Griffith Observatory

One of our son's wish last summer is to be able to go to Griffith Observatory and indeed we made it possible for him. Seeing the look in his eyes during his observatory exploration made us also happy because the excitement was there and the eagerness to learn every activity provided specially to the children. As parents, it was also a firsthand and a new experience for us, its like going through the same stage with our son and it was fun. ' Love the place so much overlooking the whole Hollywood! The weather on that day was excellent which contributed much in appreciating the very beautiful place and scenery! Thank you Lord and Mama Mary!

L.A. County Fair part 1

L. A. county fair for this year is held at Pomona, Ca. We went there on its 3rd day of operation and our son enjoyed it a lot because of the Jurrasic Planet. He is very much into dinosaurs and he has that much awe about their existence, to the extent that he could identify right away the kind of dinoasurs..We ride the sky ride,giant slide,etc.etc. and ate the gigantic turkey leg hehehe..We haven't took notice of the time and it was late already which means we enjoyed every minute of it. With all the hardwork within the past few days, I think we deserve that much needed break...We love it! Most of all, our son enjoyed it a lot..Thank you LORD for this opportunity!

L.A. County Fair part 2

We decided to visit again the LA county fair because there are still a lot of things we missed to see and visit the first time we went there....still we had a blast,,oh my GOD ,,,my diet....reminded me to drink tea,,tea,,tea...but we enjoyed it any way and that matters most!...let us all enjoy the moment with our family..

A personal note

The many reasons why I decided to come up with my blog are-- that I just want to have a souvenir journal (i did have a diary way back in my elementary years), may it be on a daily basis or something that will come up, or any special ocassion , or just any feeling that is dominant or extreme on a special day, to make my photos more meaningful , something that I read that has a big impact in my life,.special thoughts on a special day,..etc. etc.... Others might agree or disagree, but what matters most is that THIS IS ME...I don't even tell friends that I do have an online blog. They just happened to stumble on it while surfing the web and that surprises me though! I just love airing out my side with simplicity and all of it are sincerely coming from my heart...Again, I AM JUST BEING ME..

Gifts!

Simple wish for his birthday is to have some addition to his transformers collection. Seeing the smile in his face as he opened one by one his gifts with excitement , also made us happy. The price in no joke but seeing him so happy and eagerly transformed them , also add up to our fulfillment as parents. He gave us a tight hug saying I LOVE YOU PA AND MA! THANK YOU FOR THESE!.We saved for these collectible toys not just because its his birthday but also because he did exemplary work in school, a good news we received this week!. Thus, surely deserves a prize! Keep up the great job son! God bless you always!

Our son's 10th Birthday!

Our only son celebrated his 10th birthday! Indeed time flies so fast ,soon we are going to have a teenager. .We just had a simple celebration at home after he came from school. We let him decide if he wants to have a small party with his friends, but he preferred to have a simple celebration and would rather send money to his cousins in the Philippines so that they could also celebrate his birthday with them. As parents, we are so touched with his thoughtful gesture of being concerned to his cousins far way back home. We hope and pray that the values that we taught and will continually teach him will always be applied in his daily existence as he also will tackle his own path in the future. His only request though is to add his transformers collections! And indeed his wishes are all granted! Thank you Lord and Mama Mary for always being there for our family ! We love you so much son!

Natal month! Another milestone!

Thank you Lord for the many blessings and good health always You have given me. Thank you for my son, my husband,my family and friends. I know that challenges are part of your plan for me to strive more not only for myself but for other people. With open arms i am willing to forego all the challenges, and embrace it tight because I know you will reward me like what we have now. We only asked for enough, but You gave us more than enough and for these we will be forever grateful to you. Thank you for everything. Please forgive me if sometimes i felt weak,i know You understand me . Again thank you for giving me another year of life!

I just celebrated my birthday with my family...and sent money home for them to share also the moment with me on my birthday. Simple things like that really made me happy on my birthday. Looking forward for a more fruitful years ahead of me.Thanks Jesus and mama Mary!

FATHER'S DAY 09

It's been days that i wasn't able to write an entry about what happened for the last several days . Well, I happened to find a very comfortable time tonight to share what happend last father's day 09. The above pictures showed the preparations of our son as his surprise to his papa, (while papa is at work) .. As I was observing him while he was making HIS THING , i kept on making a guess what he was up to. . I thought that maybe it was a big card because he really likes making his own card for us.He kept on telling me JUST WAIT FOR THE FINISHED PRODUCT MAMA ..well well then, i waited.. To my surprise, it was a crown fit for a king!..He is really a very artistic boy when it comes to making things on his own. So proud of you son!......And his papa liked the crown so much. hehehe(no choice heheh)

A mother's prayer

I am writing this entry early dawn while checking out my son sleeping soundly. As I was looking at him, Wow! time flies so fast that he is almost a teenager. I am made to realize that my husband and I made the right the decision to sacrifice something especially on my part for our son's supervised growth. It's all worth it..My prayer everyday is for our son to grow as a man of values, that God will always lead him to make right decisions in life since in the future he will be manning his own family, that all the teachings, values we instilled and continue to instill in him will be used by him as he would be tackling life, that he will be able to view and do things according to his belief based on what we want him to be. We know for a fact that the world that we grew up with is very much different with the world he will be facing soon but what is more important is for him to apply all the things he knew in life and of what he experienced in life living with us. That Mama Mary will guide him always and embraced him from harm.Amen...

Be a Blessing!

A very touching and nice message I read this morning...."We are to deposit ourselves with God and trust Him to take care of us(1Peter 4:19)..He is our VINDICATOR!(Job 19:25), and as long as we behave properly toward others, including our enemies, God will bring a reward to our lives..The bible says we are to be mindful to be a blessing..(Galatians 6:10) That means that we are to have our minds full of ways we can help others. When our minds are filled with ways to be a blessing,we have no time to dwell on our personal problems. IT GIVES GOD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THEM FOR US!....AMEN!

What a nice message to start the day ! Thank you Lord!

An E-CARD mom's day received

I received this ecard from my family back home. Things like this really made my day. Thank you so much. Miss you all! God bless us all!

HAPPY ON MOTHER'S DAY

Words can't described how happy I was last mother's day! Thank you was all that keeps coming out from my mouth...I would like to thank my hubby for making me really special on that day and to our son aldwin for extending his very thoughtful way to show me that I am special to him . A mother's happiness is just so simple, just seeing her family happy and seeing the result of her sacrifices means more than anything and above anything else. Priceless!

So happy to see the celebration also for my mother back home in Tagbilaran and to my mother in law in Talibon. That day wo'nt be complete without greeting our Mama Mary..Thank you for always embracing us everyday with your love and grace, Amen...

What is it in HOLLYWOOD?

When I was a kid probably 6 years old, I asked my mother once out of curiosity perhaps"MA, WHAT IS HOLLYWOOD?..and if I remember it right, my mother answered, "A PLACE WHERE FAMOUS PEOPLE LIVED AND IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO GO THERE.!" AND AT THE BACK OF MY MIND, I TOLD MYSELF, YEAH I WILL JUST READ BOOKS ABOUT IT AND JUST DREAM ABOUT IT....I know that I still have to see for myself other places in hollywood aside from what I saw in our universal visit, but one thing is for sure, DREAMS COULD BE POSSIBLE..Hopefully, at the right time and when things are stable for us here and responsibilities of our parents back home are also stable such as attending to their roles as active Couples For Christ leaders as well as servants of God, we will give them a treat of a lifetime to visit here and other places in the world!...It will come,,in HIS time!

The Jurrasic Ride!

I have tried so many rides because my family find it as one of our bonding activity,,,but so far this ride made me weak at the end. It was our son's idea because he happened to view it in youtube , so this was the first ride we tried in universal. I already had in mind that maybe it would be like this, like that blah, blah,blah! ..But I never thought that our fall will be that steep and it was very rapid!...(Our faces showed so much of what we felt in the above pic, not much of our son though,,,,!)That might be my first and last ride of that so called jurrasic ride. But our son would like to try it again..Oh my God!

FIRST VISIT TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD!

It was a childhood dream to visit this place, now made into a reality!......This was our first visit to universal studios after a three year stay here in US...heheh! This was the right time, as a gift to our son as a consistent honor roll awardee and at the same time gratifying oneself for hard days work. The three of us were very excited just like kids. And to our excitement we just wore slippers! heheh! It was the idea of our son and when we arrived at the parking lot, we just removed our rubber shoes and off we went with our slippers. hehe!...While walking and viewing the place, my hubby and I hoped that someday we could bring our family here(Philippines) and share these moments with them.Hopefully, Someday!(sigh)

Our son had a blast! One memorable ride was the jurrasic ride! Oh my goodness I swear to myself, it was all charge to experience and i will never take that ride again!

Anyway, the day went so fast and we decided to be back on another day since we have an annual pass...(discounted price...as in a very big discount from work!)We thank God for the opportunity, for the bonding, for the annual ticket price(grin),,,for the safe travel to universal and back home. Indeed a very nice family day!

SURPRISES! SURPRISES!

(THE ABOVE PICTURE OF OUR SON SIGNIFIES A SMILE THAT MEANS GOOD DAY TO START WITH SURPRISES!)

I just can't help but to write a blog right away after I received a surprise from my hubby from work. He is not a person of surprises, but with what he did today maybe he got it from me then (hehehe, thanks God!)because i love surprises! Little things means a lot to me. More often, everytime he wants to give me something, he wants me to choose .I do understand him because it's the way he is. And for me, i am just a very simple lady with simple needs and wants and he knew that. I'd rather share what I have with our family back home, other people don't understand that but this what makes me happy...Well, anyway today means a happy day then!!!!! I was just surprised this morning because he handed me something, and it means a lot to me. I will not divulge what is the gift but it really made me cry..Thanks hubby for that wonderful surprise! You made me start my day with full of enthusiasm and love. I love you!

Just Being Loved

(this pic was taken by our son at Ontario,Ca)

I happened to wake up very early dawn at 1:37 to be exact. I usually experienced this specially if I sleep early during the night. My husband and son were still very sound asleep. I did my morning task, making the kitchen tidy, arranging my husband's dvd collection as well as our son's STAR WARS dvd collection,too.... I happened to take a look at newly rented dvds by my husband. I was touched because he rented the NIGHTS IN RODANTHE by Diane Lane and Richard Gere( I love their teamup started with the movie UNFAITHFUL). If I remember it right I always reminded him to rent the dvd because i missed to see it in widescreen. Everytime he rents dvds, he always forgets and sometimes he will give reasons like" SORRY PARTS, THE DVD IS OUT" ...Well, I believed him then. But anyway, I realized this might be one of his surprises he promised last night. They had a father and son bonding last night , that's why I slept while waiting for them playing PS2....Well, well...special thanks to my hubby...........To my excitement, I gave myself a treat,,"I WATCHED IT WILL FULL ENTHUSIASM (like a kid though{hehe)...I enjoyed the silence of the dawn...To make the long story short,,I found myself crying and sobbing to describe it perfectly...I maybe sound so dramatic or sentimental but it's just ME....I may not be in the same situation but the parts and parcels of emotions and realities of life specially nowadays are vividly true. The following are my own realizations after watching the movie(you may agree or disagree):

1) That a wife's happiness is just so simple" TO FEEL JUST BEING LOVED" and BEING APPRECIATED FOR THE SACRIFICES DONE FOR THE FAMILY"

2)For a Marriage to work,IT'S A TWO-WAY THING (NEVER TAKE EACH OTHER FOR GRANTED, ALWAYS BE WITH EACH OTHER NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED)

3)Romance should be rekindled everyday not just in moments of ordeal or any problems that might come along during married life.

4)Do not wait for that time to let other person that came along the way fill in that gap or longing of to love and be loved. Do not let Infidelity cross that line of loving .

5)Friendship is a very important factor in a relationship, to have someone to talk to about your feelings , undertakings, and just by accepting you as being the person you first met.

6)A woman's simple dream is to be a good wife and a good mother. That's why Dianne Lane in this movie was hurt so bad because of the betrayal.She thought she did everything right for her family.

7) Talk openly to your kids what's happening if things really won't be in its proper place or things don't happend the way you wanted it to happen...

In ADDITION, LET GOD BE THE CENTER OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP.....IT ALWAYS WORKS!..Thanks to my hubby for still the same person , from the first time we set eyes on each other...We are partners in so many ways that's why we called each other PARTS as our term of endearment so to say..We are the best of friends...We did have moments of ordeal in our almost 16 years of WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP ANG MARITAL BLISS (including our bf-gf days) but that's how all relationship goes. But what is more important is ,,,,we know best on each others strong points and weak points, and somehow managed to blend it..PRAYERS bond us together sharing the same vision for our son, family and family back home... We just have to HOLD ON....

Our snowtubing 09

At last our long awaited family snowtubing at Big Bear Mountain already pushed through! Thank you Jesus and mama Mary! It was a very enjoyable moment for the three of us, we shouted like kids(LOL), we bonded and we had a good time. Most of all as parents we were very happy because our son definitely had a blast of unforgettable moments! We are looking forward for next year's snow resort visit!

Fun time!

I happened to scan some pictures that I was able to bring from the Philippines and I was smitten with this above pic way back November 0f 2005. If i am not mistaken i took this as a stolen shot while my mag-ama(father and son) were very amused with the tv program they saw on TV and they somehow immitated the pose of the so called contestants of that tv show. .They really enjoyed the show and as if they had an unspoken understanding on how to be alike with the contestants. I showed them the picture and they were laughing and giggling and do some wrestling stuff(lol) their bonding activity..My son told us OH I WAS STILL SMALL IN THIS PICTURE .THANK YOU MAMA AND PAPA FOR KEEPING THIS. I AM ALREADY A BIG KID NOW!..Yes, he is right! soon, we are going to have a teenager..

The Value of Listening

(i took this pic when my hubby explained to our son what he was doing to treat his finger cut and what amazed me was that our son did not argue and he just listened)

I was touched by the homily of Fr.Gerry Orbos, SVD when he officiated the healing eucharist mass today(March 8, 2009)..The gospel was all about transfiguration or transformation. Since this is a lenten season, we are all expected to make a change , make a sacrifice, a sacrifice with a smile. People tend to ask help from God, tend to attached more to material things and attachment to people but fails to listen to what God wants to tell them.

Yes, sometimes we forget to listen, we forget to spend a moment of silence and hear God's message to us. May we all practice the value of listening, lend our ears and listen to anybody who is in pain, just to be there to somebody that needed someone to listen to his/her inner self, and be mindful of what God wants us to do and to accomplish in life even if sometimes things dont come as you planned it to be. LISTEN!

Father and Son 3

" One night, a father overheard his son pray: Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is; Later that night , the Father prayed; Dear God, make me the kind of man my Son wants me to be"(quotation proverbs) (This pic was taken way back 2005 at our first apartment in Orange, Ca., 8 days from our arrival from the Philippines and this was my hubby's bday.. we were so emotional during this time because we had just 20 dollars in our pocket but we managed to still celebrate his bday even in our own simple way. What touched us during that time was that our son told us PAPA, MAMA DON'T CRY, I AM HERE TO MAKE YOU SMILE., and that made our day complete. As we look back, we are thankful for having passed that stage because it made us stronger individuals and every success that we have achieved today becomes more sweeter to cherish and will always be treasured. Thanks to our son for the inspiration.)

Father and Son 2

(father and son moments at aquarium of the pacific)

"Any man can be a father but it takes a special person to be a dad"(quotation proverbs)

Father and Son 1

(edwin and aldwin having a great time at the beach last summer)

" Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice" (quotation proverbs)

Flow of Life

( I took this pic last summer of '08 at newport beach while aldwin was playing with the waves)

I was able to read a blog of a famous person who just recently passed away . It touches my soul while reading his blog whom he constantly updated during the course of his chemotherapy. There was a picture of a boy sitting on the sand looking at the tranquility of the sea that sparkles like crystals in his photo..The horizon was so vivid. The blogger was thinking about how lucky is the boy in that picture who still has the chance to see many sunrise and sunset in his lifetime, who can still experience the flow of young life as he grows up..Of course I understand the feeling of the blogger, like any other cancer victims, there is that so called acceptance at the same time bargaining for prolonging life just to be able to see his offsprings achieving something for their future. He fought the battle of cancer bravely as he could. But God has reasons why he succumb to that battle.. Somewhere along the way, answers will be met.

Since we are still here in this world, we still have the chance to make the best of ourselves. We might not have the same opportunities for a higher quality of life like any people have, but what's more important is our unselfish giving of ourselves, effort and understanding to our family, people that we care about, and for those whom we felt that needed our help.. We must not forget that whatever happens in our life, even if sometimes we felt that our prayers are not answered in a specified time that we want it to be answered, there is a GOD that knows the reasons and knows what's best for us.

Sad news back home

(above pic courtesy of HP sample pic)

........................Have read all the texts and messages passed 12 midnight March 2(pacific time)..was able to wake up because of my disturbing cough(but thanks God I am feeling better compared from the past days), so timely that I have read all the messages. Sad but we just have to accept things to happen that is inevitable. My uncle Boy(brother of my mother) died at 2:30 pm march 2 ,Philippine time..He was just home from the hospital 2 weeks ago but we knew for a fact because of his diagnosis that he will soon leave this world. But family closely knitted as we are, were hopeful that maybe life will be longer fo him to see his kids grow up and guide them . But things do happen for a reason. Whatever reasons will it be, it will be known as times passed by...Say a prayer for eternal repose of his soul. May he rest in peace.Amen.