Day 25: The Vows and The Rain

25/30: Wedding Ceremony Pt2. Our 23rd months together today as a couple and 5th month being married :) Let me just indulge myself to some memories on that one rainy afternoon of June 30, 2012.

*** 

It was raining cats and dogs the whole morning. While I was being prepped up for the biggest day of my life, I knew there was nothing else I could do but to surrender everything, our hearts most importantly and the weather secondly, to the One who authored this day. We were having an outdoor ceremony, thus we badly needed a calm sky. "Please God, stop the rain" was my ceaseless prayer.

At 2 PM, the downpour ceased and the heavy gray clouds disappeared. A sigh of thanks and relief. Fast forward to the ceremony at 4:30 PM, the entourage marched down the aisle in a humid afternoon. I walked down to meet my groom and eventually, our officiating pastor took over. It was a pretty calm sight during the ceremony despite the uncomfortable humid air hovering over us.

Half-way through the message, the sky suddenly darkened. At that moment, Lando and I held hands tight. I knew we were individually knocking on heaven's door for the weather to calm down again. But it didn't. Then came our vows which were delivered with the presence of harsh winds and droplets of rain.

But as you can see, we only had our eyes and ears on each other. :)

Just seconds after I finished my vows, it rained! At that moment, I just completely let go. I whispered to my groom, "Let's  just enjoy this day. This will only happen once and look, ang daming tao, di natin ito inexpect!"

So therefore, the ceremony had taken a halt. Everyone scattered frantically looking for a shelter. After a while, the rain stopped and the ceremony was resumed but this time, the audience were all over the place. We didn't mind. Look, we were running giddily, entangled in our veil and cord!

The rest of the ceremony was done in a rush but at least the major part was over: the message and the vows.

As you can see, we stood under the umbrella all the way through the completion of the ceremony. :)

***Later, we heard comments that it was "swerte" daw when it rained on your wedding. Someone even added that we were going to be rich! Someone on the other hand asked what I felt when the rain poured down. I simply answered, "Sabi ko lang kay Lando, i-eenjoy lang namin yung araw na yun, sobra yung hirap namin sa preps, we just wanted our wedding to be over yet still enjoy every minute of it. Besides, it was beyond our control na. In the end, we surrendered that it was God's will to rain that day. I think that was His way of making our wedding memorable, of humbling us or perhaps testing our faith, if we would grumble over it. And actually, what I'd like to think was... He was also blessing us, in a unique way! He had turned us into rainmakers, that's got to mean something!" :)

Day 24: A Walk to Remember

24/30: Wedding Ceremony Pt1. So it came to this very moment. I was finally being ushered to walk down the aisle after one final touch of make-up.  From where I was sitting, about 30 feet away from the garden ceremony set up, I could sense the crowd's anticipation and weariness (the program was running late by 30 minutes) and it was a humid 4:30 PM, I could never blame anyone. My heart was simply overwhelmed with gratitude: all seats were taken and half of the attendees were even standing. They had taken time to travel all the way to Tagaytay for this one chaotic day of an event. For me. For Lando. For us.

"Ms Lai, Godbless!" I heard my make-up artist uttered while walking away. It was about time. From the open space, a soft intro to our chosen bridal entrance song started to fill the air:

"Ikaw ang pangako taglay ng isang bituin...

Tanging pangarap sa Diyos ay hiling

Makapiling sa bawat sandali..."

I stood up from the golf cart, my knees wobbly from being the center of attention. I had never been one in my lifetime. As I took my first step, all the wedding preps stress were finally being lifted off my shoulders. All the struggles we had gone through started to melt away.

As I took another step forward, it was just him that I was thinking about, the people faded to a soft blur.

"Ikaw ang pag-ibig sa araw at gabi...

Ikaw ang pag-asang tanglaw sa dilim

Napapawing hirap at pighati"

It was then that I saw you near. You were half-smiling, and you whispered from where you were standing, looking straight to my eyes, "This is it." 

"Langit ang buhay sa tuwing ika'y hahagkan

Anong ligaya sa tuwing ika'y mamasdan

Sa piling mo ang gabi tila araw

Ikaw ang pangarap, ikaw lamang..."

And the song went on... and is still playing in my ears up to this very day. :)

Day 23: Thanksgiving List

23/30: Thanksgiving. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which surprisingly fell on hubby's birthday, I'd like to pen down 10 things I'm grateful for in the past 11 months because really, there's just an abundance of things we can and should be thankful for. To stress a point, let me share this one status I read in FB: Nothing to be thankful for? Check your pulse. To the wonderful, to the magnificent, to the awesome Author of my Life, I give you my praise and thanks.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever."

~ Psalm 136:1

Same with my previous year's list, this would be short. :) Thank you dearest God:

1. for our wedding.
2. for my husband.
3. for the gift of forgiveness and the grace to reconnect with my family esp my parents.
4. for friends, old and new.
5. for new church community and the opportunity to serve.
6. for the gift of contentment and living within our means.
7. for the 30-day blogging challenge, which makes me appreciate more God's goodness on our wedding, on our early months of being married, and beyond.
8. for photography.
9. for dreams.
10. for salvation, grace and hope. 

And here's our simple celebration yesterday: a sweet fix at Anne's Bakery (mind you, for only 3.85 euro each for a mocha/coffee and a piece of cake, a real treat!) and the Pinoy style Spaghetti that we labored to cook for hours. I am truly grateful God, I really am. :)

How about you? What's on your list? Have you thanked God for them? :)

Day 22: Happy Birthday Hubby

22/30: Birthday. The love of my life turned 31 today at exactly 6:00 AM (yep we checked his birth certificate for the time, the nerd that we are!) And as such, I want to take this once-in-a-year life event to honor him (publicly, through this post). :) Links to his past birthdays: 2010 (courtship stage) and 2011 (engaged).

Last night after our dinner, I asked him what his birthday wishes were. He said he only had two: (1) He wants to be closer to God and (2) He wants me to be happy. "But I am happy!" I exclaimed. "Yes, but I want you to be always happy!" his reply. And at that moment, my heart just melted, once again, for the man that God willed to be with me in this life journey.

You see, I happened to marry someone who prioritizes my needs more than his (that annoys me at times to be honest because I want him to think of himself too). But Rolando has been like that with me ever since he courted me. For example, that recent issue of the socks. I came to Dublin with only a pair of socks while his were already thinning and inhabiting holes. I  begged for him to buy new ones because I knew how awfully they must hurt against his leather shoes, but instead he insisted on buying new pairs for me (Me who didn't have to go to work 5 times a day, and who didn't have to come home for lunch and walk 40 minutes to and fro!) I grabbed two pairs for him alibi-ing he probably needed a thicker pair for the cold weather, and with that he conceded.

That, and so many countless sacrifices he has made for me never fail to touch a big part of my heart in ways that humble and bless me and oh yes, spoil me! I also happened to be married to someone who is not the typical "Pinoy" guy whose idea of having a good time consists of staying late at night with friends and beers. He would rather be branded as kill joy than compromise his values. He loves his family so much and he cares and thinks for his beloved parents more than one can count. He reads his bible. He strives for excellence at work. He sings to me when I'm feeling down. He massages my foot and washes the dishes though he is tired from work. He rebukes me lovingly.  He cheers for my dreams.

I could go on and on... But at this time of writing, he's waiting for me in his office (he's taking a half-day VL so we can celebrate and cook his requested dish, the Pinoy Style Spaghetti, wish us luck!).

Dearest hubby, I love you so much and I can't thank God enough in this lifetime that He blessed me with such a wonderful and loving husband, a faithful prayer partner, an awesome photographer, a funny travel buddy, and an honest-to-goodness bestfriend. I celebrate life with you and I love you with all the love my heart can ever contain! 

Us on our recent trip to Galway :)

Day 21: Hellooo Novembrrr, Hellooo Winterrr

21/30: First Winter Together. Suddenly, I cannot step outside without mummifying myself in layers and layers of cotton, wool, and windbreaker. Not to mention the leather gloves, the silk scarf and the thermal socks to complete the ensemble. Friends, winter season has finally arrived in this part of the world kicking out autumn's glory in such a freezing and numbing fashion that makes me wish for it to be over, ASAP. Pronto!

Quite frankly, I'm not thrilled about my first winter in Ireland and I'm not jumpy about experiencing snow either. Why? For the plain reason that this season is too unmercifully cold! I used to like it in the movies though dahil sa mga umuusok usok na bibig at uber cute na ear muffs, haha! To help me get through this below-5-deg November and to counter my winter misery, I'm listing down stuff to look forward to this month:

1)   Birthday of hubby.
2)   Cooking spaghetti on that day (his special request: Pinoy style spag).
3)   A trip to the countryside (*fingers crossed, hopefully this semi-free trip will push through.)
4)   Wrapping up the 30-day blogging challenge. 9 posts away. I don't have an excuse. I have the time.
5)   Joining the kids' ministry in church.
6)   Completing my quiet time/bible study on the Gospel of Matthew. I'm now in Chapter 6.
7)   Uploading wedding photos. I wonder if I'll ever receive edited copies. I can't possibly edit thousands of wedding photos, I'm not a professional!!! Ito ay isang panawagan. :(
8)   Editing photos from our day trip in Bray and Powerscourt and all the other photos in between!
9)   Learning to bake at least one decent and edible piece of cupcake.
10) Renewing our visas on the last week of Nov (so I can finally take job hunting more seriously and I can skip explaining to recruiters the complicated stamps and notes on my passport).

There you go. Now sharing with you my Instagram photos from the first five days of walking around Dublin in the wintery chill of November.

Surprisingly, I've captured colorful and vintage stuff along the way. I think I'm just not ready yet for less colorful photos depicting winter gloom. When the sun is up, it still looks autumn. There are still lots of strong and mighty leaves fighting for their lives in the whole Republic of Ireland. But it's only a matter of time. *_* 

(All photos via iPhone 3s, processed through Vintique app. Get it, you'll have an awesome time!)