Will You Choose to Give Joy to Your Child?

It's touching how your presence is your baby's main source of joy.

I just stepped out of our bedroom to get my devotional from the altar. I put my baby in his crib before doing so. He cried as soon as he saw me step out of the room even though I told him that I will be back right away. 

As soon as I went back inside and picked him up, he smiled instantly. Then, as I carried and walked with him to my home office, he kept on laughing and giggling as if saying that he was delighted to be carried by me.

Your baby will only be small and needy for around 2 years. After that, your baby will become less dependent on you and would desire (and sometimes insist) to try new things on his own. Your baby will need you less. But while you are your baby's main source of joy, would you choose to give him joy? Would you choose to fill your baby's love tank by being present to him?

I thank God for the grace He has given me to choose to bring joy to my babies' hearts. I thank Him that He has helped me make the decision to prioritize my babies over my career and money. I thank Him for the precious smiles and laughter I have witnessed all because I was present to them while they were still babies. No amount of money or achievement can compare to the priceless experience of being there for my children when I meant the world to them.

If you are a parent or a mom like me and your baby/child's cry tugs at your heart too whenever you need to leave for work, I invite you to the Hands-On Parents while Earning (H.O.P.E.) Summit on August 8, a whole day workshop that can change the course of your family's life. In this workshop, parents will learn hands-on parenting and working smart in the new millennium and how they can marry hands-on parenting with earning for the family.



Being able to work with a lot of flexibility has been one of the biggest blessings I have received in life. I was able to witness all my children’s milestones, personally take care of them and breastfeed them because I am home almost all the time. I am able to shape my children’s character and educate them while pursuing my passions and earning through these passions. I want to share what I have learned through the years to my fellow parents so that they too can spend ample time with their children while contributing to the family income. This is my way of helping families grow and remain intact.


Below are my objectives in organizing this workshop for parents:

• to enable parents to discover their big why in aspiring to be Hands-On Parents while Earning (HOPE).
• to enable parents to come up with a clear and compelling vision for their children and for themselves as parents and as earning individuals.
• to help parents to come up with a list of new habits that they can easily and consistently implement after the workshop so they can be more involved in their children’s lives.
• to help parents discover ways to work smarter so they can free up more time in their schedules to bond with their children.
• to inspire moms and dads to be hands-on even while earning for their families and to learn tips and strategies on how to be successful in their careers/businesses through the stories of the featured moms and dads (guests) in the iHOPE Summit.
• to introduce different earning options for parents while being actively involved in their children’s lives.
• to give parents an opportunity to meet and interact with other parents who also want to become H.O.P.E. (Hands-On Parents while Earning).

I will be the main speaker and facilitator of the workshop. The other speakers in the summit include Martine de Luna, Jomar Hilario and Ginger Arboleda. Martine is a work-at-home advocate, award winning blogger and blog coach. Jomar is the Philippines’ Internet Marketing Guru who teaches individuals how to be virtual professionals and online business owners. Ginger is a serial entrepreneur, business coach and blogger.


Guest panelists who are successful Hands-On Parents while Earning themselves will be part of the summit also. These include Denise Bernardo of Indigobaby, Angeli Del Rosario of The Beadlady, Katrina Ambion of Mommyfide PH, Chef Jonathan Chua of Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts  and Jay and Cherry Castillo of Foreclosure Philippines.

The workshop is valued at P3,500 per head at least; but I want to help as many families as I can, so I found a way to make the workshop more affordable to parents. Thus, attendees get a 43% discounted rate even as they pay the regular rate of P2,000 per head. Couples are encouraged to attend together through the couple rate of P3,000 only. Moreover, we will raffle off prizes to couples who will be present during the workshop. Click here to read more details about the summit and to register to this life-changing event.

The H.O.P.E. Summit is co-presented by Full Life Cube Publishing and Events Services, Sun Life Financial and PLDT Home Telpad. Participants of the summit will get a chance to win exciting prizes during the raffle from its sponsors which include Indigobaby, The Beadlady, Mommyfide PH, Bert Lozada Swim School, Gymboree Play and Music Philippines and Halo Philippines. One of the prizes to be raffled off is a free annual membership to Gymboree Play and Music Philippines worth P2,000! Winning this will not only translate into savings but many precious bonding moments for the lucky parent and child. Participants will also receive freebies like P500 gift certificates from Lozada Swim School, copies of Mustard magazine for kids and so much more.   

We will also have a kids' room for parents who want to bring their kids with them. We will raffle off storybooks for the kids who will use our kids' room too.


For updates about the H.O.P.E. Summit, please like and visit https://www.facebook.com/events/419373114931304/.

Earning While Homeschooling

We just had our first field trip for the school year! It's our way of kicking off the start of a brand new year in our homeschool adventure. 

We even bought Philippine-designed shirts for our field trip outfits! 

We gently began our school year last week by reviewing what the kids learned in the past year. Although we homeschool year-round, we officially start our school year in June. It's that time of the year when I (their main teacher) start becoming more intentional with our homeschool activities. I take into consideration where we left off before our summer activities, the kids' current interests and their respective levels. Together with my husband, we discuss and plan our learning goals for the year for each of our kids.  

But before we get serious, I thought that it would be a wonderful way to start our school year with a fun activity. This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. We design our schedule based on our goals, availability, resources, and the topics that we want to learn and cover. 

Since there are two major historical events that Filipinos celebrate in June (Independence Day on June 12 and Jose Rizal's birthday on June 19), I've decided to plan a field trip for our family this month. I initially planned to go to Jose Rizal's house and hometown in Calamba, Laguna and Fort Santiago in Manila where the Rizal Shrine is located to celebrate our National Hero's birthday. But I found out that the Rizal Shrine in Laguna is under renovation so we postponed our field trip there. We still went to Fort Santiago and Rizal Shrine in Intramuros last Sunday. Then, we went to Kawit, Cavite to see the house where the Philippines' independence was proclaimed. This was inspired by the news articles (this and this) I read about the video mapping done in the house as one of the ways to celebrate our Independence Day this year. 

Mga batang Rizal walking in the footsteps of
Jose Rizal at Fort Santiago. ;)

We had fun exploring Fort Santiago! It was the kids' first time to go there. It wasn't my first time there but I still learned new things and relearned old lessons while at the Rizal Shrine. It was also a memorable experience for us to all go to the Aguinaldo Shrine for the first time.

It was in this balcony that General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed
the independence of the Philippines from Spanish rule.

That's another beauty of homeschooling. Parents get to learn with their children while providing them with lots of opportunities to bond with each other.

Is homeschooling something that you want to do with your kids or feel that the Lord is calling you to do but you are afraid of the impact of your decision on your finances? Are you wondering if you can homeschool and still contribute to the family income? 

I have good news for you! I'm organizing a parenting summit called Hands-On Parents while Working on August 8, 2015. It's a whole day workshop on hands-on parenting and working smart in the new millenium where you can learn how to marry hands-on parenting with earning for the family.   

Click here to read more about the event and its speakers.

During the workshop, I will help you uncover your greatest motivation in wanting to become a hands-on parent. I will also help you come up with a clear and compelling vision for your kids and yourself. I will share tips that you can apply right away after you leave the event. I will share my 3-Step Success System that can enable you to be a H.O.P.E., a Hands-On Parent while Earning. 

Aside from these, you'll have an opportunity to learn from other speakers and guests. Some of our speakers are parents who also homeschool their kids. You can learn from the interactions and group discussions with other parents too.

I invite you to invest your time on this life-changing event! 

I encourage you to sign up now while you can still avail of the early bird rate. You also have a chance to win a free gift certificate from Kindermusik with Teacher Suzette and Friends if you are one of the first 10 parents to sign up and satisfy the requirements of our Facebook Contest.

You can find the mechanics here.

Click here to sign up now and be a step closer to fulfilling your dream of homeschooling your kids while earning! Join us also at the event's Facebook Page so you'd get updates about the event. See you on August 8!

Hands-On Parent while Earning

Today, I ate grapes with my second child during his breakfast. I fed my eldest child with oatmeal before his piano teacher came to our house. I also breastfed my newborn baby on demand. I cooked my two older kids' lunch and ate with them. After lunch, I helped them brush their teeth, gave them a bath and slathered lotion on their skin. When they were already dressed, I read them a couple of books (baby included) before they went to sleep. I breastfed the baby again and put him in his crib.

After my Mommy duties, I checked my Full Life Cube Facebook Page and saw a personal message from someone who enrolled in my newly-launched online coaching program called iHOPE with Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag. It's a 3-Step Success System that teaches parents how to become Hands-On Parents while Earning (H.O.P.E.) for their family. When I checked my email, I saw one from Paypal confirming that a payment has just been made.

Click here to read the details and to sign up for the program!

I paused and savored this sweet moment of victory that I know came from God. God has planted this dream in my heart years ago to create and launch an online program that will enable me to help others through my experiences and expertise. I encountered a number of obstacles and challenges in the process of creating and setting up an online program. There were many days and nights when I felt disappointed because it's taking me so long to finish the programs I'm planning to launch. Our two maids left one after the other. House chores kept piling up. I was having a hard time understanding the techie side of setting up an online program. I battled with negative thoughts and negative words spoken to me. The thought of giving up this dream filled my mind many times in the past months before its launch. 

Thankfully, God ministered to my soul through a devotional that God led me to buy at the start of the year. God used this devotional by Joel Osteen powerfully to encourage and empower me everyday to fight my inner battles. Through the powerful words in that small book, God made alive His words in Scripture that His grace is new every morning.

Let me share a line from a page of this devotional based from the book Break Out! 

"God will never ask you to do something and then not give you the ability to do it."

It went on further to speak to me God's words of encouragement:

"All I want to know is what you do have. Don't sit on the sidelines of life intimidated, thinking you're unqualified. Put your life, your dreams, your goals, and your talent into My hands and let Me multiply it." 

That same day when I read these words from the devotional, my mentor Bo Sanchez talked at the Grand Easter Feast about giving God the little that we have. His talk was inspired by the story about the five loaves and two fish that Jesus multiplied to feed thousands. I was empowered by God through this talk. The words he shared that day moved me to have the courage to launch my online coaching program the following day, which is also my 40th birthday. This made my launch extra special and memorable. It's like offering a part of myself as I begin a new phase and year in my life. I was excited to see how God would bless and multiply the little that I offered to help Him bless many.

I'm very grateful to God for bringing me to this point wherein I can be a hands-on Mom to my kids and earn while I'm doing so. First, He made it possible for me to become an Author, Speaker and Consultant. Next, He paved the way for me to work and earn online by writing articles and blogs. Then recently, He helped me launch an online coaching program!

Like David, I felt I was facing giants. I felt small facing my problems and challenges. But I still ran towards my goal and went on to slay the giants before me; because like Him, I knew that I will conquer my problems and challenges for my God is much bigger than my problems and challenges combined.

Today, I rejoice for the opportunity to make a difference in the life of another parent. I praise and thank God for helping me live out His purpose and will for my life as a Mom with young children. I believe that I am at a season in my life wherein God wants me to be home most of time for my kids so I can personally take care of them, educate them and mold them to be individuals who will live out God's purposes for their lives as well. 

If you are a parent (Mom or Dad) who feels a tug in your heart to spend more time with your kids but is worried or uncertain how you can continue earning while being actively involved in your children's lives, I invite you to check out my coaching program. Let me mentor you and share with you the lessons I learned in getting to where I am now. I would be happy to see more families strengthened and happier because of better relationships between parents and children. Click here to sign up for my program!