40 Grateful Things

She turned 40. But if you would say she looks younger than me, fine, I’ll take it cause it’s her big day. But, so far no one has told me that, so I’m good. LOL

I would like to honor my sister as she reached this great milestone of her life by sharing to you what I’m grateful for, not just because she’s my sister but because she’s more than that.

Not in any importance/priority order 🙂

  1. She is a good listener. I can talk about anything for hours with her.
  2. She is patient with me. I can get too pushy sometimes but she remains calm.
  3. She would willingly pack my luggage when I travel back to YVR from PH.
  4. She takes care of family matters at home which removes my worries.
  5. She is generous in sharing & even giving her nice clothes to me.
  6. She is my co-planner for our family travels.
  7. She supports me on any event I organize.
  8. She is my prayer partner for our family.
  9. She knows how to comfort me especially when I was struggling from my last job.
  10. She reminds me to slow down when we stroll in the mall. (I feel like I’m in a hurry!)
  11. She married someone who cooks really good food!! I get the benefit!
  12. She encourages me with her own personal walk with God.
  13. She calms me when I’m getting anxious or starts panicking.
  14. She (& everyone  home) always try to satisfy all my food cravings when I go to BCD.
  15. She is someone I can always rely & depend on no matter what!
  16. She keeps me sane when I would be struggling especially with work.
  17. She reminds me to always wait on God’s best for a life partner when I get impatient.
  18. She reminds me to be grateful with my life of being single.
  19. She will always go out of her way if she can, to help me in whatever I need.
  20. She gives me a lot of pretty things, never cheap quality.
  21. She always pray for me.
  22. She shops clothes for me every time she sees something I could use for work.
  23. She always accompany me when I go and see friends every time I go home to PH.
  24. She takes care of our parents especially their health needs.
  25. She is someone I can take to any travel trips.
  26. She will always give her last piece of food if I would ask for it.
  27. She shares her vulnerabilities and allows me to encourage her.
  28. She is very gracious.
  29. She is my go-to for any health related concerns I have.
  30. She sends me the funniest & most gross viral videos.
  31. She makes me breakfast when I’m in BCD.
  32. She is one of my best friends.
  33. She is my impatient Science teacher! Haha!
  34. She loves me the same even if I could hurt or offend or annoy her.
  35. She is not a perfect big sister but she is the best sister you can have.
  36. She tolerates my craziness.
  37. She is my personal med tech for all my blood results.
  38. She encourages me with her discipleship journey with other people.
  39. She looks after me even if we are miles & mile apart.
  40. She loves the Lord and I can share that same walk with her.

Happy Birthday Ate! I know we were planning to do things this year to celebrate your birthday. Even if it didn’t turn out as we wanted it to be, I’m just grateful that you are well and everyone in our family. A blessing that matters the most.

Love ya! xoxoxoxo

 

AO#3: Otella

Best birthday gift I could give to my sister is to feature her here on my blog site (LOL).

Kidding aside, since it’s her birthday, I’d better take this time to really give her an appreciation which is long over due. Ate and I will always have that chasm in between us which makes our sisterhood just tighter. We dearly miss Amity. Too bad, Ate has been stuck with me cause I only have one sister to run to since Amity passed away. LOL. That didn’t really give her an option, right? 😀

There are so many things I appreciate about Ate. Not sure if she knows that. But I’m just really grateful that she’s been very patient with me. Her calmness and gentleness is contagious. There might be times that I may have offended her but she just remains calm. She just brushes it off. She doesn’t sweat it. And I needed that in our family.

ate

She is also my cheerleader. She encourages me. She is a good listener. I can rant about anything to her. We can just talk endlessly if we have all the time. It’s usually sometimes me who can’t make time. But she always does when she can. And I really appreciate her for that.

DCIM100GOPRO

I am grateful that I can lean on her. When there are times in our family that I am panicking already, she would always assure that we can find ways. For so many times that I haven’t been there for my parents, she has always been there which caused me not to worry. That’s something I will always be grateful. For just assuring us her siblings who are far that everything at home is okay. It means a lot.

ate3

Happy Birthday Ate! I love you so much and I truly appreciate everything that you have done for me, for all of us. The previous years were tough with so many things that we went through but you remained steadfast in your faith. Your stillness in God is inspiring. I’m just glad that you are my sister and for also not allowing anything to ruin our relationship. That we owe to our Lord. He kept us tight in His love. I don’t mind being single forever as long as I will grow old with you. Haha!

How old are you already? LOL xoxoxo

ate4

Utterly Grateful

Throughout this birthday week, God has reminded me of how blessed I am with relationship. In all honesty, I am never used with people who are not my family in going out of their way just to show me how much I mean to them. I am humbled and grateful. Learning from the past, I’ve learned to lower my expectation on people to avoid being hurt and disappointed. I have to learn and re-learn how to give without expecting anything.

Probably that’s the reason why I always feel overwhelmed on any gesture (nothing is little or big for me) of goodness and kindness from people. It’s a blessing you can’t contain.

“It’s the thought that counts.” That is so true for me. I may not be able to express it properly, but I truly appreciate the time, the prayer, the thought, the present, the encouragement,  the greetings, the conversation, and even just checking on me if I’m doing okay. Every time someone blesses me, I always think of ways on how I can pay it back. I just feel like I don’t deserve such blessing. Then, God would just remind me that I have to learn as well to accept and receive with humility. That I should also allow people to bless me as it is a privilege for them as well. Same that to bless others is also a privilege for me.

Thinking about all of these, I am also reminded of how GOD as a GIVER is. Everything He provides, He does not expect anything. Indeed, we can never out-give God. We think that we are giving back so much to Him – our time, our resources, our wealth. But the truth is, the amount of blessing He gives to us is immeasurable. All we need to do is to open our two hands and receive His blessing.

And do you know what is the greatest gift that He can give us? His Son Jesus. I owe my life to Jesus. He is the ONLY ONE who can never disappoint me. He is the ONLY ONE who can live up to my expectations. Jesus is the ONLY ONE who saved me from all the pits that I have fallen into without expecting anything in return. He is the source of my joy, my peace and my strength. He is a GIFT none can compare.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Luke 19:10

If you want to know more about Jesus, feel free to message me 🙂

—————-o—————

A recap of my 32nd birthday

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your kindness and goodness! You know who you are 🙂 I can’t believe my mom prepared so much food on my birthday even if I am away from them!! Family Love is the best! ❤ ❤ ❤ And yes, I got a hair cut and for the first time have highlights on my hair! *winkwink*

13106645_10201867008433923_230268836_o

13090619_10201867008553926_1065643029_o13106043_10201867008673929_14464159_o

Heart Melts

These pretty things surprised me at my office desk when I arrived this morning.

It was so funny because last night I almost ruined their plan of getting these presents for me. I was hanging out with them not knowing they were suppose to go to the mall. 😬😬 Well, good thing I needed to leave and do grocery

Thanks to you dearies!! (you know who you are) I’m truly grateful!  😘😘😘

Visiting the Greeks

The four places in my bucket list that I really want to visit are: Santorini, Paris, Israel and South Korea.

For my solo travel, it’s Santorini.

When I get married, it will be Paris. (very optimistic of the married thing, haha!)

With my parents, it will be Israel.

With anyone, I can bring them to South Korea. Not for free though. Haha!

This year, I’m praying and hoping that I will be able to visit Santorini. Thinking of going there on my birthday week on April.

Not sure if it’s the best time, but weather seems really nice. It’s like summer in Vancouver. But I hope it won’t be rainy.

I’m thinking of touring a day or two in Athens and Corinth, then spend the rest of my trip in Santorini.

Agggggh!! I’m so excited!

Any suggestions for my first ever solo trip?????

Can’t wait!!!

I checked these photos on their trip on April and the weather is really beautiful.

santorini

Rest of their photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pflum21/sets/72157626539261229/

%d bloggers like this: