New blog

I will not be posting on this blog anymore. Please see marerebz.blogspot.com

Update

Just thought I would add a few new pictures.

more pictures

The Philippines

So I am not great at posting, oh well. Leia and I got back from the Philippines a few weeks ago. Arwin is still there for awhile. Here are a few pictures.

Merry Christmas

It has been an exciting year for our family, full of a lot of firsts. At the beginning of the year, in January, I was promoted to the Independent Living Specialist for the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation. Then, in February we moved into our very first house, and celebrated our 2nd aniversary. In March, we welcomed Arwin's mother to America, for a six month visit. While she was here, we traveled all around Utah, to Las Vegas, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Minnesota. We had a great time, and were very sad when she went back home to the Philippines. We hope to have her come back within the next month or so. Our big plans for this coming year include my first trip to the Philippines, for which I am very excited!
The best part of the year has been watching our little LeiaAnne go from a tiny little baby to a beautiful little girl. She is now walking, babbling, and constantly getting into everything. She is the most beautiful child I have ever seen, and I am so proud to be her mom.
Arwin continues to teach high school, and the students love him. He also has many plans and dreams for a business in the Philippines, so we continue to look for opportunities.
I am working on my Master's Degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. I just finished the semester, and got a 4.0, so I am thrilled.
Merry Christmas to all! I hope the holidays are joyful, and that this next year brings many blessings and glad tidings.

even more pictures!

Pictures

Just trying to add a few pictures. Enjoy.

You've Got to Be Carefully Taught

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late—
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

You’ve got to be carefully taught!

-From South Pacific

This is the problem. Whenever I hold my little girl, I think of how innocent and wonderful she is. She has no hate, she has no fear. All those things she will learn. She will learn from me, and those around her. I will pass on my thoughts and beliefs. I hope to teach her not to hate. I hope to teach her not to fear.

Why is it we are so afraid? Who really cares what religion a person believes in? Who really cares? And why is it we can't forgive, learn to see the good? People will say, well we have seen too much, been through too much. We must protect ourselves. There is evil out there. We have a right!!

Do we? Do we really? What about people who have been through so much more than us?

"In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death."
-Anne Frank
Anne Frank!! People are really good at heart. She wrote that while hiding in a attic because she had committed the crime of believing in God! Yet, she knew. She understood.

One more-

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Yes, you've got to be carefully taught.