Our newest nephew

Hello world :) let us all welcome the newest addition to our family..my very cute nephew :)
He was born May 6, 2014.

Isn't he adorable? Those cute little feet..I so love to kiss them. 

One year and still missing him

This weekend, we commemorated my Dads passing. It was a sad/happy occasion. Happy that we got to see all our dear friends and relatives again, sad that we still do miss Tatay very much. We prepared most of his favorite food such as menudo and lechonn (roast pig). I'm sure he's happy.

It has been one year-and still I can not look at his pictures and not cry. 

But of course, we have moved on despite the sadness and grief. I guess missing him is now part of our existence and that there will always be that special space in our heart for him. A space that only belongs to a father.

I spent 3 days in the province and we really had a good time with the kids, we went swimming in a nearby resort which we usually do during summer.

Today, my mom will finally go home with my sister and will stay here in the city for good. To my relief because that means I can now see her often. Our house in the province will be temporarily empty but it will always be full of happy memories.

Celebrating 8

and because I still have no energy to make another post, I'm grabbing my post from my facebook page :) and also the photo.

"This was 8 years ago and the smiles and laughter we had then did not fade a bit.
Happy Anniversary mahal. Thank you for loving the Lord first and foremost because with that I know I am always secured of your love. God must have loved me that much, so happy and grateful He gave me YOU. Naks!! I love you! "

Our homemade California Maki

Our very first attempt was a failure because of the wrong nori (seaweeds) sheets size we bought. It was very disappointing  but  of course we did not give up. Last night we tried again and it was a success!!

Ours is cheaper version because we did not have japanese mayo and a salmon or any fish for that matter. We only used cucumber, mango, crab meat sticks and the rice :)

here's a picture guide on how we did it

At first I thought it was hard but the only tricky part for me is the rice. Take note that we did not use Japanese rice also,  we substituted it with our own local sticky/glutinous (malagkit) rice. In fact, the only Japaneses ingredient we had is the Wasabi. Nonetheless, it was still yummy for us :D

We had extra mangoes, cucumbers and crab meat sticks so we used it to top our maki rolls :)

Buddy's Lucban Longanisa

Last week, my friend Carmel promised me she will make me her own version of Vigan longanisa (sausage in other countries) but we ran out of time and energy so we ended up dining in Buddys not only because we are craving for a good longanisa but also because Buddys is just a stone throw away from our house.

As always, their Lucban longanisa is a delight, mouthwatering and worth every penny.  We ordered 2 dozen, four of us consumed every bit of it. Cravings satisfied.

I am a Certifed longanisa lover and Lucban's is on the top of my list together with Vigan and ours (from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija)

Also, my friend J-mie mentioned longanisa from Cebu (because we are going to Cebu this April for Mission Camp) and I think I'll give it a try. We'll see if it will also be included in my top list :)

Toy Box : Rent a Toy

Last December, I ventured with a friend for this home based/online small business.And things are looking great so far, it is thriving  and we are hoping that soon we will be catering more clients and that Toy Box will be known in the industry.

Get well soon Nanay!

Please fight for us, for your grand kids, for everyone who loves you.  I know you can overcome because you have been an over comer ever since. You are one of the strongest woman I know so please get well soon. We still have so much to do!!

Love you.

Update

I wrote a post from my rocks daily blog, if you have time you can also read from there, but here's more update from Nanay.

She is recovering albeit very slow. Can't even sit on her own, she needs a lot of help to sit and it last for only a couple of minutes.

Her major complain is head ache which is expected says her doctor as she suffered the most injury in her head.

Things even got worst due to her stomach complications but praise God, that is now treated and ok. Her potassium went very low also but is now ok.

So far her BP is stable for days now, as well as her sugar.

I hope she'll be out in the hospital he soonest possible time.

Thank you everyone for praying.

Blessed

Thank you mahal for being there for me and for my family specially on trying times like this. Thank you for all your support. Indeed you are God's best. You have proven once more that you are true to what you have promised almost 8 years ago.

I love you.

Prayer request

Please, am asking for your prayers. My Nanay (mom) was hit by a truck last Saturday, she's in the hospital now and under going a lot of tests. Her head suffered the most injury, there is blood in the brain which is bad.
Please pray that she'll be alright, that there will be  no need for operation and for her brain to function normally soon.
 
Thank you.

More than flowers

I know I do not have the most romantic husband ever in the whole wide world, you know the one that always gives you flowers and chocolates on valentines day (or any occasion day ) but I do not complain because I am very assured that I am greatly love by him even without those flowers and stuff. Though sometimes, I secretly wish I also have flowers to post on my instagram on Valentine's day, it's normal for every woman I guess.

But as you age, you realized there are more better ways to show you love and you appreciate your spouse, yes, far better than giving flowers and chocolates.

 ~Like how my husband is doing the laundry for me today at home while he should be resting because he's taken a leave from work. ~Like how he makes effort to bring and pick me up from my office everyday since we got married (except when he is out of town for mission trips or for office task now that he is working)

~Like, how he strives so hard to provide for our needs, doing what he promised when we exchange vows on our wedding day.

 ~Like how he stay so faithful and true to me in all sense, true to his feelings, honest with his weaknesses and shortcomings and doing his best to grow and improve.

~Like how he loves the Lord more than anything else in this world, that alone makes me fall in love with him over and over again. I know it's peculiar but it's true, when I see him on his knees worshiping the Lord with all his being, when I see him singing songs for his creator~ it makes me love him more and deeper. And it reminds me that it was the very reason why I married him.

So yes, I may not always have flowers on valentines day but it's ok, because true love is more than flowers and chocolates. And I know I have my one true love everyday. My god's best gift. :)

Birthday Post

I really am not into big birthday celebrations (for myself), in fact I am contented and happy just being with my love ones on that day, even if we do nothing special. This year is no different but that does not mean I was not happy because contrary to that I felt very special on that day because my husband treated me to a breakfast buffet. He knows how I love breakfast food eh and that I will be very happy about it. So yes, we woke up extra early that day to have an eat all you can breakfast.

 Happy me!!

 We also had lunch with our Head Pastor who happens to have the same birthday as mine.  It was a double celebration for us, the church treated us for a very sumptuous lunch. My only regret is not being able to take decent pictures.

On Sunday afternoon, a friend invited us over to their house where we had a swim at their clubhouse, it was fun. I had a full weekend and a happy birthday indeed.

Thank you everyone for the greetings you sent thru text and facebook messages. I love you too.

Lastly, Thank you LORD for everything.