birthday – Chasing Dreams

Overcoming Fear, and Turning 32

June 2, 2015June 13, 2015 RhizaLeave a comment

It may be a running joke, that you lose track of your age when you reach 30, but it actually happens. These days, when someone asks me how old I am, I have to stop for a moment, think hard, and compute years in my head.

Maybe forgetfulness comes with age. Maybe there are more important things to think about. Maybe we don’t want to be reminded that we’re getting old. Then again, maybe age doesn’t really matter. One thing I’m sure of, birthdays have never been the same since these two (and their Daddy!) happened in my life, each year better than the last. Simpler, quieter, but more meaningful than ever.

This year I had some much-needed quality time (and impromptu dinner!) with family, a box of cupcakes, lots of hugs and kisses, lots of time to reflect and slow down. Just the way I like it.

On my birthday, God’s word for me was short and sweet:

Do not fear.

And once again I marvel at how He knows exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it. He knows how much fear has been crippling me lately! Fears of regretting my choices, not being able to meet expectations, losing opportunities, failing at motherhood, creepy stalkers, planes crashing, sickness, earthquakes, death.

Seriously, if “Over Analyst” is a profession, I’ll take the job. I’m ten thousand steps ahead of anything which is sometimes good when I need to make calculated steps, but oftentimes unnecessary and paralyzing. Overanalyzing is natural to me, and lately, my thoughts have become fears and they’ve consumed me more than I can handle. The struggle is real.

It dawned on me that my fears have started to alter the way I see myself in light of God’s character and sovereignty. They make me focus on my circumstances, my inability, and the cruelty of this world, rather than focus my eyes on God’s love, goodness, and omnipotence.

Do not fear. I am with you. I am your God.

How else can anyone dwell on her fears if she has THAT assurance?

Sure, there will always be trials and suffering and tribulations in this world, and we’re human beings who are prone to wander (and in my case, prone to overthink). But the God who created the universe is with me, and He happens to be in control of this life.

I’m holding on to that promise. And I’m ready to face another year with so much hope and excitement in my heart. The Lord is with me. He is my God. I need not fear.

He Turned 31

December 20, 2014December 20, 2014 Rhiza2 Comments

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I had a memory lapse and thought we turned 32 this year. He looked at me, stopped for a moment as if he was trying to count years in his head and then asked, “are you kidding?” I wish I was kidding (that was a good joke, right?) but I really got confused for a moment.

Maybe some of us don’t intentionally stop counting birthdays after we turned 30. Maybe we just become forgetful. Or maybe we sometimes feel older than we really are.

We got him a cake this year! Although I intended to maintain my non–cake tradition by making dessert shooters (I planned to stick little candles on them), in the end I thought this year should have a proper birthday cake, even though, as expected, I’ve been eating all the left-over cake ever since. By the way, there’s more cake in the ref as I type this.

So he turned 31 (yes, not 32) this week, and even though we’ve spent the past 3 years celebrating birthdays together, everything I said 3 years ago still rings true today. Still in awe, still kilig, still in constant wonder for being blessed with such a great man to journey this life with.

Happy birthday, D. I love you, don’t forget.

The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 Rhiza7 Comments

We dreaded the second year because of the much anticipated “terrible twos”. We have been warned, and we’ve heard the worst. And while I’m beginning to wonder what’s so “terrible” about this stage, we thought we should drown our fears with excitement and bravely say “bring it!”

And so we planned a little party to welcome this “dreaded” year, and boyyy was it fun!

We decided to have an intimate gathering of family and just a handful of friends. The program was simple: Hang out, enjoy good food, and take lots of photographs to show the twins when they’re older. By keeping it small we get to save up their birthday money to buy them stuff that they really need. I couldn’t be any happier about our “less-is-more” choice.

The Theme: Twinkle twinkle little star

Having a small party didn’t stop me from indulging in a little DIY and designing some invites and souvenir tags. I can’t help myself. :) We picked a theme that the twins are very familiar with. If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll remember them singing and dancing to “Twinkle twinkle little star” a few months back. Dawn can sing it a lot clearer now!

So twinkle twinkle little star, it is. (They are our stars, after all.)

DIY alert: We found these wooden star clips at National Bookstore’s scrapbook section, and a friend, Sam, helped me make these paper stars. Thanks Sammy! :) Here’s how to make origami paper stars. If I had more time, I would have done these elaborate paper stars too!

The Venue: The Royal Piccadilly

I am so happy to have found this place. I first heard about their rainbow and ombre cakes. Scouring the web for an intimate party venue in the Quezon City area, I chanced upon some blog reviews and learned that they’re accommodating parties in their quaint “British-inspired restaurant” in Katipunan. My husband and I checked them out and booked right there and then.

We loved the place at first sight! And we loved it even more when we arrived on the day of party, seeing what they’ve setup for the twins.

Can’t take enough photos of that dessert table!

We only provided the souvenir tags, origami stars, and that window frame with little stars on it (which served as the dessert table’s backdrop). Everything else—the dainty props, Japanese lanterns, pretty and yummy treats, and the customized cake—are provided for by The Royal Piccadilly. You guys!! <3 Continue reading “The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2” →

The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part1

October 29, 2014October 29, 2014 RhizaLeave a comment

I’m breaking down their 2nd birthday in 2 parts, because unlike their birthday last year, I wasn’t too “all over the place” to take photographs this time. Also unlike last year, the girls seemed to have an idea that something special was going on.

First order of business: surprise the twins with balloons hanging by the bedroom door when they wake up. See the look on Dawn’s face when we opened the door:

So okay, they weren’t exactly ecstatic when they first saw the balloons. The look on their faces was more of curiosity than excitement. It took a couple of minutes before they started smiling and pulling out their balloons, and before they realized that it was supposed to be a fun activity, LOL.

My husband and I woke up early to set up these balloons, and the effort was definitely worth it.

Happy birthday, darlings! Your special day has just begun. :)

What’s up, I’m 31

May 27, 2014May 27, 2014 Rhiza2 Comments

So I turned 31 last week, and as usual, it felt like it was the twins’ birthday instead. We spent a few hours at the mall with my Mom, had some sugar overdose at Vanilla Cupcake Bakery, and took lots of photographs.

There we were, our little party of five at Vanilla Cupcake, enjoying our happy food.

Chocolate Cream Pie for D, Salt & Caramel Cream Cheese for me, and two orders of Banoffee in a Jar (my favorite!) for my Mom and the twins. The girls love cupcakes, I reckon they’ve inherited my sweet tooth!

They’re learning to eat on their own too. Still a little messy but hey, no one’s complaining :)

On a totally related note, I love being able to celebrate birthdays with my Mom, especially now that I have this deeper understanding and appreciation of everything she went through to raise me. What most people don’t know is, my mom had a cardiac arrest giving birth to me. She delivered me c-section, had complications on the table, flat lined for a few seconds and was revived miraculously. I almost lived my whole life without a mother (and I probably wouldn’t have survived too without one!) but God has been so gracious to us, and now we’re here to tell the story. You can definitely say that May 21 is my Mom’s birthday too. Happy birthday to us, Mommy!

We passed by Cotton On Kids on our way home, and the girls excitedly posed by the window display.

Look at those faces and tell me: Can you feel my joy and my pride and my giddiness, being the Mommy of these two? I know I sound like a broken record, and I don’t care, and I still would keep saying it over and over—being a mommy is just plain.. awesome. These girls, and their Daddy whom I love so very much (really, I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else), are the best things that have ever happened to me in like, the history of ever. And celebrating birthdays and milestones with them is a blessing I just can’t stop thanking the Lord for.

Later in the afternoon, a few friends dropped by for a little (impromptu) pizza party, and much later, while the twins were asleep, my husband and I sneaked out to watch X-men (last full show!) with my sibs. As the night came to an end and I continued to ponder upon God’s goodness to me in the past 3 decades of my life, I knew that I wouldn’t have spent my birthday any other way.

What a happy birthday indeed. :)

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. :)