Rejection

It always sucks to feel rejection. On Monday, I was quite excited as I had an interview for a resource position at Macdonald Elementary (an inner city school which is composed of 60% First Nations' students). I tried my best to get to the interview early but traffic was so bad and as a result, I got there right on time. I was so flustered and nervous throughout the whole interview and I couldn't answer some questions regarding resource in the primary grades as I have no experience in that area. Nevertheless, the principal calls me and lets me know that the position has been offered to someone else that has more experience. But of course, he also says a few nice things about me....as though it would make me feel better.

REJECTED.

I guess that is life...

it's all part of it. the goods and the bads.

Then, who can understand better than Jesus himself? He was even rejected by his best friend, Peter. Just have to pick myself up and then focus on what is next.

Amazing story of a loving father...

My dad passed away when I was barely thirteen years old and it's not always easy as I tend to miss him more on the special times during the year. In particular, I am most saddened at the fact that he will not be there to witness his grandchild's life. A good friend forwarded this amazing story of the relentless love of a father which really enables one to see what it truly means to be a parent. I only pray that I can be1/10 of who this parent is...

Enjoy the article! There's also a link to a really touching video of the father and son.

Strongest Dad in the World

By Rick Reilly

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay fortheir text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles inmarathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his backmountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makestaking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick wasstrangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.``He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told himand his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an institution.''But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room.

When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anythingto help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out alot was going on in his brain.Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor bytouching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want to do that.''Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran morethan a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried.``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore for twoweeks.''That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running,it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''And that sentence changed Dick's life.

He became obsessed with giving Rickthat feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 BostonMarathon.``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite asingle runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the raceofficially: I

n 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made thequalifying time for Boston the following year.Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since hewas six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmansin Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' hesays. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeingRickwith a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th BostonMarathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their besttime'? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things,happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of theCentury.''And Dick got something else out of all this too.

Two years ago he had amild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' one doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.''So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston,and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants togive him is a gift he can never buy.``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.

''Here's the video.... http://youtube.com/watch?v=ryCTIigaloQ

Run for the Cure

A big thanks to those that donated to the "Run for the Cure". Our team was able to raise close to $10,000!!! Finding a cure for breast cancer is definitely one step closer due to everyone's generosity.

Captains Cynthia and Roger did a great job. I can't wait until next year!

Here's a pic of the team (missing Will and Ghis)...

Whistler Getaway

vince and i managed to sneak a little romantic getaway for Thanksgiving and we even got to meet up with our good friends, Tanya and Daniel. i'm thankful to have friends where we can just hang out and relax....i am especially thankful for Tanie cuz she's been such a big part of my life since back in our rebellious high school days.....and she's one of the true gems who has stayed by me through joy and sorrow.

here's a pic of the komoris...

some small luxuries of life...

1) yummy buttered fresh corn for 2 bucks!

2) having parents pull your wagon while you & and your bro' munch on freshly popped popcorn

3) spending quality time together at an irish pub listening to live music by rob funk

now, we're back at home....and lucia's cooking us thanksgiving dinner!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

in His time...

so here it is:

my very first blog although i've been reading others' blogs for a while and something within me prompted me to begin this one.

so why the name "la paciencia"? la paciencia means patience in spanish and it's a recurrent theme in my life especially in the past eight months. indeed, God is gracious and i've been trying to learn this virtue but often times to my own dismay, i end up falling flat on my face. i tend to trust in my own self rather than to give my all to the One who knows best...cerebrally, i know that i need to let GO....& unfortunately, i hold on, and sometimes, too tightly.

the thought of beginning a family has been on our minds for a while now, and i had the myth that once we start to "try" then it's all dandy and BANG, we would conceive right away. unfortunately, life doesn't work that way and God usually has a better plan. thus, our baby-making journey began in jan. 06 and to my surprise, month after month, i did not conceive and i could not figure out why? vince and i are both young, in good health (at least i try to be), and we exercise frequently....SO, what is the problem?

on one lazy, july evening as i was watering our garden, God whispered to me and said just one simple word: "patience". it was then that i finally let go....and i knew that i had to completely trust Him....

i often have this tendency of wanting things right away (just ask my mom and she can testify) and so with this whole conception thing, it was difficult. so i kept on repeating the word patience to myself and i was reminded that everything beautiful happens in His time. yes, even my dry, yellow lawn that i desperately wanted to be evergreen would need time to be nurtured.

once i entrusted my whole life to Him, an immense peace and joy surpassed through me. at the beginning of august, i found out that i was PREGO! praise God! (the long-awaited twins?)

currently, i'm on my 14th week of my pregnancy and it's been super exciting. i am thankful that the first tri is over!

When i found out that i was pregnant, i was overjoyed and i praised God using Hannah's prayer.

1 Samuel, Chapter 2

1 "My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn [a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 "There is no one holy [b] like the LORD;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

3 "Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the LORD is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.

4 "The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.

5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry hunger no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.

6 "The LORD brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave [c] and raises up.

7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.

8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
upon them he has set the world.

9 He will guard the feet of his saints,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
"It is not by strength that one prevails;

10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
"He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed."


Part of Psalm 139 also reminds me of how miraculous life is...

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Thank you for reading my first blog! (i know that i tend to be long-winded).... please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this BIG new phase of our lives especially as i've been feeling a bit sick lately with a sore throat that doesn't seem to go away.

It's great to finally share this exciting news!

Here's a glimpse of baby chan....