April's Joys

April was a month of celebrations,  milestones and dreams coming true.

April 2:

My son Manuel attended their  Junior Seniors Prom at the Novotel Hotel.

April 9:

My sister celebrated her 39th birthday.  She treated us to the breakfast buffet of Balay Dako in Tagaytay.  They had a wide selection of breakfast food items and I enjoyed every morsel.  Plus, there's the beautiful view.  If you haven't tried Balay Dako's breakfast buffet I'm telling you, it's worth getting up early for.

April 12:

I finally got to watch Les Miserables.  This is my favorite musical of all times and it has been my dream since I was 17 years old (and that's a long way back) to watch it.  My sister and I started listening to the songs and loving them when I was 15 or 16 years old.  When I was 17 my dad started taking us to musical plays and that's when I started to wish Repertory Philippines could make another production of Les Miserables (They made one and I missed it because that was before I was interested in the play).  I was also 17 when I read the novel and I fell in love with the book.  Jean Valjean is my favorite character and Les Miserables is number one in my list of favorites.  Reading the novel made me love the musical even more.  It really reflected the emotions in the book.  Except for Marius: I hate his character but the musical made him likable.

Here I am with this production's Jean Valjean

My worn out but well loved copy of Les Miserables together with my souvenir program

April 25:

We celebrated Sofia's first birthday.  Sofia's life, short though it was, was and still is a cause of great celebration and great joy for our family.  You can read all about that in this post.

April 29:

My Tootsieroll "graduated" from Junior High.  I put the quotation marks because I am still not used to this K-12 system where the seniors in high school do not graduate but merely attend the Moving Up Ceremony.  They are not called graduates but completers.

This was taken during the Thanksgiving Mass which was held a day before the Moving Up.  The Junior High completers attended this Mass together with the Grade 6 Graduates.  I volunteered my son to offer something for the offertory part of the Mass and that's why he's holding this bouquet of flowers in this photo.

This is one of my favorite parts of the Thanksgiving Mass. It's actually done towards the end of the Mass after the communion.  The Basic Education Principal holds a lighted candle and lights candles of some of the students.  The light is then passed from one candle to another until all students are holding lighted candles.  I think it was very beautiful and symbolic.

This picture was taken the next day, during the Moving Up Ceremony.  That's my son facing the camera and there I am with my back towards the camera.  That's his dad beside me.  We went up the stage to receive his medal and place it around his neck.  You can see the theme there behind the nun.  It says: Go forth Paulinians: Spread the Word.  Share the Light. Transform the World.

My Tootsieroll with his two dads.

We went to Four Seasons Hotpot and Buffet right after  the Moving Up to celebrate my son's achievement.  It was attended by his grandparents (my side), my sister and her family and his nanny who has been with us since he was in first grade.

And this little boy here was the reason I was not able to enjoy the buffet.  He wanted to play with me ALL the time! He's my sister's son, my nephew and my godson.

I am so proud of my son!  He has brought me so much joy.  He may not be perfect but he is God's perfect gift to me and I cannot ask for a better son. I thank God for His many blessings and for making the month of April such a blessed and beautiful month.  It was indeed a joyful month for everyone.