Originally painted by Vania Tong

We are so happy to receive such a wonderful, and mind you, very personalized wedding gift from Ms Vania Tong. She is one of the US Missionaries who came here in Cagayan de Oro with other vibrant teens to spread the Word of God. The group really leave a lasting legacy especially for those whom they were able to reach out..

Her gift was really one of a kind. we can really feel the thoughts more than the gift itself. With all the efforts she made in order for her to come up with such a very cute and meaningful painting. My hubby once told her a part of our love story which includes the lonely tree found on the hilltop of one of the place in Cagayan de Oro. Such tree was a thing in the past now because it was destroyed by lightning. The people cut it before the lightning will strike it once again to avoid further damage. We were really disheartened upon hearing the truth. We are supposed to have our pre-nuptial pictorials there but it was already cut when we went there... Though the tree was gone but its memory will remain in us forever...

The Lonely Tree before it was destroyed by Lightning

Me & Huggy under the lonely tree...

The Ultimate Gangsta- Vania (the Painter) and my Hubby (the recipient)

Thank you so much, Ms Vania Tong... your masterpiece will be kept forever! God bless you more each day.

Sometimes, we are so negligence of the fact that we tend to ignore people who had immediate contact with us... We are sometimes more close to others than to our own blood... Ate and I shared the same thoughts and feelings.. She had her own circle of friends and I have mine... We seldom talk seriously. We do have some nonsense fights (as some sisters usually do) We oftentimes argued on things which we just simply drop when seems irreconcilable.

Now that she's gone to reunite with her husband in Canada, only then I realized that we both missed so much time spending with each other... Reality bites, we only recognized the presence of our dear one when they are already far from us...

This post (with our good times being together)is specially intended for her...

One of our finest moments together...

During her wedding...

Miss you!

As I hurried my way to the office this morning, a wailing ambulance caught my attention... It was so fast that the loud noise of its siren can really hurt one's eardrums... then it reminded me one tragic day of my life...

nOvEmBeR 2, 2005 mOre oR LeSs 10:30 am @ d ImpaSug-Ong Nat'l Hi-Way nEaR atUgAn bRidge.....@#$%^&*<+?>~!!!!

whEw! it'S bEeN more than 3 years yEt eVeRythiNg wAs stiLL fReSh oN my miNd! aS i rEminiSce thAt sCenAriO, it waS rEaLLy vEry sCary! i CaN stiLL rEmembEr thE bLoOd oN my eYeliD rUnNing thRoUgh my fAce dOwn tO my shiRt... tHe pAiN oN my sHoULdEr, on my forehead.. my broken nose.. the bruises on the coRneR of my lips and on my neck! i cAn stiLL reMember hOw my mOthEr reActEd whEn shE sAw mE...t'Was a piCtuRe of aNgeR aNd pity, gOod thiNg my bRothER cAme tO cALm hEr..tHeN tHerE waS thAt x-Ray, thE ct-sCaN thAt i've gOne tHroUgh.. tHe paiNfUL iNjEctiOn fOr tHe deXtRosE, thE pain reliever UG ANG PINAKAGAHI SA TANANG PINAKASAKIT NA ANTI-TETANUS!!!! oUch!!! pLuS ANG PiNAKAHaPdOS NA PANTOLOC NGA GIAGI SA DEXTROSE!!!!! tHeN thEre were tHe dOctOr's oRdeR nOt tO giVe mE a sOLiD fOod fOr oBseRvatiOn puRposEs, the teSt fOr skiN aLLergiEs...aNd thE fiNdiNgS thAt thEre'S a sLight fRactUre On my skuLL! oOopS, bUt iM pRetty mUch okAy! nO fuRtheR damAged hAs bEen fOunD..(waLay bRaiN dAmaGe uy!) iN spitE of aLL thAt paiNS, iM stiLL veRy vEry mUch thAnkfUL.. fOR thE pRayEr, Love aNd sUpPort of aLL thOse peOpLe wHo were thEre (nAv's fAmiLy, my OwN fAmiLy, fRieNds aNd eVeN tHosE wHom i'vE jUst met)...iNdeEd, im thAnkfUL tO GOD! eVerythiNg hapPeNed fOr a reASoN! i stiLL hAve sOmethiNg tO aCcompLish tHat's why He gAve mE aNothEr chAnce tO liVe... whEw whAt a mEmory!!!

after all... it's not really that tragic.. God isn't finished with me yet...