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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Real Love

"Girls, do not let the guy lift the veil of your body before he lifts the veil on your head--in marriage." - Jason Evert


I have never heard of Jason Evert before, but when my sister Chat posted about him around 2 or 3 weeks ago with this quote, I immediately looked him up and fell in love with him.  He is an international speaker who goes around the world to share what real love is all about.  Real love that is based on the Word.

Many of us think we know what LOVE is.  We say we feel it and we believe it when it's there.  But once we don't feel it anymore, we are quick to conclude, "I don't love him/her anymore."  This is why there are so many broken hearts, and even souls, because we have the wrong perceptions of what love is.  Especially in the youth today, when they feel they're "in love", they easily give in to their emotions, including their lusts for the flesh.  And we think it's okay because this is what we see on TV, Internet, and basically everywhere.  But is this real love?  Does real love allow our honor and dignity to be stained?  I don't think so.

I've had mistakes in my youth, yes.  I think a lot of us have, but I will do anything and everything for my girls Caitlin and Elise (and future children) to keep themselves pure until they get married.  They deserve a man who will truly value and respect them.  One who will not prioritize their wants, but one who will honor what is right and pure.  I'm not saying that I did THAT before I got married, but one should remember that purity does not just talk about keeping your virginity.  Purity is having pure thoughts and pure acts in everything.

I like what Jason and his wife Crystalina wrote in their book, "How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul",

If you want a true man, you need to know what one looks like.  For starters, a guy cannot be considered a man unless he treats a woman with dignity.  When a boy learns how to forget himself for the good of another, he becomes a man.  This transition does not occur at puberty; it comes when he learns the meaning of sacrifice.  As you can imagine, walking hormone guys are locked into a mentality of using instead of loving.  For this reason, stay far away from them.  Instead of wasting your time on guys who see your purity as a problem or neurotic condition, hold out for a guy who values you for more than your body.
This is my desire for my girls.  They deserve nothing less.  And with the way things are going in society today -- people pressing on for the RH Bill, promoting pre-marital sex, divorce and homosexuality, and all these other things, I am praying hard for my girls to grow up with the mindset that true love is worth waiting for.

And so, I wish all youth can attend this life-changing event in September!  Jason and Crystalina Evert themselves will talk about REAL LOVE.

Get your tickets here.

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Saturday, July 20, 2013

29th at Stotsenberg

I celebrated my 29th with water and sunshine with the family at Hotel Stotsenberg at Clark, Pampanga.  My aunt fortunately got us a free overnight stay and we grabbed the chance.  Celebrating your birthday at a hotel couldn't go wrong, and it was something special for the family because it's a break from always having company at home.

So we headed to NLEX after church on June 23, that was about lunch time.  Just me, my hubby, and the two kiddos.  We got there at around 3pm, I think, and got to our room a little before 4pm.  Caitlin was excited to be in a new place, going around the room as soon as we got there, even trying on the telephone.  Elise was doing the same, too!

We wanted to make the most out of it by taking a dip in the pool, but the girls both fell asleep and so the husband and I ended up staying in the room and watching The Avengers on TV.  Haha!  Our relatives came at around 7pm, since they live nearby.  Elise was still sound asleep, and I even had to wake her up just so we could go out and eat.

We just had a simple dinner at McDonald's because it was the only restaurant open in Clark Freeport Zone that time.  The girls had their very first Happy Meal since I wanted them to get the free minion toys.  Ahehe.  Oh, and they had fans... noisy and happy Korean girl fans who kept on playing with Caitlin and Elise, even taking their pictures with them.  A Korean fan base for an infant and a toddler--not bad, eh?


The following day was my birthday!  Yipee.  We decided to wake up early so we can get an early morning swim.  Besides, Caitlin has been itching to go "miming" since the night before.  Although we didn't get to swim right away because Mama and Lem called from the US, that was fine.  When we got to the pool, it was so inviting, perfectly matched with sunshine!  I was especially happy because the kids were happy.  Sounds cheesy, but it couldn't be any truer than that.

The fambam

On their own

Loving the weather!

Caitlin and her fondness for water... even water hoses


Wanted to have a picture with Caitlin, but nothing could stop her from playing with that hose

Tanned? Hehe
Caitlin didn't want to stop "miming", but then, she already had a dark tan line.  Haha her first tan line, by the way!  And so we took a shower, and she fell asleep... as in she dozed off... as in TKO!

Sleeping like a log

We bid farewell to Stotsenberg then.  It was not an extravagant 5-star hotel, but it gave us a good, relaxing, and steady weekend with the family.  Thank you.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

A Post-Father's Day Post

It's been a few days days since Father's Day, I know, but I suddenly felt the urge to write something about my father.  And as a comeback to my blog, I think it's just but right to welcome myself back to blogging by making him a tribute through this post.


Cutie-patootie
I have blurred memories of my father when I was a baby (because really, how can a baby remember?), but from the stories I've heard, Papa has always been the loving and concerned Papa that he still is.  At night until the wee hours of the morning, he was the one who got up to change my lampin, or cloth diapers (which means changing almost every hour).  I could imagine his fat fingers trying to wrap the lampin and managing to pin it together in the dark.

I was bottle-fed and I was a fat baby. My baby pictures serve as proof that I was quite on the big side.  When I was already 6 years old, I was still drinking from the bottle.  My Auntie, being the mean and kontrabida auntie that she was (I love you, Auntie Ana!), schemed to get all my bottles and throw them out into our garden where our dogs stayed (and did their number twos).  It must have been hell for me losing all my bottles.  Papa got so angry.

As I got older, I have clearer memories of Papa.  I remember one time when he asked all of us, his children, to go to the bed and lie on our tummies because we were going to be "disciplined" for something we did (probably one of those times when my kuya Lem played with the water, or my kuya Sey initiated a game involving fire).  One by one, he hit each of my sibling's bottoms with his belt, and as it was coming close to my turn, I suddenly jumped up to him to hug him.  Of course, he hugged back and refused to hit me anymore.  I remember my two brothers and sister giggling when that happened.

Old school
Papa and Mama were both very hardworking.  They were office people, with meetings here and there.  It doesn't sound ideal, but I don't remember complaining how that they're never available, just as a typical child would if they had parents who were always out of the house because of work.  Maybe because they made sure that on weekends, we would have bonding time with them.  We had outings, trips to the province, ate out, etc.  They pretty much tried to make up for the time they lost with us during the week.

We were a happy family, and not to mention, we were quite blessed financially and materially, too.  We all studied in exclusive schools, had at least 2 vehicles, had a family driver, always had our pantries full, and had the means to buy what we wanted.  Papa was a very good provider, but taught us to remain humble and commit to the church.  He became part of the church clergy and was ordained deacon.  Even in his busy schedules, he strove to attend to his duties as a deacon of the church.  He showed us that without God, everything would be in vain.  And so even in our somehow financially-blessed life, we learned to acknowledge God as the Source of everything.

Classic family pic -- those were the days
Growing up, I remember admiring Papa for being a loving husband to our Mama and a sweet father to us.  I remember clearly how I prayed and hoped for a future husband just like Papa.  Of course, he isn't perfect.  Storms came and our family experienced a whole bunch of trials.  Many have said that could Papa have made wiser decisions in the past, we wouldn't have gone through all those.  I honestly think that mistakes could have been avoided, but I couldn't bring myself to point fingers at Papa.  Right from the beginning, he has always wanted the best for the family.

Because of certain circumstances, we started to struggle financially.  Our pantries were no longer full, eating out became a rare thing, and we only had 1 vehicle to use, which was even a company car provided for Papa.  There was even a time when we had to commute with Papa--ride the train and jeepney going home.  I don't think I will ever forget the expression on Papa's face from the time we bought a ticket at the MRT station to the time when we were walking home after going down the jeepney.  He was smiling the whole time, but I knew that deep inside, he was so embarrassed that his children, who used to be hatid-sundo with matching drivers and expensive cars, were now commuting with him.

Still, he continued to strive.  He found ways to bring food to our table and make ends meet.  From a recognized owner of a thriving insurance agency, he became an insurance agent again, starting again almost from the beginning.  Because of his naturally happy and sociable disposition, he still got in touch with fellow colleagues who helped him get back up again somehow.  I very well knew that he wanted to bring back the life that we had before.  He wanted to be financially secure again.  He wanted to get back on top again.  I knew why, and it wasn't for selfish reasons.  He was doing everything for the family.  He always talked about buying a home so that when Mama, Lem, and Sey would come home from the States, they would have a place to stay.  He also always talked about establishing our own family business so that he could have a business to pass on to us, his children.  It was always about us.

One of Papa's sleeping sessions with his grandchild
Yes, he made mistakes here and there.  A lot of them.  Over and over again.  But who doesn't make mistakes?  Papa went through a lot of bumps on the road.  A lot of them, too.  Over and over again.  But he just kept on moving along, trying to make things better for the family, and always with a smile on his face.  Small things that he did for us such as picking me up from a dinner out with friends (includes having to wait for us to finish), taking the grandchildren to the park on an early Saturday morning, putting his grandchildren to sleep, buying us pan de sal almost everyday -- he did all of these things to show bits and pieces of his love for us, assuring us that he is and will always be here for us.  They may be small and not so extravagant, but looking back at them now, they were big on love.  Papa did everything for us with so much heart.

The father of the bride
I could go on and on and on about Papa.  I could talk about his failures, yes, because he does have them, just like everyone else.  But I choose to look beyond them and see how he has lived his life to show his love for us, his family -- how he has always been there for me, even for my growing family.  How he guided me in my dalaginding days, to walking me down the aisle, to driving me to the hospital when I started to labor, up to putting my first child to sleep (even when he was also sleepy).  Ever-patient, reliable in so many ways, readily makes himself available, that's our Papa.  Our loving and lovable
Papa.

Since he left for the US in November 2011, life has been different.  I miss him everyday.  I am looking forward to the time when we can be together again, along with my children, and continue to realize how blessed we are to have a Papa Chito in our lives.

With Papa Chito on my first birthday

Still Papa's girl on my wedding day
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