Happy Birthday To Me! {2015}

I celebrated another birthday last week... Seems like the older I get, the more simple and uneventful I want my birthday to be. What I really look forward to is reading the birthday cards that my kids make for me. They know I prefer handmade cards over store-bought ones... because I make sure to remind them a few days before my birthday. Hahaha!

My li'l man keeps his card simple, and his message meaningful.

He writes, "Thank you for always doing your best just so you can please and make us happy even if you get tired. Thank you also for always giving us your best and loving us... I hope you will live long enough so we can have more fun memories together!"

Take note, may bonus ako! P1,000.00! Hahaha! Parang advance 13th month pay lang? 

He adds in two of his Lego minifigures... He says I am the abominable snowman... especially when it's study time. Hahaha!

Meanwhile, the most heartfelt and "honest" message comes from my feisty and head-strong middle child, B... but she is also the one who is the most appreciative and gives the sweetest hugs. I love you, B, so very much! 

My li'l girl teaches me even as I try to be the best mom I can be... for instance, I am made aware in her letter here that how I could use some more gentleness in the delivery of my message. She is not really disrespectful, as we do not tolerate disrespect in all forms in our house.  What for her is disrespect is when she openly speaks her mind while her other siblings are more compliant.

(As a mental note to myself, the next time I get frustrated, this article is a good reminder on why I should keep it all together. )

My oldest girl gets me; you can see that right away when she greets me "Happy 28th!" Teehee!:) She's been with me the longest, and so she knows my "issues."

She's fast growing to be a young woman; soon she will be my confidant + best friend.

She writes, "Thank you so much for literally fulfilling my mom goals. 

You always inspire me to live life to the fullest. I'm so glad God put me into this world 

with a mother like you who faithfully guides and protects me. 

I hope that we'd have more opportunities to really create a closer relationship with one another. 

~*~

Birthdays are always a good time to count our blessings. 

I feel very blessed, for the presence of old friends. We may not see each other as often as we want, but I really consider Donna as one of my oldest and dearest friends. We occasionally meet up for lunch or a quick shopping trip like what we did here. But because we are both busy with our own families, Viber messages are what keeps us updated with each other.

On the week of my birthday, she sent me a lot of our old photos together, and I am sharing some of them with you here.

This is a screen-cap of the FB greeting that I got from Donna during my birthday. 

It made me so happy + nostalgic to see our old photos from more than 2 decades ago. 

When I first started dating C, she was one of the first to know about it even if she was living in New York (or was it London or Shanghai or Toronto? Can't really remember.) And the first on our agenda as soon as she came back to Manila was a meet up with him, of course!

~*~

Every year during my birthday, for about close to 10 years now, one of the things I look forward to is getting an overseas call from my good friend, Ching, who is now based in the US. I met her when I worked as a banker in Makati a thousand of years ago. We were both assigned to the Corporate Banking department, and she was the one who showed me the ropes, so to speak.

Taken during one of her visits to Manila.
Ching is about a decade older than me so it was an unlikely friendship in the beginning. 

But we've somehow managed to remain good friends through the years, and our husbands have also grown to be friends.

As always, I leave you all with my favorite Bible verse.  I hope it inspires you to always look at the bright side of life.

FOLLOW ME!