Our New Bundle of Joy

It's been almost four weeks since we got a new baby… yes a baby DOG that is! It’s our family’s second dog since Bugsy (our Rottweiler) who left us in December last year. Now, we have a baby Bullmastiff by the name of KING.
He was two months old when we got him and he was UBER cute and small then, but now he’s a humongous puppy who’s very, very, very playful and stubbornly lovable.

From history, Bullmastiffs are known to be courageous, loyal, calm, and loving with those it knows. It has a very strong protective instinct and will defend its owners against anything it perceives as a threat. However, it does not normally attack to protect. Instead, it knocks the intruder over with its massive size and pins them to the ground, or, will simply stand in front of the stranger/intruder and refuse to let them pass. Bullmastiffs become intensely attached to their families and do best when they can live inside with them. Their protective instinct combined with their great size and natural wariness of strangers means that early socialization is a must. The Bullmastiff may or may not get along well with other dogs. (Wikipedia; accessed on August 27, 2008).

Adult male Bullmastiffs may grow from 25 to 27 inches tall (63.5 to 68.5 cm) at the withers and 110 to 135 pounds (50 to 60 kg). Females typically reach 24 to 26 inches (61 to 66 cm) at the withers, and 100 to 120 pounds (45 to 55 kg). So this means, by the time KING is a full-grown adult dog, he’d be taller and bigger than me when he’s stretched, LOL!

Right now, I’m enjoying taking care of him, he considers me as his playmate, so whenever I arrive, he gets funky and excited. My Love Nald on the other hand, is his authority. KING gets serious and attentive (most of the time, that is) with him.

Making A Difference

Some of the many things My Love Nald and I want instilled in our daughter are the ability to share blessings with other people and appreciate what we currently have. We reinforced this big time, during her birthday celebration this month.

Since she’s our only daughter, Aleksis has had the chance to celebrate her previous birthdays the way a typical kid would – fast food restaurants, in school, at home, etc. She also gets to have the toys and other stuff she would request for. At the same time, she is also aware that she may not have everything she wants just because. She has limitations as we’re not filthy rich to provide them for her. We’re just able and capable.

Our family celebrated her 8th birthday on Saturday at the ASILO de SAN VICENTE de PAUL at UN Avenue, Paco, Metro Manila. ASILO is a crisis center where people, mostly kids, and sometimes their other family members take refuge from certain situations they’ve encountered.

The center offers four services for various sectors of the society namely: Child Welfare and Development Program, Youth Welfare and Development, Family Welfare and Community Development, and Lakbay-Kapatid Program. All of these programs aim to help support and guide Filipino children and youth (usually orphans, neglected, and abandoned children) become better individuals. Social workers, Sisters of the Daughters of Charity, Lay Mission Partners, and volunteers sustain the organization.

For a fraction of the cost we normally spend during her birthday celebrations in the past, we were able to share to more than 60 kids in the center. We had lunch, played games (with My Love Nald as the host), and watched them showcase their talents. Mind you, they’re very good singers and dancers!

With this experience, all of us in our family – My Love Nald, Princess Aleksis, our Nanay Niknik, and I, were humbled. We all felt at peace after. With the several hours we spent with the kids, we were able to make them happy.

Let me share with you what one of the kids said towards the end of our stay: “Maraming salamat sa oras at sa lahat ng bagay na ibinigay ninyo sa amin. Alam namin na maraming tao ay busy at nagpapasalamat kami at nandito kayo. Di man namin masusuklian ang lahat ng ito pero ipagdadasal namin na sana mas maging mabuti pa ang buhay ng pamilya ninyo.” I still feel a lump on my throat whenever I remember her words. It hits me right in the heart every time. How beautiful their hearts are, how simple they could be, how uncomplicated, how wonderful. I’m wishful thinking that all of us would have pure hearts like theirs.

Our family have sworn to doing this again. In our own little ways, we are able to do a lot for other people.

Serendipity perhaps, again, our old man upstairs led the way for me to realize a lot of things I’m supposed to be thankful for… For more information about ASILO, click on the photo below.

Review: Miami Ink

My Love Nald and I are addicted to this show now, we're both loving it so much (I soooo like AMI JAMES!!!) that we want to have our tattoos done by them, LOL! MIAMI INK is a unique reality show on tattoos and whatnots set in South Beach, a district in Miami, Florida. What's so unique about it is it features real people getting their tattoos and sharing their stories on why they're having them. Most of those we've seen so far are people who've gotten their tattoos inspired by things, situations, or people they've encountered.

Get a sneak peak here.

My Love Nald and I have been contemplating on getting our tattoos for several years already and I guess we'll see it come to life soon. Though we won't be able to have it done by the MIAMI INK Pro's, we'll settle with a local -- GENE TESTA who've earned his mark in the Philippine league of highly revered and not to mention sought-after tattoo artists. I'll definitely keep you guys posted when I get mine done!!!