birthday blog

december 26, 2007

as gino said.. "welcome to the 19s club", hehe.

as usual, our Jimenez Christmas party did not end until the clock striked 12 and birthday ko na. before i was able to make parinig over the microphone na birthday ko na nga, naunahan ako ng mga dear pinsan ko by singing aloud.. surprise, the happy birthday song, hehe.

so how was my birthday? Masaya :) Kasi almost everyone I care for, my family and friends, remembered to greet me either thru text or friendster. Yep, I've come to realize na, simple lang naman kaligayan ko sa bday ko, ang mabati nila or niyo, hehe. Maybe because I also love remembering and greeting the people dear to my heart. Overall, it's nice to feel cared for, or just even remembered, by the people you care for.

xempre may catch din un birthday ko.. haha.. my least favorite day of the month ay sumakto sa birthday ko.. 'coz i define the definition of dysmenorrhea, hehe, kainis.

so dahil dun, i was just lying down almost the whole day until mga 4pm when i've decided na ayoko matapos ang araw na ito that way, hehe. so i decided that we'll have our dinner at Tatay and Nanay's house (grandparents from my mom's side) then go to Trinoma with my cousins.

Nakakatuwa kasi when I entered the dining room area, kinantahan ako ni Tatay and Nanay ng birthday song, sabay pa sila ha, hehe. May hangover pa, I guess, from the karaoke the night before.

Dinnertime.. my cousin AJ led the prayer for me before we started to eat. :) After nun, may dumaan na bagyo sa dinner table.. and the lasagna, which Mommy cooked, was gone in a few minutes. Grabe, ang takaw namin, haha.

Then we went to Trinoma.. supposedly manonood kami ng Sakal, Sakali.. pero dahil super daming tao, naubusan kami ng tickets.. So we went to Timezone Arena instead.

(from top left, clockwise) That's me, AJ, my brother Ezra and Kuya David drifting :D

(from top left, clockwise) Yanyan, Chelsea, AJ and Jarrell playing

Sabi ko gusto ko magkaraoke but the boys said they do not want to sing.. pero hindi na nila binitawan ang mic and songbook either.. Haha.. :)

The P500 powercard load was gone in less than an hour and ginutom nanaman kami.. so we went to Krispy Kreme..

(from top left, clockwise) the lasagna during dinnertime, assorted doughnuts (the birthday cake alternative, hehe) and my cadbury from tito and tita -feb 29-, haha.

before going home, group picS muna.

Bilang sa isang kamay ko ang birthdays ko na hindi ko sila kasama magcelebrate :)

I thank God for the 19 years of my life so far. :) I have my relationship with God, I'm blessed with my family and friends, i'm currently a student and bonus na lang ang material things.

Last teen year, this should be fun, hahaha. Next year, I already have something in mind on how to celebrate it. Something a little more selfless, God-willing :)

Christmas Spirit

25 days to go.. yep.. 25 days na lang.. and birthday ko na! haha.. kala Christmas eh noh.. ok fine, 24 days na lang Christmas na.. tapos birthday ko na.. haha.. kulit :)

december na..

december 1.. so exactly one year ago, finally nagdecide ako magdebut.. more of mini debut since small party lang.. and since 2 weeks to prepare before that debut (dec.15 ako nagcelebrate, maaga since my friends from UP will be going back to their provinces soon), na kay mommy ang stress, hahaha.. pati ba naman sa 18th bday celebration ko.. late pa rin ako magdecide at cramming nanaman.. well, that's me! :P

last month of the year 2007.. ang bilis.. 25 days na lang and i'll be turning one year up.. hmmm..

anyway, i've always loved december. really. may something about december na nagpapaexcite sa akin and may ibang happy feeling once i think of december and now that it's here, the feeling is also back. You're probably thinking, "Oh, she's getting the Christmas spirit."

But as I've done my daily reading on Daily Bread last night, the Bible Scripture was on Philippians 2:1-11 and the title of the reading was "Christmas Spirit".

Here it is:

How would you define "the Christmas spirit?" Would it be a friendly smile between strangers, the sound of familiar carols, a tree with twinkling lights in a sea of brightly wrapped packages, or just that good feeling you get this time of the year?

(Okay, guilty ako sa mga ito, toink!)

None of these elements captures the real meaning of the phrase. They represent feelings that may be a response to the commercialism that distorts the real spirit of Christmas.

J.I. Packer goes to the heart of this matter in his book Knowing God. He writes, "We talk glibly of the Christmas spirit, rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity... It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the [temperament] of HIM who for our sakes became poor,... the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor - spending and being spent - to enrich their fellowmen, giving time, thought, care and concern to do good to others... in whatever way there seems need."

In Philippians 2, Paul described the God of heaven and earth as laying aside His divine glory and becoming our servant by dying on the cross for our sins. Then he urged us to duplicate that same mind of humble service to others. That's the true Christmas spirit.

If we look beyond the manger
To the cross of Calvary,
We will know the reason Christmas
Brings such joy to you and me.

The spirit of Christmas giving should be seen in all our living.

******

The point is, I think, hindi naman masama maexcite sa family reunions, gifts, shopping, all those food, decors and all the fun things.. but we should always remember *first* the Christ in CHRISTmas.. If Jesus wasn't born in this world, if He didn't become human and die and live again and save us from our sins.. Christmas would be nothing.

i pray that we'll all be having a meaningful CHRISTmas season (not just day) this year! :)


huling hirit: i have read Ms. Bianca Gonzales' blog on happy love-giving this christmas!, which was also nice :)