That day, he fetched me earlier than he was supposed to and that left me scampering to get myself ready. We were supposed to visit a farm in the next town for a research project, passing through Mt. Makiling via the Jamboree road but we suddenly got off track as he drove the car pass through a secluded road.

As he noticed the questioning look in my eyes he explained that he is looking for a good spot to view the Laguna Lake in that part of the mountain. He then pulled out a ring from the pocket of his jacket and popped the big question, which he said took him hours (holding the ring in bed) to figure out. Well, actually he admitted that even at that moment, he had no clear strategy except to let his thoughts become words.

He phrased his question like this, “Dear, would you like to be the mother of my kids? I think it’s time we build our family.”

He placed the ring on my finger…there was no resistance on my part but still no answer. Caught unprepared, I didn’t know how to respond appropriately. The first thing that came out was “Dear, I have no Christmas gift for you yet” remembering that it was a day before Christmas.

“If you’ll tell me you are willing to be the mother of my children and to grow old with me, you have given me the best Christmas gift ever”, he said.

Our eldest child, now 11 years old, viewing Laguna Lake 12 years after the proposal.

That was the moment I said YES. However, I got too excited and failed to ask how many kids does he want to have.

It was a few weeks later that he said he wanted a big family with a DOZEN KIDS. Oh-oh, can I take back my YES answer? Just kidding, I didn’t even think of that.

Papa Sez is such a sensible person and we easily agreed that we will let the family grow as big as we can, ensuring that each and every child is given the emotional and financial support they need to be happy and become the best that they can be.

In a few days it will be our 12th wedding anniversary. Papa Sez and I were in a sentimental mood as we recounted how our paths crossed and how we ended up taking this journey together.

I thanked him for the ‘dozen happiness- isang dosenang saya’ and he jokingly asked what that means because we have only been blessed with four kids and not 12. I am referring to the 12 years of being together as a couple…the 12 years of happiness. The day we decided to become husband and wife, we were ready to become parents as well, and now we savor the flavors of this happy parenting journey.

“I look forward to several dozen more happy years with you Papa Sez... ‘til death do we part”.



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About Us (circa 2009)

Our journey led us to this place. A little more than 10 years ago we began our journey as husband and wife. Three years later, we found ourselves with two bundles of joy- a daughter and then a son. They're the children we've dreamed of having.

About five years since the birth of our son, an unexpected gift came- a younger brother to our school-age kids. And soon enough, a baby girl arrived to round the family membership.

Brave was a term used by a friend to describe us. Challenging... and loving it -- yeah, this journey is not for the faint of heart.