Monday, November 26, 2012

Mini Family Reunion

We spent last last weekend in Batangas with our relatives from Germany. My Tito Freddie and Tita Mila were happy to be back in Manila and living in their very own home in Lipa. It's actually the first time for them to live in their house so they were very busy looking for house stuff including modern bedroom furniture sets. What they got for now is a brown L-shaped sofa set that is just right for the size of the living room.

Their house is actually so exciting to decorate. There are wide walls, a spacious living room cum dining room and a cute little kitchen area. There are also three bedrooms upstairs and a veranda to boot. A lot more work is actually needed to furnish this house. It still needs a perimeter gate and some landscaping work around the house. But nevertheless, it's actually livable already. The area is safe and has fresh air and it's only a few minutes from the city proper. Given more time and a few more "balikbayan" visits, their house would be a nice place to live in and retire to. 

Anyway, posting here a picture of us during our mini-family reunion. Tita Freddie and Tita Mila - it was nice seeing you again! We hope you had a comfortable and safe trip back to Germany. Take care always and see you again soon! 



Friday, November 23, 2012

Too Blessed to be Stressed!

We a fun time in the Happiness Palooza event c/o Stress Management last month.  




I'm definitely going to miss these guys next year. I'm so blessed to have been part of a great team of HR professionals. :-D

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Late Posting: Zoe's Musical Experience

Zoe's school organized a fund-raising event which asked parents to buy tickets to the Repertory Philippines' rendition of Wizard of Oz. This was held in Greenbelt OnStage. 

Of course, we were ecstatic to go since we hadn't introduced Zoe yet to the beautiful world of the stage. Back then when my husband and I were still going out as boyfriend/girlfriend, we would consciously make time to watch those good musicals playing in town. We much enjoyed watching The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, They're Playing our Song, Rama at Sita, and many others. 

Now going back to Wizard of Oz, immediately Zoe felt excited as she learned about Dorothy, her 3 new friends and the Wizard of Oz. 

Here are some of our pictures.





Since it was a very great experience, we look forward to bringing our kids to upcoming shows. I'm pretty sure they would like it. By the way, Ticketamerica.com has The Book of Mormon Tickets for some exciting cities like Minnesota and New York or Pittsburgh. You can now go buy minneapolis the book of mormon tickets. Or if you are in the east coast, there are also new york the book of mormon tickets. Lastly, Ticketamerica is also selling pittsburgh the book of mormon tickets. Check out those as well.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Through Thick or Thin

I received this special gift last month from my circle group. It's a picture of the parents of St. Josemaria, or who we fondly call "Abuela and Abuelo". 


If you watched the movie "There Be Dragons" you will see there a snippet of the simple lives of Don Jose and Dona Dolores Escriva. They were a Catholic couple whom God had chosen to be seedbed for the vocation of a great saint. They had filled the Escriva home with love and cheerfulness that even though God  had sent them many trials and hardships in life (at one point, they lost their 3 younger daughters and went bankrupt). It was almost unimaginable how they faced all these problems with a lot of faith in God and serenity. 

Reflecting on their lives, I would naturally would go to them for inspiration (and ask them for favors!) especially whenever we feel the pinch. I would think about how the Abuela maintained her dignity and elegance amidst severe money troubles and the lack of even the family's basic needs. I would also imagine how the Abuelo, while he lost his business and received the ire of many, continued to work and find ways to fend his growing family with true trust in God.

Their example alone gives my husband and I the strength to carry on our duties to our family. And like them, we rely on the grace of God to help us with our needs. :-) 

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Random IG Pics








Obviously, I've been hooked on IG...


On Semestral Break

It's really such a fantastic thing to be on semestral break these days. Well, at least for Zoe. School ended last October 25 (when they had a Halloween party) and will resume on November 5. That's so cool, right? 

Before we had the break, we celebrated Mother's Day in their school (where they had some lovely song and dance numbers for us moms). This was right after they finished their quarterly examinations and started the 3rd grading. We're really wishing the Zoe will be able to ace her subjects and garner another special award. She has been trying her best to improve on her Language, Reading and Religion and I really appreciate all her efforts to fare better than the last quarter. If I could, I would have talked her into having her own English tutor but looks like she can still handle her subjects for now. I heard about VarsityTutors and they provide just the right tutorial services for anyone who is struggling with difficult subjects in school. 

Anyway, for now, I leave her academic work on the side and focus on less serious stuff while on vacation. So far, we have done several extra-curricular things at these times. First, there was the annual Trick or Treat event in our village. Zoe and Luigi dressed up as Jessie and Woody of Toy Story. They looked so cute together. It was like Luigi's first serious Trick or Treat event and he gamely went around the whole village trying to get treats from every house that's been tagged as a pit stop. The result? Well, they gathered two big bags of candies and other goodies that will probably last us a good month or so. Tooth decay, beware!!!

Well, another thing is that Zoe was able to join and attend her Daffodils Girl's Club once again. They already moved to another venue somewhere in Kapitolyo and we had to drive around to get to the place. Their activity the last time was making Thank You cards using recyclable arts and crafts. What she did, with the help of the other girls, turned out to be very pretty. Anyway, she's a big girl now. I left her there at the venue and then just picked her up after. And while she was there, the rest of the family went grocery-shopping at the nearby supermarket. Talk about time management!  

To end, I just want to share with you some pictures taken from the Mother's Day event in Zoe's school.  






 
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