My heart was full as well as my tummy this Christmas!

How are you, my dear read friends? I didn't publish an article yesterday because we got too busy and tired.
I hope your Christmas went well just like mine. And for those who were affected by the typhoon, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Everyone in the house was excited about the gift opening so we decided to do it after the kids are done with their dinner. We actually opened some of the kids' gifts a week ago: Saoirse and Cassie got their educational bus toys, Bam had her diary and her cat headset. There was a commotion in the house after that and I am glad it was settled.

My brother-in-law worked his ass off to give the kids a grand gift: a swing and slide. And the poor living room is now our playground. There were a lot of toys for the kids: from doctor set, barbeque toys, walker, firetruck, etc. The living room was so topsy turvy and we had fun watching the kids having the time of their lives.

We didn't cook a lot but we were very full. My mom-in-law cooked lasagna and made crema de Fruta, my brother-in-law cooked chicken. We also have buko salad. The ref couldn't accommodate everything. My contribution was the chocolate for the kids. We filled their stockings with sweets while they were dressing up.

Our handa

If you look at our picture, you might think we are rich. But to be honest, we are doing our best to provide for our family. We love spoiling the kids though. This year may have been difficult and sad but I am happy that we are complete, my brother-in-law survived a heart attack and covid. It's the first Christmas without my mother but I am trying hard to cope up, to live with it, one day at a time.

I am grateful that I continued writing here on read, I can now buy diapers and vitamins and gifts for my kids! I am so happy I won in a challenge that I will remember forever and I feel blessed with the assistance given by the government. It was really hard for me, psychologically and financially, to think and worry about how to provide for my kids. Now, I have a few weeks or months of relief.

I am also glad that my family in Mindanao is safe from Odette. I haven't watched the news but I saw it from my social media feed. I know we can bounce again from this disaster- we already proved it before. My heart and prayers are with those who have lost a family member and/or their property.

We didn't have a party in the house, in fact, most of us were already asleep at midnight. I only waited for the clock to strike at 12:00 am and I kissed my kids and greeted my partner. And this morning, we had grilled pork and buttered shrimp with cheese. Then Bam and her Tito Jojo baked some cupcakes.

That's our simple and happy Christmas celebration. My heart as well as my tummy was full. And I wish you had a blast.

Merry Christmas again,

Glessa

All images and content were mine unless otherwise stated.
December 25, 2021