Made with Love

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a family to bake a pie. At least in our family, the latter holds true.

The idea of baking a pie came about last Saturday as Dan was finishing up yard work. He brought in a bag of apples from our tree and merrily said, "Here's a bag of apples from our tree. We should bake an apple pie or something." An innocuous suggestion, no doubt, but we already had a very busy weekend planned. With tempered enthusiasm I replied, "Yeah...that's a good idea," trying to conceal my reticence. I assured myself that, somewhere between cleaning bathrooms and taking the children to their various activities, I would find time to bake a pie. To my dismay, however, time quickly slipped by and the bag of apples was left untouched on the counter overnight.

The next day, Sunday, I affirmed my determination to bake the pie. Danielle immediately scoured the internet for the most scrumptious recipe for that most-American-of-pies. She presented her top 5 findings and we reviewed them together. Martha Stewart's recipe for "Old-Fashioned Apple Pie" won by a landslide. Dan proceeded to peel the apples and douse them in lemon juice (fresh-squeezed from our homegrown lemons). I made pâte brisée [paht bree-ZAY], a French term for "flaky pastry," with Joseph and Mary eagerly awaiting turns to help me cut butter into flour. Unfortunately, my goal to bake the pie on Sunday proved to be as allusive as it was on Saturday.

On Monday, our schedule continued its unrelenting pace. That evening, we made plans for my sister, Tita Cleo, to stay with the kids for a few hours while Dan and I attended a parent dinner orientation at Danielle's high school. While we were away, Danielle and Tita Cleo made Martha's apple concoction and filled the pie. When Dan and I reached home, our eyes were greeted by an impressive dome-shaped epicurean delight. We baked it for an hour, and -- voilà! -- a golden, old-fashioned apple pie.

Unbelievably, this apple pie was 3 days in the making: apples picked on Saturday, dough formed on Sunday, pie filled and baked on Monday.

Devoured on Tuesday.

All told, a total of 6 people -- 12 hands, 60 fingers -- lovingly baked this delicious pie. Whoever said "Too many cooks spoil the broth?"

Discovery Canyon

Every summer for the past six years, my children have attended Vacation Bible Camp (VBC). It is one of the highlights of our summer vacation. This year, VBC took place August 3-7 in our church social hall. And, boy, what a week it was! VBC was even more special this year because Mary was old enough to join her brother & sister -- and she couldn't be happier. In fact, Danielle volunteered to be the youth leader for Mary's group. Together, the two girls delighted in some extra bonding time. The theme for this year’s VBC was “Discovery Canyon,” which was made possible by a core group of uber-dedicated people who spent countless hours preparing for this event. Over a two-month period, this group of people worked tirelessly behind the scenes. They hammered, sawed, pounded, trimmed, painted, lifted, visualized, deliberated, designed, and decorated. Until finally, they succeeded in transforming our non-descript, box-shaped, church social hall into a colorful and intricate desert canyon. There were mountains and gullies, sand valleys and boulders, local flora and fauna, roads and blue skies that met at the horizon. Each day of the week, the campers were introduced to unforgettable and extraordinary characters right out of Discovery Canyon. These harbingers of truth came with important lessons to share. On Day 1, Liz the Lizard summoned the children to REJOICE as Miriam did in Exodus 15:19-21 after she and Israelites crossed the Red Sea. On Day 2, Max the Mantis reminded the children that when we PRAY as Hannah did in 1Samuel 1:9-27, God promises to hear our prayers and answer them. With a flutter of wings, Olivia Owl swooped in on Day 3 and heartened the children to ASK Jesus for help just as the disciples did, in Matthew 8:23-27, when they sailed through the stormy sea. Day 4 brought about Felix the Fox who incited the children to TELL about Jesus’ miracles by singing the praises of Psalm 105:2. Finally, on Day 5, Blossom the Burro strode in and spurred the children to SEEK God like the crippled man in Luke 5:17-26 who had to be lowered through a hole in the roof in order to seek Jesus.

For five days, the children became denizens of Discovery Canyon. They sang, danced, rejoiced, played exciting games, and made beautiful crafts together. And I had the pleasure of serving snacks to all 60 of our campers. The songs we learned have such catchy tunes and are fun to dance to. It gladdens my heart to see that, weeks later, my children still enjoy Discovery Canyon songs. The moment we hear the songs being played, we just start singing and dancing. We can't help but be moved by the spirit!

VBC culminated in a final performance by the children during Sunday mass. Here is a video of the VBC campers (yellow shirts) and youth leaders (green shirts) singing their praises. The children were a bit nervous, but I think they did rather well. Which is more than I can say for this videographer (Yours truly)!

The Dynamic Duo!!

Joseph and Forrest are cousins by birth; but they are best friends by choice. Joseph and Forrest love spending time together. From the time they could walk, these cousins have been inseparable. Where one is, you are sure to find the other.

They go together like:

peas & carrots

salt & pepper

ketchup & mustard

fish & chips

bacon & eggs

bread & butter

chips & salsa

pork & beans

macaroni & cheese

cookies & milk

strawberries & chocolate

And, I would be remiss not to mention...

lumpia & sweet/sour sauce

puto & kutsinta

suman & tsokolate

sago & gulaman

...and finally,

halo & halo

Happy Red, White & Blue Day!!!!

Wishing you a firecrackin' and SAFE 4th of July!!!

Love,
Dan, Michelle, Danielle, Joseph, and Mary

Congratulations to the Awesome Threesome!

Congratulations to our dearest daughter Danielle on her graduation from middle school! The event was marked with bittersweet emotion that swelled and quelled with the tune of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, more commonly known as the Graduation March. Its orchestral notes tugged at our emotions causing them to rise and fall with each phrase. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes while cheers of joy came forth when Danielle was awarded a special medal for earning a 4.0 GPA all six semesters of middle school. Wasn't it only yesterday that I agonized over Danielle's first day of kindergarten? Eight years later and there we were, standing ever-so-proudly as our daughter made her way across the stage on the last day of middle school.

Danielle's cousin, Joshua, also graduated from middle school-- with honors! More impressive is the fact that Joshua, whose native language is english, did so in a spanish-immersion program. Today, Josh is completely fluent in spanish -- a skill that will surely prove advantageous in the future. His list of accomplishments includes three U.S. National titles in karate, and a burgeoning talent in photography and design. We are equally as proud of Joshua and feel extremely confident that even greater things are in store.

Last, but every bit as noteworthy, our dearest Joseph was given the "Friendliest Student" award during the third grade promotion ceremony. Imagine our joy upon learning that Joseph was presented this award. He may be small in stature, but his heart is grand. He's nine years old, but he is mature beyond his years.

Danielle was right to name him Joseph -- "after St. Joseph!"

As one chapter comes to a close, another begins filled with hope and promise. Inevitably, they will encounter numerous difficulties and challenges as they forge ahead into the future. They will be faced with situations that require certain sacrifice. Through it all, I hope and pray that they will remain steadfast in faith and their beliefs, never compromising their values, and always following their moral compass.

Lastly, I wish to share with them a definition of success that Oprah bequeathed to the graduating class of 2009 at Duke University:

"One of the best ways to enhance your own life is to enhance somebody else's and to stand proudly in your own shoes while you help others stand in theirs. How can I help somebody else move to higher ground? That is success."