SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS, Part 2




This was how Lance looked during Crazy Hair Day at school.

Yes, Back to School Night is done, the days are getting colder, Labor Day is fast approaching, and Summer 2006 is coming to an end. So before all the details are blown from "the jasmine in my mind", let me give you a rundown of one of the most enjoyable summers my family has ever had.


1. Fourth of July



Actually, that should've read Second of July, because that's when the BIG celebration took place. Our family was invited to the home of some Adventist friends, where the kids went swimming and everybody feasted on veggie burgers, chips and potato salad. After sundown, we settled in to watch the awesome fireworks display. The kids got to light their own sparklers too!

  

We also received good news that day, because that was when we found out we were going to...

2. Camp Meeting



It was such a wonderful blessing for our family to go to Camp Meeting. I was apprehensive at first, since I am admittedly the least outdoorsy person you could ever imagine, and the thought of roughing it in a tent isn't exactly my idea of fun. But the Lord had other plans for us, and when we got to the Adventist Campgrounds in Soquel, CA, we found out we had a cabin!



It was almost like the Lord was saying, "Just get yourselves there and I'll take care of you." God is so good.

The Campgrounds were also just a short drive away from Capitola Beach, where the kids got to play in the surf during down time.



We were there for over ten days, and it was such a renewing experience. For more on our Camp Meeting trip, read my article in 87 GENTLE STREET.

It was also during Camp Meeting when we celebrated...


3. Troy's Fifth Birthday



Yes, Troy's fifth birthday landed right smack in the middle of Camp Meeting! They sang "Happy Birthday" for him in the Kindergarten tent, and we threw a small party for him in front of our cabin. Troy got the Hulk cake he requested, which we supplemented with yogurt with sprinkles instead of ice cream (no freezers in camp!). After our sixteen pint-sized guests washed it down with pink lemonade and fruit punch, we dispatched them to their afternoon programs, thankful that we didn't have to deal with the early afternoon sugar rush!



What a wonderful blessing it was for Troy to celebrate his birthday during our very first Camp Meeting. It will be a memory for our kids to treasure for the rest of their days.

We also got to meet so many new friends in Camp Meeting, and some of them invited us to...


4. Vacation Bible School 2



Since the children really enjoyed VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL at the beginning of the summer, we decided to send them to another VBS, this time at the Parkwood Seventh-Day Adventist church, in north Modesto.

Unlike the "FIESTA" theme in our church, Parkwood did "The Road to Bethlehem" this year. The central theme was Jesus' birth, and the children were divided into the twelve tribes of Israel. Each tribe got to register in the "census", and then they got to explore the "Market Place", where they dyed their own pouches, made their own perfume, fashioned lamp holders out of clay, decorated their own mosaic boxes, made their own coins and assembled their own flutes. They also did Roman Legionnaire drills, played games and sang songs, and in the middle of the week, they got to witness the coming of Baby Jesus!





Each day, while the kids worked up an appetite, the smell of baking bread wafted through the premises. And when it was done, it was divided among the twelve tribes, who all partook of it after saying a prayer.



It was so touching to see my children learn more about Jesus each day. With both Vacation Bible schools beginning and ending the holiday season, and Camp Meeting right in between, this whole summer seemed to be one big lesson on how to get to know God better, not just for our kids, but for Lorenzo and me as well.


And the learning continues, now that the kids are back in SCHOOL. And I, for one, firmly believe that when there is learning...



...the blessings are sure to follow!

BAKING FOR DADDY




Take a look at Mommy's little helper, with flour on her fingers and nose.

That's how my all of kids looked today, as they baked a home-made birthday cake for Daddy while he was sleeping. And they did it all by themselves, with very little help from Mommy!

Troy beat the eggs and was in charge of the dry ingredients, Lance measured all the other liquid ingredients, and both boys took turns with the electric mixer. All Mommy did was the boring grown-up stuff, like turning on the oven and lining and greasing the cake pans.

Yes, you read it right: cake pans. It was to be a two-layer cake, no less. Leave it to my kids to think big. This was, after all, DADDY's cake we're talking about...



...a two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate filling and vanilla frosting!

Oh, I know this picture doesn't exactly scream Escoffier, but Lance, Troy and Reanna took turns sprinkling that cake with chocolate sprinkles and they stuck in those candles themselves, which makes it the best darn birthday cake ever made in my book!

And while the cake layers were baking merrily in the oven, Mommy busied herself by making a version of pancit palabok which did not go against their Adventist beliefs. This meant forsaking the pork and shrimps, but she managed to make a healthier alternative using turkey and tofu.

And when it was all done, everything was served up to Daddy with a flourish. By this time, of course, all the kids cared about was dessert!




Daddy didn't disappoint them. He gamely lit the candles and posed for pictures. And then he made his birthday wish and blew out his candles. It was pretty much open season after that, with Reanna poking at the frosting while Troy picked out the sprinkles, one by one.

We spent the rest of the day quietly at home, watching movies and eating more cake and pancit. Daddy had to work later that evening.

Just like he had to work after FATHER'S DAY, and on that day of our wedding anniversary less than two weeks back, when he slipped and bloodied his forehead, yet continued to soldier on after leaving the doctor's office...

...which makes him the best darn Dad, husband and provider in my book.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!



We love you so much.

MY ANNIVERSARY PRESE

MY ANNIVERSARY PRESENT




Today is our sixth wedding anniversary.

I got my anniversary present a few days early this year, and I'm thrilled to pieces over it. My husband gave it to me during our recent CAMP MEETING in Soquel, CA. I had gone with the kids and he joined us whenever he could, but we truly missed each other so much that I feel I have our separation to thank for my gift's premature presentation.

Soquel, CA, is not far from Felton, where ROARING CAMP RAILROADS is located. And it was there at Roaring Camp where my husband, Lorenzo, gave me the sweetest anniversary gift I have ever gotten in all our years together.

It all happened last year. We had planned a whole weekend around our wedding anniversary, which also coincided with "Day Out With Thomas", Thomas The Tank Engine's appearance in Felton. We kicked off the celebration by going to the beach in Santa Cruz. Later, we checked into the Crowne Plaza, just a stone's throw away from my mother-in-law's house in Milpitas. I guess our mood was infectious, because we ended up getting an upgrade to a corner suite upon checking in.




We were in no rush to get out of there since I had gotten tickets to Thomas' last trip, which didn't leave until 4 PM. So the next day, we checked out late so the kids could enjoy the hotel's amenities before heading out to Roaring Camp. Troy had just learned how to swim, and he got to show off his new pool prowess to the ladies at the hotel's deck.





But he was bugging us about seeing Thomas the whole day, and it was really putting a damper on our anniversary spirit. Finally, we couldn't take any more of the whining, so we headed out to "Day Out With Thomas".





The kids were beside themselves with excitement. The last time we had seen Thomas was two years before, at The CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM in Sacramento, but Lance and Troy were still too young to appreciate it back then. After we rode Thomas, we went to the shop, where the boys took so long to choose what they wanted that we missed the opportunity to take pictures with Thomas himself. I was hugely disappointed at this, since I am a sucker for souvenir photos, but Thomas had already taken his last trip and was gone for the day.

Dejectedly, we headed back to the parking area. Daddy took us back to the beach at Santa Cruz after, which brightened the kids' spirits somewhat. And then we ate our anniversary dinner at one of our old haunts, Cats at Los Gatos, a historical old tavern and brothel which had been converted into a restaurant.


..


We headed back to Modesto that night, the kids happily tuckered out in the back seat. But that wasn't the end of the story. The next day was the day of our anniversary itself, and Lorenzo, my sweet husband, insisted on taking the whole family back to Roaring Camp Railroads again, just to I could have my souvenir family picture taken with Thomas the Tank Engine. The kids got to ride Thomas one more time, and they even got to meet Sir Topham Hatt this time around!




By then, my husband had already been driving the whole weekend with very little sleep. And since our return visit was just a day trip, I knew it wasn't an easy drive to take. But he soldiered on without complaint, just so I could have this:




And that makes it the sweetest anniversary present I had ever gotten.

(PLUGGING: Read about out Camp Meeting experience in 87 GENTLE STREET.)

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS, Part 1

1. Troy's Birthday

...


This shot of my little Prince Charming was taken the day before Troy's Preschool graduation.

Call it a pre-birthday picture if you will, since Troy doesn't officially turn five until July 17, but since school would be long done by then, his teacher decided to celebrate early. So Mommy got to hand out chocolate cupcakes, vanilla ice cream amd handmade loot bags to a bunch of preschoolers who most likely didn't need the extra sugar, but after I read their equally sweet handwritten birthday banner for Troy, I thought they were highly deserving.


2. Troy's Preschool Graduation



It's so hard to believe I was just writing about my son's first day at PRESCHOOL And now, he was about to exit those doors for the last time, a whole year wiser.

Now, I know that graduations are supposed to be happy events, but I have always felt a certain sadness at the end of each ceremony. After all, these children have all spent close to a year in each other's company. And now they were going their separate ways. There was something about it that just felt so abrupt to me.

This is probably why I have always made an effort to organize an after graduation event for my children. For the past three years, I have invited my sons' classmates and their families to celebrate the beginning of summer by throwing a pot luck swimming/karaoke party.

This year was no exception, and it was by far the most successful yet.





3. Vacation Bible School



My children didn't stay out of school long. In fact, the very next Monday following graduation, my kids bagan attending Vacation Bible School. This is an annual week-long event thrown by our church, where children could learn more about Jesus and the bible and meet new friends besides.

This year's theme was "Fiesta". There was a bible station, a craft station, and a video station. My children enjoyed the singing and Lorenzo and I enjoyed watching our sons lead the opening and closing prayers. None of us minded the nightly dinners either, which were of course, in line with the fiesta theme, Mexican. YUM!


So there you have it, a rundown of how our summer's been so far. The season's just begun, so there's lots more to look forward to. And with these bright smiles and shining faces greeting me everyday, you can be sure I'll be getting my daily dose of sunshine...



... with no sunblock required!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!


(Troy, Spot the Pit Bull and his baby, Bambi)


"But isn't she divorced...?"

My mind registered this question at lunch yesterday, when a friend of mine mentioned that she would be making such-and-such for Father's Day. I remember thinking to myself, "Now why would she be preparing a Father's Day meal for her ex-husband? I thought she hated his guts!"

And then it dawned upon me. She wasn't talking about her ex. She was talking about her REAL father.

To most people, this would seem painfully obvious. But I had lost my own father seven years ago so to me, Father's Day was all about my husband, LORENZO.

When I realized my mistake, a quiet emptiness settled into my heart. An emptiness tinged with envy, I'll admit. This particular friend was older than me, in fact, she already had two grown daughters in their twenties. Yet she still had her father with her. Life can be so unfair at times.

Still, it could be worse. At least I had a wonderful husband to celebrate with today, and celebrate we did, albeit simply. Lorenzo had work scheduled later tonight, so our usual out-of-town jaunt was out of the question. Instead, we spent the morning lying in each other's arms, talking and snuggling and talking some more. Later, we watched DVDs while Lance and Troy swam with their friends in the back yard. And when Daddy dozed off for his afternoon nap, Mommy got busy cooking.

In honor of my late FATHER, I made ropa vieja for dinner. Ropa Vieja, which literally translates to "old clothes", is a Cuban dish of shredded beef cooked in onions, peppers and tomatoes. It was one of the last meals I shared with my Dad at Cafe Havana in Malate. (Actually, it was his order, but as his eldest daughter and dinner date, I had the privilege of mooching shamelessly off his plate!)

Ropa Vieja is best prepared with fresh ingredients, but I was able to find a simpler recipe online which called for picante sauce. The best part of it is that I could devote the time I would otherwise spend chopping the onions, peppers and tomatoes into actually shredding the beef, which is the most time-consuming step of all. Unfortunately, I did not have plantains handy, but we did have Spanish rice, so Lorenzo's meal was still semi-authentic.

I am now writing this late in the day, so before it is over, I would like to greet my wonderful husband, Lorenzo, and thank him for being the same kind of father my Daddy was to me: always kind, always loving, always smiling, with a never-ending supply of hugs and kisses. No wonder my kids are so in love with him!




Happy Father's Day, Babe! I am so happy that our children, Lance, Troy, and Reanna, all have the privilege of calling you Daddy. And I am all the more blessed for it.

We love you soooo much, R.

WILD BOYS




I stumbled upon this picture of my little boys, taken at the SACRAMENTO ZOO a few years back.

No, that's not a lighted poster they're standing beside. It's a real live, real HUGE tiger, posing for our camera, at the other side of the glass.

He looks so docile and tame that I am reminded of one of God's promises:

"The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion will feed together;
and a little child will lead them."
Isaiah 11:6

Now isn't that just beautiful?

HIS STORY




Ladies and gents, I am proud to share with you Lorenzo Troy Sereno's preschool project, his very first story:

"Once upon a time there was a pyramid in the sand in Texas. Then people came to see what's inside. But the alarm turned on in the morning. Then they were in trouble, and they had to go home. Then they built a pyramid of their own, by themselves with their play blocks."


Not bad for a 4-year-old, don't you think?

I guess it pays to seal in those creative juices really early!