We named her Journy because of the journey that my husband and I go through when we met. It’s not only because we were 3000 miles  apart from each other. It was more on how God brings us together despite circumstances. And we are happy that HE bless us with a beautiful daughter, Journy (Cocoa Bean).

On Thursday, Feb. 28, 2007, will be her first birthday. Wow! Amazing! Time flies. I’m missing her infancy already. But I love to watch her grow. Every new things she learn and love to do makes me appreciate the Lord. I am so blessed and privilege to be a mother. My husband and I never thought we will have her. But God is faithful and loving. HE knew I desire to have a child and HE gave her to us. It’s great to be a mother. Yes, it’s a lot of work but it’s worth it. I am home with her all the time. She is my buddy. I never been alone in the house, when my husband goes to work, since she came.

I get so emotional, thankful and proud to hear her first word (Hot!). When she saw the clock she will keep saying “Kak, kak”. She is quick to learn from facial expression  and to whatever she hear from us. When I read a book to her she makes eye contact and lean her head back so I can give her a kiss. It’s fun. She would sit in her PA (play area as daddy call it) and read (”baby way”) her books out loud. She will go on and on with her pointer finger going through all the pictures and letters on the book. She learn it from me.

She can be wiry, irritable and misbehaving. Her negative gestures mostly show when she is tired and hungry. She always have her noon nap for 3 hours. And it give me enough time to do some chores in the house. I can tell when she got enough nap, she wake up happy. I would hear her talking to her bunny (her security blanket) or reading her book. If she is fussing I know she needs something and that is her diaper need changed or she just want to be held. She sometimes screams when she had a dream. Her screaming is not a serious problem. I pray about her sleeping. It’s good when you pray for your kids when they are sleeping or when they are awake so they will know that nothing is to be afraid of (that is when the kid is a little bit older to understand enough). It depends.

She will tests us sometimes. No doesn’t mean no to her until she heard it from us for 4 times. But we have to do the right thing. She obeys when we say “tadong!”. She may pout, cry a little bit but she focuses on us because she knows mom and dad are serious. (She understands some of mom’s dialect).

To be a parent is sometimes hard when she is sick. I say hard because parent means responsibility, love, courage, strength and faith. I can’t just watch her scrathcing her eyes for a week, fussing due to some rash in her skin (she never have diaper rash…it makes me proud), or her face is so red and her temperature is too high. I learn to be more responsive, quick and strong. God’s grace is enough for me and my husband to take care of her. She is God’s child and HE loves her more than we do. And we love her because we are blessed by God.

Each day I thank the Lord for Journy’s journey.