THANKSGIVING DAY 2010

THANKSGIVING QUOTE.." It is delightfully easy to thank GOD for the grace we ourselves have received, but it requires great grace to thank GOD always for the grace given to others....JAMES SMITH

Thank you LORD AND MAMA MARY for the blessings , for the strong faith you always bestow on us in times of weakness , for good health, for safety, for always embracing us and keeping us from harm, for the continuous wisdom you impart to us which is very much needed in our everyday existence,for the opporunities that you let us experienced which contributed a lot to our beings, for the family back home in PI,for all the expected and unexpected graces, THANK YOU.

A TEXT,A CALL, AN EMAIL,JUST A HI,HELLO MATTERS MOST

This is an entry that has something to do on a simple text,a simple hello, a simple hi, a simple email, a simple how are you, a simple message , from our loved ones, matters .

Yes, i am quite sentimental at this moment.(smile).

If by chance someone will read this blog, if you have a loved one working far away from home, make it a point to say how are you to them, even if they will not reply right away,that simple how are you matters a lot to them. If you could comment hi ,hello, ingat, to your friends in their fb and friendster account, why can't you write the same to your family member?before it's too late.That simple hi hello may be a great help to alleviate your loved one's feelings on that moment.

So proud of our son!

Earlier this month, we received a letter from the school congratulating us that our son was unanimously chosen by the teachers to be honored by the Rotary Club International, Riverside Chapter as exemplary student. Honestly I cried when I read the letter. Why? because for us, as parents, it's an achievement . Whether other people will not make a big deal of this but IT IS A BIG DEAL FOR US. Because behind all of our son's achivements, are stories of sacrifice and experiences untold. We are proud of you son. Beyond words. beyond explanations, we love you so much!

The awarding and honoring was held at ROTARIAN LUNCHEON SAN DIEGO ROOM, MISSION INN HOTEL, RIVERSIDE,CA...attended by rotarians, guests,principal...There were only 2 awardees that were honored, one from Poly High School and one from Bryant Elementary.It was done after having lunch.He received a certificate, a check, and gift cards.Thank You Bryant Elementary and Rotary International Riverside Chapter for acknowledging our son's hard work. Thank you God and Mama Mary for the blessings.

Rosary Month

Yes, even if sometimes we forgot to pray the Holy Rosary everyday,,,we have to do it religiously everyday of this month to pray the holy rosary with our family in this Rosary Month of October..Let us include in our petitions for world peace,unity of family and love in our hearts always .

(above pic of our visit to Birhen sa Fatima, Carmen , Bohol,,,when we took our vacation back last summer.)

Our son's simple wish on his birthday

Days and time passed by so quickly that I forgot to write an entry of our son's birthday month..He is already 11 years old and this made me worry so much(well,in a mother's point of view perhaps..hehehe)..In as much as i want him to be our baby forever. Pardon me for being so dramatic about this. I talked about this with my hubby and surprisingly he felt the same. Yes, childish as it seems but maybe that's how parents are..ON the other hand, our boy is so excited to become a teenager. He shares to us his plans, shares to us why he is so excited to become an adult that fast. WE as parents see to it that our line of communication is very open and we are so thankful that he grew up to be the kind of boy that we want him to be. We know that he will still have a long way ahead of him but we constantly reassure him that we are behind him all the way. And with God's blessings we know, he will make it.

Above are photos as we surprised our son a very early morning songs and prayers on his special day.Opening of his gifts as included in his wishlists... Followed with our family day and a simple dinner as we got home... We asked him if he wants a birthday party with his friends in the compound. But all he asked for is that we have to send money to his cousins in the Philippines to celebrate also his birthday there..This, i pray that will always remain in his plans as he goes through life, to always think of his family back home.

Our son with family(part2)

with christian ,charlene and mommy jiji

with john2 and mimi

with cousins tricia,mimi and sam

with cousin mimi(talibon)

Our son with family and cousins(part1)

with cousins aj.angelo and charlene

with his cousin baby aj

with his cousin Hannah

Our son with his mommy mimi(my sis)

A Welcome Party

Showing some pics of the welcome party that our family prepared for us.Can't help but smile and praising God for the safe travel that we had and a family that made us feel welcome and love.Thanks God for all the blessings.!

A Welcome Banner

Aside from the surprise at the airport, this banner that touched my heart when we arrived at home.This put a smile in my face and as I went upstairs, I cried silently and thanking God for a wonderful and thoughtful family I have. (smile)

A Birthday To Remember At Plantation Bay Resort and Spa

Going back in time, when this wonderful resort was featured in some travel channels describing the beauty of it, from words of mouth from famous celebrities and foreigners as well, surfing it on a web, there was a feeling deep inside my heart that someday my family will be there . There was an instance that the seminar that was supposed to be held there, was cancelled to another venue, there was no such feeling of "sayang"(could have been), because i want to step my foot on that place with my loved ones. I would like to thank God for giving me and my family the opportunity to spend time with each other, in a very special moment of my life, my birthday. Yes, I spent my birthday in this one place that i wish to stay..Call me a shallow person with shallow happiness , i won't get mad because I am.I just love to be with my family specially in many special moments of my life. Thanks God.

1st and 2nd picture-myself enjoying the beauty of manmade and nature's creation

3rd picture-the whole gang, my immediate family and my husband's family in wacky pose

4th picture-my immediate family

5th picture-my husband's family

The ache for home, lives in all of us..

"The ache for home lives in all of us..the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.."-Maya Angelo"

Yes, we had a wonderful time, precious time with our family during our vacation. The last pic of this entry was taken at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Cebu City..The four above pics was taken inside a studio.

Feels good to be home!

Oh Yes! It's been a while that I didn't have an entry to my blogging world!..it's because i am still overwhelmed from our vacation in PI for almost a month..Yes, last month of July, we had our most awaited vacation after four years....From the packing of pasalubong,things to bring and all, really made me ngarag(stress)...but because personally i find enjoyment in doing these stuff..tired but excited at the same time...Yes, the three of us were very excited coming home to PI. ,,,Both our families felt the same..Our son kept on asking questions regarding his cousins and etc.. because he was still a little boy when we left for U.S....Surprisingly, even if there were many things to prepare, to update, to communicate to, to schedule bill pay, it seems everything came in unison,,because our excitement overpowered our tiredness....More more updates coming! and more pictures to share of family fun!....Thanks to those who emailed me..Yes, yes,I am back !...I will keep you updated.... For now, let me organize my pictures first..hehe! Love life!

Happy and grateful!

Yes, today is our 11th church wedding anniversary...And our son made it so meaningful greeting us at exactly 12 midnight while we were having our movie night. We are so touched..He likes to make us cards, drawings, anything that has something to do with what he really likes, to show us how much he loves us and for these, we are grateful. We know there will be more years to tackle and always praying to overcome whatever struggles may come.It was just like yesterday,(sigh)...Thank you Lord...

Grieving and Letting Go

It's been almost a month that I did not logged in , in my blogworld. I received email messages from my cyberfriends asking what happened to me, thank you for all the inquiries.Roller coaster emotions as what they say when you are in the middle of everything, this is what I am feeling right now. Aside from my other issues, there is no greater pain when I heard the news that my beloved Lolo Dadong died. Yes, in as much as we know for a fact that we all go back to our creator, the pain is inevitable, excruciating especially that I know it's just a little time left for us to see him again for quite awhile before he left us in this world..Yes, i bargained to God, while he was still in the hospital to let him wait for us to be home, but I also prepared myself if anything happens, may he will be at peace and free from any pain. But it still hurts. Other people might not understand me why I grieved so much, it's because we have memories , i missed the chance to hug one last time to the man who contributed a lot on how i lived my life. I know I have to let go of this pain, in time, i know in time.

AN EMAIL, AN APOLOGY FROM A FRIEND,FORGIVENESS

An email from a long time friend surprised me this evening..I cried,yes, she knew me that well that made me so hurt when I knew about everything. She was able to read my blogs(don't know how because I don't even post in my socialnetworking account that I do have one.). She said sorry and she missed me so much. I do also. She stated reasons, and i would just like to say thank you.I acknowledge your apology and I already forgave you long before you said sorry. We just have to remember all the happy memories of our friendship. Life is too short, we might as well make the most out of it.Be happy always!If you happen to read this one, to quote what you sent me".......because they saw you so contented and happy with your simplicity and that maybe irritates them because you don't entertain their thoughts of always longing for more....etc"....Friend L...thank you..and yes, you really knew me very well.

(pic above our son in one of our visits at universal studios california)

An email

I received another email from a regular reader of my blog(this really surprise me) from HongKong. She is an American but based in HongKong working in a popular company. She told me that during her freetime and if she feels so sad , she sees to it to read blogs about many things that concerns relationships, family and other aspects that concerns the reality of life.. She included my site as a regular blogsite which she follows. She also linked me to her blog..She told me that she was also surprise reading my blogs because she sees herself in me in dealing with things and in some situations. As I read her blogs, I got awed also because I can also see myself in her blog features and opinions about many things. . Thanks Ms. Gee for this opportunity knowing you and for reaching out to me. We know that this started of as a hobby but the gratification that we felt is priceless... Again thanks .

(pic above our son in Sea World)