13!!!

Today Emily officially turns 13! This marks the end of the 13 days of celebrating that began with a spend the night party on March 13th. We have had 2 weeks of fun celebrating. Of course this also coincided with Spring Break, but Em has claimed every fun event as her own. Thankfully evenwith the drop in the dollar, most of these events are much cheaper here than in the US. I thought I would share a few pictures of our 13th year festivities!

Emily was so excited this morning.

In this case a picture is not worth a thousand words.

You need to hear her voice as she squeals...."I'm thirteeeeeeen!

Celebration #1- Sleepover March 13

We loaded our van with 4 girls, 2 boys, and 2 parents and went to an amusement park down on Manila Bay. The Faith kids were off school on Friday while most of Manila was not so this meant few people out at the park on a Thursday. We had birthday cupcakes on the way in the car. Can you see the decorations?

Cup Cakes in the car

Em and Friends at the entrance to Star City

Bumper Cars were a big hit. The kids loved crashing into each other. They must have ridden this ride at least 20 times. As soon as it was over they would rush back to the entrance to get on again.

Emily and her friend Jaina have no fear when it comes to rides. This is their favorite: an inverted roller coaster called the Star Flyer. They thought it was great to fly through the air and whip upside down, all with your feet dangling below (or above depending on where you are in the ride.)

Will got to invite a friend along so he wouldn't be surrounded by teenage girls--(eeww yuck) He and his friend Sam look wet because they are. Their favorite ride was the Log Jam an old fashioned log flume ride. They counted and rode it about 18 times.

Celebration #2

Celebration #2 --Go Karts; Palm Sunday March 16

This celebration was kind of spur of the moment. After church on Palm Sunday, we went down to the business district and took a field trip to the Ayala Museum. This had been planned for earlier in the week, but a public transportation strike and political tensions made us postpone it.

On the way home from the museum I knew we would pass a Go Kart track. Em's dream is to be a NASCAR driver. (What happened to wanting to be a Princess?). The kids were noisy in the back so I quietly mentioned it to Al. We stopped to "check the price for a future date". The price was right and so Al, Em and Will took to the track while I took pictures. I opted not to try and stuff my dress into the jumpsuits they made you wear. The kids loved it. Again I wish you could hear Emily as she squealed around the track. With church clothes, jumpsuits, helmets, summer time temps and the afternoon sun streaming down, they were balls of sweat when they finished. The car AC felt so good!

Allan zoomin' around the track.

He was really fast.

Here are my 2 boys. Al is breathing down Will's neck as Will fights hard not to let him pass.

And here is the fearless driver herself!

She loved every second, but still has time to wave for the camera

Celebrations #3, 4 & 5

Ok so #3 is just many days spent swimming with friends at the Faith pool. Because it was Spring Break last week, the kids went to the pool with friends a lot. Emily also had her friend Jaina over to play, although I don't think you say it that way at 13. I think they come over to just "hang out".

#4 Lunch! Easter Sunday March 23

Emily had a Birthday meal out at her favorite restaurant on Sunday after church. She loves to have the staff come and sing to her. The waiters brought a chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge and a candle. Sorry, but the camera was at home resting.

#5 Splash Island Monday March 24

Some friends invited us to go to a water park on the final day of Faith Academy Spring break. Again it was a good day to go to a place like this because Filipino kids returned to school and work after the long weekend. Manila schools will be out in 2 weeks for summer break and this place will be packed. The kids love anything that involves water. They especially love water slides and the higher and faster the better. So while this was officially kind of a Spring Break trip, Em claimes it as a party for her birthday. Poor Al had to work so he had to miss the fun. Again no camera since I didn't want it to get wet.

This is a Google Earth shot of the park though.

Final Celebration

Today is Em's actual birthday. She woke to the aroma of breakfast burritos. The morning was spent on the phone with various grandparents and cousins and opening of gifts--lots of shower gels and scenty lotions, a purse, some tunes and other girly things.

Just after lunch we went to see the movie Horton Hears a Who. Emily at first didn't want to see it because she thought it was a movie for babies. For a baby movie, she giggled through the whole thing and really enjoyed herself. (it isn't a baby movie by the way)

Dinner was a Gilmer family tradition began before the kids were even a glimmer...pizza in front of the Cosby Show. Emily has become very fond of cheesecake so I made that instead of traditional birthday cake. Let me tell you I didn't miss trying to decorate a cake with buttercream icing, especially in this climate where it tends to run off the cake. After dinner Em gave herself a facial. Isn't she just so cute.

In many ways she is getting so old, but she is still the same fun girl who loves and embraces life. Below is an example. She took these pictures up on the roof one evening last week. The first is her self portrait---very 13. The next are her and Will being their normal crazy selves. I'm glad she hasn't left childhood behind completely.

Semana Santa or Holy Week

This week is one of the holiest weeks of the year for many Filipinos. The start of Holy Week is Palm Sunday. It is quite a sight to see many Filipino Catholics carry palm leaves, known as palaspas, to chuch for the priest to bless. The palaspas (palms) are made from the young fresh unopened leaves of the coconut called ibus. The palaspas are woven into intricate forms and shapes and sold on the sidewalks and streets leading up to the church. After they are blessed by the priest, they are later kept at home, placed at a door or window to ward off evil.

(These pictures were taken Sunday morning on our way to church)

On Maundy Thursday, many families practice the "Visita Iglesia," an old Filipino tradition of visiting as many churches as possible. Huge crowds take a pilgrimage up the hilly roads to our town of Antipolo passing by the stations of the cross. They start out on Maundy Thursday evening and hope to reach the Antipolo Shrine at the Catholic Church by dawn of Good Friday. In the past we have avoided going out on this day due to the huge number of crowds, but this year I decided I just wanted to see what went on. Allan, the kids, and I drove down the back hill to the beginning of the ascent into Antipolo. I went with camera in hand; I guess as somewhat of a tourist. I am not sure what I expected to feel. Maybe "Hey this is cool" or some similar emotion. I found that was not the case. Tears filled my eyes as I watched hundreds of people pass by who think that acts and pilgrimages will somehow save them from a lost eternity.

Makeshift shrines are set up along the way for those wanting to stop and pray.






Each year some families from Faith Academy pass out tracts and gospel bracelets to those passing by. Below is a video from You Tube that one of them shot last year.



Tomorrow on Good Friday many penitents will fulfill their "panata", a sacred vow made in thanksgiving for answered prayer . The "penitencia" takes the form of flagellation. Men will cover their faces with hoods, wear a crown of leaves and walk the streets, sometimes carrying a wooden cross while their bare backs are whipped by homemade whips tipped with sharp objects that scar their backs . Some towns are known for re-enacting Christ's ordeal through real-life crucifixion. In the town of Pampanga, north of Manila, penitents are nailed to wooden crosses using 2-inch stainless steel nails soaked in alcohol. They are only lifted up like this for several seconds.

Around noon on Friday the "Siete Palabras" or the reading of the Seven Last Words of Christ begins. In the afternoon the "Via Crucis" (Way of the Cross) or "Estacion General" (Stations of the Cross) moves into the street.

Black Saturday or "Sabado de Gloria" is ushered in with the ringing of church bells. Children are told to jump as high as they can on this day, in the belief that they will grow taller. This is also done at New Year Eve.

***Some of this info was found on the websight www.filipinoheritage.com

EKG

Despite a recent failure of the built-in rechargeable battery, we are still able to check EKGs by keeping the device plugged into a power converter 24 hours a day. The ability to do rapid on-site EKGs is a real benefit as cardiovascular disease rises. The small amount of power used to keep the EKG "alive" without the battery is a small price to pay for this added capability.

The machine we purchased to do Complete Blood Counts succumbed to the heat and humidity of the tropics. Even after multiple attempts by the seller to correct the problems, it was finally returned to the manufacturer. They were able to identify the defect and someday may have a product suitable for our environment. Until then we'll depend on an outside commercial lab to do this test.

Firewood

Yesterday I was sitting on the lanai with my lap top when I noticed an old man looking through the fence into Scott's agricultural lot next door. This in itself is not unusual, but the man continued to stand there, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, then 15 minutes later he remained. My mind ran through all the different reasons he might be standing there. While I debated whether I should go and find out what was going on, the gate opened up and in walked the man with Jhun, a young Filipino man who works with Scott on the agricultural demonstration project. The reason for the man's wait became obvious as they began picking up some piles of sticks and small limbs from where Jhun had done some trimming recently.


Most poor Filipinos cook over open fires. Until the last couple of years, charcoal was the fuel of choice for most of them. Unfortunately, the price of charcoal, as well as prices in general have risen greatly in the last few years. This means that instead of charcoal, families are hunting for firewood. Often walking along the road I see women and young boys carrying large rice sacks filled with sticks that they have collected for their family. In a concrete urban area, I am sure this wood is hard to come by. Even now, I hear some chopping going on in the trees across from our house. I took this picture a week or so ago of these kids walking by our house. They were with 2 ladies that I assume were their moms and they had been out collecting sticks. They were awfully little to be carrying, or rather dragging, this big bag, but they were so cute!



On an unrelated cooking note, last week Emily cooked her first full meal. She has been learning some basic cooking this year and this was her first night to be completely in charge. The menu: homemade spaghetti sauce, Caesar salad with homemade croutons, garlic bread, and for dessert brownies.

It was a good meal for conquering a fear of getting food in and out of the oven. She is growing up so fast. The meal was quite yummy!

Playing in the Street

Here's a couple pictures of the kids playing in front of our house with some neighborhood kids, mostly squatters. These girls are in Cindy's bible study and I am sure all have been patients. At play on the street, though, they are just friends.

Badminton is a huge sport in Asia as well as here in the PI. Our kids like it too. Emily's tennis lessons last year help her to be a tough opponent. If you click on the picture and make it larger, you can see both the shuttlecocks, or birdies. What timing! I couldn't have orchestrated and better shot.