Our Beloved Camille's Birthday Celebration

Everybody in our family woke up early last Saturday, June 5, because it was a special day. It was Camille's 11th birthday and she was excited about it. Weeks before that, she kept reminding her mom about her request  to cook carbonara for her on her natal day. Well, she also requested me to cook biko for her but she  'pestered' her mother more than she 'pestered' me.

Since it was also a First Saturday, my wife - a devotee of the Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa, Batangas - and I planned to bring the whole family at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church to attend a mass. It was raining the night before, so I told my wife that if the weather would not improve the following day, I would be willing to be left at home together with our youngest child while she, together with the birthday girl and our eldest daughter, could proceed going to Lipa as planned. But God did not want to spoil our Family Day so He commanded the sun to shine the morning after. You know what? It rained only when we were on board a van on our way home. When we reached Pacita Complex where we alighted, the rain had already stopped. Talk about the Power of God!

Before we finally went home, we dropped by a flower shop first to buy, well, flowers because our Lady of Fatima would be enthroned in our home that afternoon and would stay there for one week for the Family Rosary Crusade. We also dropped by Robinsons for some last-minute shopping.

When we arrived home, our ever dependable yaya was already frying the chicken and boiling the water for the carbonara. She was supposed to be with us in Lipa but we requested her to stay home because my father-in-law would arrive early and no one would be there to cook food for him and for my father. As soon as we were home, my wife and I started preparing to cook the requested  menu. We did not have any other visitors except for my father-in-law and my sister-in-law and her kids. We just shared the food we prepared with our closest neighbors, including the relatives of my wife who also live in the same subdivision.

We capped the day praying the Holy Rosary. It was a tiring but memorable day for all of us, especially for our beloved birthday girl. How fast she has grown up. Although unlike her Ate Clare, she has yet to be visited by her monthly period. But she's readying for it because she knows it will definitely visit her anytime soon.

Her birthday celebration did not end that day because the following day, after attending the Sunday mass, I and my wife treated the kids, this time together with yaya, to a movie which we all enjoyed. I just hope that it's not really the final chapter yet for Shrek. If it is, Camille will surely remember it that she watched Shrek's last chapter the day after her birthday.