Yeah!!! It's his last year on the 20s roll and he isn't liking it! wahahaha!!!

Of course, the little girl is Dad's helper in candle blowing...

Friends came over to celebrate with us and it was much fun... as always...

(The boys are happy to have bought San Miguel Beer... They missed it! LOL)

Here's our menu... I managed to cook everything... except the cake! =)

Once again, Happy Happy Birthday My One and Only LOVE...

 I love you soooooo much, Dad!!! 

This is my share for this week's PBW. Join us... Click the badge!!!

This week's theme in Couple's Corner is about "Sacrifices for Loved Ones". I'll try my very best not to get too emotional about his post. =) *hope so*

Oh well, I believe sacrifices are my best friends since birth. LOL... I think I have sacrificed sooooooo much!!! as in SOOOOO MUCH!!! for my family (I'm talking about my being a daughter). I have to sacrifice not having a whole and happy family for the sake of my parents. I don't think they ever tried so hard to keep our family whole and happy. They just wanted to enjoy their lives (oh, that I know is true and they can't contest!). Being a mom and wife now, I know for myself that this responsibility has been given to me by God and I can't just let any circumstance break it up. I just hope my parents handled their responsibilities better then, but of course, everything happened for a good reason. But looking back, I just can't help but feel the pain on everything I've been through (dark childhood indeed) because I don't have my biological mom to guide me, but I was blessed by having all the love of my father, lola, aunts and uncles. 

Let's jump to my family now. I had my family even before I earn my degree, so I guess I'm lucky that I don't have a career to sacrifice. The only thing I have now is my degree which others would think is now going to waste, but is actually not. God has been so good that he opened new opportunities for me where I can use it and earn while still being a full-time mom and wife. 

Looking back and comparing all my sacrifices then and now, I believe what it did was to mold me and get me ready to who I should be now. I won't be where I am and I won't have what I have now if not for everything that had happened to me. All I can say now is "THANK YOU, LORD" because He blessed me with a very wonderful family that I can call "My Own". I may not have it before, but I already have it now. Though it's painful to think of the past, it's always much joy to think of the present and the future and I guess, that's how we learn.

I think my post is outside the couple's sacrifices part, but we haven't sacrificed so much for the sake of both of us aside from hubby being away from us for about 6 months so I can finish my studies and he can have a better career here. But since we were able to live together again after that, I guess it erases the fact that for once in our lives we actually lived a million miles away.

Click the badge and read different kinds of sacrifices on this week's Couple's Corner.

Image the 4 of us (Mark, AC, Alyssa and Winnie the Pooh Bear) in bed, respectively - all in "spoon" position, but legs are always intertwining with each other - except Pooh's. That's basically how we really sleep. We're all facing right because Alyssa can't sleep without an arm wrapped around her and she really wakes up just to say, "hug". So Dad has no choice but to face right as well so he can hug me. When Alyssa's asleep as she sleeps first most of the time, it's Daddy's turn to be hugged - either in spoon position or my head under his arm, but again, the legs... LOL And all throughout the night, I am being squashed by the two and can barely move. =)

Before, I have this mannerism of scratching my feet in mosquito net... LOL! When at home, watching TV, reading, playing and most specially sleeping, my mosquito net (full or small portion) must be placed on my feet because without it, I can't really stay put. I had this mannerism since childhood and only got rid of it when we arrived here in London which was only last April 2008. =) And I don't know how it happened. I still brought it here, actually 2 small pieces, but instantly my feet were not looking for it anymore. So YES! Hubby was able to sleep with me for about 5 years with that little mosquito net. My Lola failed to stop me from that mannerism, so when I was in college, she was the one who's cutting the mosquito net for me and even sewing it on a small pillow so I can bring it anywhere I go. Oh, how I miss my Lola... =( I always keep in mind what she said to me before - never be used to sleeping with the kid in the middle, always make sure that when you sleep, you and Mark should always be beside each other because not being used to it will soon draw you away from each other. And yes, Alyssa sleeps either on my side or on Mark's side, she has to choose.

When it comes to snoring, hubby and Alyssa said I don't snore, so good for them! LOL... On the other hand, hubbster snores a little and not really loud. And because he doesn't believe that he now (yes, not before) snores, just last month Alyssa and I recorded it and we all burst into laughter the next morning. hahaha!!! Hubby asked about more than 5x, "Mum, totoo? Ako nga yun?" and laugh again...

So far, we don't have disturbing habits in bed. How about you? Do have some interesting bedtime habits? Come and share them with us on Mommy Liz's Couples Corner. Hit the badge!

Taken April 2008 at Leeds Castle - 1st week of our arrival in London (see the difference "then" and "now"? LOL... Hubby must see this 'coz he can't accept the fact that he's gained so much now.)

Oh, cuddle, cuddle... This is one thing we will never get tired of doing. Hubby hugs me most often when I wash the dishes and surely there's tickling on the side, then right after I finished washing or cooking I will hug him back and there, we cuddle. We just embrace tight and exchange "I Love You's". Our daughter loves seeing us do so. 

At Trafalgar Square, April 2008 as well. PDA??? hehehe... sabi ko pakiss eh.. kaya pala deadma, pumose sa camera... LOL

Then as we sit on the sofa and watch movies, we squash each other and arms all wrapped up. Same goes when we sleep. So much cuddling first before really falling asleep. These are the precious moments I can never afford to lose. 

Not to mention the special cuddling times in bed, oh those are really extra steamy! LOL! Hey, don't let me spill this out. I better shut up and just stick with the wholesome cuddling moments. =)

There's so much cuddling stories at Couple's Corner. So hop on and share yours too.

Career has always been the last thing on my list of priorities. When God has given me my own family earlier than usual, I still strived to attain my degree. I might have thought of being a working mom - wearing a nice corporate attire, working in a cosy office environment, struggling to climb the corporate ladder - but when I've already tried my best to have the job that I'm dying to have and failed many times, I started to accept the meaning that it wants to communicate with me. 

The first factor why I don't fit in any job that I'm applying for is TIME. I have a daughter whom I have to bring to school in the morning and pick up at around 3:30 in the afternoon. That alone won't let me work full time (9-5 job) and so I only apply for part-time positions, but because I'm new and don't have enough experience yet, it's so impossible that they give me the time most convenient to me.

Then I re-learned the blogging world. As I explore, a large community of moms staying at home and earning while blogging and doing some freelance works welcomed me. I tried and on my first month of trial, it seems like it's whispering to my ears, "THIS IS THE RIGHT THING FOR YOU."

I just got an interview invitation from the nearest hotel in our place, but the working pattern will hinder me from doing what I love - preparing my hubby and daughter in the morning and being unable to pick her up on time every Friday. I thought about it, but at the end, hubby and I realized that with all the opportunities coming my way at the start of 2010 I can earn the same while working at home. 

I'm already blessed with everything - having a husband who's always been a good provider and the time that I am able to dedicate to my family and these I really thank God for letting me to have. I no longer need a career that will bring me to the top while slowly forgetting that I am the light of my home. My family is my priority and if career is there, it's surely at the last.

We set our Saturday the "Cleaning Day" and it was a success! The weather was fine and we were able to open the windows while we clean. I cleaned the sitting room, dining and kitchen (which is actually only counted as 1... LOL) and hubby cleaned the toilet and bathroom (which is also counted as 1...LOL) Quits? Yeah! =) But I wasn't able to take pictures as we clean so it I guess it won't count as the highlight of our weekend.. Nonetheless, there's a more exciting happening which I just took pictures of.

We'll be having visitors next week-end (hence the "Cleaning Day") and because our airbed got broken last December, we've been thinking the whole week on what to buy as a replacement. We know that airbeds are really prone to damage so we just thought of buying a sofa-bed... until just this afternoon when hubby decided to bring it back to the store and try asking for an exchange, repair or refund since the product was bought less than a year. And without any question, the product was replaced! Hooray!!! =)

We tried pumping the air bed and as a result...

Daddy and Alyssa used it to have a nicer and more comfortable movie time.

And another highlight (according to Daddy) was - he was able to finish the game he was dying to finish last week. And guess what?

He can't get enough of it, so now he's doing another game... Oh, FYI, he's playing Modern Warfare 2!

Productive because we were able to clean the house, airbed was replaced, and hubby was able to finish a game, but not so because we just stayed in bed the whole day of Sunday. =)

That's basically how our weekend went, so to share the highlights of your weekends, come and join us on SassyMom's:

Breakfast in bed is not something special in our family. When we were still sharing a house with our 2 dear friends and that house was really cold (because it's not carpeted and it's in the ground floor), we often have our meals inside the bedroom. Not only breakfast, but even lunch and dinner. =) And during weekends, hubby doesn't like to eat on his own =) and just wanted to be fed. Yeah right! I've got 2 babies!!! LOL... Hubby was used to being literally 'spoon-fed' ever since we lived together and until now, he likes it.

I've told the story behind this photo already in my other CC entry, Plans for Valentines day. And basically, that's the most unexpected and sweetest breakfast in bed we had - ever! Oh, not really breakfast in bed though... I forgot that we weren't able to eat the pancake because it turned out to be a "Black Pig". LOL!

I believe this is the shortest CC entry I ever did. I'm looking forward to next week's theme: "Honesty is the Best Policy"... hhhmmm... I think i'll be sauteed in that topic because most of the time, I'm the one who's  dishonest - BAD ;)

You might have some nice breakfast in bed stories to share. Join us at Mommy Liz's Couples Corner.

We've been celebrating Valentines ever since we met. Our First Valentines was really memorable, but Dad never changed, until now. 

A week before Valentines day, hubby's been planning so much on what to do and where to go. I don't really have a clue if anything will push through. Then, come Saturday, we were still undecided wether to go out or not, until we both get up and convinced each other not to go back to bed. =)

We had a Valentines lunch in a Chinese restaurant to join with this year's theme "Valentines in a Chinese New Year".

Then we headed off to the movie house to watch Avatar and have our first 3D experience. 

And since we still have time, we went straight to Canary Warf to stroll around.

Inside Zara to goof around.

We waited for the next train... and home we went.

Our super fun Valentines celebration for this year has ended... or so I thought - Until...

The next day, I woke up to the many sweet hugs and kisses from my dear hubster with a lovely morning greeting of "Happy Valentines, Mum!" It was a nice Sunday morning and I asked Alyssa to get our no-longer-surprise card for Dad. Wait for my Mommy Moments entry for the story behind that surprise card, I'm sure you'll laugh your hearts out - because we did! =)

I asked hubby what time we're going to church and instead of the usual answer, "Of course, 11:30", I got the answer "Let's think about it later". So since it's still too early, we went back to bed and watched the whole week's episode of "Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo". We jumped out of bed when we heard a loud bang from a broken glass - it was Alyssa on top of the kitchen counter reaching for some chocolates  from the kitchen cupboard. Good thing she wasn't hurt. While we were cleaning the kitchen, the buzzer rang. I have no plans of opening it because I am not waiting for anything, I always assume they are just some promo persons giving away leaflets. Hubby forced me to check on it, though I am hesitant, I did. When I opened the door, it was a delivery man handling a box of Marks & Spencer. I read the label and was surprised to see my name printed on it. I asked the delivery man, "What's this?" he answered, "Flowers dear, it's Valentines day". Oh my! I knew it! And I said, "Hhhhmmm... That's why my hubby doesn't like to open the door... this is some kind of a suprise!" And we both laughed, but as I climb up the stairs I can't hold my tears back. It just keeps on falling. When I saw hubby, I hugged him tight and kissed him. I really wasn't expecting anything at all, because I told him not to buy me flowers anymore, all I want is a card and every time I say that, he doesn't answer back. That's the reason why he can't answer what time we're going to church, he doesn't know when the flowers will be delivered.

And I though that was it. Then he said, "Mum, can you open the oven please?" Of course I asked why, he said "Just open it, I'm going to clean it." When I opened, a giant card was sitting on the oven. And again, my tears continued flowing and much more when I read his message.

A dozen of red roses for me, a giant card and a box of Belgian chocolates for our dear Alyssa.

I always say this line, "My hubby doesn't fail to surprise me, in any occasion", but it's true. We've been celebrating Valentines the 6th time today, but nothing's changed. It was just as sweet as the first.

Happy Valentines Everyone!!!

This is my first share for Sassy Mom's Pixel Bug Weekend. Share your exciting weekends too by hitting the badge.

It is the hardest thing for every parent to accept that his or her child has a condition that's needed to be treated. Just like the phases of grief, parents go from denial to acceptance. When a child shows warning signs of delay in speech and language development, it is very important that parents make a move and consult specialists. 

My daughter's cousin who is just three months younger had a delay in speech. No one in the family, not even I had the strength to tell the child's parents about consulting a specialist. I just don't know how to say it in a way that I will not sound as a 'competitive parent' just because my daughter is developing far above their child, but because I care and I know the child needs a chance, I am torn between advising  or not that they visit this speech and language development site which gives assessment to children aged 3 months to 5 years. I know they are in a budget, but I don't think £19.95 a year per child isn't too much. What is that small amount if it's for the development of your child, right? It also gives a 20% discount when the voucher code BVT1015 is entered upon registration until 31 March 2010. After the registration and assessment, parents will be given fun activities to enable them to provide targeted therapy at home. The site guides parents of children with difficulties and indicators that mean referral to specialists and also videos are  provided to guide parents on using the site.  

The speech and language development delay may simply mean that he just needs more weeks or months to catch up or he may need physiotherapy to strengthen his muscles. But there are times when it also highlights adverse indicators of hearing impairment and autism. Whatever a child's condition is, it is important that parents give them proper treatment. The early the intervention, the better it is for the child and the parents. 

Ate Liza of This is My Life tagged me in this cute Eminent Eights. It's my first tag for my blog and since it came from my blogging mentor I am happy to do it. Thanks Ate Liz!

8 TV Shows We Like to Watch:
1. Dahil May Isang Ikaw (hubby and I - just ended)
2. Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo (hubby and I - in exchange of the first)
3. X-Factor (hubby and I)
4. Britain's Got Talent (hubby and I)
5. The Buzz (me)
6. Milkshake (Alyssa)
7. CBeeBies (Alyssa)
8. Disney Channel (Alyssa)

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink:
1. Mr. Wu Chinese Buffet
2. Pizza Hut
3. T.G.I.F
4. McDonalds
5. KFC
6. Dominoes 
7. Nando's
8. Japanese Restaurants 


8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Spend Christmas and New Year in the Philippines this coming December
2. Visit Disneyland (Paris or US) on summer
3. Making of the 2nd baby on September/October this year
4. Renewal of vows on our 5th Wedding Anniversary

5. Start-up a business early this year may it be catering or back to online selling

6. Success in my online jobs
7. Success in blogging, hopefully to be able to convert my 2 blogs to dotcom
8. Invest in something worth it this year


8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
1. I Got hired as an administrative officer online.
2. Did the grocery and strolled around mini shopping mall walking distance from our house.
3. Watched 3 movies with hubby and Alyssa.
4. Cried while watching My Sister's Keeper. I know hubby's tears wanted to fall too..LOL
5. Joined the I Blog, I Care Movement.
6. Ironed Alyssa's school uniforms and hubby's office shirts.
7. Grilled steak and had a lovely dinner with hubby and daughty.
8. Trimmed Alyssa's hair.



8 Things I Love About Winter:
1. Snow!
2. My skin's getting fairer. =)
3. Same as Ate Liza's - don't have to dress up really nice when going out
4. Same as Ate Liza's again - have reason of not taking a shower everyday, LOL!
5. I hate going out specially when it's very cold, so most of the time only Alyssa and hubby do the grocery - bad mommy!

6. I get to wear my boots. 
7. My cheeks turns pinkish.



8 Things I Am Passionate About:
1. Cooking and presenting my cooked foods nicely.
2. Baking and baking, but I'm only passionate not good. ;)
3. Day dreaming - business, jobs, car, house and lot. LOL
4. Taking good care of my family and making sure of always being available when they need me.
5. My current online job.
6. Friendster (before), Multiply (before), Facebook (now) and other social networking.
7. Reading and stuffing my mind with all the information I can get about parenting.
8. Reading books, blogs, articles and magazines about life, how to make it worth living.



8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:
1. Alyssa, tidy up time. 
2. I love you baby ko - and Alyssa answers "I Love You, Mommy ko"
3. Love you Dad, bye. (On the phone)
4. ID, Cellphone, Pera, Susi, Baon, Oyster - Checklist every morning before going out of the house.
5. Anong gusto mong ulam, Dad? (Every time the clock strikes at 5pm)
6. Come on, quick. We're late.
7. What did you have for lunch, anak?
8. Let's eat! 


8 Things I Learned from the Past:
1. Being a young mother doesn't mean being an immature one.
2. Family comes first, more than anyone or anything else.
3. Save, save, save - you'll never know when you'll be needing them.
4. Never let material things set your standards of being happy.
5. Live, Laugh, Love - enjoy life and make the most of it.
6. Always let others feel that they are special to you and that you mean so much to them.
7. Have faith and believe in destiny.
8. Being a mother and a wife is the most precious thing that ever happened to me.



8 Blog Friends We Want to Tag:
1. Mommy Iris 
2. Ate Beth 
3. Ate Eds 
4. Mommy Enchie 
5. Mommy Clang
6. Mommy Willa 
7. Mommy Gracy 
8. Mommy Mich

 
Hope you enjoy doing this too, pretty moms!

Just before going to church, we all decided to dress in red and have our Christmas Photoshoot. We didn't have so much time, so we just placed the camera on top of the table and set the timer and shoot away.

Here's what we got...

Posing while Daddy tries a few shots.

This is one of the nicest we had.

We hope to do another shoot when the weather's fine to achieve a good lighting.

Right after hearing the mass, we strolled around the mall and Alyssa spotted a very nice My Little Pony Theme Park and asked if it could be her Christmas gift instead of the Peppa Pig Play House she requested first. Then I said, maybe Santa will be kind enough to give it to her as his Christmas present because she's been a very good girl the whole year.

At night, while we were getting ready for dinner, she said "mum, dad, maybe I can write the letter for Father Christmas now".

Ever since the reading horror (forcing her to read and we both get upset), I stopped forcing her to read nor write and told myself that she'll soon learn in her own phase.

But then, I see to it that when she insists on doing so, I will always be there to support her. This is the first time she got interested in writing, and so I was amazed to see her sit still and write those words. It's her name that she only loves to write with the inverted "s" and nothing else. I didn't even think she can write the letters "e", "g", "p", "f" and the others not in her name as she's really been very lazy when it comes to writing.. LOL

Note: Please excuse my "WELL DONE". Kahit ako natuliri nung pinanood ko eh... hahaha

We've been receiving reward vouchers from Marks & Spencer by using their credit card. I was hesitant to use it because I thought I still have to reach a certain amount for it to be accepted in store. Then, just the other weekend hubby cut all the vouchers and we tried if it really works.

And... IT DID!!! Hooray!!! I can't believe that we bought a total of £7.83 and just paid £0.83 at the till. Since then, we decided to use M&S credit card more and set aside the others that doesn't give any kinds of rewards. It's true... Every little helps.

The Marriage Proposal was done and all we have was 3 months preparation for the Big Day. How it turned out? I'll continue...

The date was set to April 23, 2005 by the oldies. =) They said it was full moon and lucky. We have a couturier friend who's been doing our gowns years back, so gowns are not at all a problem. We've got gay super friends who can do all the decorations and planning. I can't thank them enough for giving so much of their efforts for FREE. My gown was supposed to be 15k, but my dear Kuya Ronald only charged us P5k and the rest were his gifts. The wedding and venue were coordinated by my dear Kuya Lawrence and his pals, Kuya Julius and Kuya Bob. I've got great angels who made the day possible. And of course, about 97% of all the expenses were shouldered by my supah kind In-Laws. My mom (aunt) was really mad and wasn't interested in taking part of the wedding preparation. I also thought she will not be there on my wedding day. She lives in Japan and hasn't talked to me ever since she knew about my pregnancy. My Tita Arlene was the one who took what is supposed to be my mom's part.

My lola said, my gown can be the simplest and rented, but it should be new. =) It should be held in our province (Laguna) and even wanted the reception to be held in our house. That, we already disagree. LOL. All the guests can't fit in our house, so we decided to just rent a place and it was the resort where my debut was held, more than a year ago.. =)

It was a literally a BIG DAY! The entourage was like a Flores de Mayo. It was the first wedding in both our sides, so Mark wanted to include EVERYONE!!! if only possible. I can't remember how many bride's maids, secondary sponsors, junior bridesmaids and flower girls I had. What I am sure is they are more that 20! ;)

I was happy that despite my mom's anger, she still chose to attend and even brought her kids along.  My lola walked down the isle despite her difficulty to walk. Everything was going according to plan... until just before the reception ends. Everybody are getting ready for the overnight pool party when Mark's brother shouted and said "Si Tin-Tin nalunod". I was 6 months pregnant  and on a 2 inches heals and I didn't care. I run and hoped to see our dear 7 year old cousin, but she was already rushed by the gate and ready to be brought to the Hospital. Mark was able to go with them in the hospital and she was declared "dead on arrival". This incident brought a gap between Tin-Tin 's parents and us. They were blaming us for what happened. I know there's nothing more painful than losing a child, but we never claimed it our fault. She has parents that should be taking good care of her every minute of her life. They are 3 siblings and all of them are included in our entourage. The mom was not ok with his husband's side so she decided not to go. The father was there and they got 2 yayas, so why put the blame on us? All we wanted was for all our guests to enjoy that's why we chose to have a pool party. If they didn't want to, they can opt not to bring their kids to the pool, but they were already swimming just before the reception ended. It was so hard to accept that the supposed to be happiest day in our lives became the most tragic day.

Please also read our First Year of Being Married and see how God worked on the 1st 365 days or our lives as a married couple.

 

Yes indeed! The very first tree - we bought for our family. We have a very small house way back in the Philippines and that our budget is just enough for our daily needs so we decided not to buy Christmas tree on the 1st two Christmases (2005-2006), then hubby left the country and we celebrated Christmas 2007 apart and we were ready to stay with him in London after six months so we thought buying one isn't practical at all as we'll be leaving it behind after.

Last year, we were living with friends and they have a tree so we just helped in buying some decorations. But this time, we moved in to a new house and only leaving as a family, with extra budget and we're all together so we thought this is the right time to buy one.

Alyssa's just so excited with it as much as hubby and I do.

We've been wanting to buy this tree since September, but the store just made it available last week (17 October) and we put it up right after it reaches our home. We don't decorate for Halloween and as Pinoys, we welcome Christmas when "ber" month starts.

We just realized after that the tree was too big for our house. LOL

Alyssa was goofing beside the tree and she said, "We've got a very lovely tree!'

The finished product. ;)

 

My second time in Mommy Moments and I really love doing it. You can join us too. Just click the Mommy Moments Badge.

Huge malls are not common in London and we were only able to visit 2 so far, one is called Bluewater Leisure and Shopping Centre and the other one is the Westfield London Shopping Centre.

It was my birthday last year when we experienced the best day ever and it was in Bluewater. So much FUN indeed!

Alyssa had the first face painting experience that day and it was FREE!

 TADAH!!! Isn't it nice? My litte blue butterfly.

And of course, the stage mum in me can't be set aside.

And for our last hurrah for summer this year, off we go to Westfield, a new-built huge shopping center.

We passed by the NEXT shop and saw this lovely coat, but knowing me, I won't buy it at it's actual price. So I said, "Alright, that's enough. Let's wait for it to go on sale." LOL

It was also lovely outside the mall. Refreshing.

Going out is indeed uncommon for our famiy, but the few makes it really special. And a day the the mall was something we enjoyed together as a family.

Written: 19 November 2007

My little pretty princess...ALYSSA...She looks so gurly... She likes smiling for the camera...She poses just like a lady... She wants to sit with crossed legs because according to her, it is how a girl should sit...
Alyssa has her official photographer..It's her Tito Jake! hehehe... Thanks Tito Jake!

Written: 18 November 2007

I made this layout for the scrapbookflair challenge with "Inspiration in Scrapping" as the theme. I didn't got the place, but I am so happy to receive wonderful comments from scrappers from the different parts of the world.

My super loving husband and my super sweetie daughter are my inspirations in every layout I make.. I am always eager to scrap because they have lots of memories to be treasured. And I am proud to show them how artistically their pictures came out.

They are my life.. my everything!

Written: 17 November 2007

Our little angel..our princess..our pride..our joy..our LIFE! 

May - because Daddy said..if the baby is a girl, the name should start with "MAY" because it is the start of Mummy's name.. and if it is a boy.. the name should start with "MARK" of course because it is Dad's name.. and the full name should contain three names..just like Mummy's.

Alyssa - because her grandma's name (Daddy's Mum) is Alicia..

Kirstein - because Dad's cousin named Christine died the same day during Mom and Dad's wedding.

Combining them all, we got our pretty daughter's name - MAY ALYSSA KIRSTEIN AGBAYANI - SALDUA.

Written: 9 November 2007

Today is "My Day"! I never thought that this day will be as special as it has always been because I know that the person responsible for all the surprises on my birthday is not around though I know that one way or another, he will do something that will keep me going the whole day.

My hubby is thousands of miles away. He is now in London working for our family. This is the fourth time that I will be celebrating my birthday with him and in all those times, he never failed to make my day special. Midnight of November 7 2007, I checked my email from time to time expecting a heart warming message from the most important person in my life. And at 2:00AM, I got it. My hubby's message really made my cry. Though he often tells me how much he loves me, it is still so sweet to know that he never forgets the promises he made on our wedding day.

The assurance of true love made me HIGH the whole day. When I got home, I was so lazy to cook anything so I just told my in-laws that I'll just be buying ice cream. So Alyssa and I went to my in-law's house to celebrate with a little ice cream. Right after we got there, my bro-in-law arrived with a bouquet of flowers and two cakes. I was so surprised and cried in front of my in-laws. I was really touched. My hubby told me before my birthday "pano yan Mommy, hindi na kita maibibili ng cake ngayon.." It is because, in every occasion...Mother's Day, Valentines Day, my Birthday...his cake is always present.. so everytime that thought passes my mind, I feel so lonely that this birthday will be much more different including the fact that he is not here with me.

My hubby never fails to surprise me..from then 'till now..He is still the man I loved 4 years ago..