Happiest Place on Earth!

The 4 J's: Jovy, Jonah, Joselle, and Joyce :)

Finally, I am happy to be back in blogland! Debbie downer hung out in my mind and kept my mood down for a while. But she just left for good and now I am inspired to write again! The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me. As some of you may know or may have heard, the reunion my husband and I anticipated and looked forward to was obstructed and had to be delayed. It did take its toll on both of us. I felt so bad for him for what he had to go through. When you're married, you feel every ounce of pain your spouse feels. It's like your hearts pump together as one even if you are miles apart. However, by the grace of God, we have recovered quickly from such a heart breaking misfortune. Although we unfailingly believe that God's plan for us are always good and He makes all things work together for good. So the trials and disappointments that come our way, as bad as it may seem, could be for our good, could not be so bad after all.  Of course, we won't see it yet now, but later, it will all make sense. Just keep the faith and be positive!

I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the people who lifted our spirits up and for all of your encouraging and kind words especially from our families, dear friends, my CFC family, Ligaya ng Panginoon, and my coworkers who all felt our pain from this nightmare. Much love from my husband and I to all of you! Mwah!

No matter how much emo time I'd like to indulge myself upon because of the heart breaking circumstance, I just found it impossible for me to do. God may have allowed for me to go through such a trial but He also allowed so much blessings to rain down on me and I cannot complain. I guess when the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you see blessings shine so brightly that it leaves no room for negative thoughts. I'm so blessed and just thankful for the opportunity to be reunited and to spend some precious quality time with my older sister, Ate Joyce before she goes back to the motherland. 

Last week, we wandered and took a road trip to Disney World, the happiest place on earth, with our two younger sissies. It was indeed the happiest place and it took all my predicaments away as we felt like princesses in our magical kingdom. Originally, this trip was intentionally planned for my sister 'cause she had never been here but little did I know that it was also for me. My second visit to Disney surprisingly felt like the first time again. It was a much needed trip for myself! I was so thankful for the company of my jolly and crazy sistahs! We had so much fun on the road, singing, laughing, reminiscing the good 'ole days, and catching up, thus I felt not the tedious drive. What would I do without them? 

Here are photos of us, forever Disney babies in Disney World.    

Day 1: 7 hour drive to Orlando and Downtown Disney

Day 2: Disney's Hollywood Studios

My Ate's favorites were the live shows!

Day 3: Drove home sweet home and passed by an outlet store.
Day 4: Mass at St. Benedict Catholic Church with mama-mia!

Now, my sister is back home in the Philippines and we miss her already! See you next time Ate! Love you! 

And guess what. Another blessing just dropped from the heavens to our mailbox yesterday! The schedule of my naturalization oath ceremony already came in the mail. Things can start to move forward now. Hang in there my love and we'll be reunited real soon! For with God, nothing is impossible! Thank you Lord for the strength and the wisdom! 

xoxo,

Joselle

Words of Comfort

afaithfulwalk.wordpress.com

xoxo,
Joselle

Return of the Jedi!

This post is not about Star Wars, which is one of my hubby's fave movies by the way, that I tried watching but fell asleep half way through. hahaha. Anyway, the returning Jedi I'm referring to is none other than my husband. He's bound to be back tomorrow afternoon! :) So if you see a sleek black Camry zooming like a mad driver along 400 and I-85, you better watch out, you know who it is! I'm so excited to pick him up from the airport! 

The happiness I feel comes from the excitement of our family and friends and their anticipation of our reunion. Every time people ask me when he is coming back and when they tell me they're excited for us being together at last, it gives me a sense of joy and gratefulness of heart. Joyful to see other people happy for us and grateful for the warmth of their love and support in our relationship. Ibang level kapag lahat ng tao masaya para sa inyo! So thankful that we're surrounded with all positive and good people in our lives who love us dearly and are very supportive of us. 

Hopefully this is the last season of our long distance relationship episode. We're hoping and praying that it would be the last, but as I always say, whatever God wills for us, may it be done. We cannot complain cause God has been beyond kind and generous to us in so many ways. Also, the trials that He allowed to come our way felt like blessings in disguise. The time we were apart, made room for time to purify ourselves, tested our faith, and made room for time to get closer with the big boss up there. We also got the opportunity to give our family 100%  of our time and attention that they needed and we met good friends separately that we knew God gave us for a reason. I believe we needed more pruning here and there and purification too so that when we get back together again, we're ready to take any challenges that we are bound to face with the heart and mind of the Lord. Not only that, we got to focus more on our work and were able to save up well. The distance also made us long and appreciate more one another. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. That said, I feel like we're so ready to face the next chapter of our lives, whatever that means! :) May it be a spring of a baby boy/baby girl, twins kaya (haha) being a mom/dad, new task in community/church, moving out to our own place, shift of career, we feel like everything is doable and possible as long as we're together and as long as it is for the glory and honor of God. How exciting, fun, and peaceful it is to live life, especially married life, in the fullness of Christ and under His divine blessing!

my husband's prayer before he left the house at 3 am

xoxo,
Joselle

Non-biological sisters!

The woman behind the echantment of Alan and Joselle :)

slash sister-in-law!

prayer for you!

no pun intended. haha

(photos from Pinterest)

Photo Diary Savannah Day 2

Mass at The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was the very first thing we did on Sunday morning.  :) 

Then we headed off to Tybee Island and grabbed brunch at Breakfast Club. If I were to be stuck in the island, this is where I would want to be. hahaha :)

My mom had Helen's Solidarity. It's made of a healthy portion of diced potatoes, Polish sausage, green peppers and onions tossed on a hot griddle, scrambled with 2 eggs, topped with melted Monterey Jack and American cheese. (description from website)

Jonah had Smackwater Jack Omelette. It's their fresh homemade breakfast sausage seared on the griddle and tossed with fresh mushrooms and tomatoes, rolled in a two-egg omelette with Monterey Jack with grits and toast. (description from website)

Ate Joyce and Jovy both had Country Fried Steak! Country? Fried? Steak? Need I say more? hehe

And I had their house special, Egg Florentine. One egg poached in a nest of spinach topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions, melted Swiss cheese to finish. All of this on whole wheat toast. (description from website) Mine was one healthy and hearty dish! :)

Last pit stop, Tybee beach!

It was an incredibly splendid last hurrah for the summer! :)

Oh did you know that today is National Sisters Day? What a perfect way to have celebrated this special day in this beautiful town with my three best friends, no, make it 4, mom included! Never a dull moment when you have these 4 amusing women in your life! More adventures and travels to await and more memories to muster for this month with our dearest sistah, Ate Joyce.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

xoxo,

Joselle

Photo Diary Savannah Day 1

Greetings from Savannah! What a tiring but explicitly fun day! I'm resting right now in our hotel with the fambam, and blogging while patiently waiting for all of my sisters to finish showering. Super tagal! By the time they're all done, I might also be done with this post. LOL

Anyway, yesterday, I'm so happy to finally be reunited with my most favorite older sister, Ate Joyce! Jan 2012 was the last time I saw her on my wedding back in the motherland. She's so blessed to be able to travel to the US for business and pleasure on the side all at the same time. Before she goes to her business convention on Wednesday in Utah, she decided to pass by and spend time with us in Atlanta. We'd like to thank her employer, USANA for giving her the chance to visit us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  

Today is her first official day in Georgia and for her first stop, the fambam is off for the weekend to the oldest city in the state, Savannah, Georgia! Allow me to bombard you with pictures from our fun first day!

Photos below are from Lady and Sons, owned by one of the most popular and controversial chef from Food Network, Paula Deen. Southern food is their specialty and this is a must try restaurant especially for first time visitors. Actually, it's my second time to eat here (my family's never been) and for me, I didn't mind driving for 4 hours 'cause their fried chicken is long-drive-worthy :) I love their fried chicken the most and it's one of the best I have tried. I am not really hard to please when it comes to food. Chickenjoy lang masaya na ko. hahaha. Another star from this place is their super decadent peach cobbler! :)

After lunch, we walked around the cute and quaint city under scorching sunshine that really burned everything we ate and our skin as well. LOL 

At Riverfront. We took advantage of the beautiful scenery and snapped lots of photos!

Our home for the night, Marriott Courtyard Savannah Midtown. 

To be honest, we are not beach people, we are pool people! LOL. We might still go to Tybee Island/beach to eat brunch and do some sightseeing tomorrow though.

There you have it. I am beyond glad to have this not quite often opportunity to bond. Thank you Lord for allowing our family to be complete again and have some quality time together. Thank you for the gift of family!

Stay tuned for our Day 2. Now, it's time to recharge my camera, phone, laptop, and myself. hahaha. Good night loves!

xoxo,
Joselle

Wanderlust Photo Summary 2008-2013

One of my dreams, (besides marrying the man of my dreams.hihi) is to be able to travel and see the world! In fact, I want to share a very personal revelation that no one ever knew except my family and some close friends (now you know!) cause its a total epic fail! When I think of it now, natatawa nalang ako.hahaha (I just laugh at it.) Here it goes- I courageously applied as a flight attendant a couple of years back at Delta Airlines that is headquartered here in Atlanta. (Oh diba nakakatawa? Funny right?! hahaha.) I wasn't exactly sure what had gotten in to me to even think of applying for the position, but my dream and frustration to travel strongly kicked in. They called me over the phone and surprisingly I passed the phone interview. After that, they called me again for the final interview which consisted of a series of tests which I battled through the entire day. However, there was one exam that I believe I failed so badly. They made me reach out for the over head bin (a compartment above the seats where luggages are stored) without my 3 inch heel and with feet flat on the ground. Wonk wonk wonk :( I lack in the height department which of course matters a lot cause attendants should be able to help passengers put their stuff in the bins. Oh well, in fairness, it was a great experience. Now, I realize God didn't allow me to be a flight attendant cause I cannot leave my family behind, yet. I need to be with them.  Especially, I cannot be a runaway bride/wife to my hubby in our newlywed life. 

So what if I was rejected. There are still ways to travel and God is so good cause He blessed me with a good job, good money saving skills, and a good bf/hubby who mostly pay for our trips.  That allowed me to wander :) My goal is to be able to conquer all the 50 states of America. hahaha. So far, I've only been to few states and there's more to see. 

Not only do I dream of seeing the entire states, but I also fancy traveling internationally, someday! Thus, we have to save save save!

I am not a girl that is so much into collecting designer clothes, bags, shoes, and etc. I am more after collecting memories and building stronger relationships! :) Below is a few of my collection of magnets I bought through my travels and snippets of places I've been to.       

Disney World, Florida, 2008

my wonderful family :)

Georgia Aquarium, 2009

toured Alan in our first meet in US

World of Coca Cola, Georgia 2009

CNN, Georgia 2009

Six Flags, Georgia 2009

Liberty Island, New York, 2009

Time Square, NYC, 2009

Little Ferry, New Jersey, 2009

met Ate Beng's best friends

White House, Washington DC, 2009

went to Singles for Christ conference with my first couple friends 

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Alabama, 2009

visit to Mother Angelica of EWTN 

Amelia Island, Florida, 2009

with family and met a new friend, Mary

Las Vegas, Nevada, 2009

Sin City!

Vegas with Alan and my mama!

Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2010

Alan's best friend's wedding

Ocoee, Tennessee, 2010

with my CFC and SFC friends

white water rafting adventure!

Hanauma Bay, Hawaii, 2010

Aloha to the most majestic Island! 

with SFC NY friends

Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2010

white christmas with family

Savannah, Georgia, 2011

Tybee Island, Georgia, 2011

Lady and Sons

new year celebration with SFC friends

Philippines!!! 2011

went back home after 3 years and got engaged! surprise!

Bohol, Philippines, 2011

Panglao Beach Bohol, Philippines, 2011

with my bff/sis in law and cousin in law

Bohol Bee Farm, Philippines, 2011

Boracay, Philippines, 2011

with my sister and her bf

South Beach, Miami, 2011

Ruby Falls, Tennessee, 2011

with my Atlanta friends

Philippines (again!) 2011 

we got married! :)

St. Rita Catholic Church

Taal Vista, Tagaytay, 2012

Punta Fuego, Batangas, 2012

Blue Ridge, Georgia, 2012

bed and breakfast weekend wih hubby

Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Florida, 2012

Washington, DC and Virginia, 2012

cherry blossom festival

Los Angeles, California, 2012

Santa Monica, California, 2012

SFC conference

Ellijay, Georgia, 2013

Helen, Georgia, 2013

Biltmore, South Carolina, 2013

Hubby's gone for almost 6 months now and that leads me to a hiatus in my wanderlust. However, he's back in a couple of weeks! Time to set my feet again on the road and up up in the air! :)

Also, my Ate Joyce (older sister) is arriving this weekend. It's her first visit to the US! My Ate too is a frequent flyer and a voyager and I'm just so happy for her as well. We were raised poor but that didn't become a hindrance in achieving our dreams and going to places. 

May this blog inspire you to reach for whatever dreams you may have, hop on that next plane, take that leap of faith, believe in yourself, and trust that God will guide you every step of the way. If we only make Him the pilot and driver of our lives, He'll steer that wheel smoothly, farther, and will take us to somewhere far beyond. 

Thank you Lord for majestically turning our dreams to reality and for the opportunity to see and enjoy your wonderful creation with our family and friends :)

More travel adventure posts to come!

on my bucket list! <3
photo by sallyzeunert.wordpress.com

xoxo,

Joselle