Their Big day!

Do all girls wish to get married someday? The perfect dress, the perfect wedding? I don’t remember wishing for any of those.  I can guarantee these girls are not wishing to have a dream wedding either.  All they look forward to is this day. The Graduation Day. 

Team Pink is moving forward to Grade 1 in June
Team Yellow one more year to prepare

Roseanne - over achiever , she is an extra special girl. World, watch out, here comes Roseanne!

There is no greater joy than seeing their parents cry and watching their children go up the stage. 

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica

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I remember what we did last summer ..

Summer in the Philippines starts in March and also our  Graduation Month.

We are doing our countdown towards Graduation Day in March.  I can't wait to see them and hear their stories since the last time I was there.  I have been asking myself what would they want for graduation and for Summer Break.



This is what our F.L.A.G girls did last summer !



Irysh fell asleep on our way there. They don't know where we are going it was  SURPRISE!



POOL PARTY! - none of the kids have ever seen a swimming pool!

No one can swim, so they were just in the smaller pool ( supposed to be the hot tub)

We have a big surprise for them when we go home, I can't wait to see their faces when they see where we are going next ! Stay Tuned!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

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No lootbags required, just a cake !

I can still  remember when I used to prepare for  my kids' birthdays.  It was supposed to be fun for them and for me.  For weeks, I would  go crazy on decorations, loot bags etc.  Every year will be a different theme - movie night, Chuckee Cheese, swim party. You name it , I did it!   My teenage boys still remember them up to this day.

Here's what our FLAG volunteers do to prepare for our birthdays.  As we are a small school ( for now) , it doesn't  take a village to have the community share the chores around our small church.  No machinery required!

our volunteers helping each other to make our school a better place

After all, we have something special to prepare for.  We are celebrating 2 birthdays in October.  A board, some markers, some balloons and a lot of creativity, we are ready for a PARTY!



Great Job !!!

Our Birthday girls - Chrisdel and Faith



Pansit, ice cream, bread

For our girls who didn't celebrate their birthdays in the past, this is a treat.  I can just imagine how they must be feeling that day.  No fancy lootbags, no frills, no elaborate decorations. 

Thank you for all the blessings, the girls praying before their meal

Yum!

After a long week of emails, voicemails, meetings,  this is what I get to see at the end of the day.  It makes it all worth it. 

Thank you for stopping by !

Hugs from,

 the F.L.A.G team

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Financial Date

Doesn't sound romantic? does it? But had to be done.  I have committed to my husband to have this date at least once a month.  Let's just say, I forgot when the last time we had one.  It is long OVERDUE! that's for sure. 

When my husband and I decided to open the school in 2010, we knew what we were getting into.  It was our savings that we put into this project.  I don't have any regrets to this day as I have received triple the blessings since then.  Do I long for a new fall bag ? yes, new boots yes, yes. But the question is do I need them? The answer is always NO. 

I don't deprive myself of shopping for a few things here and there, just be smart about it.  No need to "keep up with the Kardashians" all the time. Retail Therapy is always good but it is band aid solution for me as it doesn't solve anything. We just came back from a budget vacation for a week and we had a blast!!

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but do we really need all the stuff we have today?? Do we really need to spend $6.8 Billion on Halloween?  Maybe I am in a different place in my life today, trust me I was the impulsive shopaholic few years back ( no confessions here, I don't think 5 Hail Marys , 5 Our fathers will cut it ).




2 sweet little girls celebrating their birthdays
Chrisdel and Faith

They are the reasons why the Financial Date needs to happen.  Chrisdel and Faith celebrating their birthdays , YAY! yes, this is better feeling  than getting brand new boots or bag.


Thank you for stopping by!


Hugs,

F.L.A.G Team

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One Christmas they will never forget..

Part 2 of my last blog, here are the heartfelt pictures of the girls from F.L.A.G.  I remember our whole family on one evening watching them through Skype while they open all the presents.  It was something I have never felt before watching  them with PURE JOY , GLEE and DELIGHT their EYES lit up while they touch, feel, even smell the toys inside those shoe boxes.

Irysh with her gift.. Gosh she was sooo happy

Leslie with her shoe box.. she was probably so excited!

humble christmas tree with shoe boxes filled with surprises


I am soo excited for this Holiday 2011!  We will make sure we will top last year's event. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

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Shared Birthdays are OKAY !

Imagine our children having to share their birthdays with their siblings? I don't think we can imagine doing such a thing.  How about putting 2 names in one birthday cake? Not gonna happen. 

Here at F.L.A.G, we celebrate birthdays with all the girls who celebrate within the same month.  These girls  never celebrated their birthdays, not even just a cake to make a wish.  When you see these precious photos, no need for balloons, loot bags, not even gifts. For them they are grateful enough they get to celebrate their birthdays with everyone for the first time.

Maligayang Bati ! ( Happy Birthday in Tagalog) to Roseanne and Clariss

This is the first time Roseanne and Clarisse will share this day and make their first birthday wish.  I hope they had a great time and that cake looks soooo good!

Sharing this special day with their friends. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

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Celebrating 100 plus followers!!

Happy 100 + !!!
Yay! I reached 100 + Followers, I would like to thank all the mommies out there who are following me.  I will try my best to update my blog and join me in my journey in helping out our girls back home.  Your thoughts and comments are special to me and I share them with everyone.  I hope one day in my lifetime I can meet all of you!

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

LIKE us www.facebook.com/flagphilippines

I dedicate this to all the moms out there!

" see I know this girl, I only radiate like the sun when she rotates around me
so I guess you can call her my - world
i know the circumference of the world is impossible to measure, but if I could just wrap my arms around the earth of her body."
i could tell you the exact -distance."

"And I'm sorry Al Gore but contrary to the popular belief, global warming has nothing to do with carbon emissions.
But I have made it my mission to prove that was once my implicit, is now obvious to show that the hotter the summers are a result of her - Intuition.
Because I swear she's a psychic, see she's saving the world with no need of a sidekick."

"She would fly to the ends of the earth if I was in trouble, at the same time I could be driving by a Timmies 24 blocks away and she'll make me buy her a double double.
And she has no bubble, of personal space cuz everyone is consoled in her gratitude and her grace
Wars would stop, guns would drop and bad guys would drop on one knee in praise
if these stupid governments would just see her face."

"I remember 5 years , yeah way back, when I started to pack..
My word pad and everything that I had, cuz life was bad, wanted to make like my dad
just grab my bags an dip."
But then she screamed my name, told me I was all she had. I have never seen a face in the world so sad
tears drip from her eyes to her cheek and found solitary confinement on her upper lip."

"So I made a promise after I saw the sorrowful state she was in
I would never be the cause of her pain ever again.. and since then
If anyone on this earth ever made her cry, I would cut off their limbs and make them sleep in her flowerbed for the rest of their lives."

" Cuz from my birth till the day I die, she will always be the reason why I'm spittin these lines
She will always be the reason why I'm runnin these rhymes
She will always be the reason why I spend all this time with this pen."
So f$&k the poetic , cuz no poet could spit it more beautiful than the way she had it."
Patrick, I love you, Patrick there is no one on this world that's above you, Patrick I know this world is f$&ked up and deranged but I brought you on this earth, cuz it needed a change."
So make me proud."
So here I go,
Nails clipped, ready to show
deodorant  on, shirt buttoned up, ready to flow
been waiting 18 years to reap what I've sewn
full of love and Filipino food I'm ready to blow so,
With this paper in my left hand, an my brother on my right, I am ready to step on stage and set fire to this mic."
Dad and bro in the front row
They saved you a seat, bare witness as I incinerate the world
with the same fire you sparked in me."

"And I'll always look both ways before I cross the street, I'll keep my head up and never look at my feet
Ladies are always first , always offer to take the check cuz they're all queens like you, so I offer the same respect.
Cuz some call you a princess some call you a queen some call you an angel on earth and heaven
and everything in between."
"Dad calls you babe, my boys call you Mrs.de Belen
as they dip to the kitche, filipino food they'd be smellin.
I will always need you,  like your noodle soup when I'm sick
Years go by, and you'll always look like you're 26
and you're wrong, I should have takem you to the prom
A perfect woman of many names, but I just call her - MOM

Poem by Patrick

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team

His birthday wish..

When my husband went to the Philippines in 2009, he was not sure what he was going to expect. For a month he explored the streets of Manila. He got around using a map!! Who does that in Manila? You are a target for muggers and thieves! He was brave. He came back with one mission.. to give back. We are blessed with 2 handsome boys , Patrick and Jordan but still feeling incomplete.  One year later, FLAG has educated 15 girls with 8 going to a regular school in June 2011.

He celebrated a milestone birthday this 2011 and one wish every year until the rest of his life is to continue education underprivileged girls in the Philippines. Happy Birthday and cheers to many more! Love, Monica, Patrick and Jordan.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team