A day at Talikud Island with my Cousin Tim $ Dottie from the USA. The boat trip out took about 40 minutes.


We took Annie's Papa's boats (fishing boats) to Babu Santa beach resort on Talikud Island. We took two boat loads of people, food and snorkeling gear and spent the day at the beach.


Dottie found a star fish


We spent most of the day snorkeling and swimming.

Watch your step! Spines galore!


sea eurchants.


Coral


We searched the beaches for seashells, ate a great meal and headed back out for an Island tour around Talikud.

We stopped at the Corral Gardens and snorkeled awhile. The boat trip took about 1 1/2 hours and we sure had fun.





We finished the day with another big meal of Shrimp, Fish, Chicken and salads. The food was great!



All-in-all, a great way to see Davao Bay and Talikud Island.

Easter Sunday 2011

You are invited to an Easter Egg Hunt
When: April 24, 2011 @ 1 Pm
Where: Baker’s Residence in Ma-a
RSVP: Before April 24th, @ 2441627
It’s a Potluck bring dessert to share. We will
be serving hotdogs & buns, chips
Bake Beans
Devil Eggs
And some Filipino Foods
Hope to see…

Busy,Busy

No time to write on this blog been busy lately, but i will try to update once in awhile

Feb. 2010 update

Hi guys, how’s life back in the states? We hope all is good with you.
Well here it is February 3rd and I can’t believe it’s been a whole three months (four since we left Prospect). So much has happened to us and we are doing very well.
We have posted all of our vacation pictures and videos on Annie’s facebook and her blog (The Baker’s Corner). The trip across the U.S. was lots of fun and we recommend it to anyone, especially for the kids. Patty still talks about the places she has seen, even being sick in Nashville and Orlando (5 days trying to get over the flu in a Hotel).
As you already know, we bought a house, bought appliances and furniture and got moved in. I no longer have a savings account, but we’re very comfortable and Patty loves her new room. Patty’s attends level 2 Preschool (no kindergarten here) at Ateneo Elementary School, a Christian school run by Jesuit Priests. My Aunt Annie Adams would be thrilled to know that Patty attends a Catholic school.
We found a nice church and Patty is already planning sleepovers and pool parties with her new Sunday school mates (called mates, not friends here). Our church is very small and we are the only non-Filipinos attending. The Pastor is a Chinese-Filipino named Patrick San and he is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church. We really enjoy his sermons and believe him to be a very knowledgeable, well rounded leader. I told Annie that “If Pastor Tony were Chinese-Filipino, he’d be Patrick San or vice-versa”. We see a lot of similarity between Pastor Tony and Pastor San. The other church members have welcomed us very openly and we think this church will be a good fit for us (no air conditioning, I usually sweat thru my shirt during church, ayyy man!!).
Well as I said, it’s Feb. 3rd and we are planning a trip to the Blue Jazz Resort on Saturday morning for breakfast and a swim. It’s a small resort just across the harbor on Samal Island. We go down to the Blue Jazz pier and take their ferry boat across. It’s about a 10 minute boat ride. They have private cabanas, good food, both kid’s and adult pools, kid’s and adult waterslides, plus the beach and ocean swimming; all for about $10 a day for a family of 3, $20 with food.
We really, really miss the cold and snow! NOT!!!!!!
Well that’s an update for now. We love you and miss you and hope to see you in Davao!
Steve, Annie and Patty

 

Merry Christmas Everyone

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!

First, I want to say thanks to Bruce for allowing me to use this site to tell my story. I have followed your site for several months now and enjoy the information you provide.


Well, it’s Christmas morning in Davao, Philippines. This is our first Christmas here and with all the differences, there are as many similarities, as well.
First, of course, we are celebrating the birth of our Christ. Happy Birthday, Jesus!
My five year old daughter, Patty, still believes in Santa Claus. She makes out her wish list and we send it to the North Pole for Santa’s approval. On Christmas Eve she puts out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.
She asked me on Christmas Eve. “Daddy, does Santa know we moved?”
“Yes Patty, Santa knows everything.”
“Daddy, will he find me in the Philippines?”
“Yes, Patty, He knows where you are, now time for bed, so Santa will come.”
We got up on Christmas morning and Patty headed down to see if Santa had eaten her cookies and milk. He had!
“Dad! Santa was here! …. He ate the cookies and drank the milk!” …. “Oh, look, presents!”
“Dad, we don’t have a chimney, how did Santa get in?”
“Santa has magic, Patty.” I replied.
With that, we opened gifts. Mom took lots of pictures, and we laughed and had a great morning.
Now was time to get prepared for Christmas dinner. Annie’s sister came to help cook. Soon her Mama and Papa and numerous cousins arrived to help and it was chaos in the kitchen.
They made baked ham, Lechon (roasted suckling pig), grilled fish, beef vegetable soup, spaghetti and garlic bread and, of course, rice, rice, rice. Side dishes included tropical macaroni salad, Lumpia (spring rolls) and Pancit Canton. We also had Mango float, birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. What a feast.
We expected around 10 to 15 people to come to our home and they did come, with friends! Everyone wanted to see an American Christmas. We said a prayer and thanked our God for the gift of His Son. We then handed out gifts to everyone (we always buy extra, so unexpected guest will have a gift, and this year it paid off). Dinner was announced and we headed to the table to eat.
The meal was ample and delicious. I’m still full today and everyone took home doggie bags. A good time was had by all.
We had a special honor this year. When we came here in November, we carried money donated by a Church in Ohio, to help build a Church over on Samal Island. We got a phone call on Christmas Eve, telling us, the Pastor and his congregation will dedicate their new building on Sunday, December 27th. Unfortunately, we cannot attend this week, but will make the trip next Sunday, for services. We are so blessed to be a part of this project. Thank you Jesus!
As we adjust to our new life here, we find that living here is not so different than life in Ohio. Sure, the tropical weather is different and we miss the snow (a little). Driving here is a real trial (we are from a small farm town), but, all-in-all we are getting accustom to being here and finding comforts we didn’t expect. I even caught a college football game on Christmas day. The friends we are making and Annie’s family are a great comfort.
Thanks again to Bruce, for letting me write here, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Steve in Davao