retrospecting year 2008

last year was a year of accomplishments and failures, of good times and difficulties, of joys and woes... but as we have always said in our prayers, we thank the lord for all the things that happened this year, whether they are good or bad... each is considered a blessing. =)

1. our home sweet home was built

...and we moved in last may. though it's not yet finished (by my standard =P), there are some finishing touches (paint job, baluster for the porch, cornice touches, built-in cabinets for iñigo's room, fences, other kaek-ekan) that we still have to save for. but still, we're mighty proud of our house--our very first real-estate property!

 

2. the pregnancy that didn't progress

it was first week of march when i learned that jude and i were pregnant again. though we're not expecting that pregnancy, we were still overjoyed of the idea that a second baby is coming by end of 2008. but a miscarriage bursted our bubbles; i had my ultrasound on the 11th week and a blighted ovum (no embryo developed) was confirmed. initially, it was depressing, especially for me, but we were able to accept it in no time. after a month, god gave us one of the answers why it happened and i even took the miscarriage as a blessing in disguise. iñigo, inspite of his varicella vaccine, had chickenpox last june. and you know what this disease can do to a pregnant woman, which could be me, and to her developing fetus. meanwhile, iñigo was doing well and wasn't feeling sick, he didn't even get a fever. he was just scratching all the time. =)

3. family trips to malaysia and sagada (with la union as side trip)

inspite of the financial challenges we encountered last year, our family still managed to take a few trips. these were in malaysia (kuala lumpur, putrajaya, and malacca) and sagada and la union. my sss maternity benefits and a part of jude's bonus last october funded these trips respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

it was also last 2008 when iñigo had his first camping experience, which was in caliraya; and when we made a visita iglesia of the old churches in the remote towns of laguna.

4. the small business that we opened and closed.

i didn't mention it much here but we ventured into a food business in the first half of 2008. we named our store "bogzzi sizzling haus" with sizzling foods and goto as specialties. business was good in our first month of operation but the succeeding months coincided with the economic turmoil brought by skyrocketing rise of rice and fuel, and our sales went down, inluding the nearby shops (idamay daw ba? hehe). we also had a problem managing the business since we lost trusted helpers both in the store and in our house, while i cannot commit my time in tending the store as our house and son were all left under my charge... not to mention my job, which can also be sometimes demanding. i am not a superwoman so jude and i decided to close it.

5. the househelps that come and go

i remember making a lengthy post here about my sentiments on our househelps. it's enough to say that i really had a major headache when it comes to househelps and i hope that i won't have the same problem again this year... that if, we employ again a househelp. hehe.

6. a healthier and smarter little boy

"healthier" because unlike in 2007, iñigo never had any hospital confinement last year. except for the chickenpox, which i already mentioned, and a minor case of bronchitis last april, iñigo was well and active for the rest of 2008. it was me who was confined for three days in the hospital after i had a serious bleeding brought by my miscarriage and the d/c procedure, which followed afterwards.

there you go... the milestones and highlights of 2008 for us. we're optimistic that this year--2009--will be a better year for us, especially in the financial aspect... ehem... hehe. we are also looking forward to a few travels, one is already scheduled this march, but i hope there will be more... let's see na lang...

i'd also like to see a healthier and slimmer jude and marie this year... especially jude. haha!

...and if God wills, we will have our own baby girl na this year. *wishing* =D