alone in the park

we're so blessed to live in toowoomba where parks abound just about everywhere. i have absolutely lost count of the number of parks, because there seems to be a park just about any corner. and of course, we love taking our kids to the park whenever we can. no matter how many times i have visited a certain park, there seems to be always something new that catches my eye. and always something new to look forward to in the next visit.

a lonesome tree at captain cook oval, bent sidewards, as if reaching out to the sky

the lone bench and the tree's shadow, still at captain cook's oval ( i wanted to take a photo of that particular tree, but a rubbish bin was tied next to it, so i had to contend with the shadow)

the windmill at kearney's historical park standing alone, but mighty high and proud next to the gum trees

the trees seem to be bowing in respect of this great log, alone on the ground, still at kearney's historical park (giving up its life so people tired from walking in the bush could sit)

enrica-arvianne

how fragrant this flower seems to you, when it really has no scent...

why this pesky weed (a dandelion) that often taints the garden... in your hands, becomes a flower?

why is something so ordinary as picking a weed becomes such a joy to see?

why my girl?...because you see...you are such a sweet flower to me...

always fragrant, never taints and forever such a joy!

heaven so close

last friday, i was driving past captain cook oval (another park near our area) when i happened to look up, and saw all these clouds hanging so low. i felt as though i could almost reach them, and i felt nostalgic again. as a kid, i used to make figures out of cloud formations and used to let my imagination get the best of me. so, i just had to stop and snap some shots, or risk having the moment pass me by. after all, it's not often that you get heaven so close like this.

it's just such a shame the pictures didn't turn out as good here as they originally appear on my cam and pc file...sigh!

birthday bash

one of our kids' friends celebrated his birthday just recently at "little legs", an indoor activity area for the kiddos. there, the rich bright colors reminded me how much our lives are enriched by our children's very colorful characters...and how much joy the colors bring their lives.

the balloons

the "doughnuts and cars" cake

Chad, the birthday boy eager to blow the candle

i love the way Deiv's outfit matches everything in the place

kids

because they are just soooooooooo adorable...

my girls with their good friends (from L: Andrea, Stef, Aizel, Erin and Lorenzo)

all smiles (Erin with ate Stef)

framed by the "rope net" (Aizel with cousins Deiv and Denice)

Lorenzo (Mr. Future-Heartbreaker)

in the spirit of christmas

Christmas is definitely in the air. It is the sound of christmas carols I so often hear now. It is the sight of these festive lights at the park, at the neighbor's or at home. It is the excitement and glee of my children when we put up the christmas tree. It is the wonderment in their eyes when Santa handed them some candies at the shop. It is the never-ending questions about the little baby boy in the manger at the church's nativity scene. Why is the baby sleeping with the animals daddy? Are they "looy" (pitiful) mommy? Christmas is indeed for the children...and for the children at heart.


the kids waving their magic wands at the christmas light display at queen's park

my daughters' favorite magical tree. this was actually leaning against a real tree- photo taken by my hubby (i do not have steady hands and we didn't bring a tripod)

fascinated by all the lights

the little angel on our christmas tree

into the woods

somebody once said that there is much to learn from trees because they remain grounded while continually reaching heavenwards.

three seasons in one season (red leaves on a tree like the ones that autumn sheds; a tree so bare, it's almost dead like the ones in winter; and a tree so lush and green like the ones showcased in summer...and all three taken in the middle of last spring)

the tree trunks...i think they are nature's antiques because they can stand for hundreds and hundreds of years in perfection, until man cuts their life short to make way for items that man himself will regard as antique in the years to come.

and into the woods...i got lost...mesmerized by all these gracious trees swaying their leaves to greet me and their shade sheltering me against the sun's harsh rays .

by the shade of the trees

i have a love-affair with trees. as a young child, some of my most memorable summers were spent on a tree with my bestfriend. our favorite was her lola's "tambis" ( i call it the pink bell fruit, but i don't know what it is called in english). we used to pretend the tree was our house and the branches the different rooms. it was even more exciting because the fruits, and there were hundreds of them, were just within easy reach of our short arms. it used to terrify her mom to find us always sitting on one of the branches, happily munching the sweetest "tambis" i could ever remember. luckily for us, we never fell off the branches. sadly, when her lola died, the tambis no longer bore much fruit, and eventually, died too. the mango trees, the coconut trees and the chico trees in our neighborhood and in my lola's hometown were not spared from my active adventures and misadventures as well. and even now, i still ocassionally feel the urge to climb, but i have better sense not to, so i just feast my eyes on them and take snaps to remind me of the joy they bring my life.

the phone booth by the shade of these glorious trees ( i think they're gum trees), taken last october at another park near our place

the hidden gazebo (shaded from the sun by trees)

"alone with myself, the trees bend to caress me. the shade hugs my heart."- Candy Polgar

the last remaining flower of the jacaranda tree reaching out to me (while the lush leaves provided me the most comforting shade)

doors

i've always been fascinated with doors. just something about them. they tell a story on their own. they've welcomed many a guest. witnessed too many goodbyes. opened for great opportunities and closed for failed relationships or lost chances. and yet, they remain...standing...while we keep coming and going.

"If opportunity doesn't knock...build a door." -Milton Berle

"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."- Flora Whittemore

"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception."- Aldous Huxley

"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you, where there were only walls."- Joseph Campbell

(my little erin just had to be in the picture. she wanted a shot with this door. perhaps, she shares my love for doors)

ARCH you gonna come in?

a fine welcome (a little birdie in a cage awaits you when you enter to wish you a wonderful day)

a closed arch door at st. patrick's church in sydney (it may be closed but the walls can still hear your prayers and the heavens still listen)

Romeo, oh Romeo! where art thou? i... am... still... waiting...

and then, you come upon an arch...and see something that beckons you in...perhaps the soft glow of the lamplight ...and then you know right then and there, you have come to the right place.