birthday girl

mom turned a year older yesterday. we wanted to celebrate her birthday by going out of town for a swim but she decided not to. the practical person that she is, she said she'd rather just have a simple dinner with the family and use the money we would've spent for other more important matters. we tried talking her out of it but once she has her mind set, it's a bit hard to convince her otherwise.

mom's day started early as we went to hear mass. after that, we went to the blessed sacrament to say some prayers. i used that time to thank God for giving another year to mom and asking Him to continue to bless her, keep her safe and give her more strength. after that, off we went to powerbooks (which is our pastime when we go to alabang town center). we spent a few hours there just relaxing and then off to lunch we went. as usual, it was packed in the mall as you would expect during lunch on a sunday so we had to wait for a while before we had our stomachs filled. i went to festival mall to have my annual physical exam while the rest of them went back to powerbooks. before i went home, i bought three red roses for mom (as dad requested) and just texted them not to wait for me (we didn't want mom to see the roses before dinner).

when we got home, we started preparing the house as we waited for the guests to arrive. mom was really excited seeing franco again since it was four days since she last saw her favorite grandson (the only one at the moment). soon after that, our other relatives started arriving. there was the usual chitchat and the lolas were dancing and singing as they tried to amuse franco. before the day ended, aljo got dad's gift (the roses, a bar of nestle crunch --- dad's favorite chocolate and a birthday card) and gave it to our birthday girl. of course, dad also made sure he was able to talk to mom even if he was miles away.

happy birthday to the best mom ever! love you, mom!