Age is nothing but a number...

Happy 91st Birthday Lola Rosa!

Me: Please Grandma, tell me your secret. How do you look so young?
Grandma: A diet of chicken, fish, vegetables, and rice.
Me (to Kris): We are changing our diet tomorrow. I want to look like Grandma when I am 91.

Grandma Rosa and I at our wedding.

Grandma Rosa and I celebrating her 90th birthday

We were so blessed to have Grandma Rosa (my maternal Grandmother) living with us since I was just ten years old. I always remembered her as having a very active lifestyle. She was athletic and played volleyball into her 60s before moving to the States. She still gardens, sews, and walks everyday. She is healthy with only a few things that come along with "old age." She worked for public health back home in the Philippines (as told to us by my mother) which required her to walk from house to house giving shots, delivering babies, and providing health care for new mothers. She even went to the far off barrios and often stayed there for an entire week. Sometimes she did more than provide health care. She would clean their house, wash the clothes, and do other any other needed chores. She has been a great example of wife and mother.

We pray that she lives for many more years to come. We will be here to celebrate 100 with you Grandma Rosa. We love you!

Model Family

We were so blessed to have been married at Holy Family Catholic Church. Not only was the Church and faith community one that I had grown to love but the guidance of the Holy Family can be seen throughout our marriage.

We have a model family for our own families here on Earth. The Holy Family consisting of Mary, Joseph, and the Jesus represent everyone that we are and hope to be. They are the prime examples for us in our lives as sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers and any role that we may have in our family.

Mary

"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38)

In Mary's response to the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, we see a great example of accepting God's will for us. She does not just say let it be done but she accepts that it is done unto to her just as He had said and planned for her. Mary accepted God's will without any question. She is the perfect example of wife and mother. 

Joseph

The Lord appeared to St. Joseph three times in a dream and he responded each with obedience. (Matthew 1:20-26, Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 2:19-23)

The Lord appears to Joseph in a dream on three separate occasions. Joseph does what the Lord tells him to do in each dream. He first accepts Mary as his wife despite knowing that she is carrying a child which is not his.Then he takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt for their safety and protection. Then finally he brings them back to Nazareth when it is safe for them to return. He humbly accepts God's will for him. He sets an example of what it means to be husband and father.

Jesus

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:42) "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46)

Jesus is our perfect example of love. He shows us how to follow the will of God even when it is not what we would do. He surrenders everything including His life to follow the will of God. He is obedient to His Father and His will. He is the perfect example of son (or daughter) and brother (or sister).

What role models we have in the Holy Family!

I pray that I can continue to follow God's will for us and our family.