Intimations of Immortality

A perfect little angel that just came into this world three weeks ago, thus the name "Cielo" for heaven in Spanish, but she only has to stay for a while with mommy and daddy. The doctor's have to operate her heart's severe condition which she was not able to bear. She went back to heaven. Her mortal probation has been fulfilled. 

 

Mommy Kitch and Baby Cielo

With her passing comes the momentary grief; but our Dear Father in Heaven's plan surpasses all our understanding about mortality. We are precious in His eyes and he wants us back in His arms. Baby Cielo, just has to be with Him again sooner that any of our family members, nor anybody else who are still living in this world right now.

This is a William Wordsworth ode, but today, I am dedicating it to baby Bennette Cielo Uy Mendoza, my husband's cousin's daughter: 

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
     Hath had elsewhere its setting,
          And cometh from afar:
     Not in entire forgetfulness,
     And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
     From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
Shades of the prison-house begin to close
     Upon the growing Boy (girl),
But He (she) beholds the light, and whence it flows,
     He(she) sees it in his(her) joy;
The Youth, who daily farther from the east
     Must travel, still is Nature's Priest,
     And by the vision splendid
     Is on his(her) way attended;
At length the Man(woman) perceives it die away,

And fade into the light of common day.

I just want the family of baby Cielo to know that death is not the end. Heavenly Father sent us appointed living prophets to let us know, through His proclamation about the family that, "The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally." This is a true statement and I leave this with my own testimony that families can be together forever because our Father in Heaven loves us.

Go to God little one, we'll see you again.

Christmas and Holidays

Christmas and holidays are always the best time of the year where we can spend time visiting with family members and sharing dinners and gift giving. There was a point in my life when I thought Christmas was just for kids, because when after I turned 21, I was away from my family in a foreign land, and I was not able to spend Christmas nor holidays with them, I even slept all through the night during two Christmases and New Years back in 2004-2006, those years where the best part of my single life but it was just different being without your family in it. I once again spent Christmas and New Year with my family in 2006, when I went back home to Iloilo, but a year after... in November 2007, I moved to Cebu to find work, where I spent Christmas with my father's family friends. My parents soon moved to Cebu as well in 2008 but because of work demands, My Christmas and New Year was spent in the office with my colleagues and not my family.

My marriage in December 1 of 2010, brought me back to what Christmas Celebration is about, Paul invited my mom and my brother to come with me to Bacolod to spend Christmas. Here are some pictures we have of the memories:

 Pizza Party at Midnight of December 24th. Now, where in the picture is Coke?

Gift giving after breakfast on Christmas Day at The Reyes' ancestral house in Mansilingan.

 Sam and Kitchie announcing from whom and for whom each gift is to be given, as the little ones get excited while waiting for their gifts to be handed to them.

Oh, the stash of cash! even grown ups would love to receive some.

 Believe me, the dish containers were full before everybody has taken their first round of dinner on their plates.

 A photo with Lola Mamang, (Mama Annie's mom) after the Christmas Dinner.

 Salo-salo at the table. Now there's coke in the picture!

 An after church photo in Alijis meeting house. From left to right: Ding, My mom, me, Paul, Ging Frias, Sam

 Frias, Aie Reyes-Frias, Mama Annie, Papa Bon, (in front: Jon and Ian)

Coke, is spelled as Happiness!

After Christmas, my husband and I had to part since he was required to go back to his office, so we had to part for a while again. I spent the New year in Cebu with my mom and brother, then in January 8, 2011, my husband came back to Cebu, to pick me up and bring me here to Pampanga where we are at present staying. This year, I'll be spending Christmas here in Pampanga, Paul said that this Christmas, we'll have to be doing some Christmas decorations, since Mama Annie and Papa Bon, will be coming back from the mission for the holidays and Aie and her family will be here with their 2 little girls and Justin's family with their Little Bree, and our new baby which will be due on December 2, Jon and his wife Clarice and... Ian. My mom will also be here as I will need her assistance when I deliver the baby by then.

Just Pictures Part 2

My husband is the one who likes photography, he invested on a Nikon 40D long time ago, before we even began dating and is looking forward to invest on lenses, and flashes and a better camera sooner or later, for a more better effect on his pictures. If you ask me, all I know about cameras is: "when someone asks me to take a picture of them, I hold the camera right in front of my winking eye, look through the lens and click, that's it!" not complicated at all. Ok, so... the pictures I'm going to post in this entry are taken from my hubby's laptop, they feature the beautiful sights of the places we've been on our honeymoon, Dumaguete and Siquijor. I believe there's more pictures around in his flashcard. But here's what I can just share:

 The night we arrived in Dumaguete, taken at Don Atilano's restaurant.

 Breakfast morning at Coco Amigos, the foreigners at the back are travel tourists of the place. 

View of the Boulevard, where you can see Bethel Hotel from afar, the hotel where we stayed at for two nights.

 Arriving at Siquijor Port.

 Some French tourist taking a dip in Cambugahay Falls, Siquijor.

 ...and we did the jump, the water was about ten feet deep I think, glad we made it.

 Taking a sweet moment together.

 The beautiful white sand beach at Salandoong.

 The sea at twilight.

After this wonderful time, two weeks later, we spent Christmas in Bacolod together with my husband's mother's side family, it was a lot of fun, with all the food trip going on where my hubby and I did gain some weight for the holidays.

Just Pictures Part 1

Pictures tell stories, or you can look at the pics and make a story out of it, whatever you like, anyway, I just wanted to post pictures that may tell something about me and my family.

                                                               

 

Paul and I, when we were still dating.

One of our first date was going to the bird sanctuary in Olanggo.

 

My dog Snicker, in Cebu.

 

The Suba, in Olanggo.

 My brother Ding, Mama Annie (mother-in-law), Papa Bon (father-in-law), My mom Elena. Taken during the Cultural event prior to the Cebu temple dedication.

 

July 24, 2010 is the day my hubby proposed to be at the Cebu Temple grounds.

 

My engagement ring.

Our Wedding Day.

There you go, more pics to come on my next post.

Just Starting to Blog.... Again

Hmmm... I guess this is easier than tumblr.

Over a year ago I tried to put up a blog content on a different website that never worked for me.

Most of my friends, including my husband, had their own blog site in which they just enjoy posting stuff and write ups just to pass time. 

I guess during those times I was just busy with some other things, although I do have my own friendster, that I don't update anymore, and a facebook account that I now always check for friends posts and what nots...

Right now, I'm thinking to myself this one is really is it! I'm gonna start blogging... again and make it work. Just for the heck of it! and post any whathaveigots! Cheers!