February Calendar Layout

To keep up with my plan at the start of the year, I am now posting my calendar layout for the month of February. Since February is know to be the month of love and Valentine's Day, my calendar layout for this month features my friend/kumpare Pao and his finacee' Mau. I will not tell how Pao proposed to Mau but these lovely couple is set to tie the knot this coming June. They are considering my son, Zion, to be the ringbearer or coinbearer during their marriage. I am hoping it pushes through. I am happy that despite the commitment-phobic generation we have nowadays, there are still couples who pass the test of fire and exemplify the true essence of Valentines - Love.

Credits for this layout: Mi Amor Kit from shineangel.canalblog.com; Tendrement kit from sevdesigns.net. WordArt from About Love wordart set at elisja.blogspot.com; Calendar template from MissMint 2009 Calendars at PeppermintCreative.com.

A Mother Understands

I guess any mother can agree with me that raising a child is not an easy task. From the womb until the baby sees its first sight of light, mom is there for him. And it doesn't end there. In fact it's only the beginning to a tiring yet very rewarding journey called motherhood. It is no wonder that due to this bond, most of the time, it is also the mother that best understands the child's temper, mood swings, tantrums, or whatever makes the child smile or cry. Zion and I don't really have a perfect mother-son relationship. In fact, I have to admit, that due to his stubborness and being naughty, there are those moments wherein I just want to hogtie Zion's hands and feet and cover his mouth with duct tape. Of course, my mother's instinct always gets the best of me, and I end up letting him be (unless of course he's already hurting himself or someone else). There are those moments wherein Zion cries (or should I say howl) and even his Nanny can't pacify him. And by chance, a simple hug, kiss or a chocolate bribe from me will do the trick. Somehow, despite of my busy work schedule, and despite of the small fights we have, Zion and I have developed that certain bond that only the two of us can understand.

Picture used for this layout was again taken from Zion's 2nd birthday. In this picture, Zion is obviously not in his element. If I remembered it correctly, he wants to play with the mascot, but we had to stop him from doing so, because some of my friends wanted to take pictures of him. Well, after the pictorial, he was still able to play and dance with the mascots. =)

Credits for this layout: Tendrement Kit from sevdesigns.net; Wordart from Motherhood quotes at vivaartistry.blogspot.com.

What Matters Most

I stayed at home the whole day. I was not feeling well since yesterday, and today was just a little bit better. To keep myself busy, I tried to watch over Zion while his Nanny was busy with the other household chores. Time passes so fast. It was only now that I noticed that Zion can identify objects that are drawn on his flash cards. He can now differentiate the sun from the moon and stars. He now knows how a cup differs from a bowl. He even knows who are the main characters in his favorite cartoon shows on television! And each time I look at my son, the realization that we (my son and I) have survived a lot for almost 3 years, makes me thankful that God is still working His way in our lives. And after seeing how my son is grow and develop, I can truly say what (who) is the most important thing in my life.

For this layout, I chose two (2) pictures that were taken from Zion's 2nd birthday. My friends were experimenting with their cameras and they were just lucky that Zion was cooperative that time - he smiled in almost all the pictures that were taken using my friends' cameras. And even if I'm quite camera-shy *blush*, I had no choice but to be included in the pics, since Zion wants to be carried throughout his pictorials. =)

Credits for this layout: Wordart from mydigitalthings.blogspot.com; Papers and Elements from Endless Kit by Armina Designs available at SunshineStudioScraps and at http://www.arminadesigns.com/.

A Question of Faith

If there is one lesson that I've learned from all my experiences (both good and bad) in life, it would definitely be having faith - faith in people close to me, faith in myself, but most especially, faith in one Supreme Being - who we call God in my faith. Personally, I think faith allows one to believe and hope that all our troubles will end, that the good things will always outweigh the bad, and that the sun will always shine after the rain.

Pictures were taken from the Baclayon Church (a Roman Catholic church) in Bohol and the Temple of the Golden Buddha in Bangkok. It is said that Bohol is one of the provinces in the Philippines having a large number of Roman Catholic devotees. While Buddhism is the predominant religion in Bangkok, Thailand.

Credits for this layout: Launching Day Kit from scrapmalin.com; July08 Free Kit from Jeanelle Paige Designs available at acherryontop.com; New Dreams Kit by Carla Holf at ikeagoddess.com; Endless Ephemera from raspberryroaddesigns.blogspot.com.

Sunset

I'm feeling sentimental today. Allow me to keep the reason to myself. I'll just let out the feelings and the thoughts via digiscrapping. I chose the sunset picture taken at a beach because I always associate sunset with the thought of leaving. It's something nice to watch, but not too nice to think about. I just hope this not-so-good feeling also leaves me soon. =(

The picture used in this layout features the sunset at Bohol Beach Club. My brother and I were just lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it while strolling at the beach.

Credits for this layout: Grace Kit from SweetDigiScraps

January Calendar Layout

One of my major projects this 2009 would be to create "calendar" layouts each month. I'm still in the process of thinking who or what to feature on each month's layout, but I was already able to purchase the monthly calendar templates from peppermintcreative.com. To try the calendar templates, here's my calendar layout for the month of January. This layout features my little son Zion when he was still about 5 or 6 months old, smiling his heart out. I just thought that what better way to start the year but to start it with a bunchful of smiles and laughter! =) I just hope that I could come up with more creative and fun layouts for the coming months! Wish me luck! ;-)

Credits for this layout: Calendar template from MissMint2009 Calendars at PeppermintCreative.com; Frisson Kit by petitmoineaux.blogspot.com for the papers and elements.

Meet Kulet

Happy New Year! It is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - what may be beautiful to you may not necessarily be pleasing to my eyes, and vice versa. I think beauty is a subjective thing. And I think God is so wise that He created each being (be it man, plant, or beast) special such that each one is blessed with its own unique form and beauty, that no one should be considered inferior just because of physical appearance.

For my first layout this 2009, I chose to feature another one of Glenda's (my officemate and friend) "babies" at home - Kulet. Kulet is the second pet cat of Glenda. I'm not really sure if Kulet has a specific breed (like Chuchay - see my previous layout) or if he's a "pusakal" (pusang kalye). But one thing's for sure, Kulet has that specific tantalizing stare that goes deep. Kulet may not be as playful, cute, and cuddly as Chuchay, but from this cat's stare, I think there is something more to him than meets the eye.

Credits for this layout: Java Joe Kit from raspberryroaddesigns.net, Harvest Spice Collection from shabbyprincess.com; BA Autumn Gold Kit from scrapartist.com; CherryMoka Kit from digiscrapbooking.ch.