Little joys

Each day is a chance for new wonders to be explored. Seen from the eyes of my 5 month old baby, the world is indeed new and exciting. We are blessed to have such an even-tempered child (so far that's how she seems to be emerging as in terms of temperament and disposition). She greets each morning with a smile and now even though she has a cold, she's been quiet and just trying to get by and not fussing a lot.

I too have a bad cold which unfortunately I have passed on to her. I pity her sniffing and trying to breathe through a clogged nose. Its times like this that you just wish you could take on your child's illness instead of letting her suffer. Since she doesn't know how to blow her nose either, she just takes it and cries a little when she can't take it na.

Last weekend, Junby and I visited Costco to stock up on stuff here at home. Costco sells stuff in bulk and therefore it comes out cheap. While walking the aisles, Junby was carrying Therese and as is her fashion, she just drifted off to sleep :)



That's how easygoing she generally is. Then Junby put together the high chair that was a gift to us during one of the baby showers for us. See her delight? :) Makes me smile in response. :)
The next day I was able to sit her there while I did some chores. She found a way to occupy herself with a teething toy I had given her..

Ah, my little joy :) Thank you Lord for smiling back at me through my daughter. :)

A Weekend of Surprises :)

Yup, my Saturday and Sunday was full of surprises. First was Saturday...

It started out as an ordinary lazy Saturday. We had time to sleep in and had breakfast at around 10:30 or so. We decided to do some cleaning up (swiffering -- that's when you use a swiffer in lieu of a broom and a mop since a swiffer is basically a broom and mop in one. One of the new inventions that I've discovered here in the US. Our swiffer even has a mini-vacuum built in) and putting the house in order (sort of). I'm really glad we did (although as Junby later on said, I should have been more suspicious when he became quite amendable to cleaning house) since turns out a whole battalion (or so it seemed to me at the time) was about to descend upon our humble abode. We were waiting for Kate, one of our single friends in BCBP to arrive since she had asked to have lunch with us that day. Unbeknowest to me, it was all part of an elaborate plan to surprise me with a baby shower. When I heard a knock on the door, I went to answer it, thinking I'd see Kate standing at the threshold. To my surprise, she was indeed standing there but along with a lot of other people, all of whom had food and boxes all wrapped up. They trooped into the house, laid all the food on the available surfaces and the party began!

I didn't have to prepare a thing except cook up a batch of rice since that was the one thing they all forgot to bring. I had a great time, and we had a lot of food left-over for dinner and even the rest of the week. They even had games prepared complete with prizes! Ang galing talaga! Our big thanks to Kate, Lau, Hannah, Ate Edith and the rest of the gang for all the preparations. I truly felt loved and baby Therese surely thanks you as well for all the love you've showered upon us all. Here are some pictures from that party:

A diaper cake. Yup, made of real diapers. First time I've seen one :) Thanks to Hannah, Lau and their roommate for making this. :)

My husband who is the co-conspirator for the surprise party. See how much I love him? :)

One of the many games Kate had prepared for the party. That's Ate Edith trying her best to transfer cotton balls onto another bowl blindfolded. :)
Gift opening time! Thanks to everyone for all your gifts. Therese will indeed not want for anything. :)

Ito ang mga salarin! Kain uli. Napagod sa games and gift opening. At ang dami pang food natira. From left: me, Lau, Hannah, Ate Edith and Kate (the head conspirator). Thanks to all of you :) Truly Junby and I with Therese am blessed to have you as our friends and community brothers and sisters!

Ok. I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong. Sunday was still around the corner and this time, it was Junby's family's turn -- particularly our Ninang Liklik and the head honcho for this operation is Karen, Junby's cousin on his mother's side. :) Thanks girl for the love and all the effort you put into the party! :)

I'll continue the narrative sometime tomorrow. I need to get to work na. :)

In thanksgiving...

I sleep tonight with a smile on my lips and a prayer of thanks to God. Today has been a day of affirmation for me. Affirmation of God's goodness and faithfulness, affirmation of the rightness in following God's ways and timing. I slept most of this morning away, all the nights of sleeping late the past week catching up with me. Since I had already attended mass Saturday evening, I didn't need to get up early to catch mass at 11:00 A.M. Finally feeling that I have overstayed my welcome in dreamland, I got up and convinced myself to begin work on a project I had pledged myself to do. I worked steadily at my task, pausing once in a while to get up and walk about trying to jog my creative streak into high gear. Then at around 5 P.M. I called it a 'day' and decided to take a kitty nap before heading out for my dinner with brother and sisters I used to work on staff with for CYA.

We met up at Lopue's Mandalagan and went to Hayahay, a restaurant found in the compound of Lopue's Mandalagan. I was impressed with the interior, the ambiance was chic but not intimidating. The food -- sarap! I recommend it. We had two types of pizza and a tomato based soup whose name I can't quite spell at the moment :P It was a good time to chat, catch up on the events of each other's lives and what God is teaching each of us at the moment. There is really something life-giving when I am with people who have experienced God in a very personal and real way. I somehow feel that the most essential part of me is acknowledged, nourished and affirmed. I feel more like myself when I am with them.

We ended the night by giving honor to three people: April (she had left volunteer staff work at the middle of the semester last year so we were unable to thank her and affirm all the good she had done while working full time for the brothers and sisters), Michelle (who celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago) and surprise -- myself (I celebrated my birthday a month ago). Honoring is a practice we have in community where we thank the person being honored for the good that he/she has done which have made a significant impact in our lives. I believe honoring is very essential nowadays in a world that only seeks to point out one's mistakes and failures and dismisses the good that is done as being trivial and obvious. It was heart warming to hear and remember how we had in one way or another blessed the lives of others.

In thanksgiving I would like to also say thank you to God who 'ordered' me home and brought me to these men and women who have in their own personal pursuit of God have shown me the beauty, nobility, dignity and value in others and in myself. By God's grace we have been Jesus to each other. God does indeed know best. I know I was not very happy about leaving Manila to start a new life here in Bacolod. Yet God in His wisdom knew that this is where I needed to be to solidify the lessons and realizations I've had of Him and of my purpose in life. It has been my privilege to journey with these brother and sisters. My life has been enriched because they have become part of it. Thank you Lord for knowing better. Thank you also for the grace to submit to your will.

Sweetness personified part 2

Here are some pictures I took of the three dozen long-stemmed red roses and chocolates my sweet fiance sent me yesterday:



This must be the most number of roses I got from him so far. The chocolates are quite good too -- there goes my diet (for now).

Gazing at the roses, I realized something...we are like God in that we use objects to say in one gesture what we would like to say in a thousand words. God wanted to tell us who he is and what he is about. He spent centuries speaking about Himself especially to a specific people yet it was not enough. So He came as a person -- Jesus, that by seeing Jesus we will have a clearer picture of what He had been trying to say. This Sunday we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ...now if that isn't the most succinct way of saying something, I don't know what else can say it best.

Thank you Sweetie for being like God in that you speak without words. Truly I am blessed.

Precious memories