david – Page 3 – Chasing Dreams

Still So In Love With This Guy

August 21, 2013January 19, 2020 Rhiza2 Comments

Two years married and I have some things to report. First, married life is still as awesome as I thought it was a year ago. And second, I’ve never been happier, and you know I don’t use the word happy lightly.

I thought I should apologize for the next paragraphs, but nah, I’m not sorry. So I’ll warn you instead: Cheesemaxx ahead. :D

Photos from our anniversary date at La Creperie Boheme

Five years of on-and-off LDR and 2 years of marriage later, I’m still so in love with this guy.

Two years ago I married my best friend, my most avid and loyal suitor, the guy who wrote me love songs and spent too much dollars on overseas calls.

Last year I found him to be the kindest and sweetest person in the universe, a loving husband, a ministry partner and leader I’ve grown to look up to and respect, my personal nurse who held my hand through pregnancy, childbirth, and all the big and small milestones in between.

We’ve seen each other through ups and downs, and I have to say, even in his bad days I sometimes find him adorable still, knowing that his crankiness can easily be solved by one thing—food.

And then he became the cutest Daddy ever, a hands-on caregiver to our twin girls, their favorite playmate and Veggie Tales buddy. I didn’t know it was possible to love him more until I saw how he’s like as a father. It feels like getting to know a new side of him, and I realize that it really is possible to fall in love with the same person over and over again.

He’s the one person in the world I can tell my dreams and thoughts to without the fear of being judged. He’s my voice of reason, my prayer warrior.

He’s the person I dream with, laugh with, pray with. Nothing has felt more right than him.

On the day of our anniversary

..he came home with these:

And although I’ve told him many times to not buy me flowers anymore (the simplest bouquet costs almost as much as a pack of diapers or a box of formula), I realized that it still made my heart flutter the same way it did 3 years ago, when he was sending me flowers from half-way across the world.

The flowers have already dried, but this small card that came with it remains tucked in a place where I could always see:

Dear Riz, Thank you for loving me for the past two years, and the time before that, and the time after today. I love you then, I will love you always. Bud.

I didn’t write him a card. Unlike him, I couldn’t put it all eloquently in one sentence, how thankful I am that he chose me, love me.

After our anniversary dinner the night before, we spent the rest of our anniversary at home, no time and budget for an out-of-town getaway like last year, but mostly unable to celebrate too far from the girls. Still a beautiful day, nonetheless.

The fondness never ends

Last Sunday we went out to buy diapers. He left me in the supermarket to pay for the diapers while he crossed the street to buy us some take-out food. I waited for him to return, and as I watched him cross the street, under the rain, holding an umbrella with one hand and a brown paper bag with the other, I held my breath for a moment and my heart leaped in its cage.

This is the guy I married? Di nga, I’m married to this guy? Wait, I’m married? To him? I smiled, mighty proud of my good taste (ha!), but mostly relieved, and thankful to God that I ended up with this guy and not with anyone else. The fascination, and the occasional disbelief, never ends.

Happy anniversary, ex-boyfriend. You’re awesome. I love you.

2nd Wedding Anniversary, Part 2.

Our 2nd Anniversary Dinner at La Creperie Boheme

August 20, 2013June 27, 2019 Rhiza3 Comments

Last year we went to Tagaytay to celebrate our first anniversary. I was so bloated at 7 months at that time, and I remember smiling at the thought that a few years from now, we’ll be tagging along two little girls on anniversaries, dinners, and random dates.

We may have another year, or a few months, before that happens. In the meantime, we’re enjoying stolen date nights and making room in our schedule to spend time with each other, without the twins. And often it still feels like I’m a giddy high school girl every time we go out on dates or hold hands while walking.

Hee. More keso later, but for now, let’s talk about La Creperie.

Lovin’ the new La Creperie in New Manila

We had our second anniversary dinner the night before the 13th. We asked my Mom to watch over the twins while we sneak out to have a date, and off to the new La Creperie we go. My husband and I love it. As Martine puts it, their New Manila branch is their most romantic branch yet, and I agree. (Or am I just too in love with my date that everywhere we go feels romantic?)

Definitely a place to go back to.

La Creperie has always been known as the place to go if you want to have a feel of Paris in the Philippines. And while Paris is never really in my dream destinations list, I love the Parisian/bohemian ambiance that La Creperie exudes, it feels like stepping inside a totally different world.

And we enjoyed the food! We had Chicken Salad which I really enjoyed, and French Onion Soup and Baked Fish with Dijon Mustard that my husband really loved. For dessert we had Banana Foster crepe and a caramel flavored TWG red tea that I’m crazy about. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there now, if only for the crepe and the tea.

The salad is good for sharing, we split the soup as well, but you might want to order the main dishes separately if you want to stuff yourself. It was past 9:00 when we had this post-dinner date, and we already had a light dinner beforehand, so it makes sense to share orders. Also, my husband and I like sharing because it’s romantic that way he and I both know that I’m pretty much the one who’s going to devour the dessert anyway, while he finishes everything else. (I’m a dessert person.)

Check out the new La Creperie in New Manila. It’s along Broadway street just in front of McDonalds (E. Rodriguez). For more info, check out their Facebook Page HERE. Thanks, Martine, for introducing me to La Creperie. :)

2nd Anniversary Celebration, Part 1.

Hello, I Turned 30!

May 30, 2013January 19, 2020 Rhiza25 Comments

It’s been a week since I turned 30 years old, you want to know how it feels? I’m a mix of everything—happy, excited, grateful, in awe like I still can’t believe I’m now past my 20s, a little anxious about the future, driven to work harder and be better, blessed beyond words can say.

Turning 30, you find yourself pondering upon questions like, Am I living the life I’ve always wanted? Where have all the years gone? Have I invested in the right things? Am I happy? What’s next? True, you ask yourself these questions any given birthday anyway, but turning 30 kind of magnifies everything to a point where you end up feeling depressed (about what you didn’t have), or feeling like you’re on top of the clouds (for everything you have). Guess how I feel? :)

My birthday celebration has never been more quiet and more low profile than this. And it has never been more childlike and more adult at the same time too. Lately I’ve been having some form of identity crisis: Pressured to act like, think like, and actually be an adult, whilst spending a lot of time singing Barney songs, being surrounded with dolls and toys, and acting silly to entertain our 7-month old twins.

That’s the story of my 30th birthday celebration. The theme was slumber party, where I spent the majority of the day in my PJs, keeping my heart from bursting into tiny pieces while playing and rolling in bed with my cute little dolls:

Tell me you didn’t just rotate your computer screen sideways. :P

Mommy are you taking our pictures again?

#bestillmyheart

There’s more of these photographs where it came from, but.. you get the picture, right? That’s my 30th birthday party in a nutshell, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Later in the evening my family came to have dinner with us, and we hung out in our tiny living room, around our darling twins like it’s their birthday. (I don’t mind at all.)

The truth is, I don’t think I accomplished a lot in my first 30 years. I don’t have a lot of things—not a big house, or a car, or a fat savings account. I may have seen a few cities outside this country, but I haven’t really gone places. I could spend hours processing my life, thinking about the things I wasn’t able to do before I turned 30, places I still haven’t seen, dreams that have yet to come true.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what didn’t happen. What matters is how God turned all my plans around and gave me these instead:

And how can I not feel so blessed and happy and rich when I have them? A husband I’m still so smitten about, two little girls who drive us crazy and fill this home with so much joy, a roof above our heads, food on our table, a warm bed to sleep at night.

You realize, even more when you turn 30, that the measure of happiness and fulfillment is not based on the material and financial things you acquired in your life, sometimes not even in the number of friends you have, but in the handful of people you journey this life with.

Now that, is a milestone worth celebrating.

God be praised and glorified in this life, always.

Canyon Woods Batangas Baby Moon

August 28, 2012November 14, 2021 Rhiza3 Comments

From our anniversary weekend. Here’s more, just because we have tons of them. :)

The resort was huge, and we had it all to ourselves! Because the place was so huge (Have I said that yet? Oh yeah.), we had to take a shuttle to go around from our cabin to the clubhouse to wherever in the vicinity we want to go.

The clubhouse. We had meals at their empty lounge, with a beautiful view of pine trees and the sky. The food can be pricey in the lounge though, so we had one of our lunches in Tagaytay proper, more or less a 30 minute drive away.

The casitas. Although the rooms and the facilities are old and a little worn out, I think it adds to the rustic and country-feel ambiance that Canyon Woods is all about.

And I just looove the floor-to-ceiling glass doors/windows!

The indoor pool. The highlight of our stay has got to be the indoor pool, which we had all to ourselves! They turn on the heater only in the weekends though, so if you’re planning to come here for the indoor pool, definitely schedule your trip on a weekend.

Say hello to my huge belly, at 26 weeks. :)

I think swimming really did me well, especially for my muscle cramps and back pains.

The outdoor pool. It was pretty much ours during our stay, too. Although it wasn’t heated, the sunshine on our backs evened out the cold water, which made our outdoor swim a really nice experience as well.

Canyon Woods is always mistaken to be in Tagaytay, but it’s basically in Batangas already. We love it and we definitely recommend it! Like I said, we seemed to be like the only guests at the time, but they’re not under-staffed and we were taken care of really well.

A tip: Best if you go there with coupon deals, we got ours from Cashcashpinoy. ;)

I’d love to come back soon, but my tummy is getting bigger and bigger, and we’re getting closer and closer to our due date. I guess this is my last trip, at least for now.

Long, Exaggerated, Happy Sigh

June 13, 2012January 19, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

I posted this photo on Instagram and Facebook this morning, and I can’t resist posting this here too.

I was just about to leave for work this morning, it was drizzling, and I watched as my husband busied himself in that little corner we call our garden. Soon, he came back with a big smile on his face, a scissor on one hand, and this freshly-cut single-stemmed rose on the other. I didn’t know he was growing rose bushes out there until today!

What a sweetheart, this guy. I fall in love everyday!

I know I sound like a lovestruck wife in every blog post, but everyday I’m also reminded that surely something as beautiful as this married life has got to have some greater purpose than just making two people happy!

Gary Thomas said it best,

“What if God didn’t design marriage to be ‘easier’? What if God had an end in mind that went beyond our happiness, our comfort, and our desire to be infatuated and happy as if the world were a perfect place? What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”

I agree. I definitely agree.

When a movie gives you all the feels

May 29, 2012December 22, 2021 Rhiza5 Comments

So my husband and I were watching The Vow just now. I was prepared to watch a so-so movie because that’s what I heard one of my friends say about this one. What I didn’t expect was.. I’d end up crying like a hormonal pregnant woman (oh wait, yeah, I’m one!) and holding on to my husband tight, unable to stop the tears, by the time the movie credits rolled out.

Allow me to blame most of it to hormones, because my tear ducts are really taking over my composure these days. I guess it’s partly because Leo (Channing Tatum) reminded me so much of my husband, especially that part in the movie where he took in a stray cat for company; Or when he made some beautiful music on his guitar when his heart was broken by the woman he loved.

So maybe this post is not really about The Vow, but about my husband, and how blessed I am to have him.

Truth is, between the two of us, even before we were married, he is the real better half—for everything and whatever the term means. When we were younger, he was always the one fighting for us, solid and consistent in his love, while I was the impatient girl who made a habit of giving up when things were not working out.

He gave me all the time I needed to figure out what I really wanted, to try out options, while he waited for me to come to my senses and realize that I could never be with anyone better. All of this with the added challenge of being continents and timezones apart.

Sometimes I feel ashamed to admit that I broke his heart way too many times in our younger years, and how I took advantage of his young love—all those times I’d come back to him when I was feeling lost and unloved, confident that he would take me back in. But he sure did take me back without fail, and I’d give all credit to him for being the one who took the extra mile.

So on our wedding day, when I declared my vow, and I promised to never give up on him, those words meant more to me than just some cheesy phrase you hear on weddings. When I said that I will never give up on him, it means turning away from my old self—that young, unsure girl who gave up on him many times in the past.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just romantic movies that bring me moments like this. I feel blessed to have him everyday. When he picks me up from work, when he makes sure I take my vitamins, when he makes me a glass of Anmum before I sleep at night, when he holds my hand through a stomach cramp.

Or when I place my hands over my growing belly bump, and it dawns on me that God is actually making a family out of us.

I feel so loved and blessed, and maybe tomorrow I’d cringe at how cheesy this post turned out, but while I’m still overwhelmed with so much love (and hormones), I shall take this opportunity to address you, all of you singles out there:

You deserve someone who will fight for you and will never give up on you, no matter what life brings. And when you find that person, don’t ever give up on him too.

This post is for you too, husband dear, in case, a few weeks from now, I become too nauseated to get you a Father’s Day gift. :)