making it work

it's been five years (and counting) since i've been married to this wonderful man. we were a couple for four years prior to getting  married. so that's a total of nine years of togetherness! :)  i honestly look forward to growing old with him. it is always in my prayer that we both have a good long life together.

i know we still have a long way to go. still more obstacles to encounter, and more fights to face. but along with that, there are joys and success to share, funny experiences with our daughters to witness, seeing dreams unfold, beers to toast, coffee to share and travelling to places, and so so so much more! i know there will be temptations too. somebody will be better than him or me. but i don't want to waste my energy on things that is not there yet. instead, i want to focus on the present by making our marriage work. there is no other way. we made a commitment to each other, to our family, and most importantly, to God.

so what do we do to make it work?  make it work! :) and aside from the usual things like acceptance, forgiveness, excitement, support, and love, i still think that making God the center of the marriage is the number 1 rule. i know it is passe but it is true. if not, then what is?

 

photography by Dino Lara





my preparation

recently, we attended the funeral of the father of a friend. and we realized that for this year, we've attended 4 funerals of people that are close to us. last week, it was our church's senior pastor's wake. last month, it was the 22month-old son of a friend. months ago, it was my mom's sister. so sad.

deaths are unavoidable. all of us will eventually face death. it's just that, most of the time it comes when we least expect it. or are we just not ready? others find it scary. why should it be? isn't it that death means going home and finally meeting our Creator? with Him, all questions will be answered. with Him, there is no suffering, no pain, no problems, no chaos. none of the bad, sad and negative stuff. it also entitles us to claim His promise of everlasting life where there is peace, harmony and happiness. isnt that great? we are God's work in progress, constantly changing us and guiding us. so that when it is finally our time to join God in Heaven, we are already made perfect. WOW!

so i realized that instead of worrying and being scared of the unknown, we need to prepare, right? we have to know and be completely ready. i made a list of to-do's. i'll try hard to do it so that i could say that i am worthy of His promise.

• to try to forgive AND forget those who have hurt and wronged me
• avail of a death insurance (i want be cremated by the way)
• to be the best husband to gelio and be the best mom to raya and robin (and if God will grant us another child, to him/her as well)
• be good. do good.
• read the Bible regularly
• pray harder
• touch people's lives
• to truly and fully LIVE MY LIFE

what are their problems?

one of my random thoughts is, what are the problems of the rich? how to keep their money? where to invest? how much more can they earn this year?  how to spend them? what else to do with it?

my husband asks me, would you exchange your life with them? well, how should i know? i havent been rich in my life. hehe.

but i do wonder, seriously :D

i'll just keep on trying to have that abundace :D

great love

its amazing how God sends His message to me. i am so thankful that i came upon this video the other day and it really touched me. 

it talks about a lot of things... i see faith, true strength, and great love.



my birthday

it's my birthday yesterday (yipee!) and so i had the right to be pampered and be spoiled by people around me (another yipee!). and so everybody was nice. hehe. i wish birthdays would come more than twice a year ;) 

here's what happened...

Mahal woke me up at 12MN and gave me

in which he held as i blew the candle and made my wishes. he also gave me a pair of Sanuk shoes which i've been wanting ever since i laid my eyes on them. they're so classic! and comfy too. i like!

we started the day by bringing our first daughter to school. we then had coffee while we wait for her. i had my third birthday surprise when he gave me his love letter which i've been requesting since last year. awwww. i was touched.

  

next surprise was when our dear Pastor Benjie arrived! we talked about our marriage and of course, God's message. we prayed and he gave us his blessings. he's really been a part of our family life and i am so glad we have him. he's been gelio's mentor since he was a kid. he raised him up to be a truly disciple of Christ. he blessed us when we got married and held my daughters' dedication. he is God-sent.

since it's also our 5th wedding anniversary, my husband also deserved to be pampered. and so we went to

to be pampered, complete with champage and belgian chocolates!

wow! and the room looks like this

it's so nice. so luxurious! we feel like a king and queen! we love this place. it's highly recommended. we've been here a couple of times and we never got disappointed. after the massage, we had a snack of tea and yummy yummy yummy fruits with yogurt. sarap ng feeling!

second to the last surprise was a romatic dinner :)

while we were resting, Mahal gave me his final birthday/anniversary gift... a new set of wedding bands :)

it was truly a day filled with love. looking to more birthdays and anniversaries with my family :) truly, i am blessed.

thank you Lord!

happy birthday mom

its my mom's birthday today. she is now 60 and she doesn't look her age at all. perhaps she is truly happy with her life or she just knows how to handle her numerous concerns.

i love my mom. despite our differences, she is one person i am afraid of losing. selfish as it may seem, i pray to God that she may not join Him yet. i need her in more ways than one. she takes care of our kids when we are out, even if she wants some peace and quiet for rest. she buys stuff for us especially for the kids, sometimes ending up not buying anything for herself.  she treats us to restaurants, even if it means using her credit card and paying it off for months. she gives advise especially on marriage and motherhood even to the brink of being tactless. she lends us money even if it means touching her funds for her retirement. she includes us in her grocery list, even if it means going beyond her budget.

again, she is now 60 years old, and she still works hard. i know she would want to retire and enjoy her life. but she cant. she wont. and its because of us and her grandchildren.

these things that she does for us, no matter how small it is, its really BIG for me. i wonder if she knows that i really appreciate it all. i am not good in expressing my feelings to my family (i am trying to change that now in my own family). there are time that i find it annoying when she keeps on yakking at me. and yet, i sometimes find myself following her advise.

i just don't know how i can repay her for her sacrifices for us as a mother. it sometimes hurts my pride to see that she is the one who's helping us instead of the other way around. as of now,  i try my best and pray hard to be the best mother for raya & robin and to be the best wife to gelio. maybe somehow, i could return the favor.

my mom, she desrves the best. if only i have the resources, i'd love to give her a car so she wont have to commute. or perhaps buy her a plane ticket, business class, to somewhere where she wants to go. or shopping money and buy whatever she wants. or a house to her name. that will be great!

but for now, i'll still continue to include her in my prayers. that God may continue to bless her and make her happy. to be at peace with her life.  and that before she returns to Him, may she be truly fulfilled with her life.

hugs and kisses to you mom. i love you!

waiting

i've been praying and holding on... went to Quiapo church yesterday too... kept on thinking on the positive side to earn positive vibes... been living life as it is... trying to do the right thing... careful not to hurt others... keeping myself busy and productive...

... so what's next?