two sons are really enjoying this game.

The three girls got some girly stuff.

The younger two got a dog stuffed toy named Jasper. They are the ones who still like to play make belief with stuffed dolls.

My 7-year old got a Bratz Math learning toy. It's really nice. She can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with it. Well, even her siblings can do so, too. Good preparation as well for them because all of them qualified for their school's upcoming Math Quiz Bee after the elimination round.

Even if there are no before or after Christmas sales here, there's one After Christmas sale online that I am going to avail of. That is the 50% off everything sale of Arts Cow until December 31, 2011. I am now going to put together all our 2011 photos in one photo book and order them from Arts Cow. I have ordered several photo books from them already and the quality is really commendable. Even some of my friends have  created an account with them and ordered their photo books from them.

If you want to avail of this 50% off offer by Arts Cow, just go over there and when you order anything, just put the Coupon code HALFOFF and you will get the discount.

There's another offer they are giving, just in case you may want to put your photos on stretched canvass. Save $1-$4 and shipping fees ($5.99 - 8.99) on each piece of stretched canvass you order. Just put the Coupon code STRETCHCAN.

If you just prefer to have free shipping on your order only, you can use the coupon code FREESHIP15 which is good until December 30, 2011 only.

Child Development: The Early Adolescence

Before the year ends, I would like to finish this series on Child Development. I have already published posts on

• Knowing My Baby and Toddler
• Knowing My Preschooler and Nursery Child 
• Knowing My Kindergartner 
• Knowing My Child in Her Primary Years and 
• Knowing My Junior

I hope if you have children within these age groups, you could read these posts and leave your thoughts.

For this post, the topic is about the Early Adolescent. I still don't have a child who is in these stage of development. My oldest son is only 11 years old. But then time flies, so sooner or later, I would have to deal with my son in this stage. So, I better get acquainted with what to expect or at least refresh myself on how it was like to be 12-14 years old.

Early Adolescence (12-14 years old) - Growing Independence

Physically. The young adolescent is now more conscious about how he or she looks. He or she will start to notice many growth changes happening in his/her body being in the age of puberty like having pimples, hair in unusual places, etc.  A question he or she may be asking "Are these necessary for me to grow up?"

Mentally. He is more critical. Before you can convince him about something, he needs to be given reasonable answers. He can now handle abstract ideas more and can memorize well if he finds things reasonable.

3 of my son's adolescent friends.  My son is the youngest.

Socially and Emotionally. How much the growing child wants independence! He is always hoping that dad and mom would consider his opinions and objections in different issues.

There's also so much social pressure at this stage! The young adolescent feels that he or she needs close friends of the same sex whom he/she can confide with - someone whom they can share secrets about their crushes and admired person. He/She needs someone who can understand his/her undefined shifts in emotions. As parents, it is important that we should be there for them and guide them especially now that they're starting to enjoy more freedom.

Spiritually. Spirituality for them is becoming more personal. They do not go to church or pray simply because they are told. They do it because they want to.  By now, it is extremely important that the adolescent knows who Jesus is to him. Is Jesus Lord? Is Jesus His Savior? Or else, he may never be made to believe in Christ any more. Though he would look for some real proof about it in order to believe and not just feelings. As parents we need to introduce Jesus Christ to our children while they are still young, so that when they have grown-up, they will not abandon the faith.

Stay at Home Blessings Adgitize Ad Giveaway

Update: Please see update regarding this giveaway here.

Stay at Home Blessings is now 4 years in the blogosphere. Hooray! I thank God because I never really thought that this blog would last that long.  There have been times when I thought of just abandoning this blog. But then, I have not until now. Also, this year 2011 I've been blessed to have earned more money from home via online opportunities, one of which is through Stay at Home Blessings.

As a way of thanking this blog's visitors and readers, I am giving away a 1-month Adgitize Ad worth $14. I thought of giving away an Adgitize ad because I like how it works. Not only do you get to advertise your blog and increase your blog traffic, but you also get to earn back the advertising fee you paid for. So, this $14 prize is actually worth about double its value or $28.  If you want to know how Adgitize works especially about the earning back the advertising fee part, check out my post that talked about Adgitize.

A Blessed Christmas to Everyone!

It's Christmas! From our family to yours ....

 Have a Blessed Christmas!
May the joy, love and peace of Christ fill your heart.

 

Animated gif how to

30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge Update After 30 Days

The Christmas season is really a busy time. My children had their third quarter exams the second week of December, so I had to tutor my 4 kids. This week had a lighter schedule, they just spent the week for their school sports intramural and Christmas party.  A surprise for me is when my 2nd son, Yuan, came home yesterday bringing a gold medal for being a champion in their table tennis tournament. I'm so proud of him.

Yuan's medal.

Last Sunday, December 18, was also my son, Emmuel's, birthday. He's now 11 years old. But we just had a little celebration last night with his friends. It was a simple celebration. I prepared a chocolate cake, baked chicken and pancit. We still haven't bought him a gift. In fact, we haven't bought all our kids any gift for Christmas yet. We usually just bring them to the store and let them select what they want, but we give them a budget. He he. So, we expect to do that this weekend.

Christmas Bell project of Kristel

I was really busy right? Oh,yeah, about the 30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge. Since I was so busy, I didn't accomplish the 30 hubs goal. I was only able to write 2 more hubs to complete only 8 hubs in 30 days. But next year, I would surely try the challenge once more.

I hope you can visit these hubs
How to Make Storage Containers Using Recycled Materials
Christmas Bells - Ornaments and Song

Christmas craft project of Yuan

Then after the 30 days was over, I was able to write another hub
Christmas Craft for Kids That Tell a Christmas Story

Since the children were also busy making their school Christmas projects, I took the opportunity to make hubs out of them. I hope you can read them.

So, Christmas break starts today for my kids. My kids will be rocking my world again in the days ahead.

Giving and Sharing When Bad Things Happen

Image from Philippine Red Cross Website

One recent Philippine news that has come to the attention of International news is the flash flood that occurred in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Dumaguete. It is very saddening that these calamities happen and would you believe just when it is almost Christmas. Now, a lot of people have already died and many have lost houses and properties. How can we help in such a time as these?

 I have shared in my other blog a post entitled Why Bad Things Happen? I wrote it last January 2010 in response to the same dilemma as is happening now. I hope people could read it and find some strength, faith and hope despite the bad things that are happening in the midst of calamities.

 Paula of BC Bloggers also wrote a post about how people could help the victims of the flash flood. I'm sure every Filipino has a concern for his disadvantaged fellowmen. So, I'm quoting here a portion of her post regarding how we could give our donation for the flood victims. We can send our donations to the Philippine Red Cross.

You can either send your donation via SMS or you can send your donation online via the Philippine Red Cross website. Forms of payment available include Paypal, Credit Card, BancNet, etc.

To donate via SMS:

For Globe subscribers: via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED and send to 2899 – valid donation amounts are P5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 (For ex, RED 10). Transaction is free.
via GCASH, text DONATE and send to 2882 


For Smart subscribers: via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED and send to 4143 – valid donation amounts are P10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500, 1000 (For ex, RED 10).


You can find more ways to volunteer and donate (if you want to donate in kind also) to the Sendong typhoon victims from Mona's blog post.

Christmas is really about giving and sharing, right? So, why not give and share now with our less fortunate kababayans.

Little Star - Tell Your Children this Christmas Story

Last Friday, we just put up our Christmas tree. It's the same Christmas tree that we had last year. We're not buying another one since we think it's still okay. Besides, this has sentimental value. It was passed down to us by a good friend  who had moved on to another part of the world.

It's the same tree but ... it's not really the same Christmas tree. This time, my daughter, Kristel, and son, Yuan, helped put the Christmas tree ornaments. I think no ornament was put in the same place as it was last year. So, it doesn't really look exactly the same as last year's Christmas tree.

Janel was telling me to put it up earlier because they already received some gifts from their friends. I still haven't wrapped any gift. In fact, I have not really bought much. Anyway, there's still time to buy some more gifts here for all the kids here. I usually just shop for the children and for an exchange gift we do among our friends.

Janel has been saying "I love Christmas! It's Jesus' birthday, right mom?" I haven't seen them watch an animation about the birth of Jesus yet. But I would be on the look out for that one. I want them to watch it so that they would be reminded of what the season is really about. Christmas is not only about the gifts, the toys, the new clothes, the parties, the Christmas decors. It is really about JESUS.

Here's a story which you may want to tell your children to let them know about the true meaning of Christmas. It's entitled Little Star written by Anthony DeStefano read by Pat Boone.



What do you think about the story? Do you like it?

Faithful Blogging Prompts: Can I Pray For You?

This post is another Faithful Blogging Prompt. It's #31 and the question asked is How do you pray for the people who read your blog?

As a Christian blogger, my purpose is not just to write informative posts for  my blog readers and friends. I also from time to time share posts that somehow illuminate what I learn from the Word of God or from books I read. Here are 7 of these posts which you may find interesting:
Tips on How to Deal with Worries
Marriage is for Grown-Ups
Did I Marry the Wrong Guy?
What Makes a Home Blessed?
Keep Your Love Tank Full
Prayer - A Key Ingredient in Marriage
Teaching our Kids to Pray

This faithful blogging prompt yet gave me another idea as to how I could share to my blog readers. If you have any need, anything at all, that you would like to be prayed for, I would like to pray for you.So, starting from this post, I would be displaying inlinkz  in a post every Thursday, where my blog readers who wish to be prayed for can add their names or links. If you have a specific need that you would like to be prayed for, you can share it with me on the comments section and just say it's confidential so I would not publish it.

So, for this week, add your name or links below (no strings attached).

Child Development: Knowing My Junior

It's been a while now since I posted about this series on Child Development. For this post, I will be talking about the stage which my 2 sons are in - the Junior stage. My oldest son is now turning 11 this December and my second son is 9 years old. Let's see what do the books say about this stage.

Late Childhood / Junior (9-11 years old) - Personified Exuberance

Emmuel is playing basketball with his cousins.

Physically.  A junior is very energetic. He likes to do a lot of challenges and is excited over physical adventure.  He can become very involved in physical achievement that sometimes he neglects proper physical care like good grooming and caring for personal possessions and my room. 


This so describes my Emmuel, he likes to play basketball very much, which by the way he just started playing since March this year. It is also at this stage that physical changes has been occurring in their bodies, so I have to remind them of good grooming often. 


Mentally.  A junior is more accurate in his observations and can reason more logically.  He is interested in different things - experiments, reading books, doing art - which depends on his personal exposure in the home, his friends, his school and church influence.  This is said to be the golden age of memory for them, which means he can memorize anything he finds interesting.


My second son Yuan has been very interested with origami since we bought this set of art & craft books last year. He's been doing a lot of origami lately (he's even searching and watching a lot of You Tube video tutorials) that I have to tell him to refocus his attention on his studies. One of these days, I'll make a post of the wonderful origami's he's been making. And it's amazing how he can MEMORIZE the steps in making all those origami. It is indeed a golden age of memory. But only if they find something interesting. I certainly hope that my boys would find their school subjects a lot more interesting, too.

Socially and Emotionally.  A junior is able to gain control over his emotions but still displays it freely.  There are times that he tries to hide his feelings, so that others may believe that he is fearless or all right.  He does not like sentimental expressions that when he says "Good night, mom and dad", he tries to hide affections.

Hmm. My two boys are quite different with respect to this aspect maybe because of their personal sentiments and age. I noticed that Emmuel is now naive when I kiss him goodbye when going to school. While Yuan is still that sweet boy who says "I love you, mom" with a matching kiss and hug when going to school. Emmuel sure is growing really fast.

This period is also a social adjustment for a junior.  He begins to seek independence in preparation for adolescence.  He is becoming friend conscious and at times he relies more on his friends than his parents and teachers.

A junior loves to identify people he admires so he's looking for worthy examples to follow.  He tends to separate from the opposite sex, unless there are social activities for girls and boys together.


Now, these boys really love to sleep overnight in their friend's house - a taste of independence. We allow them to do so once in a while. Emmuel also often asks us if he can invite his friends over. Well, it's better that we get to know who he is hanging out with. 


When they are with their friends, it seems that they do not want to separate from them anymore. Also, they tend to do more what their friends do than listen to mom or dad. Sigh. So, we better implement firmly the house rules. 


And oh boy... they're starting to give attention to CRUSHES.


Spiritually.  A junior is a hero worshiper so he should see heroes in people who can lead him to Christ as his ideal.  When he accepts Jesus as Savior, he needs to grow.  This will prepare him for teen life.

He can understand the teachings of the Bible especially when coupled with personal application.  He is a doer and interested in living the truth but he needs good examples.


My two sons are in a critical stage when it comes to their faith life. If we cannot as parents guide them to believe in Christ now and be good examples to them, it will be more difficult to win them to Christ when they enter their teen life. I try as much as I can to teach them the principles of God's word in a practical way - in a way that they can see how it applies to their everyday lives. For instance, I ask them to memorize "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" so that when they are faced with something difficult, they will turn to God and trust Him for help. 


My special prayer for Emmuel and Yuan is that as they enjoy this stage of their childhood, they would ask Jesus to come into their hearts and be their Savior and Lord. 


The next post will be the last one for this series - Early Adolescence.

Palarong Pinoy 2011

Last Friday, our family (excluding our 2 sons) went to the Palarong Pinoy which was an event programmed by our kids' school as part of developing the students love for Filipino games as well as having fun with the student's parents. The place we went to is a dates farm with a really nice view. There was a big pond or lagoon with a number of swans ducks swimming back and forth. My little Angel really liked watching the ducks.

Angel enjoying herself.

As the name of the event suggests, our children had some fun playing games. Janel played this balloon bursting game. I wonder who is this young man she is partnered with. She also played a tug-of-war game which her team won.

Balloon Bursting Game

Tug-of-war

Kristel, on the other hand, played the Coconut Shell Relay Race. Some of the players had a really hard time walking using those coconut shells. But I was surprised that Kristel really did a good job. She looked like a pro using those coconut shells. She also did another relay race which I actually missed because the games were ongoing simultaneously.

Coconut Shell Relay Race

Another Relay Race

After the event, we still had some time to tour the farm. We walked through this long road with dates tree planted on each side.

Pathway with dates tree on each side.

Then, at the end of that road, we saw this big empty lot with the mountains at the background. They saw a big empty cable spool which they had fun rolling to and fro together with some of their friends.

At the end of the day, we were all tired. But, thank God it was fun and gave us a short break to enjoy the outdoors - an amazing display of God's creative power. It was also a great time spent bonding with my daughters and their father, too.

Here we are - mother and 3 daughters.  Father is taking the shot.