This year may not be as hectic as the previous year for me but there were big events that made it a good year – our year. There were no road trips to speak of either. January started with a bang, with the quadricentennial celebration of my alma mater, University of Santo Tomas, visiting Lovell at the seminary and seeing old friends, colleagues from the UST Main Library where I used to work during my college days.
Sometimes, a trip to UST would not be complete without dropping by Sto. Domingo Convent to have a little sharing with Lovell. It’s something to look forward to when his schedule permits.
College life made a difference because of friends who have become close over the years and I have adopted them as my older sisters.
Sr. Thea, FMM is a Franciscan nun based in Mindoro and Grace is now a permanent resident in Canada. We make it a point to see each other every year if time permits. Growing up with them, sharing heartaches during our college days made us soul sisters.
At Sweet Inspiration, our favorite hangout every time we see each other. Except for Grace (in yellow striped t-shirt), the three of us, Sr. Thea, Precy and I are cancer survivors. Precy says, even in friendship, we battled the same ailment.
January 29 found me attending another high school reunion (our fourth one, actually). This time though, it was just a casual affair at the house of one of our batchmates in Quezon City. 
Two of our classmates came home last February so we had another get-together at Shakey’s Espana then paid a visit to UST for some photo-op. It was fun reminiscing the good old days. It brings back memories.
Every time I visit this place, I could not leave it without taking a shot or two of the UST Main Bldg. This was where some of the programs were held the previous month, hence the stage in front of it.
At Shakey’s Espana, having fun with lots of pizza, pasta and fried chicken. I had this crazy idea of taking shots of our arms wearing the bracelets which one of our classmates made for us and it came out good.
April was a busy month. For several years now, we’ve visited several churches at our annual Visita Iglesia, this time though we confined ourselves to seven churches in San Juan city and Quezon City. We also met Fr. Louie Coronel, OP , my co-admin at Apostles Filipino Catholic Community and he toured us at Bahay Dominiko at Sto. Domingo Convent in Quezon City. Earlier on, we also discovered a bird’s nest in our garden, for a while there we thought we could watch the hatchlings grow into little yellow-vented Bulbul but they died after a few days. I also met an online friend from Cebu. It was another lovely meeting with her grand kids in tow.
Hubby, Nissa and I visited Pan de Amerikana last July since Nissa was eyeing it for their pre-nuptial shoot. It was a trip down memory lane with all those old-old frames and paraphernalia that adorns the place. Nissa was so happy to receive their Papal Blessing from Rome. And for the first time, Fr. Louie and I were able to plan our first AFCC gathering at Bahay Dominiko in Sto. Domingo Church. Meeting some of the members of our Catholic community was such a joy and a blessing. It was definitely a day worth-remembering. And we couldn’t get enough so we planned another one last August 27 at the same place. There were new members from as far as Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan who attended.
I can’t forget my birthday last October since Nissa’s gift, The Best Of Me, a book by Nicholas Sparks paved the way for me to meet Nicholas in person at the momentous book signing at The Podium. That was the first time I ever attended a book signing and just like the rest of the crowd, I shouted and laughed with them. Got a big smile on my face when I saw him face to face. The highlight of the year of course was my daughter’s wedding last November 13 at the Paco Park Chapel followed by a lovely reception at Ibarra’s Garden in Malate, Manila. We called it Purple Day. Except for the two solo pictures of Nissa that I included here, these are not the official photos of the wedding, they were just culled from friends’ tags at Facebook. They still have to choose the photos which will be included in their wedding album.
The year was capped by Lovell’s Diaconate Ordination last November 30 at Sto. Domingo Church. Looking back, it was definitely a year full of blessings – meeting friends, sharing with the family, having another son in the family, having my adopted son ordained as a deacon, what more can one ask?
Thank You Lord!
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So 
I started washing some of them using a baby liquid detergent. Love that feeling of nostalgia – remembering those days when my two kids were still babies. It really feels good to have another baby in the family, this time, a wonderful baby boy who would give us joy and happiness. If Obet and Nissa are excited, I am more excited than they are. It’s Nissa’s 30th birthday in a week and with that little bundle of joy coming soon, what a beautiful birthday gift. It seems like only yesterday when I blogged about the joys of being a mom and my own power moments. And it seems only yesterday when it finally dawned on me that my daughter is getting married. How time flies and I remember blogging about their lovely November wedding last year. And now, she has her own family to speak of. Am I getting old? But they say that age is just a number, and when you add numbers to your age, you grow a little wiser. But still, I am excited. The baby that I used to cradle in my arms is now a mother in her own right.
Dreams And Escapes 
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