Happy Thanksgiving Day to all of you!

Oh how I love holidays and this day has become one of my favorites! It is the time when family and friends get together most especially in the dining table and dissect turkeys! lol. Seriously, in our family, it has been a tradition for the past years to come together to say our prayers of thanksgiving for the wonderful blessings we received and to celebrate the gift of one another. Historically, day of thanksgiving originated to celebrate a wonderful harvest of the year. In my own version, I want to make a list of things I am genuinely grateful and thankful for:

First off all I am so thankful for my husband. For all the love, understanding, patience, and care he lavished upon me. It'll be our first year anniversary next month and we can't believe how fast it turned about. They say the first years are the most critical ones, however, we just agree to disagree. I have the very best ally, partner, housemate, driver, conscience, masseur, IT support, and best friend in the universe! Thank you so much my dear hubby!

Next is my family and my husband's family. Life could have been hard and sad if not for their love and support. For their significant guidance and their positive teaching, we are so blessed to have them as a part of our lives. For my sisters and my husband sisters, thank you for the joy and love. My family has gotten bigger and it's more fun!

I am also thankful for my CFC community. For keeping me grounded and always keeping me in God's service. For helping me grow in love and discipleship, for bringing great inspiration in our marriage, and for encouraging us to be good ambassadors of Christ's love, thank you!

I would also like to thank my friends, near, far, wherever you are! hahaha. You know who you are. Thank you for the loyalty and love. For keeping in touch and not letting the distance hinder what we have. 

For my employer, thank you for the source of our livelihood! For being the means of sustaining our daily needs and wants.  Thank you for all the good as well as the bad experiences which refine me in excellency and professionalism. I've met a lot of people from different places with different backgrounds and they taught me well about work and life.

Last but not the least, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the Lord my God. If not for Him, I wouldn't have all the people and things I mentioned above. He is the one true source of everything that is good! Thank you for all the great harvests in my life. 

All things will work for good to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

Likewise, may you get the chance to thank everyone that has made a difference in your life. 

Have a wonderful and blessed Holiday y'all!

xoxo, 

Joselle

Happy Birthday Hubby!

November 1st in the Catholic Church is the feast day of the saints. In this same day, my husband was given life. It is an honor and a blessing for him that he shares this special day with the saints. Personally, I can proudly say that my husband is a living saint, in his small ways. (I don't know exactly what the qualifications are for that but to me I believe that). 

• He has a heart so pure and genuine. He believes that all people are nice. Never thought badly of anyone. There was a time when a complete stranger knocked at their door back home asking for money because his daughter was hospitalized. He didn't think twice rather he gave generously without doubting if that person was telling the truth or not. 
• He is obedient and selfless. Whenever he comes here to visit me and my family asks him to carry along with him their padalas, he never complains. He will even leave some of his stuff just to make sure all of the padalas can fit in to his luggages. 
• He is very caring and loving to my family. He works from home so when I leave the house for work, he's left alone at home with my grandparents. He prepares their food, washes their dishes, and watches over them. Another thing is that he understands well my obligation in the family. He still allows me to support them even if I already have a family of my own. He simply loves all the people whom I love. 
• He's simple and frugal. He keeps me grounded and reminds me to spend wisely. Naturally, girls love to shop. Let's all admit it. However, my shopping galore has been limited lately. When I'm planning on buying something, he will first ask me if I really need it. He constantly tells me that he appreciates natural beauty and he's not a fan of the superficial. On my birthday he asked me what I want and the first thing that popped out my mind was this branded purse. hehe. Although I wanted it so much and have been dreaming about it for so long, in the end, I told him that I'll be okay without it. I was beginning to think like him. We've got to take care first of our obligations, save for our future and learn to live a simple life. 

He's been really a good influence in my life and he makes me a better person. I am very proud of how the Lord is shaping you. I thank God for leading you to righteousness and to holiness. Thanking God as well for leading your path to mine. I'm blessed and eternally honored to be your wife. I love you so much. Happy Birthday Alan!

******************

I prepared a little surprise for you. I gathered birthday messages from your family back home for your very special day. Hope you feel the warmth of their love however thousand of miles away they are.

From Daddy:

On Alan's 30th birthday, here's something I'd like to share:

At two years old, Alan could speak clearly. Pretty soon, he could say a few prayers, as well as sing. He sang "Bahay Kubo", nursery rhymes, and top tunes of the day. And how well he could carry a tune! How can I forget how he sang "Stuck on You", Lionel Richie style! 

Alan, may you use these and your other gifts for Our Creator and others. God bless you! Happy Birthday! 

From Mommy:

When you were born, you got a perfect Apgar score of 10. You did not cry immediately but your eyes were wide open and alert because you were a Lamaze baby and you got the best start in life. In spite of that score, we could not take you home when I was discharged bec you had ingested blood that showed in bloody stools and the pedia wanted to be sure the cause was not internal bleeding. I went home but was back at the hospital daily to breastfeed you until we could bring you home a week after your bday. As firstborn apo and nephew on the Ochoa side, so many women doted on you but Lolo Fred was happiest bec finally there was a male in the family.Happy birthday dearest Alan! 

From our Ninang Doris and Ninong Ting:

Happy birthday, Alan, our #1 pamangkin born on 11.1! Always remember that you already have one of the greatest gifts, that of the love of a good wife. Nurture this love, and happiness will be yours on all your birthdays to come. With good wishes from Ninang Doris and Ninong Ting <3

From your Ninang Ces:

Happy birthday, Alan! Seeing you grow into the intelligent, responsible and loving man that you are now has been such a blessing. Never forget to keep growing, to keep caring, and to keep learning. Love you! 

From Tita Beng, Celine and Simon:

Happy 30th birthday, Alan!

I still am not used to calling you Alan. You have always been Owie to me, the first grandson and nephew of the Ochoas. I still remember how excited we all were every time you visited Lozano back in the days, when you were still a toddler. You were always so well-behaved, never pilyo.

Now, you have grown up to be quite the young man - so talented, smart, kindhearted. True, you have the Ochoas' DNA...but you are also a testament to how great Kuya Ton and Ate Nanette are as parents.

It was a treat to see you in Anaheim this year with Joselle. Keep safe in Georgia.Labsyaaaa!

From Mabear:

Happy 30th Alan, may you continue to be blessed with everything your heart desires :) We will celebrate your birthday tomorrow here at Lozano for lunch, and tonight the Fernandez side will celebrate your birthday at Ojeda naman. Ang daming celebrations! Ang saya-saya! Stay happy and healthy!

From Mayey:

Happy 30th birthday, kuya Alan! Happiness always to you and ate Joselle. God bless you more. :)

I thought of surprising him with a gift but in the end, I was the one who got surprised because he knew about my plan by accidentally reading my FB chat with my friend. This is him acting surprised. LOL

xoxo, 

Joselle 

Birthday Weekend

Tomorrow is Halloween! Can't believe October is coming to an end. I guess time comes by fast when we get very occupied. Just this weekend, happenings were all over the place. It was super packed but it was fun, as always! These are the memories that are definitely going to my blog (:

Saturday, we had dinner with our friends at J. Alexander's Steak house to celebrate my birthday and Alan's as well. We also had karaoke after at Ai-tunes. We're thankful for our friends for making it memorable for us.

Sunday morning, I had my marathon relay run together with my friends in CFC. Actually, one of our friends was supposed to run but she can't do it so she had me as her back-up. I thought it would be challenging and I was right. Love challenges and adventures! Glad I was down for it. This run was different from my past races. It was different because we ran as a team. I knew someone was waiting for me so I had to work extra hard. Sometimes pressure is good when it pushes yourself to do things you thought you couldn't do. 

Right after the run, we rushed home to prepare for Alan's big 30 party. Big thanks to my family for helping me in preparing the food, decor, table set up, photobooth, and everything. One of my aunts suggested to do a costume party as it is Halloween weekend. Dressing up is always fun! This year, I just made my own costume. I got my inspiration from the viral Youtube video, Gangnam Style. It was the outfit of the girl in the subway. Then got my wig from a grocery store for $3. Alan was wearing his wedding suit and borrowed my lolo's bow tie. He was the lead guy, Psy. 

All the kids danced with us to beat of Oppa Gangnam Style! hahaha

Gangnam Style

Thank you to all my family for your presence and all the gifts as well. We love you!

For all the people whom we've met in the past, in the present and those who have been with us forever, we're so thankful to all of you. Know how we value so much our relationship more than anything else. 

Cheers!

xoxo,

Joselle

     

A Blessed Birthday

Yesterday, I turned a year past my silver year. As always, I am glad that I was able to celebrate this special day with my family. Not only that, I'm even more happy because of the presence of my most loving husband.

Let me walk you through how my special day turned out. Early morning upon arriving at the office, these gifts welcomed me and they were from my sweetest co-workers!   

It has been a tradition to us ever since to offer mass on our birthday so at lunch break, I attended the Holy Eucharist with my hubby. I thanked God for the gift of fullness of life and for all the wonderful blessings he gave me. 

After work, we took everyone at home to a Korean restaurant to celebrate and eat some Korean BBQ! I don't really know why but I love love love korean bbq! It might not be a healthy choice but might as well enjoy them while I'm still young. hahaha. 

My hubby got me this cute and yummy chocolate cake from a Korean bakery. The reason why I love Korean cakes is because they're not too sweet so no guilt feeling after the indulgence. It's just perfect! 

Time to make a wish and blow the candles! 

Mr. & Mrs. Fernandez

Famlove <3

It was a very blessed and momentous day for me. I was touched as I got hundreds of overwhelming birthday greetings. As I posted on my FB last night:

Thank you everyone for all your birthday wishes! Feel greatly blessed and can't ask for anything more. God has been way generous to me on showering me with amazing people/relationships and at the end of the day, that is all that truly matters. Love you all! :)

As we grow older, we become more mature and we start to realize what's more important in life. According to the priest's sermon yesterday, each one of us should understand our priorities in life. In my case, choosing to put God above all else, I gained a lot of wisdom, peace, love, joy, serenity, and many more. If we all walk through our way of life with the Lord, all else will follow. Good life, job, friends, and most especially, family, all these will turn out well because of the wise choices we make. Our choices, our thinking, our heart will always want to please God in everything. We will become more loving and compassionate toward others and we will build great relationships with our family, friends, and all God's children. We will learn how to live simply, humbly and generously. Of course our lives won't always be as colorful as rainbows and butterflies. We will pass through hardships and we will make mistakes along the way but that's okay. Allow those to serve  important lessons in life, know that God allows second chances, and keep up the faith. I know that God works wonders! Thank you Lord for standing by me in my 26-year life journey and happily looking forward for more years to come! Thank you for allowing me to age gracefully :)

xoxo,

Joselle

Our first baby pumpkin:FURnandez!

Last Saturday, our sweet friends invited us to carve pumpkins! Pumpkin lanterns are very famous here during Halloween season. They light them and put them in front of their door steps at night and I've seen some cool ones when I went with my little cousins for a treat or trick one Halloween night. Don't ask me the history of it though. Hahaha. Maybe someone can comment down below?

Anyway, Alan and I haven't tried this before so we thought we'd give it a try and maybe we can teach our future kids how to make them. I seriously thought it'd be hard but trust me it's easy!  Whether you have God given creativity or not, you can definitely nail this. 

Here's how:

First we went to a church to buy some pumpkins. Ping suggested it's better to buy them from a church cos the money will go to a good cause/fundraising. Better than buying them from Walmart right? :P So we went ahead and bought the $10 one.

Alan and Ping

Maria and I

We saw cute little kiddos having their picture taken in the pumpkin field with the scarecrow man. Hope they weren't scared. 

Now, time to work it!

Make a hole at the top of the pumpkin. Inside, you will find tons of gooey seeds and strings. Remove all that away so it'll be nice and clean. Don't throw away the top cos you'll need to put it back once you're all done.

Then choose whatever design you want and start carving. Since we're beginners, Ping bought us tools and it came along with a carving book! We chose this cat in a hat design (master level 3) and traced it in the pumpkin. I hope that wasn't considered cheating. LOL. That's why I'm telling y'all it's so easy :P

Finish product! Say hi to a new FURnandez (:

Ping and Maria's pumpkin: Mr. Owl

Thank you Ping and Maria for a very fun DIY pumpkin lantern! We had a great time!

xoxo,

Joselle

Fall Fest!

Fall is my most favorite season of all! Not too hot, not too cold either. I can just look for hours gazing at the orange-colored leaves falling from the trees. The changing of colors is eye captivating indeed. Oh how beautiful mother nature can be! God is really amazing for creating such masterpiece.

I love to run outside especially around this time. I love it when the fresh, cool breeze rushes through my face. It's a perfect time to get back on track! After my 10K Peachtree Road Race, I kind of laid low on running. I just run around the neighborhood and last summer here was burning hot as usual so I kind of slacked off. However, I'm just so happy summer's over and I am now embracing fall at it's best.

I got so curious when my dear cousin introduced me to the 5K Firefly Run. My goal is to run all sorts of races ATL has to offer (as long as I can) so when my cousin explained to me that this time, the race will be at night and runners have to wear glow sticks and led lights on, I pictured it in my mind and I thought it's pretty cool! So last Saturday, we did our first Firefly Run and it was spectacular!

Kristine, Krissy and Me!

See how everyone looks like fireflies from a far. Their lights were shining, shimmering, splendid!

We made it! Good job girls! (:

The next day, Sunday, my family and I had gone to a day trip and headed to a cute town not too far, Helen, GA. The town is best known for Oktoberfest! The village, the houses, the town were basically German inspired. It felt like we had gone to Munich! Hallo!

We had lunch by the river alongside a great view!

It's the first time I tried PUMPERNICKEL bread with...

German Cheese for appetizer!!! Yummo!

And for the main dish, we had KNOCKWURST and BAUERNWURST sausages with red cabbage and potatoes. So exquisite!!!

Drooling to these apples covered in decadent caramel and chocolate...

Look at how the chocolate is being traditionally made by the locals. Galing!

Next stop, Cabbage Patch Kids! Baby wonderland only in Georgia!!!

My mom and my aunties obviously can't wait for grandchildren :P

Momma Joselle (:

That was a super packed and exhilarating weekend! We're looking forward for more outdoor adventure! (:

By the way, two weeks ago, we went to an apple orchard at Ellijay, GA. We had a great time! 

TGIF! Thank God Its Fall (:

xoxo,

Joselle