52/52: It’s a Wrap!

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

5252-dawn

5252-rain

5252-dawnrain

We were at a 4-day family reunion during the last week of the past year, and it was a perfect culmination to the awesomeness that 2014 was. It was also a time of rest, slowing down, and reconnecting with relatives from literally all over the world who we haven’t seen for so long.

Both my husband and I came from big, wacky, closely-knit, Jesus-lovin’, God-fearing families, and we’re so grateful that we get to raise Dawn & Rain with our big, crazy village!

Processed with VSCOcam with b1 preset

These photographs were all taken through my phone camera because, obviously, these days we don’t have enough hands to carry a bulky DSLR around. Just the same, I’m happy with these blurry, grainy, imperfect remembrances of those perfect moments. Definitely for keeps.

So.. more than just a pile of photographs, this project has been good for me.

I only wanted to preserve memories for Dawn and Rain, but in the process, this project gained me more than just a pile of photographs. I discovered that taking photographs of them has become an instant pick-me-upper, especially when bedtime routines are dragging on way too long, or we’re having a rough week.

The truth is, I started the project thinking I was doing something that Dawn & Rain would appreciate in the future, only to realize that I did it for myself, too. 

First, I needed to be challenged. Taking photographs of two toddlers (and getting them to smile at the same time!) was such a challenge. To do the routine every week for 52 consecutive weeks required some discipline, and a bit of push, which makes it all the more gratifying in the end.

And second, I want to remember. These babies grow too fast! And these photographs are proof. Often, in the busyness of each day—all those hours spent changing diapers, cleaning up after them, feeding them, giving them a bath, getting them to sleep, dealing with tantrums, training and disciplining them, you get the picture—I worry about being sucked in the routines and missing out on the good times and the milestones. I know most of these priceless moments can’t be captured in photographs, but I want to preserve as much as I can, to help me remember these years forever.

I’m putting this gallery page up, if you want to see and walk down the memory lane with me. It’s still under construction for now, but I’ll build it up within the next few days.

Over and out!

And that’s a wrap for 2014’s 52 Week Project! Can you believe I managed to complete the whole thing? 52 sets of photographs, every week, for the whole year of 2014. Thank you for bearing with me and this little project of mine, for reading my endless lovestruck mommy-musings, for all the messages, the likes, and the comments.. and for somewhat making our stories a tiny part of your weekly reading. Thank you, thank you.

Project 52, Year 2015

So I’m doing this project differently this year. I want to keep taking photographs weekly, but I will no longer post them weekly on this blog. Instead, I’m going to put the photographs in a Project Life album, and maybe share a blog post about it monthly or quarterly.

If you want to challenge yourself and take photographs of your children weekly this 2015, go for it! Jodi’s 1/52 is now up, you can learn all about the mechanics (more like, non-mechanics!) here.

Read about our Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

51/52: Christmas Gifts

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

5152-dawnrain51/526

51/52

51/52

It’s true what Jodi once said, something about this project feeling like a countdown of sorts. Here we are at Week 51 of this 52 Week Project, and I still can’t believe how fast the year has gone by. Here are some photographs from the night before Christmas, which, by the way, also went as fast as it came.

51/52

51/52

51/52

51

It wasn’t exactly an easy Christmas season for us, having to move to a new apartment at the start of the month, with all the packing, and cleaning, and transitioning. Our yaya went away for a holiday break too; which means my husband and I had to divide the house chores among ourselves on top of everything.

Just the same, we have learned to embrace these occasional opportunities to spend quality time as a family, just the four of us, especially during this time of the year.

It’s been a tough month, but just one smile, one song, one hug from these little humans and everything becomes a lot easier to bear. We wrapped them some presents and placed them under the tree, but the truth is, they are our real Christmas gifts.

“Children are a gift from the Lord,
they are a reward from Him.” ~Psalm 127:3

This Psalm has never been more real to me than now. More specifically when the children are throwing a fit, or being unruly, and there’s a pile of dishes and chores and tasks waiting to be dealt with. I keep going back to this verse to remind myself that these children are gifts from the Lord. They are a reward from Him! And indeed they are. No amount of chaos in the house can take away the sense of wonder and amazement that God has “gifted” us these two happy, curious, energetic children that we so love.

And then again there was this beautiful Child, who was sacrificed as a ransom for our sins, and it blows my mind all the time, especially now that I’m a parent, to realize how huge of a sacrifice that was for our Father in Heaven. Surely, nothing can top that priceless gift we have in Jesus Christ, if only we would open our hearts to receive Him.

5152-dawnrain3

5152-dawnrain4

Merry Christmas!

Behold, the photograph that became this year’s Christmas e-card. Smile, Dawn! :)

I hope you had a meaningful Christmas yourself, one that’s filled with happy children, meaningful conversations, quality time, lots of hugs and kisses, God moments, unspeakable joy, love. 

51 sets of photographs down, one more to go. This is it. See you soon, 2015.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

50/52: Cebu

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

50/52

50/52

It was a weekend of firsts. First plane ride, first Cebu trip (for David and the kids), first boat ride, first island-hopping experience. We’re happy to have an “excuse” to try out flying, something that we’ve been putting off because we were unsure how to handle long trips and plane rides with two toddlers. When our cousins who were visiting from Australia (you’ll remember them from these posts), invited us for a long weekend in Cebu, we knew we just had to take the plunge. And we’re soooo glad we did.

You realize time and time again that you have to dare to get out of your comfort zone, otherwise, you wouldn’t really know what you’re missing. And that Cebu trip was just that for me. It began with a truck load of worries and fears, but it ended with ZERO regrets and a mental smack in the head for even worrying at all.

We had a lot of favorite moments from that trip, but these photographs were from our island-hopping experience, which the kids reallyyy enjoyed.

5052-dawnrain1

5052-dawnrain2

5052-dawnrain3

50/52

5052-dawnrain5

50/52

Remember their first time to swim and they didn’t like it? This time around, in Cebu, the girls loooooved it! They loved walking on the beach, they loved swimming in the pool, and true enough we had a difficult time pulling them out of the water.

The Cebu skies and seas, and the company of this family we love, were good for my soul. There were so many personal realizations, God moments, divine revelations, and a hundred reasons to praise God for.

Thank you, Ninong Mitch, Ninang Dots, Jonah and Zaki! We’ll remember this trip forever. “Jehovah-Shammah”, we won’t forget. ;)

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

49/52: December Wedding

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

49/52

December 1, 2014. The same old story: It was a special day (it was my cousin’s wedding), in a special place (back in the good ol’ Fernbrook Gardens), and I made sure to bring our bulky DSLR in hopes that I could capture blog-worthy moments. In the end, of course, my plans were once again overruled by these toddlers who can’t seem to stay put in one place!

Good thing, our photographer friend, Ian Fornoles, had some great shots of the twins from that day. Thank you Ian! 

ianfornoles-photography6

ianfornoles-photography5

ianfornoles-photography4

ianfornoles-photography3

ianfornoles-photography1

ianfornoles-photography7

ianfornoles-photography2

A beautiful day and a beautiful wedding such as this one is easy to remember, with or without the photographs. Just the same, I’m glad we get to take home memories from that day, and from a professional photographer no less. (Score!)

A little word about the photographer—I’ve seen Ian grow from a little boy running around our church into this remarkable designer and photographer that he is today. I’m so proud of this guy, and would highly recommend him for all your lifestyle and wedding photography needs. Visit his Facebook page, you guys, and check out his work.

All photographs in this post are by Ian Fornoles Photography, except for the first one, which I took with my trusty iPhone.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

48/52: You’ll Always Remember Your First Home

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

48of52-dawnrain3

48of52-dawnrain2

48of52-dawnrain1

48of52-dawn4

48of52-dawn2

48of52-dawn1

Of course they won’t remember, but me and my husband? We sure will.

Those days we excitedly waited for their arrival, not knowing how much our lives were going to change.
That beautiful November morning we finally took them home from the hospital.
The nursery that we lovingly put together, which, after just a few months, turned into a walk-in closet of their endlessly growing amount of clothes and stuff.
Those looong nights and extended bedtime routines that, I’d like to think, made better human beings out of us, LOL.
And every moment in between that we never got to capture in photographs.

Oh how much we were changed in that house, from the time we moved in to the day we moved out. How much we have grown, from two clueless kids to a family of four in an instant, and how much God sustained us each step of the way.

So this is it. The last set of photographs from that garage. The last remaining photographs for this 52 Week Project are now taken in the new house, which for me marks the beginning of a new chapter in a way.

A special thank you to Ninong Nory and Ninong Dave, for extending their blessings to us with our first-ever home. We’re forever grateful. Thank you po.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

47/52: Counting the Days, Part 2

Photographs of our twin daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014.

47of52-dawnrain1

47of52-dawnrain3

46of52-dawnrain7

47of52-rain2

The first set of photographs were taken on a Sunday morning, freshly bathed, before we leave for church. The next set of photographs were taken in the afternoon of the same day, all sweaty from playing and running around. Toddlerhood is such a riot!

46of52-rain1

46of52-dawnrain5

46of52-dawnrain4

Around the time these photographs were taken, most of their toys were already in moving boxes, and the girls were out playing in the garage more often than usual. They won’t remember it, but someday I’ll tell them stories about that place and how happy we were watching them grow from needy premature babies to toddlers who would pull our hands to the garage and then let them go, so that they can freely run around while we watch from a few feet away.

It’s not a walk in the park, transitioning to a new place, stretching our budget to meet the growing needs of our little family, raising toddlers not knowing exactly if we’re doing it right. But it’s true what older people used to tell us—you’ll really do everything, endure anything, for your children. Every. Thing. 

Just like what our Father in heaven would do for us.

A line in the book I’m currently reading goes,

“No sea is deeper than the ocean of His love. There is no army stronger than His hosts, no force greater than His throne of grace, no enemy who can overcome His direct and indirect work in our lives.

The reality of the Red Sea, in a word, is this: God will always make a way for His tired, yet trusting, children, even if He must split the sea to do it.”

~Robert Morgan, The Red Sea Rules

To be continued.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.