Who doesn't like to get married again?

I would say...Lito! But he did exchange the vows with me in celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary and my 47th birthday. It was an awesome day, the Lord has made! God must have love us so much that rains only started pouring before and after the ceremony and photo shoot. Our renewal of vows was held a day before my birthday at the gardens of The Peninsula Inn and Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was an intimate affair as family and close friends were present to witness this event.


This second time of getting married was more meaningful as our kids joined us in the ceremony. The 3-cord symbolism that Reverend Peter Goodrich of the Niagara Falls Wedding World explained made an impact as we really need God to be the third party in our marriage - the cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Here are some of the photos from the event: (Thank You Bro. Arneil Fabia of SCM)

My Groom

Our children joining us during the blessing.

Sealed with a kiss

Because I was a member of Weddings at Work the first time I got married (Side Note: It was Benz and Abet Rana who gave me an idea when they did their 15th in Las Vegas), I will share some good and need improvement evaluation of the hotel and the Niagara Falls Wedding World services as part of our post-wedding duties for the other couples to take note or learn from.

1. The Peninsula Inn and Resort (www.peninsulainn.com) - Ms. Jessica Sanchez was easy to deal with. We made all transactions online and since I was from Toronto and I couldn't go to Niagara frequently, she made it a point that all my requests are granted - from the color theme, music to the design of our paddle fans souvenirs. Our rooms were perfect and we got a good deal since this is summer season where other hotels have sky-rocketing rates. One thing that was missed - there was no one (waiter) to inform the guests that there are cold bottled water and refreshments available to keep them cool while waiting for the ceremony to start. Good thing, it was not too hot that day. Also, great location, lots of areas to use for picture taking, free parking for our guests. Most importantly, very near our Reception location - Mandarin Restaurant at Niagara Square.

2. Niagara Falls Wedding World (www.niagarafallsweddingworld.com) - Same with Jessica, I communicated with Nicole Gibson and Rev. Loretta through email and phone only. I was able to meet them only when we were about to start the ceremony. They were helpful in getting our 3-cord props ready - providing the different colored ribbon to highlight God's presence in marriage. They also gave clear instructions to my children and their part in the ceremony and also sending and making revisions to the program to amend my requests. There were two important things that need improvement - the sound system and the declaration of our vows. The ceremony is a very meaningful one and I would have loved my guests to hear everything Rev. Peter said from the readings, to the Cord and Ring ceremonies to the blessing. Lito and I would also like to say our own vows instead of repeating after Rev. Peter. We wrote our own vows and it would have been more felt (or dramatic) if we declared it ourselves. Well, maybe next time, I will request for that.

The Vows

I, LITO publicly re-commit myself to love and serve you,
to accept, forgive, honor and pray for you
and to be faithful to you as long as we both shall live.
I am making this commitment before God, family and friends today and so help me God.

I, IRMEE take you my dearest, as my husband, friend and love.
All that I am I share with you. I promise to love and cherish you,
to help you in good times and bad, to respect our individuality,
to make our home one of love and understanding.
I give you all my trust, all of my tomorrows, all of my life.
I declare this vow in the name of our Lord Christ, so help me God.

I will post more pictures and reception account soon.

Thank you to all who attended and shared their prayers and well wishes.

Getting married again...planning a mob-wedding

I will kept this a secret but will publish in my blog about the wedding preparations I will do for our 15th wedding anniversary and renewal of vows.  This blog entry and all wedding related posts will only be published after the event or when he finds out. I spoiled my own surprise when I told him about the event on Canada Day, he was not too excited. :(

I already booked the venue, arranged the decors and reserved for the rooms.  I also asked a friend of ours to be the photographer.  The venue will be in a garden with a gazebo and the reception will be in a buffet restaurant in a mall just across the ceremony area - how convenient and cheap :)

I have decided to use a beige, white, ivory theme because Lito's original Barong Tagalog still fits him after fifteen years. Here is what I am going to wear:

And here are what I am going to ask the guests to wear (strictly white, beige and or cream) it's a beach-themed wedding but not in a beach venue.

And here is our wedding venue - the Peninsula Inn and Resort Niagara Falls

My DIY Paper Bouquet

I finally am taking advantage of my Cricut machine.  Well, this is the third time.  The first time was when we made bookmarks for Kyle's and Lex' classmates last Valentines. The second was my mini album project for Sophia's Baby pictures.  I am so happy with the outcome, unique and inexpensive flowers.

Here are the steps in creating 3D Paper Flowers using Cricut Expression:

1. Put the Art Philosophy cartridge in your Cricut machine. Load your cardstock, I used cream-colored cardstocks i bought from Michaels. Choose the size of the paper and depth of the cricut blade. Then from your keypad, press SHIFT + FONT feature and then choose the Fleur delis icon. I chose size 5" so i can cut 2 flowers in a letter size cardstock. Then press CUT.

2. Remove the excess cardstock from the cutting mat. Use the cricut paper press to lift the flowers. Gently lift.

3. Using a paper tweezer, secure the end and start twisting and rolling until you it forms like a flower.

 

4.Secure the bottom with glue and ensure that the petals are evenly spaced. Now you have a rosette.

5. Adhere the rosettes to a styro ball. I used size 6" and secure the rosettes with a glue gun. I added pearlized long pins as accessory.

 

6. I pierced old pencils into the styro ball and wrap it with satin ribbons with pearls. Now this is how my flower ball looks like.

Now I have a bouquet that will stay forever, like our love.  cheesy :)

Some trinkets to remember

I have not been updating my blog and I missed opportunities to share the good things and blessings that I received.  I tend to forget about them so now, even if for a short post, I will mention the trinkets to remember so that when I get older and if I decide to make this blog of mine into a book, I will be able to read or pass on the good memories.

My Starbucks mug - my sister gave it to me last 2011 and I've been using it ever since. It was always with me in my meetings and conference calls.  It kept me warm in winters while walking on the streets of Toronto and while waiting for the bus. It was  not just was a vessel to my favorite drink, It was my constant companion and I feel sad that it finally gave  in and broke.  I remember  my director boss told me that she gave that day I was meeting her the deadline that if no one will claim the mug from her, she will take it, because there was no design like that in  Toronto. I told her that I got it from the Philippines and it has a sentimental value to me because  my sister gave it to me. It felt like I got reunited with an old friend. LOL, crazy me.

Slow Down - this was the favorite comment of my driving instructor, especially when I am turning. I need to slow down. Now I come to realize that the same word is to be applied when we are making decisions, when we are angry or  making plans. We need to slow down and think and analyze more before turning or making the next move. Even if the world is at fast pace, we should be slowing down.

The word RESTFUL - my son Alexus gave me a present today and  the word restful was R of the word MOTHER, the other words were Marvelous,  Optimist, he said his teacher said the meaning was positive, Terrific, Heroic, Exciting, but he explained the word Restful. He said it's because I'm always resting or sleeping. LOL! I just explained that I need sleep because I come to office early. I will definitely consider that as my favorite trinket from Lex. Pensive thinking, I believe that the word truly depicts me because I'm putting everything in God's hands and with that I can truly rest.

Salt - I always remember this every time I clean fish, salt removes the smell, cleans, preserves and adds flavor. We are reminded that our life is to be like salt as what God commanded in Mark 9:50, "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

That's it for now and I hope I can add more soon. Thank you trinkets.

Gardening and the Parable of the Sower

It is Spring and the time to tend the garden. Just like the other gardeners, we use this time to plant seeds and clean the garden. When the rain pours, it gets easier to till the soil. I started doing it and to keep my mind about the chance of encountering earthworms, I think about the parable of the sower while tilling the soil.  It is true that before a seed grows, we need to soften the soil, till it, remove the rocks and weeds and water it. I encountered soils that are so hard, they are like dried clay, no chance of seed to grow in that kind of soil. But just like life's trials and tragedies to a man with a hardened heart, the blows of the spading fork or a tiller makes the soil break lose and soft, with watering, it becomes ready to be planted with seeds. With careful and steady tender loving care, the seeds will grow, harden and then bear fruit or flowers.

The application to the parable is just simple yet profound. All of us are the garden, some of us will have hard, clay-like soil, others will have rocks, others with weeds. If we don't prepare our hearts to accept the seed, it will not stay, grow and bear. God will use something to remind us that purpose, He  will use problems, tragedies or some people to clean us and prepare our hearts fro Gods planting,

When I think about the reasons why our hearts could harden, I though about pride, self-reliance, hurt from past, anger and  rage.  So the weeds and rocks could be our careers, problems, issues, hobbies, Worldly music, shows and movies, love for money and material things that if will not remove them in our garden, will also mean the delay in the planting of the seeds.

The good soil however is the one who is always cultivated, loose and watered. There is a tender loving care to the seed so that it keeps on growing.  The following are the equivalents of the tiller, water and seeds : daily devotions time with God, praise and worship, bible study and activities that promote or encourage God's presence. You know what happens next right? The seed will grow and bear fruit. The daily watering is Gods words being poured out to make seed grow into something bigger.

The seed becomes a young plant then later on blooms and bear fruit. That's the result that every gardener wants to achieve. The same way God wants our lives to become. To bloom and bear fruit for God's glory. He is our gardener and sower.

Better be safe than sorry

Today, we added to our weekly learning activities a new topic -safety.  Because I work in a continuous improvement department, I wanted to share with my family the valuable information I'm exposed to which is also applicable to our daily lives.  Just like in our workplace, we are also doing "talks" at home.  For each month, there will be 4 talks every week - safety, health, continuous improvement and about being a Christian. We will have information sessions on the stuff that my kids need to know and I wanted them to develop that habit about embracing these four important lessons in their lives.

Our company recently launched a safety initiative which was also launched globally. Our guest speaker was Spencer Beach, a fire survivor and a motivational speaker for safety.  The message moved me and I thought that it would also impact my children if I bring his story home.

I showed them the video of Spencer's interview and we discussed his tips on how to be safety conscious.  I hope that this will be the start of something worthwhile.

Based on Spencer's talk, here are the top 6 reasons and attitudes why accidents happen:

1. Not aware of safety hazards
2. Not taking time
3. Not wearing Proper Protective Equipment (PPE)
4. Love to gamble (taking risks)
5. "It will not happen to me"
6. Failure to demonstrate safety to others

Lito and I took this opportunity to ask the kids the activities where they can be at risk.  After they were identified, we discussed with the kids the ways on how to prevent the accidents or being hurt.  One perfect example mentioned was riding a bike, so now they know why there's the need to wear helmets before going, why they should not be speeding and should look left and right before crossing.  Other activities like climbing a tree, playing a sport, running in the stairs and handling a sharp object were brought up and also what to do or not do in order to be safe.

The talk was a success. Before we ended the session, we left them with 4 things to remember to be SAFE:

1. Be aware. Learn and ask questions.
2. Take your time. DO NOT RUSH.
3. Wear the Proper Gear.
4. Be mindful of others. Take care of ourselves.

I also reminded them that we should take care of ourselves for the sake of our loved ones who are waiting and depending on us.

That's it for now, we'll have more in the coming weeks.

Be Safe.

Back to school again

I'm in my second term for the certificate course I am taking at U of T - that is University of Toronto to those who are not familiar. It was exciting when I first set foot at the university and met my classmates, most of them are working professionals like me. I was apprehensive at first but then just like the first few days in my job, it went fine.  My first course was too theoretical and the project we did was too technical, it was too draining because it coincided with my year-end frantic activities.  But just like in my past career and personal issues, God was there and helped me cope.

Many things have changed from the way I studied before which is 25 years ago, or maybe the methods are totally different here in Canada and with a continuing education course. Here are some of them: Textbooks and reading them are mandatory.  Good thing, I love to read although it's also a different feeling reading a novel.  Writing an exam is also another story. The questions are more situational and tricky and is done by multiple choice. The class participation is really helpful as you get a chance to learn about other companies and industries. The orientation of the classroom is conducive to discussion. Just like in the movies, the students are sitting in an elevated theatre -style seating. The instructor pulls up a white screen and the lesson was presented using a PowerPoint.  We were also given an access to the university portal and all communication is done there. The lessons are also available in the portal's Blackboard where the student can access the course materials. Everything was okay and high-tech. If it were not for my team who didn't coordinate very well, I could have liked it. But since I'm not paying for my studies, the extra knowledge and exposure is really a plus for me.

This term, my team is amazing, everybody is engaged and we liked each other too. I don't have problems connecting and communicating.  I look forward working with my team and ace the project.

Hopefully, after completing this, I will be able to start the next course  - Lean Six Sigma.