Raising the Romeros

There will be days where you won't feel like you are "enough." Just this past week I have felt like I was not a "good enough" friend, that I was not "good enough" at work, and that I was not a "good enough" mother to you all. I know you all will have days like these too. Maybe you won't make the team, or maybe someone you like won't like you back, or maybe you won't get the grade you studied so hard for. As you get older you might struggle with feeling "good enough" romantically, financially, and personally. You might struggle with feelings of mistrust, loss, and disappointment. If I could shelter and protect you forever I would. But since I can't, I want to remind you of something so very important, something I had to remind myself this past week: YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD. There is no one in this life you need to impress but Him. He made you exactly how He wanted you to be, flaws and all. You are perfectly im

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I know two mama's whose children are battling this dreaded disease and even though I don't know them well, I wanted to share with them something I wrote: Dear Mama's, I don't really know what you're going through....I can only imagine. But I imagine that you wished you had your old life back. The life where your child was carefree. The life where he played hard, laughed frequently, and didn't have a care in the world. The life where you didn't have to put on a brave face when you were out in public. The life where your tears didn't outnumber your smiles. The life where a bandaid and hug from mom was all that was needed to cure your baby. The life that didn't involve prolonged hospital stays, needle sticks, chemo, radiation, and talks about the future. I'm SO SORRY mama's. I wish you could have your old life back. I wish God let us in on the bigger plan. I wish no child ever had to

I'm not sure why I ever became an ER nurse. I was a hypochondriac as a kid and was absolutely sure I had some kind of (insert random body part) cancer. I also cry when anyone gets a devastating diagnosis or loses a loved one. Every.single.time. That doesn't really scream NURSE, huh? Nevertheless, I was fascinated by medical shows and in combination with my love for children, I found my calling as a nurse in a pediatric ER. Need an IV in a newborn? I got this. Blue baby not breathing? Calm and collected and in the zone. Kid poops or pees on me? No biggie. I loved my job. But when our family moved, there were no pediatric ER's near us. So I got a job in a wonderful ER that sees adults and children, but mostly adults. And can I tell you what was completely new to me??? PSYCH PATIENTS. And I don't mean those with anxiety and/or depression. I'm talking poo slinging, manic raging, dead people seeing, voices hearing, needing to be restrained kind of WHOA! It was a whole

I have this uncanny ability to bargain with God. You know, like when He is trying to nudge you to do something and you want to tell Him about how you feel it wouldn't be a good decision at this time in your life? Like how it wouldn't fit into YOUR plans, because hello, my life is supposed to go EXACTLY how I planned it! I wonder if God just sits up in Heaven chuckling at my stubbornness. My first bargaining with God came with our adoption. You see, I've always wanted to adopt. Ever since I was a little girl. But once Ariel and I started having children of our own, that plan was kind of pushed aside. Until one day, when our little girl was 1 years old. It was at that time that I felt God nudging me. I tried to ignore it, but it just got louder and louder. That's when the bargaining began. "But God, we already have 4 children! And H is only 1. And we don't make a lot of money. How will we afford it?" Despite my frequent protests, the nudge would not go awa

I've had many people tell me they wished they were a fly on the wall at our house. With four boys and one little girl, there is certainly never a dull moment in the Romero household. We are a Filipino-American family living in a small town. My husband Ariel, was born and raised (until the age of 14) in the Philippines. He's the most patient, loving, and kind man I've ever known. He's a very hands on father, and is constantly doing things for our children. He's a lover of video games (yes, even at the age of 42), Filipino food, bonfires, and according to our 9 year old, "flip flops and non-funny jokes." As for me, I'm an Emergency Room nurse who loves Jesus, my family, and my amazing friends. I'm known to be sarcastic and emotional (those go great together, huh?). I love Diet Coke (poison, I know), food, basketball, and singing. I start a diet every Monday and usually fail by Wednesday. I really love to write and have been asked by family and friend