hongkong hangover

i can't believe it's december already! in a matter of days, another year would have passed and we'll be welcoming a new year once more.

our family did end november with a bang! we decided to spend the last 4 days of november in hongkong. we went there with my sil's family. there was a lot of walking in those 4 days but it was a lot of fun and we enjoyed every minute of it.

main stop for the trip was disneyland. it really is one of the happiest places on earth. it doesn't matter what your age is, you just feel like a kid all over again in that place. timing was a bit tight for us so we were not able to take any of the rides. but we did see the show attractions - the golden mickeys, the lion king and stitch encounter. we also saw the "it's a small world." met a few characters along the way, watched the disney parade and capped off the night with the fireworks display.

i can't fully describe the elation i feel when i am inside disneyland. it's like reality is suspended and everything is magical. sadly, the day had to end and it was back again to reality.

we also took the ngong ping 360. it was a cable ride that took us to the ngong ping village where the tian tan buddha statue is situated. we took the cable ride to reach the village, then walked past the village to the foot of the buddha. then it was 268 steps up to reach the buddha. my legs were aching as we were going up but the experience was incredible.

the cable car ride was a bit scary at first being up there and hanging mid-air, but after a while, you get to enjoy the view and savor the expanse of the horizon as the cable traverses towards the mountain. it is one of those things that you are glad to have experienced at least once in your lifetime.

it was a tiring, fun and enjoyable vacation. unfortunately, time was short that we were not able to visit the other attractions like the peak. will definitely put that on top of our list when we get the chance to visit hongkong once more.

here are some other photos during our trip. i'll have to post more of these over at my facebook account soon.

saved again

another bit of good news in the homefront...
the last release is out (almost) and the other item we've been wanting to sell off has been sold just this morning.
we never thought it would be sold off anytime soon.
but out of the blue, somebody got it!

and yet again, he has shown us proof of what he can do...
at a time when we thought this is the end of it, he opened yet another window for us...
another opportunity for us to be thankful to him...

little by little

a lot has been happening in the homefront for us.

by next week, we will be moving back in to our house already! thank you lord!

we left our "old" house exactly a year ago to make way for our new house. we experienced a lot of trials trying to make this work and to make sure that we are able to build this house that we've been dreaming of for years.

it was a slow process. actually, it is still a slow process. building the structure took time. the funds were not always readily available. we had to push our limits and try to find other means. with a little help from family and friends, the target for the structure was met.

the finishing part is a different story altogether. again, funds are scarce and the need was getting bigger once more. it almost took its toll on us. our exterior walls have not yet been finished and everytime the rain comes, it seeps into the walls. it was tough for my parents who are already living there. at one point, they woke up amidst the rain outside and the water seeped into their room and almost reached the matress on the floor. it happened a few times in the past 3 months at the height of the rainy season.

that pushed us to really find a way to have the exterior walls finished. every week it was a struggle for funds. we felt like we were being pushed to the wall, feeling helpless. and yet, by the grace of god, and at the nick of time, we are able to find the necessary funds. at the least expected moments, our prayers are answered. payment for small time projects were finally paid. earnings from small events were subdivided among partners. little things that just fell into place when all seem lost. there was still the ray of sunshine behind the dark clouds.

the end to our finished house is still far from over. there are still a lot of things to be done. but it is already ready to be lived in somehow. we can already stay there and make the most of what we have. the dream we've tried to build is now ready for us. it is the house which will once again become our home.

there is much to be thankful for the start of a new chapter in our lives. a lot of gratitude for his grace and guidance.

for now, just a few more days till the day we officially move in... it will be all worth the wait...

thankful yet again

we just got word that based on the latest inspection, we have reached 90.+% completion!
thank god for this blessing!
it's one of the hurdles we had to surpass. there's one more hurdle which is the occupancy permit.
he truly guides us in this path we are going through.
and yet again, he showed us the power of faith.
he really works in mysterious ways.
at times when i feel that we've hit the end of the road, he shows us a corner to turn to.
another opportunity for us to continue on the journey.
it is not a smooth path but i know more than ever that he is there beside us, helping us.
thank you for letting the sun shine upon us and giving us continued hope for our future.

happy birthday bros

both my brothers celebrate their birthdays this august.

paulo celebrated his last august 7 and obet is celebrating his today.

this is one of those rare moments when we're together in a picture.

i've shared it before that we all have a love-hate relationship at times. we're just your average brothers & sister, one moment we're fighting, the other moment we're like the best of friends. i've taken care of these two all my life and though at times they think of me as the strict and sometimes cranky sister, i love them both deeply. we are family and i'll have it no other way.

so happy birthday to you bros! remember that i will always be here for the two of you.

life's changes

a lot of changes have been happening in our life for the past 6 months. eversince we've decided to have our house built, it has been a roller coaster of emotions for all of us. i'm sure if you've been in my shoes, you'll agree with me that building a house is no easy feat.

a lot of financial adjustments had to be made. tempers flaring up and worries increasing at certain times out of frustration and the desire to have everything built on time. tons of calls to institutions just to make sure that they approve and fast track processing of forms. the unspoken worries of what might happen if we're not able to meet schedules from suppliers. a lot of other things happening along the way.

at times when we thought we've ran out of options, god guides us to a different path. he shows us to roads which we never thought were there. we are much thankful to families and friends who have been open and willing enough to help us out with our concerns.

there are still a lot of things to finish and completion is still far from happeniing. but we're getting there, slowly but surely.

it's already been 8 months since we embarked on this journey. we're hoping that we'll have 90% completion by end of september. the percentage of completion is subjective. a lot has yet to be finished really. but we are hopeful. we have to be. that is the only way we can motivate and push ourselves.

at this point, we keep on reminding ourselves that this is for our future. if we do not do this now, then when? we haven't forgotten our desire to try building our family. but for now, when we still can, we will first prepare the foundation. eventually, god willing, he will grant us a baby once more. probably it is right, all in due time. for now, there are other priorities. and we will keep our focus on that.

we continue to pray that he guide us to the right path. we need his guidance and we need to believe, we need to be strong and strengthen our faith.

more patience pls...

our journey to having a new home has reached a stumbling block.
the assessment was promising and i couldn't be thankful enough for it. but apparently, that was just the beginning of a more major hurdle. certain documents still needs to be processed and submitted before movements can happen.
we are now at a point of choosing whether to stop or proceed with this thing. both will definitely result to bigger repercussions. we are running out of steam on the financial side and its taking a toll on us emotionally.
i can only pray for his guidance right now to show us the way to the right path. i know we can get through this eventually. it really is just the process of getting there that's always the hardest.
i need emotional strength at this point. hey, a little financial strength would be even better!

the value of patience

today, i was taught this very important value in life.

a line from the movie evan almighty comes to mind in this situation -- if you ask god for patience, he will not give it to you straight. instead, he will provide you with the opportunity to practice patience. and only from there would you have gotten what you asked for.

as i am placed in that same situation, i want to thank god for the opportunity he presented to me and my family. we were in much need of that thing and he knew we needed that approval immediately. yet, he knew we also need to learn to be patient.

and patience was shown to us today.

thank you lord. this means a lot to us.

he's out now

thankfully, my dad was finally released from the hospital yesterday. he's now at home recuperating.

aside from the high blood, his sugar level was a bit up. that's the result of drinking 2 full glasses of iced tea daily. he now has to contend with just drinking water.

his doctor also advised that he limit his rice intake to just a cup every meal. no oily foods especially now. and limited intake of meat and no fats please.

well, he has no problems with eating fish or vegetable. he actually likes that better than pork. but of course, who doesn't love meat! so now he has to limit that. which also means, we have to change the food we serve every meal as well. either we prepare one set for dad and one for the rest of us, or, prepare just one set for everyone. i'm sure my hubby & brothers will be sad about it. hehehe!

well, it's a small price to pay for what could have been a worse situation.

i think we all now have to start with our diets as well. hahaha!

mild stroke

the ct scan confirmed it yesterday.

my dad did have a mild stroke last wednesday. if not for my brother insisting that they go to the hospital immediately, things might have gotten worse.

according to the ct scan, his veins were swollen which is why his blood pressure was up. good thing no vein popped or else it would have been a different story.

he is quite okay now but he's still confined in the hospital. they have to make sure that his bp has stabilized already before he'll be allowed to go home. hopefully he can go out by tomorrow.

the other downside to this is, he now has to take maintenance medicine for his bp. and he really has to be careful not to get tired as much. the medicine is a better compromise compared to a worse case scenario.

i thank everyone who has offered their prayers for his recovery. i am truly grateful.

almost perfect

my birthday started off great today.

at 12:05 am, nelo woke me up with a birthday greeting while holding a box of sans rival complete with 3 candles. i didn't even notice the cake in the car when he picked me up from office yesterday. what a way to start the day.

no birthday leave for me so it was off to the office this morning. i was greeted by friends and i received a number of texts as well from friends near and far.

i left the office earlier today. we dropped by the church and gave thanks for the past year and prayed for another year blessed with good graces and guidance.

we were home by 6pm. the plan was to just have dinner at home with my family. my mom was preparing for dinner when we arrived and my dad was quite well. that was until 7pm.

i was inside the room when nelo called me and said dad slipped on the street. i went out and saw that most of the neighbors were helping him. apparently, he got dizzy and felt the surge of high blood pressure. and he slipped by the road. good thing some of the neighbors saw him and was able to assist immediately.

a friend of ours took his bp and it was 130/100. my brother decided to bring him to the hospital already lest his pressure shoots up some more.

it was a good decision. when they arrived at the hospital by 8pm, his bp was up to 171/100. and further increased to 180/110 by 9pm. they had to put dextrose on him along with some medication to lower his blood pressure.

he is already stable at the moment. my brother said he wants my dad confined overnight so his bp can be monitored. and i totally agree. they are just waiting for the results of his tests to determine what our next course of action should be.

what a way to cap off my birthday. i was hoping for a quiet "celebration" but i guess fate had something different in mind.

right now i am just grateful that my dad has stabilized already. and i just pray that he recovers soon. that is all i ask and pray for, for now.

happy birthday bros!

they both just turned another year older this month.

it was a four-year gap between the us and an eleven-year gap between him and the youngest. talk about age difference.

my relationship with these two have its ups and downs much like any family. more so with the one after me.

our personalities often collide and i can't remember a time when we were growing up when we wouldn't fight. our "fighting episodes" were one for the books. i want my way, he wants his way. i like to assert my being the eldest, he doesn't want to be dominated. the fights lessened as we grew older. we still fight though, but things are probably different now.

i took care of the youngest. being the eldest, you have to take on responsibilities and he was one of those. we never did fight, he knew better than to fight with me. but he has his way of "fighting back." which at times leads to arguments and lengthy sermons.

it's more of him and the second who've always had some differences. probably the middle child syndrome working its way on the other one.

still, despite all these, i don't think i'll ever ask for any other brothers. these two have helped mold me as a person. i may not be expressive as to how i feel for them but somehow, i am sure they both know how much i love them. and that, i will be there for them no matter what.

love you bros!

family pictorial

we had so much fun in our family pictorial yesterday! great shots were taken courtesy of our friend jeff lopez!

the photo session was originally meant for my other sil, myla. but when we found out last february that charo and family will be going home for cecille's wedding, myla wanted a family pictorial instead.

so i arranged everything with jeff and asked him if it's feasible. thankfully he was very open to the idea and we've set the pictorial date for yesterday, april 9. good thing it was a holiday and nothing to worry about unavaialble schedules.

we met up near the ccp complex and initially started the shoot there. but since there were a lot of people and not much colors around to "play" with, we moved to a different location.

great decision from jeff! and here is the result (at least some of the shots) of that fun pictorial...

if you're interested in seeing the other works (and services) of jeff (and pia), check out their blog www.shootandscrap.blogspot.com

just a few more days

...till the "long" holidays. hopefully we'll be on half day on wednesday already so no need to spend the whole day at the office anymore. not to forget though that this the holy week and it's supposed to be a time for reflection and communing with the lord.

oh, and my in-laws will already be arriving that night. we'll be seeing christabel kulit again! lol! can't wait to see her.

plus, they'll be bringing with them some of my new toys! yipee! can't wait to give that bigkick a big kick! hahaha!

lots of activities in store for us. we'll be attending teh easter egg hunt at shang on sunday. i enrolled bel & aly for that one. then the day after, we'll be having our family pictorial. our good friend jeff will be doing the photo shoot! i am all excited for that one as well. i even bought an outfit for the shoot! talk about excited! lol! which reminds me, i have to email jeff about the arrangements for this one.

overall, this is another holiday i am looking forward to.

cool princess

cool princess
Originally uploaded by cuddlybears.

she's coming home!

it's official, christabel will be arriving here in manila on april 4. they'll be here for just 2 weeks since bernard's sister is getting married. they'll be arriving with mama & papa.

this is so cool! i can't wait to see her again!

welcome 2007!

as the year starts, we are thankful for all the blessing that have come our way. we are thankful even for the trials and bumps that we have encountered. these things have actually made us stronger and have taught us to appreciate life better and know that there is still hope.

now, i'd like to look at 2007 as a better year. a year for new beginnings and new hope. a year to start picking up the pieces of lost love and start building anew.

a happy new year to all!

we are off to a wedding...

yes, we're heading off to cabanatuan tomorrow afternoon in preparation for my brother's wedding on saturday, march 18.

for those close to our family, this news was a bit of a shock at first. no, the bride's not pregnant nor was he forced to submission. lol!

i never thought that my brother will end getting married soon. he's been such an easy-go-lucky person all his life that the idea of seeing him settle down immediately was considered a very slim possibility. at least this early as we initially presumed.

little did we know that things were bound to change with a little help from friendster.

you see, my brother had girlfriends before but i never really saw them much. besides, my brother is not the typical boyfriend. he's not the type who'll set a specific date every week for you to see each other. nor is he the sweetie-type boyfriend who'll go to the ends of the earth for you. well, at least that's how i perceived him to be in his relationships.

lately, the only girls that i often see him go out with were with s and d. we've teased him a lot about this girls and he said they're just friends. okay!

so, our attention was focused more on s becuase she's been going out more often with my brother. we thought they were an item already. wrong!!!

they were indeed just friends. and s was the one who made this coming a reality. how?...

my brother had a girlfriend before in high school. but they split-up right after graduation. she was bound for canada since her mother has already petitioned her. from what we know, she tried maintaining a communication with my brother at that time but, probably because he was also busy in college and were miles apart from her, they just lost touch.

and so years has passed since then. we thought that was the last their paths will ever cross. wrong! it all happened last year.

s, as a favor for my bro, tried "looking" for soon-to-be-sil over at friendster. she serached and searched and was finally able to "locate" her. s gave the details to bro, and as they say, the rest is history!

they got in touch with each other again last year and constant phone calls to bro were exchanged. and which was also one reason why bro kept on bugging me about getting a dsl line instead of a dial-up (which he ended up paying for eventually).

little did we know at that time, that they were already planning on getting married this year. and that sil will be arriving to manila on march already.

wow! talk about fast! and i thought he wasn't serious! i was half-heartedly listening to his questions on what is needed when getting married, blah-blah-blah. he wasn't they type who'll be serious about this things which is why i just ignored him. i was wrong.

and now, barely 48 hours to go and my bro is getting hitched for life.

am happy for him, and yet sad really. reasons why merits a different post.

congratulations bro!