Chasing Dreams

30th Year With You

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013 RhizaLeave a comment

Allow me to post this before the month (and the year!) ends.

Once upon a time, I was not very fond of Decembers. For me, Christmas season was the saddest of all holidays; like, there’s something melancholy about it that I couldn’t quite point my finger on. But just like the many things that changed in my life, the month of December has become merrier and brighter through the recent years.

Evidently, much of this can be attributed to the addition of this guy in my life, whose birthday happens to fall right smack in the middle of the Christmas season.

And then these two girls were born, and suddenly everyone’s birthday feels like it’s their birthday. My, Decembers have never been better than this.

Highlights of D’s 30th birthday

We were at our bible study group’s blue-and-orange Christmas party the night before his birthday. Totally unintentional, this year’s color motif lends itself well to the birthday boy’s favorite NBA team, and he was happy to have the excuse to wear his New York Knicks shirt..

..which is, obviously, his favorite shirt. (He was wearing the same shirt on his birthday 2 years ago.) Haha. Funny coincidence.

We surprised him with a birthday cake as the clock struck 12mn, and once again we feel blessed to have friends who would, well, wait around ’til past midnight to celebrate special days like this. Thank you, Thursday Group. And special thanks to our friend Jasper, for decorating his birthday cake with robot candles. Very 30-years-old. :)

The rest of his birthday looked like this:

Christmas sunrise worship, tapsilog for breakfast, home-cooked meals, a coffee date to cap the night, the gift of time.

Except for the birthday cake we had in Thursday Group’s Christmas party the night before, I managed to stick to his birthday non-cake tradition. Three years running, LOL. First it was stacked pancakes, then it was donuts, and now, this:

In my defense, I’d looove to buy him a real birthday cake, or maybe even bake him one.. but he hardly eats cake! Either it gets spoiled in the ref, or I end up eating the whole thing, which is bad for my new year’s resolutions, lol. Maybe someday, when Dawn & Rain are big enough to finish Daddy’s birthday cake with me. :)

Thank you, 2013

2013 is the year both of us turned 30 years old, and surely it was the year where we learned the most meaningful of lessons. God blessed us with opportunities to trust Him even more, to live simply, to be content, and to place other people’s welfare above our own.

30th year is a beautiful year in and of itself. As an added bonus, I get to go through this journey with D, to see him grow, and to witness up close what God is doing in his life. What a blessed year indeed. I wouldn’t have it any other way. :)

The paradox of Christmas

December 27, 2013June 27, 2019 Rhiza1 Comment

I had to wait until after Christmas before blogging about this because I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s party, lest someone else (other than me) lived his/her whole life not knowing this little trivia about Christmas.

It became known to me the pagan origins of Christmas during Pastor Dave’s preaching last Sunday. Having heard it for the first time (yes, at 30 years old I had been blissfully oblivious), I was challenged to Google it and do some further reading. And just like Pastor Dave warned we would feel if we dared read up on it, I was truly disappointed.

For a moment there it felt like everything I believed about December 25 as a child was ruined. (Just for a moment.) How would I be able to teach Dawn & Rain to sing “happy birthday Jesus” on Christmas day now? That the birthday of Jesus is not exactly December 25 was easier to accept and something I’ve heard of before. But that Christmas day historically involved traditions of ungodliness, lawlessness, and occultism is something I was never used to hearing.

There was a fleeting moment of disbelief, and maybe even doubt. Why have we been celebrating the birth of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, on this day then? How could it be that this sacred celebration be in the same category as all of these age-old pagan activities?

The disappointment lasted only for a moment, and was quickly followed by an epiphany: What a wise and brilliant God we have! Nothing is an accident to Him.

Jesus Christ was born to redeem mankind, and, in retrospect, He also redeemed Christmas day. What used to be a God-less tradition became a celebration of everything beautiful—love, joy, peace, goodwill, humble beginnings. Come to think of it, that is exactly why Jesus was born in the first place.

Suddenly, it’s nice to know the real story behind December 25. Suddenly, the real meaning of Christmas is even deeper than I grew up believing.

#countdownto2014

Merry Christmas from Our Little Family to Yours

December 25, 2013December 25, 2013 RhizaLeave a comment

How crazy is it to have little ones running/crawling and making a ruckus around the house on Christmas day? I can’t even begin to describe the joy! It’s the kind of joy that makes you soar above the holiday stress, the busy-ness, and the chaos that often come with this most wonderful time of the year.

I realize time and time again that there’s no amount of stress or traffic or dirty dishes that can take away the effect of those smiles, the tiny kisses, the little arms around your neck, and the mumbo jumbo of syllables that come out of a baby’s lips. They’re just.. priceless.

Coming home from our annual Christmas eve party in my Mom’s side of the family, we let the girls open their gifts and play with their new toys a little before tucking them in. The obvious truth is, we’re still constantly in awe that this is our life now. I hugged Dawn & Rain a little tighter and longer last night, knowing that my life was utterly changed the past year by these two tiny lives.

Even the way I look at Christmas has spun into this whole new level of wonder and awe. Being a parent now, it blows my mind whenever I think about how much it took for our Father in heaven to give up His own Son as a ransom for many.

I pray that you too will not stop marveling at the wonder of God’s love this Christmas day, remembering the real reason for the season, and having the kind of amazement that can be seen in the eyes of little children. Christmas is here, and it will fly by in the same manner it came—like a breeze. I pray that we won’t miss out on God’s message to us this Christmas, the big and small moments to be treasured, the lessons to be learned, and the love that’s meant to be shared and given away.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

With love from the four of us,
David & Rhiza, Dawn & Rain

#countdownto2014

His Birthday Always Feels Like It’s My Birthday Too

December 13, 2013December 29, 2013 Rhiza2 Comments

[Date backtracked: December 20, 2012]

David would often joke about the injustice with having a birthday that falls on a busy Christmas season. First, his birthday is always overshadowed by the Christmas festivities and people are often too busy to throw him a party (or to even remember that it’s his birthday). Second, and I think this is his major issue of all, his birthday gifts are also his Christmas gifts. Haha. Sorry, Daddy, that’s just the way it is.

But he’s just kidding, of course. Because we both love that his birthday falls on December. After all, Decembers and birthdays are the best times of the year to celebrate and reflect upon the year that has passed, and he gets to have them both in one go. Pretty much why his birthday always feels like it’s my birthday too.

Especially this year, when some freak predicted that the world was going to end the day after my husband’s birthday, and yet for us, it’s like it was just about to begin.

And especially now that our little family of two suddenly became four.

So he blew his birthday non-cakes: a Dark Cherry Sylvanna from Starbucks when midnight struck, and a stacked donut cake before we had dinner. Last year it was a pancake. David’s not a fan of cakes, and I always end up eating ALL the cake (literally!) when there’s one at home. I should probably learn to bake this year no, so I can make him a birthday cake and ~~eat it too~~ he won’t have a choice but to eat it too! Hmm. For his next birthday, maybe.

As the day ended, and plans for a dinner date was cancelled in favor of just staying at home with the babies, I whipped a quick dinner and the four of us camped out in front of the TV to watch a replay of the Miss Universe pageant. (There weren’t too many options that time.)

This is our life now, I couldn’t help but think.

Last year when we celebrated his birthday, we were clueless that he was going to be a Daddy this year. It’s been a momentous year with a lot of firsts and lasts, and a lot of surprises along the way. Here we are now with our two little girls, still marveling at God’s grand scheme of things.

As he unwrapped his birthday gift (which was also his Christmas gift, just as he expected), both of us were fully aware that his real gifts this year are ones which cannot be wrapped with paper and ribbons, and yet, they’re the best birthday/Christmas gifts ever.

What can I say? Happy birthday to us.

Only one life

December 6, 2013May 13, 2019 RhizaLeave a comment

The other night we heard of the passing of a dear family friend. “Mommy” is what we called her. Even though her nickname was “Bing”, and she’s technically my (non-blood-related) “Lola”, I can’t remember ever calling her any other name but “Mommy”.

That house in Opera street

It’s been a long time since I last saw Mommy, but some of my best childhood memories happened in her house in Opera street, where we spent countless of lazy Sunday afternoons, December nights, and warm summer days growing up. We would run around her garden, play with her dogs, feast on her delicious home-cooked meals, fight over her blueberry cheesecake (the best!), and rummage through her refrigerator for left-over cookies to take home.

That house in Opera street always felt like an extension of our home. It’s the kind of place that remains etched in the mind of a child forever, that, even until now, 20 years later, I still have vivid recollections of time spent in that house.

I don’t have a picture with Mommy, but these are her daughters. I must have grown up thinking they’re my biological sisters! I’m so blessed for the life of Mommy who raised these beautiful ladies I love and look up to.

Lessons on motherhood and servanthood

I’ve been making mental notes on my takeaways from Mommy’s life. I know there’s more but here are some:

As a mother, choosing your children over whatever career you want to pursue is a decision you will never regret taking.
The kind of mother you are will reflect on the kind of children (and grand children) you raise.
Raising your children to serve the Lord, and to love the Lord with all their heart, is the greatest legacy you could ever leave in this world.
Letting your children go is possible when you trust that you raised them well enough to build their own lives, and when you believe that the Lord is always with them wherever they go.
Opening your home and sharing your life to others is an investment that will come a long way, even long after you’re gone.
You don’t have to be in the spotlight in order to make a huge impact. A life of quiet and humble service can make a universe of difference from one generation to another.
Oh, and that blueberry cheesecake recipe! I should get a copy of that.

It makes me sad, the thought that Mommy’s house in Las Pinas will never be the same, and that we will never get to taste her special blueberry cheesecake again. But my heart rejoices, knowing that hers was a life well lived, and that I’m one of the many recipients of the legacy that she left behind.

Only one life, it will soon be past

The truth is, I’ve been contemplating a lot about life these past days. I’ve been restless, mostly tired, and maybe a little anxious about what the future holds. In hindsight that’s probably why I had to intentionally look back the other day—I do a lot of reminiscing when I’m feeling a little wary about certain uncertain things in my life.

And then death happens.

Death has a way of keeping us (those of us who are still alive) grounded, making us appreciate the days that we take for granted, inspiring us to better and to live a life that will make the most impact on others.

Just recently the whole world was shocked by the sudden death of Paul Walker. But now, everywhere we look, everyone is just paying tribute to Paul’s life, inspired by the massive work he was doing to help people in need, and the little anecdotes of his grand gestures and secret acts of kindness.

Life is short. We never know when ours is going to end, but one thing for sure.. it will end. We’re all on borrowed time.

Just like Paul Walker, and Mommy Bing, and my Dad.

Many people will not remember their course in college, the jobs they took, the possessions they accumulated through the years. But people will always remember how they made our lives, and the world, a better place.

I’m reminded to make the most out of this one life. Live each day as if it’s our last, love people, show kindness, wear our passions, chase our dreams. And more importantly, fulfill God’s purpose for our lives and live in a way that will give glory to His name.

An age old poem goes, “Only one life, ‘t will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

At the end of the day, and at the end of this life, that’s all that will count.

Sweet Novembers

December 3, 2013May 13, 2019 Rhiza2 Comments

And so the past month ended with us attending a beautiful garden wedding, and I knew we couldn’t have said goodbye to November any better.

My husband and I doubled as dessert buffet suppliers and invited guests to a friend’s wedding, and we have loved the excuse to take out his coat and my gown from the back of our closet and dress up for an unusual Saturdate.

It almost felt like stepping inside a different world!

Fernwood Gardens has changed a lot since the last time I was there. The glass garden is still as lush as ever, but they also opened a lounge area with a country feel in it, complete with a collection of vintage things. (I was completely blown away seeing an Underwood up close!)

It was the same venue of my brother’s wedding in 2008, and I remember inviting my ex-boyfriend to come be my date, but he was halfway across the world and naturally, was unable to make it.

Five years later, I was back in the very same place, this time, with him.

Can you tell I’m still swooning? Continue reading “Sweet Novembers” →