All About Life, Marriage, Parenting, Homeschooling as we walk our lives with Jesus

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

On 8:04 PM by A Bucket of Grace   No comments



Being a mom of four boys was not an easy task though their age gaps became helpful.

Our eldest Ivan is now 21 followed by our 2nd son Kyle who is 12 (9 years gap) then our 2 boys Sean and Simone who are 6 and 5 (like twins). Each day we are dealing with different generations of boys which requires different approach.

Few years back, we felt that we had a handful. But now it hit us…they are really growing fast. Sometimes me and my husband would think that we could have had more hahaha :). What we realized with these past few months is CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. As our kids grow, they change. Change in preference, views, character and others.

My eldest Ivan who wants to be called as Elijah now ( this is his second name) is a full grown man. He was asking us for the past 2 years if he can live in a dorm during school days because transportation was really hard for him. This year, we are embracing that change. We agreed that he can live in a dorm weekdays and go home every weekend. It was a tough decision but he started to have evening classes until 9 pm which may lead to a difficult commute. He also wanted to learn more about lifeskills like cooking, cleaning, budgeting his own money which we also think will be helpful for him.

God reminded me that my son is already at the right age of living independently while studying. I was 19 when I lived in a boarding house back then, younger than my son.

And so we agreed with his request. I also had no choice left, I needed to submit to my husband’s decision too.

We felt the changes with the rhythm of our home when his classes started. Oh my and I had a lot of instructions, felt like treating him like a child.

God is teaching me that my children are not my own and as they grow to maturity they will really have independent lives and all they will carry are the values, teachings, memories and love we gave them while they were with us.

Embracing this new rhythmic melody required a lot of changes with our schedule. Protecting our schedule with other commitments and extra activities so we can have our family days during weekends, adjusting our date night from a weekday to Saturday. Saying no to some invites on a weekend to prioritise our family time.

It was not easy but as months past we experience the blessing of this new change. We learned to value time too.

We felt closer to our son. His Dad helped him out in setting up his own place and buying his needs while I helped him out with his financial decisions. But the best lesson that this move gave our son is, he realized that he needed us. When he had problems he would message us and go home to seek help. We praise God for this blessing of finding refuge in our home. Yes, he saw our home as his dwelling place were he finds love, safety and protection.

God would really make something good out of each situation. Each night I would tell God…” Lord, I trust you on this. I know you will protect my son in any and every situation and you allowed this because you know better than I do.” And I am grateful I surrendered and trusted God. I gave all my worries and apprehensions on Him, because I know I do not have control in my son’s life, but He does.

In the recent family thanksgiving we had we asked each of our child..." What are you thankful for from each member of our family?" He answered “ I am thankful for Daddy because he helped me set up, buy stuff and fix my place” “ I am thankful for Mommy for being my financial advisor” We felt joyful that we heard these from our son who seldom speak and say emotional things.

My husband is planning to do passing of rites to each of them as they enter different phases of manhood. I am also grateful that their Dad is intentional in discipling them and would spend time to do so.

Another new season we are having is with our second son Kyle who is hitting his puberty this year, he will be officially a teen soon when he turns 13. There were a lot of physical and character changes in him. He grew taller and his voice is deeper.

Kyle is the opposite of his Kuya. He is outgoing and easily gets bored when doing something that requires a long time. I still see him as a child but when I see his big feet, God reminds me that he is growing up, fast, really fast. I remembered there was this one time when we were in a public place and I told him, “ No, we cannot buy that baby.” He told me…” Mommy don’t call me a baby, I am not a baby anymore. Hahaha. Yes he is not and my heart needs to be reminded of that.

I need to let go of his childhood and embrace his season of becoming a new teen :)

He is more conscious with his clothes, face and appearance. I have to let go of him leaving the palm of my hand half open. God is always reminding me that my grip should not be as tight as before or I might choke and exasperate him.

In the recent homeschooling discussion that we had… God was telling me to say something to him and I did. I told him “ I believe God has big and greater plans for you, son! “ Oh and I suddenly saw tears coming out of his eyes. Oftentimes, our kids need to hear encouraging and powerful positive words from us and I am grateful that God gave me the wisdom to say it. It was a special moment for me and my son and I called his little brothers so we can group hug. He felt encouraged and assured.

I am still an imperfect mom and sometimes I still allow my temper to conquer me VS the love that I have for my children. In times like this, I will ask God to allow me to see my children the way He sees them and not to let my kids see an angry face.

This is a season in our family when we needed to let go and embrace the new changes that God wants us to do. Sometimes when He calls us to do something I always have apprehensions because I worry, not seeing how Big God is. It may require a leap of faith but God taught me that His promises are always true and evident.

We always pass and experience different seasons in life but in each season there is always One Great God who will see us through.

Just like what God told me to tell Kyle. I believe that God has big and greater plans for our family and for your family too. We just need to continue to seek His heart.

“ Now may the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15:13

All Glory to God!

Thursday, March 22, 2018

On 7:40 AM by A Bucket of Grace   No comments
Last year when I was searching for our Language Arts and Grammar curriculum, I came across this website Institute of Excellence in Writing and saw their Fix it Grammar sets. I checked the reviews about it and thought of trying it. The first thing that struck me is that I can teach grammar 15 minutes a day. Just what I needed, plus repitition really works for my son. The practice lesson each day will really help in the mastery of the lesson.

I went ahead and purchased The Nose Tree Teacher's Manual and the Student workbook. However I found out later on that a pdf file of the Student workbook can be downloaded for free once you purchased the Teacher's Manual. If you are planning to use this curriculum you just need to have the Teacher's Manual and then print the downloadable pdf file for the Student book, but you can also purchase the book if you wish to have a printed workbook right away.


The student workbook has grammar cards which helped my son to identify and review previous lessons such as indent, articles, nouns, verbs, adjectives and others. He adds each card to his "working collection" whenever a new topic was introduced to him.


Each time we have a lesson for 4 days a week and 15 minutes each day, we learn how such words are being used with a certain part of speech. My son would rewrite the sentence, fix it, write down the parts of speech or how each word was used in a sentence and will do one vocabulary word all for 15 minutes a day!

What are the advantages?
- Grammar is taught in context
- Repetition ensures mastery
- Editing skills transfer better to writing

How does it work?
- Learn it: Explore a grammar concept.
- Fix it: Locate and fix errors in four ahort passages a week.
- Discuss it: Explore how the grammar applies to the passage.
- Copy it: Rewrite the corrected passage into a ynotebook.

What's included?
- 33 weeks of daily passages
- 132 vocabulary words
- Reproducible student pages
- Clear teacher's notes
-Grammar Glossary

It is not a traditional grammar program, so it will not feel as if you are really learning grammar. Instead, you and your child will be internalizing the tools necessary for editing their own compositions, which is the main goal of grammar - Cathy Duffy

This is can be used as early as third grade until high school. However the author Pamela White recommended that each student should start with the 1st book, The Nose Tree and then move progressively since the knowledge, skills, and strategies taught in each book build upon one another. But for higher grade levels, there is a placement test that your child can take to check what level you could start.

Lessons begin on a relatively easy level and gradually progress to a challenging level. The Fix It! Grammar series now includes six courses, each based upon a fictional story in an abridged or rewritten version. The six courses are:

The Nose Tree (Book 1)
Robin Hood (Book 2)
Frog Prince or Just Deserts (Book 3)
Little Mermaid (Book 4)
Chanticleer (Book 5)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Book 6)

This also works well with IEWs Teaching Writing with Structure and Style as the concept is related with each other.

Sharing Cathy Duffy's review on this:

Fix It! courses should be more effective than traditional grammar courses because they teach grammar through immediate application—they teach students only what they need to know at the moment. The interesting language of the stories combined with the story lines themselves are also much more likely to engage students’ attention. Even students who have begun to learn grammar using other resources might find Fix It! a welcome change.

We are enjoying using fix it grammar, he fix it and we discuss and ends in 15 minutes a day! I would recommend this curriculum for your grammar lessons.

This book is available for preorder through Books for Wisdom and Journaling :)

Sunday, February 4, 2018

On 8:46 PM by A Bucket of Grace   19 comments


After our family time at the beginning of the year, I needed to refocus and take advantage of the quietness of each day.

I know I have a lot of things that needs to be accomplished, especially that we will be in our 4th quarter of our homeschooling year plus the demand of managing our home, If I am in a mess our whole household is in a mess too. It is contagious and bringing ugly results. I have realized that I needed to prepare my heart so I can be equipped.

We were so grateful for the gifts we received last Christmas. It was overflowing and we realized that our house is full.

Full of memories from our recent family time and full of new things. Yet my heart is still full of the unnecessary. I know it is the best time to declutter, not just with things unused in our home but also with the things that hinders me to be more intimate with my Savior.

I know I needed more time to be still in the quietness of God's embrace. If I have a lot of trash in my heart, God's love will not be able to conquer my heart. And God is telling me that I need to declutter for Him, for my family, so His grace can surpass all of my shortcomings.

By decluttering my soul, I gain more strength to overcome from the One who redeems my soul each time I fall.

It was so timely because it was our praying and fasting week in our church. The devotions that I read and listened to spoke to me and God was so near. I did not have fasting with food but I really focused on my Quiet Times with Him.

Starting with doing our daily devotions in our prayer and fasting booklet and then I started to use my Prayer and Character Journal.

In our prayer and fasting week, we focused on this verse " Be still and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10


Oh one of my life verses. It speaks to me each time I remember and read it. The topic on my Prayer Journal was about having a Rested Heart, which was so helpful to me as I ask God to declutter my soul. For most of the trash are anxieties ( what ifs and the like) that hinders me from my restedness.


While my Character Journal focuses on having a Grateful Heart. I have realized how God's grace was also sufficient for me each day, enabling me with all that is needed to do.


At the same time, I also started with Bible Journaling which really helped me as I journal and do art on how God speaks to me.


It was also so timely that I was blessed with NIVs Homeschool Mom Bible. The devotions were based from life experiences from a homeschool mom which were all uplifting and encouraging. It reminds me each day that I was called by God to homeschool because this is His purpose for me and He is the source of my strength.

These Bibles and Journals are available online through Books for Wisdom and Journaling. You may check it on Facebook.




With all of these provisions that God gave me and all undeserved favor I really wanted to be faithful with my Quiet time and it soothes my needs when the time requires.

I wanted to declutter but I cannot do it alone. I needed God's presence and grace. I needed to commune with Him daily. I need my spirit to meet God's spirit and be awakened by His presence. I needed to rest my heart in Him. Through this, all of the unnecessaries in my heart will be broken.

And as I go through each day, God gave me the grace to read His Word in the morning and have a short devotion from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

As half of the day goes by, I have learned to share quiet moments with the Lord as I read my Homeschool Mom Bible after Lunch and start with Bible Journaling.

Before I sleep, I review our day and I write to my Prayer and Character Journal. I was also writing my Love Letters to God that I send thru email to myself to commune with the Lord before I sleep. The instrumental worship songs helps me to feel the quietness as I journal. Each art stroke that I do in the Bible reminds me to pray and meditate with His Word. I felt how God was speaking to me. His voice was clear.

As I was reading through my journals and the book of Corinthians, God helped me to declutter my soul and drew strength from Him, by His assurance from His Words.

The1st three weeks of the year passed by and God revealed to me that with His grace I can be Strong and Brave with the days ahead. It helped me to hear as I removed the distractions from my heart and along came spiritual healing.

" I will never be shaken" - Psalm 62:2

I was encouraged by this verse and felt God's assurance to me. That He is sufficient and I can never be shaken because He is my God and my Savior in anyway that I need.

All of the anxieties, brokenness and fears were overcomed through grace alone.

Brokenness is beautiful because it is how God will work in and through you to find courage and strength drawn from His love.

In His hands I found rest.

It is easy for our hearts to be filled up by things that are not needed in our Christian walk. Time and time again we need to declutter. Alllowing God to remove the unneccesarry so He can fill it with all of His love.

God also prompted me to have a Cleaning Day each month. A major overhaul not just with our home but with my spiritual life.

I am grateful on how my gracious God stitched all of the provisions and abounding grace that I needed to declutter and have a rested heart.

His grace is always sufficient for those who call upon Him and ask for it.

"Some actions like telling half truths, laziness and overindulging in shopping or eating may appear acceptable in your eyes at first, but if unconfessed for too long they may begin to make a total mess of your daily walk with God" - Janet Tatman

Does your spiritual life need a major clean up? Isn't it time to clean up your actions and reorganize your spiritual walk with Bible Study and Prayer?

"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness of reverence for God" 2 Corinthians 7:11

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

On 2:34 AM by A Bucket of Grace   No comments



Christmas and New Year came in a rush with all the preparation for fellowship, gathering and get together.

Last Christmas we wanted our family to focus on what really matters...Jesus and following his design for our family. We also wanted to spend Quality time with our children as much as we can. We want to enjoy and slow down. Taste the beauty of nature and target the hearts of our children.

We had our yearly family reunion last Christmas day. A yearly tradition that started centuries ago way back when I was still a child.

Then new year came and we were all together as a family in Tagaytay especially that my sister was here to celebrate with us.

We usually attend the Countdown party before but we decided not to do it anymore this year as we want to focus on reckindling the year that was and being thankful for God's faithfulness.

We had some family activities every hour. At 7pm we played farm bingo.


At around 8pm we started having our family discussion and devotion. We reflected on Psalm 23 Bible verses. We also asked each member of the family with the questions below to know our children more and to discuss their answers.

Goodbye 2017
I learned to
My favorite memory
Iam thankful for
My favorite book this year
My favorite time with mom and dad/ family
Something God taught me
My favorite verse in 2017

Hello 2018
I want to learn more how to
I want to be more Christlike in
I want to read a book about
I want to go with mom and dad to
I want to improve on
I believe God can

I got the idea from www.purposefulhomeschooling.com

The questions and the discussion helped us to learn and know our children more. Sharing their thoughts and what is inside their hearts.

We are thankful for this experience with our kids.

Then around 9pm we started playing our family favorite game UNO. This game makes us laugh so hard and at the same time we had an opportunity to teach our children in becoming good sports. We love this game and whenever we play it, it gives us a good quality time with our kids. Plus tons of laugh.


After that we also played chess while waiting for 12am to strike to greet the new year.

We ate together our favorite bread with hot chocolate. We love this tradition during this season and as soon as the clock hits 12am we were all ready to watch the fireworks at the veranda. With a grateful heart for 2017 and hopeful in Christ for 2018.

Words cannot express how we felt God's amazing hands and grace for 2017 and our hearts are really full with his faithfulness allowing us to be joyful and victorious in all circumstances.

We also wanted to start a new tradition. My husband and I decided to spend the first few days together with our children and continue to spend quality time.

And indeed the first few days of the start of the year was well spent together.

My eldest son Ivan even treated us on our first night at the hotel. What a blessing!

I remembered when it was raining in Tagaytay when I woke up and asked God to bless us with a sunny day instead. I told the Lord thay if it is His will for us to have our Family Time He will provide us with a good weather but if not my husband and I knew that God wants us to go home instead.

Alas, after breakfast we saw the sun shining and wind blowing, giving us a cool weather. Perfect to have for a family day!

The kids had a blast playing around and seeing different animals. My husband and I were also intentional in making sure that we also play with them. I am really not an expert in playing around like my childhood days but I followed my husbands lead as he was intentional in teaching and playing sports with our kids.


And of course we also played our favorite game UNO plus we also had movie nights and bonfire. We got hooked in watching Harry Potter. My husband and I also had our quiet moments together during breakfast where we would eat first while the kids are still asleep. Plus we had our date night.


We are not perfect parents and we still have a lot of shortcomings and challenges when it comes to parenthood. Not to mention the things that we need to improve on. But being intentional in nurturing the hearts of our children is our first step.

Just like what Elizabeth George said " The hearts of our children is the most beautiful garden that we can tend."

We want to be the gardeners of their soul.

This 2018 we will be doubling our efforts in tending their hearts. But we can only do this if we will nurture our hearts first. Yes, it should always start with us parents. With all of our flaws and shortcomings we can only tend by God's grace alone, that is why we should nurture our hearts. Hearts that are fully dependent on the Lord and will always choose to be joyful each day. Problems and challengea may still come but I am always being reminded by this verse..." The thief comes to steal and kill, I have come so that you may have life." - John 10:10

Being happy is a choice, you can allow Satan to ruin and give you a bad day but you are always free to choose. We cannot be intentional parents and tend the hearts of our children if we would always allow Satan to steal our joy.

Whenever we spend time with our family there would always something that may arise that will steal your joy but only if you will allow it. Like in our case...my kids arguing, a spilled food, wrong way or bottles that were left at home. But we Praise God that He is in control. We are always being reminded by John 10:10 and if we would allow Satan to steal our joy we will leave bad memories to our children and withdraw precious moments instead of filling their love tank full. This is quite hard to do but that is why we need a lot of GRACE from God.

And he who always ask grace from the Lord, He will provide.

We are grateful to God for the time He granted our family to commune with Him and have a joyful family time at the beginning of the year.

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!


Tuesday, January 9, 2018

On 5:22 AM by A Bucket of Grace   No comments
We are grateful for 2017. It was my first full year of being a full time wife and mom. From managing operations at work to becoming a home manager, the latter is the best and fulfilling job for me.

As I look back, we as a family was able to have a fruitful year by the grace of God.

Sharing with you our highlights for 2017.

1. Marriage - my husband and I became closer by God's grace and spent a lot of Quality time together. We had more time to communicate which is important in a marriage. We pray together and share our plans and dreams. Our date nights were also consistent and I felt more loved because as I witnessed him falling in love with Jesus more.

2. Family - I had time to plan, spend time and have quiet moments with my children. When Sean learned to write his name and started read. I was present. When he lost his teeth I was there to share it with him. When at night he is scared and would say "Mommy, hug me." I can cuddle him in my arms and sleep together. Moments I lost when I was working on a night shift but was restored by God.

The first time Simone said Praise God, he shared it with me. When he felt frustrated with writing, I guided him. When he started reading too, I was his biggest fan. I know his favorite food to eat and I am glad that I am able to cook meals and bake for my family.

When Kyle solved a word problem, we threw our high fives together. When we read about a touching Christian story, we cried together. We shared his ups and downs and we were together talking about lifes challenges. He is a growing boy and would be a teenager soon. I feel blessed that we can talk together about his life experiences.

When Ivan has his 1st paying drawing he was able to share it with me. When he bought me a bag, I felt that it was one of my precious gifts I received in my life. He would also share his plans with me and we feel that it is privilege tk be able to give an advice to a growig adult and guide him in his journey.

3. Ministry

My husband and I believes that we were saved to serve and through service our faith grew and the more we experienced God in our lives.

We are servants of Christ and we want to live His purpose and dreams for us.

Chosen Retreat - the biggest work that God has given us. We felt too small and too little to handle the task but we experienced God's amazing hands working. It has always been a privilege serving the Lord and we are in awe of God's faithfulness.

We were also able to serve through different retreats and other ministries.

4. Testimony

By the Grace of God, Arnel and I were able to share our testimony in our church and my husband shared his own testimony too and was also invited to share it at 700 club asia. These were surprising moments for us, but our hearts were blessed as we heard and see people that were blessed by our testimony. More than that, it is God's story in our lives and we are sharing it to be a witnessed of His amazing Grace.

5. God's faithfulness - God is truly faithful when you abide in Him. It is unexplainable how God was able to stitch together every detail that happened in our lives, how He provided for our family and how He allowed us to experience His greatness. We also learned to be completely dependent on Him.

There were also moments when we experienced challenges and hardships eapecially with relationships but these also helped us to call upon the Lord and turn every struggles into blessing for during these times that we have learned to be more prayerful and to depend and trust God's will and defense.

The most important breakthrough that we had as a family for 2017 is when we grew more closer to the Lord, allowing us to always see His hands and trust His heart in all circumstances. We are still imperfect people but we have one big perfect God!


All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!