simple joys

it has been a long long time...a lot of things have happened in the last two weeks that have somehow upset the balance in my life. we decided about two weeks ago to try and put our house on the market to see what sort of response we're going to get. little did we know that we will sell the house on the very same day it was opened to the market. so while it is under contract, and we are awaiting the successful sale (provided there's no problem with the buyer's finance), i am stressed to my wits.

i only opted to lessen my time on the net, not entirely wipe it out of my system, but that's almost how i feel. i cannot even begin to think about taking photos or blogging at this stage. there are so many things we have to attend to. there's the task of finding another home or considering building a new one which will be more stressful, as it would mean we'd be homeless while the house is being built or we'll be renting, but the thought of moving, and then moving again is just way too much for my faint heart to handle.

i don't know... we didn't know two weeks ago we'd be in this position (not that we aren't glad. we are, because then, we can move into a much bigger home which would give the kids more room to move about, we just didn't think it was going to be this fast )...what i do know is that this "stress" too shall pass. and in a couple of weeks time, we'd be once again well settled hopefully, in a new home.

for the time being, there's the huge task of finding a house, packing up and moving on...i have come to love this place we call our home and i will miss some things here...but i think this is the best time for us to move ahead.

so today, i have made a conscious effort to stop for a while. stop worrying. stop feeling stressed and do something i love. take photos and blog. these simple joys are my life saver, in a time when my stress level is up to my neck.

green apples and their reflection- something about green relaxes me and i love eating green apples dipped in salt (i'm weird like that)

this colorful toy of my kids constantly reminds me life is beautiful!

the sight of this purple flower calms me and assures me things will work out fine

the sight of my little erin eyeing our organic lemon (which i will miss along with our dwarf avocado) reminds me that i am but a little girl myself, and that everything will be alright because mum and dad will take care of everything, just as i know He will look after us.

angel aizel

unseen halo, invisible wings

my beautiful aizel,

endless joy she brings...

angel erin

an angel sent forth from up above

my beautiful erin,

bearing gifts of joy and love...

angels on earth

i truly believe in angels. and in miracles.

everyday, i am a part of a special miracle.

and everyday, i am in the company of angels.

two little angels with invisible wings and halos.

angels who are really sweet and gentle, yet can be rowdy and rough the next minute. often, they make me so proud and happy. but sometimes, they drive me nuts too, enough to want me to send them off flying to the heavens for a little while.

they have changed my life. it has never been the same since the day i laid eyes on them. but life has never been this good nor this sweet as well.

so, i suppose this is the tiny everyday miracle i have. and i will not have it any other way.

this is the miracle called "children"...the children that God calls "angels".

autumn blooms

it is officially autumn in this part of the world. and today, it has been cold. i don't particularly like the cold, and i dread the onset of winter. but whether i like it or not, winter is most definitely on its way. there is not much i can do about it. it's just the way it is.

anyway, today, we went for a short drive to an old railway station nestled in some hill, just outside town. it is known for its country style cafe, and even more popular in the springtime when the hills boast of the most exquisite display of bright colorful blooms.

anyway, we got there. loved the place, but the cafe was closed. we were the only ones there except for the staff attending to the trains. little did we know that they only do business from friday to sunday, when most people flock, as the grounds are a favorite for picnic-goers.

but it wasn't all a loss. even in autumn, i found these pretty flowers, still blooming in perfection, serving as backdrop to a wonderful afternoon with the "loves" of my life.

in the end, that's all that matters. being with the people you love. and appreciating the beauty around you.

the guardian angel

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another."

-Luciano de Crescenzo

These are photos of the little angel just outside our bedroom window, which the kids and myself love to check out every morning. He is our guardian angel, watching over us while we sleep, thus, in the daytime, he catches up on his sleep. It is a big task anyway, doing night shifts for us.

I believe in angels.

I even more so believe that there are more angels on earth that I see, than there are who dwell in the heavens. I think because, as angels, their main task is to come to earth, and touch somebody's life, so that in turn, that someone could do the same...be an angel to another.

I am so blessed to have been among the company of beautiful angels...special people who have touched my life. People who have made a difference when I was struggling, trying to fit in. People who have made me see my worth when I started doubting it. People who kept me company and made me laugh when I was too sad to even open my eyes. People who walked with me when I was enveloped in fear and people who held my hand when I started losing my grip. People who inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and start believing in myself again when I felt I wasn't good at what I was doing. People who I have not even met, and yet, have inspired me to do something I've always wanted doing, but didn't think I could, and the same people whose work makes me aspire to be better at this.

For all these special people who have seen me at my worst times, and those who rejoice with me at my highs...For those who provide inspiration, guidance and support, and those whom I draw strength, love and joy...Thank you for being my angels.

You know who you are. I only hope I could be to you what you all have been to me.

these tiny white flowers

as per the previous entry, these were taken on the same afternoon. another weed, another beauty. it's amazing, because when it's up this close, there is no doubt what beautiful tiny white flowers they are...but when you see the big picture, they are but stray weeds that taint the garden.

if anything, i've learned, we are all flowers in this big garden of life. all a beauty, until someone determines what our purpose in the garden is. when we are without direction and we serve no good purpose, no matter how beautiful our blooms are, we are no longer called a flower...but a weed...pesky...and one that doesn't deserve a rightful place in this beautiful immaculate place.

but the big question is, who decides if we are a flower or a weed? who is mighty enough to make that big decision for us? because as far as i know, to the one who created us all, we are all but the same. i don't remember ever written that He created weeds, only flowers.

this purple weed

my hands were itching! i needed to take photos, but i didn't have any good subjects. my kids are getting a bit tired of being mommy's victims. so out in the yard, we went. i let the kids play in the sandpit and run amok, chasing each other and getting crazy on the swing, i almost got scared. i surveyed the yard and thought to myself, it needed mowing. my hubby has another job in store for him on his days off. poor hubby. if only the grasses don't grow so fast and the weeds...they are any gardener's worst nightmare.

then, i noticed this purple weed lying amongst the dwarf bottle brush tree and the dwarf frangipani in one garden bed. the cluster of tiny purple flowers stood out, forming a big star against the earth-toned pine bark mulch. to a skilled gardener, it is another terrible weed, but to my untrained eye, it is but a beautiful bunch of purple flowers.

if there's one thing i've learned, flowers are but flowers until we label them weeds. the same with people. people are just people until we get labels, and then, how people respond to us depend on how we are labelled, which is sad...because at the end of the day, in the eyes of a child and in the eyes of the creator, we are but just what we are...without the label.

sunset

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."- Mohandas Gandhi

because i have taken so many shots of this setting sun, and i have actually literally chased it in order to get a really good view, i thought i am justified in posting some more of it, rather than let these images get buried and forgotten amongst my other pc files.

i have always loved the sunset or the sunrise. i remember when i was very little, i get drawn to photos of sunsets on calendars or any artwork. i remember watching the sunset from my lola's veranda in bohol when i was about 4 or 5yrs old. i remember getting mesmerized by it while on a boat heading home, after a two-week vacation in baguio ,when i was in high school. i remember sitting on the seashore on many beach side holidays just to catch a glimpse of this wondrous ball, slowly falling from the heavens to gently sink in the distant horizon.

i remember dreaming about owning an SLR and shooting away at every beautiful sunset (this was before digital cams were invented and only the serious photographer could afford to buy one).

now, i am living that dream. i have an SLR. i am shooting away. i am still drawn to sunsets. and i think, i will always be.

the sunset, for me, will be a constant reminder of how great God is, and how blessed we are to be given all these beautiful things around us...for us to appreciate, if we only take a moment to look...and for us to give thanks...because with every setting sun, goes with it another day of our lives that we will never get back. as to whether it is one that we want to remember forever or one that we hope we can forget, the sunset reminds us...we need to give thanks for the day that has been and to look forward to the promise of a fresh new day.

chasing after the sun

the other day, i decided to pack my two little girls in the car while dad was at work, to chase after the sun. i drove a couple of miles outside town to a small rural countryside to capture the magic of the setting sun. i parked by the roadside opposite a vast stretch of farm land, and waited for the sun to set behind the big hill, and took one shot after the other, until the sun was no longer visible on the horizon, and the sky was painted a crimson red. the kids were marvellous...they behaved quiet well, and were patient enough, although after a while, they kept saying, "mommy, you're so dugay". that was my cue, we drove back to town while the heavens started to get dark. as a treat, i took them to "maca's" (mcdonald's) to eat chicken nuggets, fries and apple pies and to play in the playground. then we went home, and everyone was happy.

sometimes in life, we too, have to go out of our comfort zone to chase after something we really want for ourselves. be it a dream or an opportunity for success or a chance at love or a shot at happiness. sometimes, it doesn't just come to us...sometimes, we too, have to be prepared to chase it...only then, can we be truly content and happy. (although sometimes too, the one thing we've been chasing for doesn't necessarily bring us the happiness we have always hoped for...but it is always worth a try... or you'll regret never knowing).

pitter patter

there's nothing like the pitter patter of tiny feet in the house. my kids are at a stage where they like to dress up like mom. they're always ransacking my shoe closet, which always nearly drive me crazy, although often, i find it really adorable when they manage to walk in heels with their really tiny feet barely filling half of the shoe. today, they've been up to it again, which reminded me of these old photos i took of some of those times, still using auto settings.

it has taught me that we, as parents have such a big responsibility in bringing up our kids, because how they will become depend so much on how we raise them...because one day, they also have a task of filling up our shoes...and hopefully, when that time comes, we have prepared them well for the long walk ahead on life's highway.

erin in mommy's shoes taken using a point and shoot camera (olympus) sometime in early 2008

aizel in mommy's shoes taken sometime last month

aizel's feet in sepia

erin's feet in black and white