Soggy Monday but I'm Thankful, As Always!

Good Monday, everyone! How are we all doing today? Thank God, we're alive and well.

It's drizzling/raining outside! What? Soggy Monday over here in Hampton Roads? Unbelievable but it's true! But it was gorgeous and lovely yesterday! (Anyway, it's good that it's drizzling; it's beneficial to plants that need water, making the environment greener!)

Tsk, tsk, tsk...the weather really! So unpredictable, like life itself! Well, I thank God for we're alive and well. As long as we're alive...that's all that matters to us. On the other hand, material things (that we possess or have accumulated through the years) can be insignificant for they're there as mere decorations or accessories in life. And they can be replaced, you know, as long as we have life, and with money to buy them. But when it comes to life, it's irreplaceable! We have, as the soap opera with the same title, One Life to Live! Yes, life is precious, especially for most, if not all, of us (pro-life) who value life. That's why I always remind myself: Live life well in the present moment! And I've shared this message, too, to our Facebook friends and relatives.

This morning, while using the rest room, I happened to browse pictures of our folks and family members, and friends, on Facebook, and I was so delighted to see them healthy-looking, happy and in high spirit. This was in connection with one of our nieces' kids who recently celebrated his first birthday in my birthplace. I couldn't help but "Like" the whole album of photos and, also found myself writing a comment/message or two, greeting the healthy-looking, young baby boy-celebrant (Jack Ryan) a belated Happy Birthday, and congratulating and wishing all the best for the family (my niece and nephew-in-law, and their two adorable, lovely children), and for everyone involved in and making the joyous celebration a success. I did comment, in the end, "Wishing I was there, too!"

Also this morning, as I started writing this blog post (I was on the first two paragraphs already), my cell phone rang. I didn't answer for I'm not familiar with the number calling me. I was trying to figure it out. It starts with a 1, then the area code which I am not sure if I know. Then, after a couple of seconds, our home phone set rang. Same number as that calling me on my cell phone. My gut instinct was that I have to pick it up. That's what I did. Guess who's calling me? My young adult daughter Tintin who's working and living in D-ville. An unexpected call on the first day of the week...What's the news? Thank God, she's alive and doing well. That's all I wanted to hear/know at this moment. Thank you, God and thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Mother Mary!

Well, this is all for now and until next time around, my dear folks and friends. Take care and be safe always! Have a nice day, everyone! As always, I pray, "May God bless us all!"-chris a. quilpa, 29 April 2013



 

@ Church, chili's, Home

Good Sunday, everyone! Thank God, we're alive and well!

We, Freny, sis-in-law Rose and I, left the house early this Sunday morning to attend/participate in today's Mass @ 9:30 @ the historic St. Paul's Catholic Church where we've been parishioners there for years. Since we arrived early, we couldn't find any parking space available in front, both sides of the church because the first Mass was still going on, not over yet. So, what we did was to drive around. We saw two birds on the road and with my camera, I snapped a couple of photos of those two lovebirds roaming around one of the narrow streets, a couple of blocks away from the church. We also took a photo of that old small ship that has become a Portsmouth Naval Museum? We've driven around downtown Portsmouth a couple of times until the first 8:00 Mass was over and parishioners were coming out of the church. We found one parking spot available and I had to do the parallel parking. Rev. Fr. Chris was at the facade of the church greeting or bidding farewell to those who just attended/participated in the 8:00 o'clock Mass.

Walking to the church, we met and greeted fellow parishioners as they were going to their cars. Others were entering the church, with their best church attire possible, like us. Most of them were in groups, apparently as faithful families and/with their extended families, probably.

As I've mentioned, Rev. Fr. Chris celebrated the 9:30 am Mass with us. Freny and I did the Cups 3 and 4 (the cup with the consecrated wine, the Blood of Christ), since we're scheduled today as volunteer lay Eucharistic Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC). We also volunteered as greeters, welcoming parishioners, visitors and/or guests to the church.

The gospel message for today (from John 13:31-33a) emphasizes one of the very important ten commandments and that is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. Rev. Fr. Chris, in his homily, initially talked about our new Pope Francis I and his living the Gospel simply and humbly. He explained us how the latter is handling or managing his papacy so far, bearing in mind the love of Christ through loving the poor in our midst.

After Mass, Freny asked, "where are we going to eat?" Captain D's? Apple Bee's? Rose mentioned that she has a gift card for Apple Bee's. I kept my mouth shut momentarily. Then, eventually along the way, I thought of something, a different restaurant to eat out this time. I had in mind CHILI's for we haven't been there for months, 6 or 8 months, maybe? Freny got excited when I said, "how about CHILI's?" So there we went to have lunch at CHILI's. I ordered the tripple dipper, Freny and Rose the salad and chili soup combination. We all just had each a glass of iced water with a sliced of lemon. Thank God, for all your blessings to us all!

Photos (c) 2013 by Chris A. Quilpa

From CHILI's at Chesapeake Square, we went home with some more left-over food. At home, I took some photos along the way, photos of my house and backyard, including some of our growing fruit trees and rose plants, as you've seen in the above pictures.  Hope you liked and enjoyed them.

This is all for now, my dear folks and friends. Thanks for your time. Take care and have a nice day, everyone! As always, I pray, "May God bless us all!"-chris a. quilpa, 28 April 2013