Match made by Heaven

God's second gift...Josephine Mary R Saguisag

2011-09-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Born on February 26, 2011 at 5 lbs 9.4 oz. After a quick labor at home and on the drive to the hospital (in contrast to her Manang), delivered naturally without any epidural and with just two or three pushes... I'm finally here! Caught you by surprise, huh? proud manang... Time does fly by quickly. As of this writing, Josie is now seven months old. She's quite laid back and low

God's first gift...Thérèse Marie R Saguisag

2011-09-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

Born September 23, 2008 at 4:58 am weighing 6 lbs 9.3 ozs. After 25 hours of labor... Papa looks smitten... So this is what's outside Mama! Wow! Look! I'm one and I can stand... ....and walk. Definitely Papa's girl! At 2, she knows just ho to get Papa to smile even in the midst of trying to discipline her. This year, our first princess turned 3. Three already! She has

Almost Four years later...

2011-09-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since Junby or I have blogged here. A long while. Four years to be exact. I guess, I can say one major reason for not doing so was simply because we got a little busy. Since we last checked in, some major events in our life as a married couple are as follows: - setting up a our own little piece of heaven (our little home) in good ol' US of A - welcoming our first gift from

Photos from Junby and Mitzi's farewell get-together

2008-05-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

Members of both sides of the family (Saguisag and Ramos) were present at a farewell get-together for us on Sunday afternoon of 25-May-2008. The get-together was held at the Saguisag residence at Marcelo Green Village, Parañaque. Here are a few photos of the people who gathered together to share a meal, celebrate the joy of being a family, and to wish us well on our journey. The full set of

A truly blessed Holy Week for us

2008-03-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since either Mitzi or I blogged here. All I can say is that we have been busy with many various concerns.The biggest blessing we have received these past days is the fact that we are able to spend this Holy Week together as a family. I was originally scheduled to start with VMware by this past Monday but they graciously gave me a few more days here in the Philippines to

Junby's 30th birthday, Mitzi's gift

2008-02-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Photos from our wedding ceremony at church

2008-01-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

Hi again everyone!Finally, here are some photos from the wedding ceremony itself, which took place at Barangay Sang Virhen Chapel in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. The mass began at 2 pm.More photos are available on my Multiply site, in this album: http://leonidessaguisagjr.multiply.com/photos/album/6/Wedding_day_-_church

One month anniversary!

2008-01-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to mention that today, January 15, 2008, is our one-month anniversary as a married couple. We have not finalized yet how we will celebrate this milestone in our married life but for now we just wanted to give thanks to God, our families and all our friends who have supported us through thick and thin throughout our lives together. Suffice it to say that we would not be the couple

Wedding details photos

2008-01-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!Here are some more photos from our wedding. These focus on some of the details surrounding our wedding i.e. the rings, arrhae, bible, flower arrangements, etc. More photos are available on Multiply here: http://leonidessaguisagjr.multiply.com/photos/album/5/Wedding_preparations_-_details

More wedding preparations photos

2008-01-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Here are some more photos from just before our wedding. These are also from our official photographer (who took a staggering 1,900+ photos overall) and we hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we do.(More photos are available on Multiply here: http://leonidessaguisagjr.multiply.com/photos/album/4/More_wedding_preparations)

Photos of the wedding preparations

2008-01-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

Well people, here is the first set of photos we want to share. These were taken by our official photographer. This first set is from the preparations the morning of our wedding day.(More photos are available on Multiply here: http://leonidessaguisagjr.multiply.com/photos/album/3/Wedding_preparations)

Photos from our pre-nuptial photo shoot

2007-12-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hi all!Before we start sharing with you the photos from our wedding and honeymoon, we wanted to first share with you some of the photos from our pre-nuptial photo shoot which we mentioned in an earlier blog entry. Our thanks to our brother in community, Danny Dy, for coming out to Ateneo de Manila University on a rainy afternoon last September 2007 to capture some of these moments with us.(For

Happy 2008!

2007-12-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hi all!Just wanted to take a few moments to greet everyone Happy New Year as we enter the year 2008. Mitzi and I are currently in Manila, spending time with my side of the family for New Year.Stay posted for pictures from our wedding, our honeymoon and our Christmas holidays back in Bacolod. I promise, we will start posting them soon. :-P

Ilang tulog na lang :)

2007-12-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the wedding is right around the corner. I've decided not to stress myself out over details that are beyond my control. Tomorrow I finally get to fit my dress -- but its just the basic portion, mind you. I don't think the overlay is done yet. I'm claiming it will be done in time -- my gown, and the gowns of three members of my entourage. :)Junby's barong is done and is hanging in my closet

Two weeks na lang ?!?

2007-12-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, we've finally hit December. I believe the next two weeks will be quite hectic. How am I supposed to get my beauty rest? :-o Seriously though, Junby being here has been a huge help. Now errands can be done swiftly (since he's become my faithful driver)and he has been gracious about being asked to drive to and fro. We've sent the dresses for the entourage members who live out of town

As the sands fall...

2007-11-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

I only realized how close the wedding is when I saw the countdown on Junby's computer :P Since I've been living it a day at a time, I kind of forgot that the wedding is more or less two weeks away. Being sick over the weekend didn't help either. I had a full schedule for last weekend and only barely half were done due to the untimely demands of my body for rest. Junby arrived from Manila today,

Two steps for Mitzi and Junby!!!

2007-11-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

Things are coming together though there are disappointments along the way. When friends ask how the wedding preparations are coming along, I can only say, I'm taking it a day at a time, which I am. Anything more and I overload my neurons with the stuff that I need to do in so little a time :) It's less than a month na lang before the wedding and I'm starting to feel it. Though I try to not

Mail away...

2007-11-05T06:19:00.000-08:00

Finally I've started giving out the invitations. God was very good in that he allowed me to send through a friend several invitations for my friends in community, Ligaya ng Panginoon. That cut back on the invitations I needed to send through a courier. Now to wait for their responses. . . .While that is happening, I still need to update the missalette that Father Sean has already proofread. Once

Flyin' home next month

2007-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, our wedding is less than two months away (46 days away, according to my countdown) and I have booked my flight home so I can be in the Philippines a few weeks before the wedding date to help finalize things. I will fly out from San Francisco on the evening of Friday, 23-Nov-2007 (local time) and arrive in Manila in the early morning of Sunday, 25-Nov-2007 (local time). Here is a little

Here comes the Post Man!

2007-10-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hiya folks! Things are starting to pick up. The wedding invitations and all its other parts (the RSVP card and whatnot) have arrived and therefore I am in the midst of printing out names onto the inner envelopes and by tomorrow work on the outer envelopes. My goal -- by the 31st I should be mailing out the invitations first of all to those who live far away -- Manila, Cebu, Singapore and

Applying for dual citizenship

2007-10-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Since I plan to stay for an extended period of time in the Philippines when I next go home (I hope to be able to stay until Mitzi's visa is all sorted out and she can join me in the US, to the readers of our blog please keep this our concern for the timely processing of Mitzi's visa in your prayers) I needed to look into any sticky legal issues that might prevent me from remaining in the

Just a few more weeks away...am I panicking yet?

2007-10-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

As an answer to the question above -- well I'm working hard not to be overwhelmed and Junby is helping by being my sounding board and he simplifies things for me. Little accomplishments keep me hopeful :) Some things that have been ticked off my 'To-do' list:- started having the dresses made. Most of the cloths are with the sastre na and most of the measurements as well.- spoke with our

Ticked off from 'to do' list...

2007-10-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been productive in small doses. I was able to confirm that Ani's friend will have the template for the invitations ready for me to approve within this week. Then I've been able to inquire on the monthly rates that Circle Inn offers. Their quoted price was steep by my standards but when I asked Junby about it, he found it reasonable. Well, he does tend to convert from

Dress for Success

2007-09-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I've bitten the bullet, so to speak, and sat down to make me a time line on the things that need to get done for the wedding. No more procrastination (if I can help it -- so help me God!). First on my list was to finally decide on the dress designs for my entourage. A little side note: I learned that my mom and her siblings were more practical than myself. At their weddings, they

Our pre-nuptial photo shoot

2007-09-25T23:36:00.001-07:00

As Mitzi already mentioned in her last blog entry, we were able to have a pre-nuptial photo shoot courtesy of Danny Dy. Danny is a good friend of ours and we all belong to related Christian communities (all three of us were serving God through Christ's Youth in Action at some point in our lives). As Mitzi had mentioned, it was fun posing for the camera knowing that the person taking the photos

Some photos from a wedding (not ours!)

2007-09-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

My return home earlier this month was not just so we could sort out things for our own wedding. One of Mitzi's best friends, Tina Poblador-Magbojos, was having her wedding on the 8th of September and she and her husband Mark was nice enough to invite me to join in the celebration of their own nuptial union. Mitzi was already to be the Maid-Of-Honor for the event and since I did not want to be

So many things yet to do...

2007-09-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Junby left for the US yesterday and as of this writing is sleeping off a major jetlag. I, on the other hand, am back in the City of Smiles -- work awaits both for Misyon and for the wedding. We had our prenup photos done while we were in Manila before Junby left. Danny Dy did the photos and they came out great. Thanks Danny! :) They were superb, if I do say so myself. It really helps when the

Waking from sleep...

2007-09-21T01:47:00.000-07:00

Nice entry Sweetie!Junby is right. His visit home this time has been most productive. I'm really glad he was around to finalize things with the vendors and the like. It lessens the stress knowing he approves of the stuff I've so far worked on. Now that some stuff has been finalized, I can concentrate on urgent and important things like the following:* the entourage and how they are to be

Fruitful trip home

2007-09-21T00:37:00.000-07:00

As was mentioned in the last blog entry, I flew home so I could take care of wedding concerns. As I write this current blog entry, it is my last day in Bacolod (I fly back to Manila tomorrow) and I just wanted to share what a fruitful trip this has been so far.I arrived in Manila on the morning of September 5th (Wednesday) at around 7 am local time. My arrival was only slightly delayed despite

Flyin' home in September

2007-08-11T21:22:00.001-07:00

I'm scheduled to fly home on September 3rd so I can spend a couple of weeks with my sweetie running around sorting out the wedding preparations. Below is a little countdown ticker to that date, courtesy of TickerFactory.com:I'm looking forward to seeing my darling fiancée again. *grin*

Word Game

2007-07-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice way to add to your vocabulary...Word of the DayWord of the Dayprovided by The Free DictionaryQuote of the DayQuote of the Dayprovided by The Free Dictionary

Ticked off the 'To do' list...

2007-07-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! I've been quiet I know in terms of posting but I've been nibbling on the different items on my 'to do' list for the wedding. First off, I've finally reserved the rooms we will use before the wedding (Junby and his best man, myself and my maid of honor). It'll be at Nature's. Why there? Well I like Nature's because of the fact that trees abound in the area. I think I will need all the

Some progress...

2007-07-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I've started submitting the necessary documents to the church. I've submitted most of it, even sent off to Junby's parish the documents needed to have marriage banns posted. There are still some pending documents like the ones from the US embassy but those will get submitted when Junby comes home on September.We still haven't finalized the missalette although it's more or less done.

Sweet as sugar

2007-07-08T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hi pips! Things are slooooowly falling into place. I finally checked on the cakes and folks, I like what I tasted. :) We decided to go with Anne Co's cakes and so last month I went to taste test her cakes. It was perfect. Since the cake will be using fondant icing, Ann suggested we use carrot-walnut cake since it's heavy enough to carry the weight of the fondant. Here's a snapshot of the cake

Milestones...precious and priceless...

2007-06-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Last June 19, 2007 was our second year anniversary as a couple in an exclusive relationship. Since Junby blogged about our one year anniversary as an engaged couple, it falls to me to do the honors of blogging about our two years together.Two years -- how time flies! It's been two years of discovering one another's uniqueness. Though we had been friends since CYA days, the years apart have

It's been a year

2007-06-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

It was on the evening of June 16, 2006, that I finally mustered up the courage to ask Mitzi if she would grant me the honor and privilege of becoming her fiancé. The year has flown past and in about six months from now, we shall be taking the next step and making our vows and making our lifelong commitments. We shall be going from fiancé-fiancée to husband-wife.I wanted to take a few moments to

Weekend work

2007-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Weekends are the days for me -- the time that I can do several wedding-related errands. Like this Saturday (June 16) for example. I have several meetings lined up especially after lunch and three are wedding-related. First stop would be a trip to our chosen baker to discuss the design and maybe do a little taste-testing :P. Second will be a trip to Sta. Clara chaplaincy to submit some of the

One step at a time...

2007-06-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hi friends and family! I know we've been quite quiet for a while so I decided to post just to let you know that slowly but surely things are getting done. It's now June -- that leaves me six months to go before the big day and help has come from various places.First of all, thank you to all the friends and family who have offered their time, talent and treasure in one way or another. Rest

I wonder...

2007-05-27T09:39:00.001-07:00

Today I was able to check out the recommended hair stylist and make-up artist for the wedding. To make sure that their hard work doesn't go to waste, Mommy E and I decided to make use of my being a sagala in our chaplaincy's Santacruzan as an opportunity to do a trial make-up.Coincidentally (though I believe there are no such things like coincidences) my role was Reyna de los Virgines (Queen of

Perfect Get-away

2007-05-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Time is ticking and I need to get on with my finalization for the Honeymoon destination. Where are we hoping to head off for a perfect get-away? Palawan. I am blogging this because I want to pressure myself to be able to post an update on the progress I have made regarding Honeymoon details within this week (I blog this with fingers crossed). If any of you have any information or know where I

Home Away from Home

2007-05-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! Finally, I think I was able to do something quite productive this afternoon. I went around Bacolod, checking out the different possible lodgings the City of Smiles has to offer. Having toured the following and checked the state of its rooms, locations and other amenities I have posted my personal choices for friends and family who are coming over for our wedding (or other purposes na

Small steps...

2007-04-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hi folks!It's been a while since I blogged. Rest assured though that I have been working on the endless 'To Do' list on my end. I inquired with the US embassy and it seems that Junby, being a US citizen, needs to procure an affidavit in place of the Legal Capacity to Marry document which the Philippine government requires of foreign citizens wanting to marry in the Philippines. Good news

An engagement prayer

2007-04-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was at the wedding of my cousin Mark to his then fiancée and now wife Stella. It was a wonderful affair. Solemn at the right moments, celebratory at the right moments. Fun was had all around by the almost 400 guests invited to attend and witness their joining as husband and wife.Anyway, their missalette contained a beautiful prayer that I just wanted to quickly share:"Our

Our Love Story

2007-04-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

The Ceremony

2007-04-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

As Junby has posted last time, we are in the process of coming up with the wedding ceremony that would solemnize our commitment to each other. After all, the sacrament of Holy Matrimony is more than just a mass with people dressed up nicely. In the process of trying to make a missalette I came across www.kasal.comIt has a very useful guide in terms of making a missalette where you just choose

Starting on the music

2007-04-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mitz and I started going over what we want to use for the music and the readings for the marriage rite.Since we are both Ateneans it should probably come as no surprise that a lot of the music we are contemplating using is Jesuit music. Some of the songs we are thinking of using include:Anima ChristiBayan, UmawitI Will Sing ForeverHow Lovely Is Your Dwelling PlacePaghahandog Ng SariliSa

Calm before the Storm

2007-03-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

Hi folks! I know its been a while since I last blogged. I can use the handy excuse of being too busy: what with the grades due for the 6 classes I teach in college. Now that that is over and done with, or so I hope, unless an irate parent wants the grade of a particular student changed, I have more time now. Though I haven't blogged doesn't necessarily mean there have been no progress. There

The Basis of it all

2007-03-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I've made the reservations for the flowers, the reception, the church and caterer and there still remains a host of stuff that need to be looked into. Most though don't need to be reserved ASAP (like in the next week). Though I am looking into different video outfits, photographers and cake suppliers. Now its time to turn my attention to other minute details that add up to the whole

A productive afternoon

2007-02-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

I finally got the time to go around the city on a hunt for professionals who will help make the WD (Wedding Day) truly memorable and unique -- photographers, videographers and cake artist (not quite sure if that is how you refer to them :)) As they say, a photo says a thousand words and I found such in the works of Jesse Narrazo. But the final decision is still on the 'negotiating table'. I'm

A Final Decision...finally

2007-02-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

After weeks of discussion, research and comparing various wedding package options, Junby and I have finally finalized a reception venue. whew! Trying to juggle what could best fit our budget and also at least be a place worthy of creating new memories in was a task I had to deal with the past weeks. So after all things considered, we've finally settled on Marapara which has a function room that

The Church...

2007-01-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last blogged but that doesn't mean things haven't been happening. Some things just move at a slower pace than others. Finally after much discussion, Junby and I have chosen the church where we will exchange vows in the presence of family and friends. It's inside one of the subdivisions in Bacolod City. Its cozy and just ideal for Junby and myself. It's quite famous

Countdown

2007-01-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

In case you have not yet noticed the newest addition to this blog, there is now a countdown clock embedded at the top of the page. It is counting down the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until our wedding on December 15, 2007 at 2:00 pm (Bacolod time). I spent a bit of time yesterday trying to figure out how to get it to work. Now, it is working fine and I am very pleased.I have a

More pamamanhikan photos

2007-01-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

Since I mentioned in my last post that I would upload some more photos from the pamamanhikan, here they are:Group photo of everyone. From L-R: Tita Elsa, Kara, Tito Bing, Honey, Tita Mitsu, Mitzi, me, my mom, my dad:A couple of photos of just me and Mitzi, from that evening:

Pamamanhikan...

2007-01-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

First of all, my apologies for not having posted anything new on this blog in ages. Mitzi and I just kept putting things off until the time I would be back in Bacolod and we could go sort out stuff together, and then we were all busy running around and stuff to actually do any blogging...But anyhow...One of the Filipino pre-wedding traditions is called the 'pamamanhikan', which is basically the

Interlude: Mitzi goes fishing

2006-07-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hi all!I know we originally created this blog to focus on our wedding preparations but I could not resist wanting to post this little "interlude". (Let me know if you find these little "interludes" irritating and I will stop posting them.)One of the wonders of modern technology is that it really does help people connect with each other, despite the physical distance. Yahoo! Messenger, in

Preliminary Investigation Results

2006-07-20T01:05:00.000-07:00

Hiya Folks!Haven't been blogging lately since work started to make itself felt. Since I promised Jun to look into the churches this week, I've been making inquiries during breaks. I have already called two prospective churches and temporarily reserved the date of Dec. 15, 2007 so Jun, wala ka nang kawala :)We hope to finalize the church after Junby has had a chance to do an ocular on the sites

Marriage Preparation Seminars

2006-07-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

I knew that the Church would like to prepare couples for the new life they are about to enter, considering marriage as something that is to last a lifetime. I also knew that CEFAM (Center for Family Ministries) in Ateneo offered these types of seminars. So I inquired and was informed of their seminar schedules. I'm posting them here just in case there are other friends who are preparing for

Papers, Papers, Papers everywhere....

2006-07-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

First of all, I'd like to thank you all for your encouraging words and helpful comments. It gladdens our hearts to know you are all going to be part of our wedding in one way or another - your suggestions and comments will help make our wedding a memorable one.Second, just some things I have already gotten to doing. I called my parish priest earlier this week to find out what documents I needed

Where and when

2006-07-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, thanks to the family and friends who have posted comments. It is great to hear from you guys!From what I saw in the comments, the most popular question by far seems to be where and when we are planning to have our wedding. So...As far as the "where" is concerned, Mitzi and I have agreed to have it in Bacolod City, back in the Philippines. From the start we both knew we wanted it in

Hello Everyone!

2006-07-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!As Junby has been able to explain more or less why we have this up and running, i guess my two cents worth would be an added encouragement to all our friends to drop by and keep abreast at what we are up to. Do keep us in your prayers everytime you drop by. :)Right now we are presently trying to gather all the documents needed for the wedding. Will hopefully get a chance to look

About this blog

2006-07-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!This blog is here because at some point earlier today I had the idea that, since so many people were offering to help Mitzi and I plan our wedding, maybe we should start a blog where we would have a "running commentary" (so to speak) of the steps we were doing to prepare for our wedding. I thought that by having this online running commentary, our family and friends could easily come