Our Parents 41st Wedding Anniversary

We surprised our Papa and Mama with a simple wedding ceremony and renewal of vows for their 41st wedding anniversary.

We took advantage of the rare opportunity of us being complete during their wedding anniversary.

We wanted to celebrate their Ruby Wedding anniversary last year, but it wasn't possible.

It was still a very simple ceremony attended only by us, the immediate family. It was all us, from the readers, choir, florist, and altar server. It wasn't extravagant like what we would normally see in couples renewing their vows. No big number of guests, no gowns, very simple.

We honoured both of them before the mass started, by giving our thanks and appreciation for all their love and sacrifices and for bringing Christ to our families.

It made the whole thing more special and more intimate.

I know it was dream come true for my Mama who finally got to walk down the aisle.

They were married in a very simple ceremony by their classmate priest from UST. No one from their families knew of the wedding. No wedding gowns, no reception.

We had a simple picnic in a nearby park for their "reception."  where they had their cake-cutting ceremony and wine toasting.

More than anything else, we are thankful that they are still with us, to witness our weddings and enjoy their grandchildren.

41 years! Wow, it's one tough act to follow!

their new wedding rings, blessed by Fr. Phrabu

renewing their vows

renewing their vows

the happy couple

happy Mama, indeed!

my family

has now expanded...getting bigger!

at their reception

Again, our family is not perfect. Although we have surpassed a lot of challenges in our journey, majority of which concerned finances, we still face struggles and have disagreements every now and then. But at the end of the day, we choose to remain, a family.

Goals for 2012

Is this blog lost or a late post? Neither. I am really writing this post today, the 29th, a day after Alvin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.

Alvin and I actually started with this tradition 6 years ago, when we first celebrated our wedding anniversay.

During our anniversary date, we would sit down, reflect and talk about how our year has been. Giving feedback and setting some goals. I actually love doing this with hubby and I am thankful that hubby was and is ok with this activity :)

Anyway, we had our anniversary dinner last night with Liam and Sam and so it was quite impossible for us to have our usual discussion. On the way to another commitment, the kids fell asleep in the car and so we had the chance to have our heart-to heart talk.

What are our goals for 2012?

Me:
Will do my very best to make myself more pleasant when hubby gets home. You know, no more sungit (even if I am dead tired because of the day's activities).

Will lessen my being utosera. hehehe We actually had a good laugh as we recalled the classic story of "remote control utos" a few months back.

Alvin:
Will do things without me having to say it.
Will lessen his "walk-out episodes" (we were actually able to clarify this issue, of him snapping too quickly when he gets irritated. for him, it was his way of avoiding a bigger fight, but for me, it feels like he was walking out on me. so there, clarified and settled)

As a couple:

Sorry, x-rated ;p

As parents:
Alvin: will spend more time with Liam, so Liam can change the way he treats him hehe
Me: will start teaching Sam how to pack away her toys (poor Kuya Liam is always the one doing the packing away), read more books to her and Liam (sayang since she really shows interest with books) and will lessen my whining and have a more positive attitude towards house work (like what I read in an article, kids absorb our attitudes and I can say that Liam is starting to sound like me, a whiner, everytime I ask him to do little errands. i know, sorry, but it's not yet too late).

Because we assessed our actions, we had the chance to say "sorry" to one another. I was able to ask him questions like, "does he look forward to going home after work, because of the kids only or because of me and the kids"? And of course, after our talk, we were able to affirm our love with one another.

Sorry, mushy, but we both felt good afterwards.

Our projects for the coming year:
to continue bonding as a family and travelling as a family
to continue saving for our first home
to do well in our service, especially that we already accepted the roles of being Household leaders in our community

After six years, Alvin and I can only be thankful and grateful for:
the two wonderful and beautiful children whom God has entrusted to us
immediate (relatives included) and second families (CFC and BESA) who continue to help us and guide us in our growth
real and genuine friendships which surpassed the test of time and distance, 
new real friendships
which sincerely share in our joys and triumphs and
the comfortable and good life that we have
for opportunities to make our imperfections, perfect
weaknesses to strength
for challenges and struggles for us to keep the faith

we really can't complain, God has blessed us with our hearts' desires and more!

Alvin and his date :)

Happy anniversary to us Papa A!
I love you very much!

me and my anniv date :)

We just had a simple family dinner to celebrate our sixth! :) What made it more special was that we were prayed over by our CFC brothers and sisters a few minutes after 12midnight of 28 April 2012.

Five Chapters

I am writing this a day before our fifth wedding anniversary.

Alvin and I have been a couple (bf-gf) for a decade now but only a husband and a wife for five years. Is there a difference? Many. To those who are married or who have been married, you know and you can understand what I mean.

Two weeks ago I was doing the draft for my second term paper. Our topic for this term zeroed in on Sacraments and I found myself reading a lot of things about the Sacrament of Marriage. At the end of one reading there was a reflection part where it was asked: If you are to write your own book about marriage, what would be the title? What will be the chapter titles of your book? We had to expound on each chapter.

As I scribbled down my reflections I suddenly found myself already reflecting on my own marriage. As a result, my book's title will be: "A Work in Progress." In our wedsite, we wrote that as we start our journey as husband and wife, we don't know what the future awaits...but, after five years in marriage, there are now a few things that we can share.

Personally, the numbers are senseless on its own. What gives meaning to this number are the experiences that we have had for the last five years. The highs and lows that we shared. The joys and the tears. All of these make the quality component of our marriage. To name a few -- our struggle to finish our graduate courses on our 1st year; to adjust to the duties, responsibilities, joys and pains of parenthood for our first-born on our second year; the adjustment, sacrifices and hardships we had to endure and surpass as a family as we uprooted ourselves from our comfort zones and start all over again when we migrated to Sydney on our third year; the adjustment and sacrifices we had to do as our family became bigger, with me getting pregnant with our second child for our fourth year; and the big decision to put my career on hold for the welfare of the kids for our fifth year. I haven't mentioned the fights and arguments that we were able to settle, the times both of us wanted to get out but decided to stay, the times we had to let go of our ego, the times we had to forgive and forget, the times we chose to love in spite of and despite of. The times we had to go an extra mile for the other. Without all of these things, the number 5 will be meaningless for us.

We are now done with the first five chapters of our book and our journey continues. We still don't know what the next five years (and hopefully more years) will bring but just like what we wrote on our wedsite before we got married, "with love, faith, and blessings from The One, Up Above, they know everything will be well" and that being married to each other is the best thing that ever happened to the two of us...

Happy Anniversary my dear Vinot! Love you to the moon and back!

April 28, 2006...five years and two kids ago :)