For all Mothers

For all Mothers
(including soon to be Mothers)

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mum!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
Please share this with a Mum that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Mums. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart.

(Author Unknown)

Happy Hearts Day!

Happy Hearts Day to the two little men in my life who make my heart go pitter-patter.  And to the not-so-little man who still makes my heart melt to this day.  Love you all! 

Happy 4th Birthday, Joshua!

My dearest Joshua,

Happy birthday to you!  It's been four years since I first held the miracle that is YOU in my arms.  I am so grateful that God has given me the opportunity to have you in my life and that I am able to nurture you and watch you grow.  You have taught me what it means to be patient, to be understanding and to be selfless.  I now know what unconditional love means.  I am so proud to call you "my son" and I thank you for loving us and being so protective of us.  Don't grow up too fast.  Daddy and Mommy love you so much.

so serious....

Happiness with...Angkong!

This was taken during our recent Holy Week vacation with my husband's family.  Love it!

I Got a Boy - From Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms

I Got a Boy

By Stacey Tucker

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it.
~Not Your Average Dictionary

When I got pregnant it was exciting, but scary. I was thirty-three at the time. For most of my twenties, I didn't think I wanted children. But as I aged, I realized I did want a child. So, after three years of marriage, we were ready to try. Throughout the early weeks of pregnancy, I focused on my physical changes. I managed the nausea and weight gain and mood swings pretty well. There was also one thing I knew for sure: I wanted a girl.

Being a girl was all I knew. I am an only child and was always a girly girl. Before I got pregnant and through my early weeks of pregnancy, I did as much positive thinking and law of attraction work that one person can do. I was preparing for my girl. My mother had died in 2004, and I was ready to name my daughter Alexandra after my mother. We had it all set.


Twenty weeks of pregnancy finally arrived. Ultrasound wand on the belly, the technician gave me the news: "It's a boy!" I was in shock. As soon as I started to breathe again, I burst into tears. A boy. I couldn't believe it. The possibility of having a boy honestly never entered my mind. I cried all the way home from the doctor's office and all that night. What was I going to do with a boy? I hate sports and dirt.


Fast forward to Jackson's birth. When the nurse handed that little bundle to me, I thought I had never seen such perfection. All I wanted to do was take care of this little boy and love him with my whole being. I felt so ashamed of myself for thinking even for a second that I wanted a girl instead of this amazing creature looking at me with his giant blue eyes. I cried tears of happiness and tears of sadness simultaneously. My son was truly a lesson from God. He knew a boy would be good for me. Girls I knew, but boys?


Oh, what a world I have discovered and grown to appreciate. Every day with my son is a lesson for me on stepping outside my comfort zone. Instead of sitting in a chair at the beach, I am chasing a boy who is chasing seagulls. Instead of getting my nails painted, I am getting my face painted to support our favorite sports team. Instead of playing with dolls, I am playing with trucks. I have made peace with dirt, dead things, living things, mystery liquids and chocolate milk on the sofa. I have learned that getting jumped on, stepped on, kicked by flailing limbs and head butts are all forms of "wrestling." I have had to get in shape to keep up with my toddler and change my wardrobe to accommodate impromptu batting practice and tackle football in the yard. I have learned not to wear flip-flops in the woods.


My son has taught me how to remain in the present moment, no daydreaming on the job. My son has taught me how to laugh at myself and at everyday experiences. Rolling down a hill can actually be fun, and water guns on a hot day can be refreshing. My son has taught me how to be more open -- open to love someone else and open to love myself. He is my perpetual lesson in absolute faith in our own perfection. I am supposed to be the teacher in this relationship, but I seem to be learning something new every day. One thing I know for sure: I am so thankful I got a boy.

Happy Birthday, my dear Kenji

My dear Kenji,

Today marks a very special day for you because you turn a year old. Has it really been a year? It seems like your dad and I just brought you home from the hospital. And your ahiya was at home eagerly waiting for all of us so that he can finally meet you. After talking to you and caressing you through my tummy, we could finally touch you and hold you in our arms.

So many milestones during your first year...your first tooth, the first time you laughed out loud, the first time you smiled at me, the first time you sat up on your own, your first step, the first time you tried calling us. All these firsts...and you still continue to amaze us everyday.

Yesterday, we celebrated your birthday by having you baptized in church. We had your godparents welcome you into God's family and we had a small party. All our close family and friends were there to celebrate it with you. You got a lot of gifts...toys, clothes, etc. Daddy also ordered up a feast and we had cupcakes and cakes for everybody!

Kenji, as little as you are now, I see in you a strong determination and independent streak. Your innocent antics continue to surprise me and make me laugh out loud. My wish is that you use this to your advantage. I know that you are not mine to keep. And everyday, as you grow bigger and stronger, the more that I have to let you go. But know that your dad and I will do our best to guide you and teach you. So that you grow up to be a good man. Know that we always have the best intentions for you and we always want what's best for you.

Thank you for coming into my life. You have taught me the virtues of patience and kindness. You have taught me that everyone is different, but that no matter how different we are, we all just want to be loved and accepted. And thank you for teaching me what unconditional love and boundless joy are. You and your brother are truly the light of my life.

Happy birthday my little one. What a wonderful world this is, because I have you in my life.

-----
Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.
-----

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.

And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.

You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they’re wrong.

The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.

I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.
You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

Superman and His Captive

Here are photos that I took of the boys tonight.  I had to fit Joshua's Superman costume on him since they're having a Halloween party at school next week.  He didn't want to wear the costume until I told him that I was taking his photo! 

Superman to save the day!

And here is Superman's Captive, the evil Kenji, muahahaha!

This is what you get for stealing my toy BUS!

Pregnancy Journal - Part I (JOSHUA)

The next 2 entries are long overdue, but I'd still like to work on it so that I can share it with my sons when they grow up. I now have a 2.5 year-old toddler and an 11-month old baby at home. When people say "They grow up so fast", I didn't think they really meant it! But here I am with two wonderful sons, who I love to pieces, so here it goes:

My Pre-Mom Life: Before we decided to start trying for a baby, Rod and I lived at Guevarra with my mom and grandparents. We had to live there for the first 8 months because our current house at Liege was still under renovation. So transition to married life was quite easy for me. It was really Rod who had to adjust living with my family. We decided to wait after moving to our new house before trying for a baby. We officially moved into our new house on August 4, 2007.

The First Inkling: I really had no idea that I was pregnant, until I thought about visiting an OB-Gyne for some other concerns. Then I remembered that I haven't had my period for quite a while. I have a very long and irregular cycle so it took a while for it to hit me. I also noticed that I found some food, which I normally eat, would make me feel queasy. So I asked Rod to buy me a pregnancy kit, and true enough, after using up 2 kits, it was confirmed. 

Picking a Name: For some reason, the moment I knew that I was pregnant, I was really sure that we would be having a baby boy. We first wanted to name him "James", but decided on "Joshua", after I saw Josh Duhamel on the Ellen Degeneres Show. God he's HOT! The middle name of "Han" is after both Rod's father and my Dad.

The First Trimester: By the time I visited my OB's clinic and had my first TV ultrasound, I was already 8 weeks pregnant and given an April 24, 2008 due date. The first three months went by in a breeze. Aside from a few bouts of morning sickness, everything was textbook and normal with my pregnancy during this period. I just slept a lot because I felt so tired everyday and I had to stay away from the kitchen. Strong scents and tastes made me queasy so I ate very bland food like hard boiled egg with rice, and I had the maid rewash all my clothes without fabric softener.

The Second Trimester: When I entered my 2nd Trimester, I had to be put on bed rest for a month because I had some spotting. Had to go in and out of the delivery room to get non-stress tests and also had to take quite a few medication to stop the spotting. My OB said that I had a polyp in my cervix that was causing the bleeding. This was probably the scariest and most depressing time of my pregnancy. I was really emotional and crying a lot from the loneliness of being stuck in bed the whole day, not being able to walk or take the stairs at all, and having to worry about whether my baby would come out okay. It was also quite sad because it was around Christmas time so everyone was out going to parties, but I was lucky that Rod really stayed in bed with me to take care of me.

The Third Trimester: I was lucky to be allowed to fly to Cebu for a short vacation with my family, to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. We spent a weekend at Shangrila Mactan and it was great because it was one of the few times that we were complete as a family. My dad, mom, Rod, me, Aaron, Donald, Puisze and Kaka went. At that time Puisze and I were both pregnant at 5 and 6 months, respectively.

My Changing Body:  I'm thankful that I didn't really get too big while I was pregnant.  I gained the recommended amount of weight, like about 25-30 lbs. the whole 9 months and I'm proud that I ate healthily, making sure that I drank 8 glasses of water and ate my fruits and veggies.  But I also had a sweet tooth, especially during my final months when it was the middle of summer and all I could think of was Razon's Halo Halo, YUM!  I didn't really get a lot of stretch marks on my tummy as well, but I felt ugly.  My nose was really big, and I feel like my neck, face and armpits were darker.  One thing I have to be thankful for when I was pregnant was that I seem to have really good hair and nails.  They grow so fast and shiny.  Other than that, I was a miserable woman.  I really didn't see the "glow" that they always refer to in magazines when describing pregnant women.  Poor me.  I don't think I even have that many photos while I was pregnant.  But here's a couple.

My Labour Experience:  On April 12, 2008, I woke up to go to the bathroom and felt like something was leaking.  Since this is my first time, they said that labour would come slowly, so I took my sweet time.  Took a shower and had my breakfast, before going to the delivery room.  True enough, my water has already broken and I was admitted at 9:00am.  I just stayed inside the labour room to wait for my contractions to come naturally.  By 4:00pm, I was asking for epidural and was ready to push.  After 2 hours of pushing, and with the help of forceps, my beautiful Joshua came into the world at 6 lbs, 13oz , 52 cm long.  What a relief!  I was really scared that I would need a C-section.  My Rod was also a trooper, who stayed with me during the whole delivery, and he was there to hold my hand and encourage me to push harder.  At least he didn't faint at the site of so much blood and mess. 

Will work on my entry for Kenji next.  Later!

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

This is a very good article. Those who are still single may learn something from here... 
Those who are already married or in a commitment may take it as a guideline to improve your marriage & relationship ... 

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON? 

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, "How do I know if I married the right person?" 

I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It depends. Is that your husband?" 

In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" 

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer. 
EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse/partner. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit) . 

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. 
You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love... Because it's happening TO YOU. 

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Think about the imagery of that expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU. 

Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. 

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage. 

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the right person?" 
And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. 
This is when marriages or relationship breakdown. People blame their spouse/partner for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage/relationship for fulfillment. 

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. 
But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, excessive TV, or abusive substances. 

But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. 
I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. 
You could. 

And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this): 

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE/RELATIONSHIP IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND. 

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in and day out. That's why we have the expression "the labor of love." Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage/relationship work. Sure true love can only happen after you've fallen out of love. When you begin choosing to love, even if you don't feel like doing it ---- that's true love. And that's the foundation of a lasting and strong marriage. 


Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage. 

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships.

Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. 

It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable. .. you can "make"love. 

Love is indeed a "decision".. . Not just a feeling. You'll not just go away with your relationship just because the feeling is gone. In the Bible, love is a command. You make it happen.

Remember this always: 

"God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go." 
- Ruth Beltran

"Marriage is more than saying I Do. Marriage, like a precious plant, needs constant tending for it to grow, flourish, and bear fruit to last a lifetime, and beyond."
-David and Evelyn Feliciano