Tag: joni

43/52: Those Fleeting Moments of Bliss

Rhiza3 Comments

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

43/52

family

These are photographs from three Saturdays ago, the day after their birthday. (It turned out to be a weekend-long celebration, yes.) We took our twin flower girls to Tagaytay for their Ninang Joni and *ehem* Ninong Deej’s wedding, and had an absolutely lovely time.

We made a pit stop at Starbucks (the one in Tagaytay that’s overlooking Taal.. it’s beautiful!) before heading to the wedding venue, and my brother managed to capture these rare picture-perfect, frame-worthy family portraits that are making my heart burst every time I stare at them.

Needless to say, It was a beautiful day to celebrate love, and family, and God’s goodness.

I planned to take lots of photographs of that day. We prepped the camera, cleaned up our SD card, brought two lenses. But our little bosses had other plans. They pulled us around, threw a bit of tantrum before they had to walk down the aisle, refused to wear their headdresses—you know, the usual toddler stuff. Which made it impossible to do anything else, much more to take pictures.

So we let go of the camera and just basked in the moment. (Which is exactly what you should do, Mommies, when you happen to be in the same situation. LET GO OF THE PLAN and JUST ENJOY THE MOMENT.)

Still, I’m so proud of the girls for managing to walk down the aisle before (oops) falling asleep the rest of the ceremony. Here are some photographs from my iPhone, and from Joni’s FB feed:

deejoni4

Deej and Joni Wedding

Thankfully, because it was a destination wedding, the venue had hotel rooms / casitas that were made available for the guests. We took the (sleeping) twins back to our casita, and D let me attend the wedding while he stayed with the girls. He knew I needed a moment to see Joni “go”.

I love this girl! Although we haven’t seen much of each other lately, it has been such a blessing to witness a bit of her life, and how the Lord has brought her and Deej together. Finally. After all these years.

Deej and Joni Wedding

I picked a spot under the trees and watched the wedding ceremony from afar. Listening to the Pastor’s message and seeing the joy on Deej and Joni’s faces, I can’t help but think, oh wow, their life is never going to be the same again!

It’s going to be crazy beautiful, and it’s also going to be challenging. There will be mess, and fights, and major adjustments. There will be drastic transitions from one phase to another—one moment you’re just a bride and a wife, the next moment you’re a caregiver to a needy newborn baby who’s going to change your life forever, and the next thing you know, you have to learn to be a parent to toddlers who drive you nuts. (Well, I haven’t reached the other phases yet so I’ll stop here.)

And then there will be moments that will make you shed tears of joy. Sometimes you get to capture these moments in photographs, and you’ll treasure these remembrances forever. But most times there won’t be photographs; just fleeting moments of bliss you’ll keep in your heart always; moments when you know you wouldn’t want your life any other way.

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

Changes, Inside Jokes, and Caffeine Fix

Rhiza4 Comments

Between work, church, and family, it’s quite a challenge for me to squeeze in my schedule spending time with old friends and colleagues. Which is why I love friendships that transcend time and distance, the kind which doesn’t need too much effort keeping because you know that no matter how far you’ve come, and how long the time spent apart, you can always pick up where you left off.

I guess that’s why I love Joni & Mae and this threesome that we’ve effortlessly become since 2007. We hardly see each other and this blog has been a witness to those rare times. So when we finally got together last Monday after so many failed attempts, it’s inevitable that I give this a much-deserved blog space. ;)

Three beautiful things, Joni, Mae & Riz edition:

1. I was wearing a wedding gown the last time I saw these girls, that is, four months ago. M didn’t have a boyfriend at that time, but now she does. And J’s relationship, after 5 years, is still as solid as ever. It’s amazing how things can dramatically change in a year, while some things have lovingly remained steady and constant.

2. Three years down the line, we still joke about being frustrated food bloggers. Not everything lasts forever, but sometimes, some inside jokes do.

3. After we had dinner, we had our caffeine fix at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Our choices of drinks made me smile: M ordered a hot Tea Latte,  J had Green Tea, and I had an iced Caramel Machiatto. Too different, and yet somehow the same. Much like the three of us.

I hope I get to spend more time with them, but I love how it *seems* like we’ve grown significantly older and wiser everytime we see each other.

Til the next session, ladies. Much love!

Chika Minute with Joni & Mae

Rhiza4 Comments

Last Tuesday I met up with Joni and Mae, two of my most favorite people in the planet. It’s inevitable, that when I start talking about a list of people I’d like to see before I leave, somewhere on top of that list are Joni and Mae’s names. It may take a lot of effort to meet up since we live in three different cities and we don’t exactly work together, but it’s always worth the effort seeing these two.

Photo dump!

Meh. Joni‘s glowing and I look like trash beside her, haha.

Maemae, our most favorite Korean friend. The bangs, Mae, the bangs.

Note to self: never order pesto on a date, only when you’re with girlfriends. :P

Coffee Bean and Teal Leaf, Trinoma: We got the best seats, woot!

Perfect spot for a talk show.

And perfect spot to camp out :)

What I was wearing that night: Floral printed tank top – thrifted; Purple cardigan – some tiangge; Jeans – Folded & Hung; Bag – SM Dept Store; Shoes – Babo

My shoes are so pretty it deserves another shot :P

Thanks for the “movie”, ladies. I wish I could stash you in my suitcase and take you with meee!! :(