Day 76: A New Decade of Twogetherness

2012 marks a milestone in our marriage. This year, we are entering our 2nd decade of being together as husband and wife.  Back in 2001, 10 years seemed such a long time and looking back, that first decade went by so quickly. It marked so many firsts for us and we experienced many challenges and trials during that time. 

As our family grew, so did we, as a couple. There were a lot of issues that we had to settle as well as storms to weather. In every challenge, we took with us precious wisdom and learning.

In reaching our 11th year, the challenge that we are faced now is fortifying our relationship to ensure that we provide a good and loving example to our children as they grow up. Another facet of change would be working as a couple to inspire others to value their relationship and continue to work on being committed to each other.

For my dear hubby...may this simple gift express all of the love and gratitude I have for you for all of the love you've showered upon me and our children. No amount of words can suffice to thank you for all of the sacrifices you've made for me and our family. 

Happy 11th Anniversary Ga! I'm excited to spend the next decade and many more decades to come with you...

Day 75: A Decade of LOVE

TEN YEARS

...of love

...of passion

...of respect

...of understanding

...of continuous learning and re-learning

It sure seems only yesterday when I vowed to love, cherish and respect that one person I chose to spend the rest of my life with.  Then, ten years seemed light years away...

...and yet, here we are a decade later

...in love

...bumped and bruised

...bitten without being shy

...a hundredfold blessed

...modeled and shaped

...to continue living and loving

...to share God's love

...and inspire others to do the same

Time flew so fast and I enjoyed the wild ride immensely...

I can't wait to spend countless decades more with you...my only ONE...Jerome.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Our Ten Years of being TWOgether

Day 259: God's Perfect Gift

I was a young girl of 9 or 10 when I began scribbling the name Catherine Campos over and over on scratch pieces of paper.  I thought that the name was regal-sounding enough...exuding of class and money.  You see, growing up, I always had this notion or dream that by my mid-twenties I'd be married with 2.5 kids, living in my own dream house with a white picket fence, just a stone's throw away from my own folks.  I had images of Sunday brunches with the family...my kids being doted upon by Lolo and Lola every weekend.  This was what I thought life should be. Apparently, my ways are not God's ways...my thoughts are not His thoughts...I'd been planning my life dependent on what I thought was right...and God thought this shouldn't be.


Finding my life partner was a far cry from the "Mills & Boon"-ish love story I had always imagined it would be for me.  Whereas most of the women I knew got wooed with flowers and chocolates, went steady and dating with their boyfriends and eventually marrying them in a grand fashion... I had none of those. 


I found my other half in the most unlikely fashion that actually caused an uproar in both my personal and professional life.  He was NOT what I dreamed of.  I vowed never to date anyone a day younger than me - my requirement was he should be at least 3 years older.  Well, God thought it would be funny to make him nearly 5 years younger.  Mr. Right was supposed to be a smooth-talking, suave and confident young man...well, God gave me someone who had very little to say and yet when he does, he says the most amazing and smart things.  


As a teenager, I spent many nights in dreamland, forming scenes of extravagant candle-lit dinners, beautiful flowers and amazing gifts...after all, I was supposed to match up with a rich guy, right?  Well, God thought I should say goodbye to being a material girl and paired me with someone who was the breadwinner of his family - a hardworking young man tasked to send his brothers to school on the salary of an ordinary office worker.  


I always thought I'd be raising my family close to my parents and Sunday family lunches were to be the order of the week.  Well, God thought I'd be better off living independently from my folks, a good one-hour plane ride away and this is where he set me up to meet my match.


I planned my life in a straight line but the Lord made sure I experienced all the bumps and detours He made for me.  


I wanted a life filled with material wealth, comfort and security but God thought I needed to let go and instead experience what was important.


I wanted a dream house with a white picket fence but God thought I'd appreciate life more living in a rented space with the bathroom mapped like an outhouse.


I wanted 2.5 kids living close to their grandparents but God thought touching reunions would teach me and my 3 kids to value and appreciate parents and grandparents more.


I wanted a rich man to provide my every whim and wish but God thought what I needed was a smart, responsible and loving man who will instead teach me the value of hard work, money and true happiness. 


I wanted Mr. Right but God gave me someone who is far from perfect and yet in many ways is God's perfect gift to me...


To my dearest hubby...I thank God for His wisdom and for making it possible for me to meet you in this lifetime. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 

Day 235: Hero

Growing up, I always looked up to my Dad as my own personal hero. To me, he was invincible, there was nothing he couldn't do. I was always confident that he'll be around to save me from danger and pain. So it wasn't a surprise that from the time I was a teenager, I knew that the man I would eventually marry should be someone just like Daddy. 

Well, that journey of looking for Mr. Right was such a long and arduous one...no one seemed to get past even first base of the requirements. It wasn't until I was well into my very late 20's that I met and eventually married my true hero. Although he wasn't exactly like Daddy, I'd like to believe that I chose someone who was a very close replica of Dad and at the same time, a very well-upgraded version of him. 

Daddy will always be the hero of my childhood and teenage days but hubby is and forever will be my life hero. 

Who's the hero in your life?

Day 232: We Are Family

It wasn't too long ago when it was just hubby and I starting out our life together...that was in early 2001. A year and a half later, we were blessed with our firstborn, JARRED ANDREI. And for quite a number of years, it was the three of us, living a simple life in down south Philippines. In late 2006, we welcomed a new addition to our family...our princess, CAITLIN ALYSSA. Five months after she was born, our family packed our bags and moved to Northern Mindanao, in the city of Butuan, which we now call home. Our family received a surprise blessing in early 2009 with the birth of the "bunso" of the family, CATHLEEN JANELLE. 

Life at home is rarely quiet and serene, most of the time it's filled with shrieks and laughter. The zen design hubby and I have always aspired to have in our home has taken a temporary backseat to the pieces of toys, books and thingamajigs that the kids manage to strew all over the place. There's wailing, crying and quarreling but there's also a whole lot of loving, caring, understanding and praying. 

Whenever I look at my family of five, I never cease to wonder how everything turned out to be this way...it seemed only yesterday when it was just hubby and myself. My life now revolves around what I call a HAPPY CHAOS...filled with laughter and tears, ups and downs, fighting and making up, misunderstanding and understanding, trials and blessings.

I thank God for placing me amidst this wonderful and crazy bunch I call family...it's His most wonderful gift to me. 

Day 75: Twogether@9

It's been exactly nine years ago today when hubby and I said our "I do's" to each other back in 2001.  On March 16, 2001 we capped our nearly three-year-old friendship by tying the knot in a civil ceremony at the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City.  Twelve years of friendship, nine years of wedded bliss and three children later, we are going strong in our relationship and family life.  It has been a great roller coaster ride - one I'd definitely ride over and over again.  Looking back, I can see how our marriage has blossomed and matured to what it is now - We've transformed ourselves to the best persons we could ever be to each other; we've tried our very best to become the parents our children need and deserve; and we're constantly evolving and growing spiritually as a couple.  I can't wait to spend decades upon decades of love and quarrel, joy and sorrow, and peace and chaos with that one person whom God has chosen for me - my best bud, my confidante, my financial guru, my lifestyle coach, my parenting partner, my dance instructor, the love of my life - my palangGA, Jerome...Happy 9th Anniversary!!!

Day 37: 38 Years

On February 6, 1972, Rey and Linda said their "I do's" to one another...3 kids and 38 years later...they're still antagonists of each other.  Seriously, theirs is not a mushy love story but a reality of life that majority of people live.  They were thrown lemons, so they made lemonade.  Being their firstborn, I was witness to their early romantic years.  Daddy was such a romantic Romeo (which was one of the reasons why he became my hero while growing up)...he'd always cook up something sweet and cheesy for Mom.  Mom, on the other hand, was the realist...and there were times I did resent her for not valuing Daddy's efforts during her birthdays, their anniversaries and other special occasions.

It is only when I got older and experienced both married life and parenthood did I realize that living their lives weren't easy, especially for Mommy.  They made the best out of what they had and made sure they survived whatever storm came to their relationship and the family.

It'll be 3 years straight now that they've been apart.  Since 2007, Mommy has been living in Langley, B.C. with my younger sister and her family.  She's there to lend a hand in caring for my nephew, Tristan while my sis and b-i-l focus on their careers.  Daddy, on the other hand, is left in the family home in Q.C. with my brother.  

From time to time, I get trapped in between their bickerings and troubles with each other but whenever I step back and try to see what's really behind all the noise and chaos, I feel the longing and the sadness.  Deep in my heart, I know Daddy misses Mom and is longing for her presence.  Mommy, despite all the hardships, I know is sad to be apart from Dad.  They remain two halves of a whole, one won't be complete without the other.

With God's grace, they've started to work on the documentation for their migration to Canada.  Hopefully, by being sponsored by my sister and her family, Mommy and Daddy can finally be back in each other's arms and the whole cycle of loving and arguing can continue...

Happy 38th Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!  Thank you for showing us how both love and reality can strengthen the bond of two married people...thank you for being an inspiration to us whose journey in married life is yet but starting.

Here's to many more years of twogetherness...cheers!

Day 22: Love, seasoned by time...

I was searching through my hard drive for photos and I chanced upon these two here...
The larger photo was taken last March 2009 during my birthday our anniversary (the two occasions are 2 days apart, hence the slight confusion) and the smaller one was maybe circa 2003 or 2004.

Although you could see very similar faces (alright, give or take 5 lbs...), the more recent one shows so much more character. Maybe we were more innocent when we were younger? Or we didn't know as much?  And of course, the experiences were much different.

Ours is a love that has withstood the harshest of weather and continues to grow and evolve at present...much like the dishes I concoct in my kitchen, we've been seasoned so ever gently by time.