2015, I can honestly say, has been mostly a good year for me. I can’t say the best exactly, because 2015 saw my Mom suffer a stroke. But apart from that really big scare, 2015 has been very very kind.

• My blogging “career” has skyrocketed in 2015. Kap & I have been invited to more places than I can count & eaten more than our fill. We must have gained a total of 50 lbs! (1 kay Kap, at sa kasamaang palad, yung 49 sa akin napunta) And though I have decided to lie low & remove myself from a blogging group to focus more on my family & personal life (which I know you appreciate reading about more anyway), I am still thankful for all the many opportunities & wonderful people I met along the way because of the KTG.

—

—

• My fervent wish was finally granted, my dreams slowly coming true. <3 For more than 5 years, I prayed & prayed hard for one particular BIG thing, and this year, God finally decided to answer my prayer with a resounding “ang kulit mo, sige na nga matigil ka lang!” Praise Him forevermore! Everything happened in one big swoop and in a flash that even up to now, I am still trying to catch my breath. Sometimes, I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I’m not dreaming.

—

He says YES to the following questions: 1.) Can I still have a life of impact? 2.) Should I stay in this marriage? 3.) Is there a key to unlock the heart? 4.) Do You still love me? 5.) Can anything good come out of my bad situation? 6.) Are You talking to me? 7.) Do You forgive me? 8.) Is this my problem? Source: lifeaustin.com

—

• As Kap & I had children in succession, it was my goal to provide each of them with stability & security for when the time comes that Kap & I are no longer around. Buti nalang at 3 lang sila! Parenthood, I believe, doesn’t stop with feeding them & sending them to school. It goes beyond that. It goes as far as ensuring their future in as much as you can, in a much as you are able to. It has always been my desire to leave them with something tangible they can count on. And now, thank God, I can quiet my heart & lay my worries to rest. If they are very very careful, and if they play their cards right, then they are set for life. I can leave the earth knowing I did right by them as a parent.

—

In our home, we laugh out loud. Have dance parties. Make mistakes. We forgive quickly & love each other completely. We talk openly, sing off key, worry less about clean & more about F-U-N. Four walls don’t make a house into a home. My 4 people do. <3 Thank you Honey, Ate, Babyson, and Lovey for my HOME.

—

• I believe that with every good comes something bad in exchange. Hindi pwedeng blessings lang your whole life through. Life is fair, where it gives, it also takes. I was actually waiting in bated breath for something bad to happen after the pouring of blessings. It’s the law of life. What goes up must come down. But thank God that after the rain comes the rainbow, and now I am basking in its beautiful colors. After the storm comes the calm, and now I am bathing in its serenity. Pause na muna sa kaganapan, I need to recharge for the next wave. 😉 Naawa lang ako kay Mommy kasi sinalo na naman niya kami. We got the good while she took in the bad in order to save us & keep us from harm. Hanggang sa huli, inaako pa rin nya ang hirap para sa amin.

—

—

• New sanctuary. Our home of 18 years, which has always been a haven & a sanctum for me, is now a very stressful place to be. I’m so thankful for a new retreat just a stone’s throw away where I can hide in peace when the going gets tough. Since my mom’s homecoming from the hospital, our lives have been disrupted. But one I’m so very willing to take just to still have her in my life. So many people & strangers are coming in & out of our once peaceful, secure home -we are now a household of 15, imagine that! 3 nurses in shifts & rotations, new helpers on top of the existing ones, drivers, never-ending visitors. Even dear Lelly is stressed has been shaking violently at intervals -it has lessened now thank God! The normally unshockable Kap has accepted the fact that he has to do the grocery every other day now instead of once a week to feed our new slew of army, lol. But I know that as soon the dust settles, we will all go back to our normal routine. I just need  a happy place to go to for now when the nerves get jittery from too many people & too much noise. I am so thankful for my sanctuary.

—

—

Overall, I am thankful for 2015 for my family & our good health in general. And also because my Mom is still with me, with her heart beating solid & strong. And though there may be problems along the way, with things & broken relationships that need straightening out & fixing again, I know that the future looks promising. There is still more good than bad. <3

Kap & my kids have been such a source of strength for me. Exercising so much patience even when our lives have been uprooted & disrupted. I look forward to facing 2016 with them alongside. Knowing that come what may, I am not alone.

Thank you my dear readers for sharing our lives, for all the words of encouragement, for lifting me up when I am down, and for rejoicing with me in my happy times. Thank you for the love, and I hope that we will also get to see 2016 through together! :-*

—