Inspired Simplicity

Taekwondo Tournament

reminiscing Immanuel's first taekwondo tournament.

National tournament in Florida, July of 1998

9 yr old green belt forms

10 years later....

UC Berkeley Tournament

after a 2 year absence, he took home another gold

as a black belt in the senior division

photo by ate Cecile of Papelle Photographie

Remembering the boys performing as a demo team

{Simply Grateful}

This past week is filled with so much blessings and I am simply grateful....

for a very fun-filled, relaxing and productive spring break
for a delightful time with the whole family (complete with Immanuel and his new dog, Pirate)
for wonderful time with my BFF, ate Cecile and family (including a great dance exercise class she took me to)
for a BFF who is ever so sweet, caring, kind, generous and full of energy
for a chance to reconnect with long missed taekwondo family
for Immanuel's gold medal marking his 10th year in taekwondo competition
for the love, care and support amongst my children
for Isabella's perfect first sleepover in the comapny of two great friends (Krystn and Illahe)
for a safe drive (despite the speeding ticket:)
for a clean and relaxing home to come home to

Spring Break

We had a wonderfully jam-packed spring break this year.

Commencing with...

a fun-filled trip to the ranch
with my BFF, ate Cecile, and family. It was the most wonderful Easter week-end in the complete company of the people closest to my heart (including the newest addition to our family...Immanuel's "wishbone" dog, Pirate, who had fun playing with Mylo Janicek). Russ left Sunday night with Immanuel, Krystal and Pirate. The Janiceks left Monday morning. We are so thankful they left darling Krystn to spend another day with us. We ended up leaving that evening as it is not the same without the rest of the precious company.

Krystn sleeping over
We arrived back in Union City at 11pm on Monday night; Isabella was beginning to get worried and sad when Krystn started asking for her mommy. To Isabella's delight, Krystn's longing was quickly appeased by a "movie night" featuring Monty Python:) In the morning, they had longanisa (Philippine breakfast sausage). Krystn remembers her dad's words: "the longanisa is short and the shortganisa is long" and she adds: "but there's really no shortganisa":)

Followed by...

spring cleaning
doctor appointments for routine physical check-ups
shopping for my mom's new bed
a wonderful dance exercise class (thanks to ate Cecile who took me to her new great gym)
a family lunch at Chevy's in celebration of Phil's yet another 4.0 this quarter
a great taekwondo class with my boys (just like old times...wonderful!)

Ending with....

39th UC Berkeley taekwondo tournament
Immanuel joined the tournament after a two year absence. It was a nice time to reconnect with old friends and rekindle the love of this sport we all so miss. We celebrated Immanuel's gold medal afterwards at the Pacific Buffet in Fremont.
Isabella's first sleepover
at BFF, Krystn's, house (BIG thanks to ate Cecile and family; photos here). It was such a perfect first sleepover for her as it was in the company of two great friends, Krystn and Illahe. Her joy was truly indescribable and I could not have asked for a better sleepover girlfriends for my dd.
Baptismal party at Holly Center
Our church member invited us to a baptismal party (Krystal is one of the "ninangs" (godmother)

...and we're off ...back to Pismo Beach....

"Coming of Age"

I can't believe it was 21 years ago when I labored for 32 hours

(from St. Patrick's day until St. Joseph's day).

who was it that once said:
"to give birth to a child
is to share with God a tiny piece of creation"

And today, 21 years later, our first son is now officially an adult.

Today is a very significant day for our first born. Besides his final exams for this quarter, this day marks his "coming of age". Phil is 21 today! At an age when a lot of emphasis is put on alcohol, I feel so blessed knowing my 'official-adult-but-always-my-baby' prefers to play the Super Smash Brothers wii game he asked for. As I am writing this, I hear him enjoying playing with his baby brother and sister. What a blessing! Thank you God. I know that though he may outgrow my mothering, he will never outgrow all the love we have for him.

{Simply Grateful}

for a sweet husband

who offered to fill in for my volunteer work at Isabella's school so I could attend my class at the gym
who lovingly took Isabella to her pajama party when I was too tired to go
who prepared a wonderful dinner ready for me when I got back from the dance studio(carefully prepared with asst. Chef Isabella complete with menu.... preciously priced!....payable with kisses! how divine!)

for a wonderful afternoon with great friends (thank you Tess and Steven for a great lunch at the resort club bistro of your new wonderful home)

for treasured family times and special bonding times with my precious children