First Sunday Of Advent

Wrote this blog back in 2011. Around that time, there were no options of likes and comments. It’s a gloomy Sunday but I am happy because Advent season is here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. New Year in the Catholic calendar begins each year with the season of Advent.

It’s the Holy Season of Advent and we’re now celebrating the first Sunday. Every year, we look forward to the coming  of Jesus and pray those beautiful prayers of longing and waiting and sing those beautiful songs of hope and promise.

The Advent season is full of God’s blessings for all of us. He makes  us realize and remember to look back at the whole year that is about to end and to look forward to a new and hopeful  year that is about to begin.  Are we ready to take Him into our hearts? Are we ready to accept Him in our lives?  True, we always say time is gold and we should not waste it but we also need to take stock of what is more important, a quiet contemplation, a moment of silence, a minute of giving thanks.  Let this be a season of joy for all of us, awaiting a most precious event of the season – a baby born in swaddling cloths to save  mankind.

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Another Five Stars

WordPress says it is time to blog again. Yes, I set up a schedule twice a week though sometimes I don’t even follow.

I found this lovely site on Play Store where you can download books, put up an online library and choose what to read. Although I’ve already read most of them, there are still lovely ones out there. Authors are alphabetically arranged so you can find your favorites among them.

I recently discovered Jo Thomas. I love her writing style – talk about reindeer, lovable dogs, rainforests, silence, the Northern lights, meals cooked in woodfire, reinder hides as seat warmer and of course Denmark and into Jo’s snow-filled world. A Winter Beneath The Stars is a heartwarming hug of a story. Beautiful setting.

I am giving another ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to this one.

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Good Old Tuesday

I recently updated my blog about Nate. It was his 9th birthday yesterday. You can see some pics at Our Precious Bundle of Joy at https://nonaarlene.wordpress.com

Or you may click the link here on my main blog. It seems there is no share button anymore.

Thank you so much.

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Sad

A friend who used to be an officemate also used to visit my wall at Facebook and occasionally comment on my posts here although she is not a blogger.

These last few days, I missed her words and the inspiring comments that she usually write. I had a sudden inkling to visit her wall, there was nothing there for the last four months. I tried some friends of hers who have the same surname as she has. Probably her kids? We have some common friends at Bank of PI on Facebook but I’ve never read nor heard about Minnah.

What a sad ending when I read that she passed on last July 19. We used to talk about her having dialysis twice a week before. I told her about my dad’s plight having dialysis before he died. In our hospitals here, it is not free. I wonder if that has changed now. My dad died fourteen years ago after six months of treatment. Minnah said, it was hard to put up money for her dialysis twice a week.

When Dad died, I promised myself that I would never submit to that treatment if (God forbids)I would be in that same predicament. Imagine, they drain out your blood and put it back clean, same procedure after two or three days. All the nutrients your body absorbed in those days in between come to naught.

My dad passed away because of end stage renal disease. I have chronic UTI since I gave birth to Nissa. I haven’t been to my doctor since this pandemic started.

They always say health is wealth and I agree.

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More Friday Musings

First of all, I’d like to thank you for all the prayers for Alden. It is deeply appreciated.

The other day, I started filling up my journal with quotes from the books I’ve read, my own quotes which I have shared to our Catholic page and two groups. I am sure, I have written them long ago here. With almost 4,000 blog posts, I have forgotten about them. Some as early as 2011. I am reposting them. Thanks to Memories on Facebook. I am sharing them with you:

See something positive in everyday that passes and you’ll discover as the days go by that life is beautiful. Think of hurdles as challenges that would push you to a life of happiness. Life needs hurdles on its path for its advance.

Sometimes, crying is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strenght.

I would love to re-phrase this quote from E.B White. “ I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world. This makes it hard to plan the day”.

Here’s mine. I would just love to enjoy the world right at this moment. I choose to dream of pleasant things that would make life worthwhile. I choose happiness over negative thoughts that sometimes linger in my mind. I choose Today, I choose serenity.

Why not show the world that you can smile despite the tears? Why not show everyone that you can be brave despite the fears?

Sometimes, happiness is found in the smallest details of people’s lives. The untrodden path may seem daunting at the start, but it’s when you are brave to follow the trail that gives life’s meaning, it’s when you stumble along the way that you’ll really know that the end of the road is a beautiful vista of surprises.

They were all from my posts in 2011 afterall. Gonna share with you a photo of Nate and Nissa with Ogie Alcasid, an actor, talented composer and singer. They chanced upon him on their way to Siquijor and Dumaguete City down south. Nate’s first plane ride and they were on the same flight.

The captions says, “is this really necessary Mommy”?😅😂🤣

It was their treat to Nate’s second birthday.

Look at his expression. This was taken November 2014.

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Requesting For Prayers

For the nth time, I am requesting for prayers from you my online friends.

Two years ago, I went home with Nissa and Josef to visit my younger brother Alden at the hospital. I stayed there for a week. He has colon cancer like my older brother and I had before years ago. He didn’t undergo operation but opted for alternative treatment.

For a few months now, there is always blood in his stool. His latest blood chem is not good. He needs to undergo blood transfusion ASAP. The thing is, his doctor was transferred to another hospital yesterday which is quite far from our place. I wonder if they were able to meet the new doctor today.

I know that it would no longer take us long to be with him, all I am asking is to prolong his life a little so we could be together again. I could not go home since no one could take care of mom who is slowly showing dementia. Life is so stressful.

My older brother who lives in the next subdivision has just undergone brain operation three months ago and he is not yet well enough to take care of mom.

Prayers, always prayers. Life is short.

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Making A Difference

Saw this on my “Memories” page at Facebook. So lovely a message to ignore. Sometimes even small things make a big difference.

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Happy 10th Anniversary

Doing this in advance, greeting Nissa and Obet on their wedding anniversary tomorrow. I remember that one particular afternoon, nobody cried, we were all laughing because it was a happy and joyous occasion. My tears flowed though when they visited us a day after to let us know they were going on their honeymoon.

There were so many photos that their photographers took for their wedding album but I love these informal shots bettter, which reminds me I have my own wedding album of Nissa which was included in the package of the photographers. It is a small 6″ x 6″ album.

I just love this, two important people in my life in one frame. Lovell was still a deacon here. He was ordained to priesthood the following year. That smile from Nissa…priceless.

We called it Purple Day. Opps, one boy was missing. Bobic, adopted daughter of Alden was the little bride while those darling little ones are kids of Obet’s sister and Nissa’s close friends.

To reminisce one lovely occasion.

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New Post

Just updated my gardening blog, Gardens and Empty Spaces located in my blog links here.

Evergreen. It’s been so long that this book was in my shelf. It was published in 1978, first book of Belva Plain. I wonder why I ignored reading it for so long. It is my first book of the author, a wonderful saga of an American-Jew family. A richly written and finely detailed story about the family’s struggle in American soil. This is the second time I am giving ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to a novel. Have you read it?

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My Little Christmas Tree

🌲⛄Little Christmas tree,

No one to buy you,

Give yourself to me

My little Christmas tree🌲☃️

This is fun, decorating a 3 ft. Christmas tree. Our 7 ft. tree was relegated to the backseat. I bought this little tree last month so it would be easier for me to decorate it. I could not find the smaller star to put on top. There are so many decorations that we bought for the big tree two or three years back, some of them need replacement now. Josef only brought down the Christmas balls and flowers. I just added candy canes and cookie figures.

Last year at the height of the pandemic, we didn’t put up any decor. If Josef doesn’t get lazy, we’ll put up the porcelain nativity set given by a friend years ago. If I could buy pink ribbon and other pink decor, I will decorate the wreath too.

This is my dream of a little tree.

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