The first line of my Facebook status yesterday reads:

Happiness is…birthdays, thoughtful friends and family, bountiful blessings, answered prayers and a God who is good…all the time.

I’m a year older, yes.  Hopefully, wiser, too.   And I am ever so thankful.  My heart is always overflowing with gratitude, more so yesterday.  God gives and God takes but He always gives more and He can never be outdone in His generosity.

Thank you, God, for another birthday, one that is most happy and meaningful.  Thank you most specially for granting my one birthday wish. Thank you for the many blessings you tirelessly shower us with.  Thank you for everything that I am and for everyone and everything that I love and have.

God granted a special request for my birthday.  In closing, I will push my luck and make another wish, the very same wish I made on my last birthday, and that is “that God may make everything right for all of us…you, me and the people we love”.

Cheers y’all and mabuhay!

Ilang linggo na rin akong hindi nakakasali sa kasiyahan sa Litratong Pinoy (LP). May tatlo o apat na tema yata ang nakalampas na hindi ako nakasali.  Nag-aabala-abalahan kasi ako.  Hee hee!  Kaya ngayong linggong ito’y muli na naman akong makikigulo.

Para sa temang “Basa” (”wet” sa Ingles at hindi “read” ), narito ang ilang piling litrato ng aking paboritong modelo.  Kuha ang mga ito noong Araw ng mga Ama nang mapagpasyahan namin at ng aming mga kaibigang magkaroon ng munting salu-salo sa park kung saan ay may lugar upang ang mga bata ay makapag “wisik-wisik” sa mga palaruang shower jets.

Masayang naglaro si Abby at ang kaniyang mga kapuwa bulilit na mga kaibigan sa mga shower jets sa park.

May mga lobo silang pinupuno ng tubig at ibinabato.  Ngunit kadalasan ay nagtatakbuhan lamang sila’t naghahabulan o di kaya’y nakatayo lamang sa isang lugar at naghihintay ng pagbuga ng tubig mula sa mga shower jets.

May dalawang oras na naglaro sila Abby dito sa bahaging ito ng park.  At dahil mga bata, ang dalawang oras ay bitin pa rin!

Pagkatapos magbasa, maganang kumain ang mga bata.  Nagutom siyempre!

Marahil bago muling magsimula ang pasukan ay magkakaroon pa kami ng ilang pagbisita sa park na ito.

Isa pang lahok para sa LP:  Basa sa Founders Plaza

Mabuhay!

Let me light up this space and brighten it up a bit…

Eto pa…

Eto pa ulit…

These pics were taken during the annual fireworks display of our community held last July 3rd.  Here are more grainy photos for you.  Pasensya na.

There, that ought to get rid of my cyberhome’s cobwebs.  Hee hee!

I hope July’s been treating you well so far!  Cheers, y’all!

This next photo was taken on Abby’s  first day of Pre-Kindergarten, taken in August last year…

Just last May, Abby had her formal spring portrait taken in school…

It’s an awkward smile, yes.  Hee hee.

Last Saturday, June 20th, Abby graduated from Pre-K.  Here is her formal graduation portrait…

I love the cap.  I love the toga.  I love Abby in all her pre-school grad glory!  Hee hee.  The graduation ceremony lasted for all of 30 minutes.  It was far from pre-school graduation ceremonies that we have back home in that there was no program, no awards, no song numbers.  It was very informal yet heartwarming.  The kids were simply called one by one and handed their “diploma”.  Informal as it was, I had to hold back tears.  Kahiya naman ano?!  Hee hee.

After the graduation, there was a carnival in Abby’s school for all the students and their families to enjoy.  We all had a blast and I volunteered to do face painting yet again.

Haaay!  Nakapagpatapos na kami ng anak…sa pre-school. 

Here are more photos of Abby from her pre-school graduation…

It’s true, too, you know!   While I’m making and packing Abby’s lunch, hubby prepares Abby’s breakfast.

And here’s the Father’s Day card that Abby made for her dad.  I should have scanned it against a colored back ground though.  Sorry about that!

The card cover

The top half of the card when it is opened.

The bottom half of the card

Happy Father’s Day to my dearest Munchkin!  Abby and I love you very much!

And to all you awesome dads out there, Happy Father’s Day!

...multiplied by a couple hundreds] plus [strong winds and rain] } multiplied by 10 minutes equals….

Last Thursday, Mother Nature had a surprise for North Austin: hail which varied from pingpong to tennis ball sizes (in the worst hit areas) that lasted for more or less 10 minutes and huge funnel clouds, which, thankfully, didn’t touch the surface of the earth to become a tornado.

Here’s a photo of our neighbor’s outdoor sofa.  It’s blurry because I took the photo with the blinds drawn.  Hee hee.  Stalkerish, I know!

Here’s a big piece of glass from Hubby’s 2nd floor office window.

So where’s the lid that’s supposed to cover this hole?

Here it is, several feet away!

I always say that I fell in love with Texas, Austin in particular, at first sight.  I doubted that love during the 10 minutes when we were invaded by balls of ice.

We thank God for keeping us safe in such terrible weather condition…again.  Prayer works wonders!

Have a wonderful week ahead, y’all!  It’s going to be really great!

Over the weekend (thanks to an ice skating birthday party hosted by our friends), my Li’l Munchkin gained the confidence to explore the ice on her own after only some very basic instructions from an ice skating instructor.  I was beaming with pride as I watched and took photos and videos of Abby balancing on her skates without having to hold on to anyone.  My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath every time she fell.  But after every fall, she got up again and tried to skate.  Abby’s not exactly gliding and sliding on ice yet, but before the summer is over, I’m guessing she’ll already be an expert skater.

Here are the photos…

Abby listens intently to Ms. Kate for some basic instructions.

Holds on to dear life, that is, Ms. Kate’s Jacket.

Oops!

Getting some help from Ms. Kate…

…and Abby agrees to let go.  Way to go!

At 4 years old, Abby was the youngest of the birthday party guests to go on the ice. I just thought I’d mention that.  Can’t help it, sorry!

Abby wants to go back on the ice soon.  And she will.

I’m sharing the videos, too, of course!  But first, a message to my Mom…Mimi, it might be better if you don’t watch the videos.    But if you insist, please, don’t scold Abby’s well meaning parents.  Hee hee.

And to all of you, don’t think we’re horrible parents, ok?  Because really, we’re not…most of the time. 

I’m calling this next video, “Daddy to the Rescue”.

The girl at the end of the clip is Nikki, if not for whose arrival at the party, Abby wouldn’t agree to go on the ice.  Thank you, Nikki!  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Hubby isn’t much of an ice skater.  But he looked very convincing, didn’t he?  As for me, I too shall conquer the fear of ice skating and falling on my big behind.  I’m giving myself until the end of the year. It shouldn’t be any different from cooking. Har har!   Seriously, I’d love for the three of us to skate together someday soon.

Have a great week y’all!  Cheers to bravery and courage!

Alam mo ba na ang “largest zoological experience” dito sa Texas ay mararanasan sa Dallas Zoo?  Aktibo sa research at conservation ang Dallas Zoo.  Sa katunayan, ito ang kanilang misyon: “Long term conservation and management of species in captivity, as well as in the wild”. Ayon sa website ng Dallas Zoo, Ginagampanan nila ang misyong ito “through our strong commitment to a sustained and comprehensive conservation and research program that supports both basic and applied research in the field and in captivity.”

At alam mo ba, na dito rin sa Dallas Zoo  matatagpuan ang Jack L. Hamon Gorilla Conservation Research Center?

Alam mo ba ang itsura ng matampuhing gorilya?  Ganito…

Hee hee.  Ayan, di na siya nagtatampo, mahiyain lang pala.

Later today, the Little Munchkin will have her first tennis lesson.  She has a cute Dora the Explorer racket by Wilson.  She’s been hitting a few balls with her dad and her Tito A, our dear friend and one of hubby’s tennis buddies.  Let’s see how she likes it. *cross fingers*

oOo

If you hate the Twilight series and the movie, this is your cue to, err, exit.  See yah!

There’s rarely anything good on tv on weekends.  I don’t know why.  So yesterday evening, I found myself in front of the computer as always while half-watching the MTV Movie Awards.  I was going to watch Iron Chef America but flipping through the channels landed me on MTV.  What got me interested was Twilight.    Well, since the movie, which was mostly a disappointment, save for the hunky Rob Pattinson and a few others, my insanity over the saga has calmed down.  That insanity was stirred a bit last night.

I think last night was the first time I ever watched the MTV Movie Awards.  I found the awards they gave away quite amusing…Best Kiss, Best Fight, etc.  What’s even more amusing is that Twilight swept most of the awards, including Best Movie!  Hee hee.  Only at the MTV Movie Awards can Kristen Stewart win over the likes of Kate Winslet and Angelina Jolie.  I don’t know.  I really do think she’s a little stiff.  Well, what do I know about acting?!

Twilight fans had a real treat last night.  The first ever trailer for the 2nd book/movie in the Twilight saga made it’s debut.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure, just in case you haven’t seen it yet or none of your Facebook friends cared to post the video…

Taylor Lautner (Jacob) did bulk up to keep the role, didn’t he?  And Rob Pattinson…*whistles*…is a hunk…*insert teeny bopper shriek here*.  Hee hee.  I have high hopes for the 2nd movie.  But Kristen…*sigh*.  Did you see how she asked for her 18th birthday present? Tsk tsk.

The movie hits the theaters on November 20th.  I have to say, I’m suddenly excited.  I might just give the book another read.  My little girl will already be in kindergarten then.  That should give hubby and me some time to squeeze in a movie date, a very early one! Haha!

I wish you all a great week ahead.  It’s the first of June!  June, I feel and know, will be a wonderful wonderful month!  Cheers!

I’m very much aware that I haven’t been updating this site as diligently as I used to.  It’s not that I’ve ran out of stories to tell, because really, I have plenty that I want to share.  It’s just that I probably have become just all too comfortable here, my home in cyberspace.  If this is my cyber home, then Cafe Munchkin is my cyber work place.  In recent months, Cafe Munchkin has been bringing me so much excitement, thus keeping me really busy. And just like real life, by the time I come home (meaning here!) from work, I’m a little tired already.  I’m truly sorry about that.

While this space has suffered a wee bit of neglect the past couple of months, giving it up is farthest from my mind.  The comfort I feel here is different from what I feel when I’m at my two other blogs.  It just is.

I’m glad I have this outlet where I can articulate my thoughts and feelings.  And since our move two years ago, this little exercise in writing helps keep my mind sharp.  Because really, there isn’t so much thinking involved when one does the laundry or vacuums the floor. Having this place to maintain keeps me from getting bored.  Not once have I uttered the words “I’m bored”.

I’ve made some very wonderful friends through this blog…friendships that are more than a mere exchange of links.  Ehem!  Hahaha!  It is these friends who make me feel that I’m actually talking to someone whenever I share my thoughts here, password protected or not.

In celebration of this blogging milestone, I hope to break the lazy spell I’ve been under.  It’s been too long already!  And I have a blog anniversary blow out, of course!  Only, in lieu of a contest, I’m choosing to donate a humble sum to a worthy cause, “No More Slums”. Feel free to join me.  The more the merrier!

Thank you for keeping me company the last 4 years!  Cheers and God bless! *mwah*