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.