http://edelsramos.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-am-turning-47-on-february-24.html

I AM TURNING 47 on FEBRUARY 24

Every year that is added to my age is another year of gifts from above. Again, I am turning a year older on February 24, 2009...and I am proud of my age. How does one measure life and translate the meaning of it. How does one spend the many beautiful years of living in this world.

Life has always been kind to everyone. However, it depends on how a person appreciates life for what it is...and accepts what it can offer. We are all here not as an accident...we were all made for many reasons. The journey of life has many ways...perhaps even shortcuts. But either way we take, we will reach the end where we have to account for what we have done to the life lent to us.

What makes life complete? Sad to say, no one can ever claim to have a complete life. Life is always lacking of something which no one too will know what seems is missing. For this is the eternal mystery of life. It pushes all of us to search...and search until we discover that what we found was not actually the missing link.

I have lived a life of ups and downs...and I will always find ways how to stay at the middle where I can have a better view of life itself. Life offers compromises. It allows us to know what we are capable of doing...giving...receiving... and achieving. Fully knowing all these will make us more human. Life becomes a blessing when it is shared. It becomes a grace when a person transforms this into a blessing to others.

My life has made me grow beyond what I could have imagined. It made me stronger. It shapes my well-being to become what I am and who I am right now. I came to this world with nothing in my hands and will definitely leave empty handed bringing only what I accomplished in my lifetime.

My family is my life...I live for them... and I am breathing because of them. At times, we can't understand why things are happening the way we never expected to happen. But this is GOD's will...and He has purpose for this. Many things have happend to my life...good and bad. I can't count them anymore. There were moments when I wanted to QUIT...to CRY. There were some questions better understood by leaving UNANSWERED. And there are many realities of life that only GOD fully understands. Surrender is not the best way to live when nothing else works. Courage is the key...hope is the way...and FAITH is the solution.

And what makes a person happy? Happiness is up to us. God has gifted us with almost everything to be happy. For me, the happiness I shared is the source of my joy in life. Many years from now, it will not matter how much money I saved...the kind of house I lived in...or the car I was driving. But the world may be different because I tried to become important in the life of others. How we take life is dictated by what priorities we have. Sometimes, to appreciate life, one has neither to hold on to it tightly nor to let it go so carelessly.

At 47, still I don't have the full grasp of what my life is all about. But I leave everything to GOD. Every day is a gift...another year is already a BONUS. What I have realized is more than money...more than anything else...it is my relationship with my family, friends and to HIM that matters. I have experienced bumpy roads in my journey...I have successes, failures and even frustrations in life. But I must go on because there are so much to do and so much to look forward to at the end of the bumpy road. There are many ways to be a winner but there is only one way to be a loser...to FAIL and not to look beyond the failure. In life, the real question is not if one will fail or not, for we will always encounter it but on how one is going to deal with it. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

I thank GOD for entrusting me this LIFE. It is not perfect...it is not complete but it is something worth-living. What I wish for myself on my birthday? PEACE and GOOD HEALTH...Surely, these will make me truly happy...like a glimpse of HEAVEN.

TJ's BIRTHDAY PARTY-June 07, 2008

We gave TJ a surprise birthday party at my sister's house in Sampaloc, Manila. (Ate Virgie) It was a also despedida party for Uncle Lito's family who was scheduled to fly back home. June 07, 2008.

In one hot summer...we had one big day of fun.

TAGAYTAY - JUNE 02, 2008

Palace in the Sky, Tagaytay

We had a short lunch at Tagaytay, overlooking Taal Volcano, prior to going to Punta Fuego.

PUNTA FUEGO - JUNE 02-05, 2008

Some of the pictures taken in Punta Fuego, Nasugbo, Batangas. A province south of Manila.

LECHON BABOY (ROASTED PIG)

The party will never be
complete without the FILIPINO's lechon.

Everybody wants to have a picture with the three (3) birthday celebrants. It was indeed a family reunion as well.

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY-MAY 31, 2008

The party was really a success. The night was filled with tears and laughter. We were united as one family in one evening of unforgettable memories.

My brothers and sisters with my Mom, Tita Angela and Tita Lourdes.

Solo Picture of my Mom with her apple green party dress. She really waited and prepared for the birthday party. My sister Malou with my nephews Renzo and Jolo, sons of my brother Joji.( upper picture)

It was a triple birthday party for Uncle Lito, Tita Angela and my brother, BOY Ramos.

And this was the cover of the disc pack of the VCD I made for TJ which we played during the surprise birthday party I prepared for him in Manila before he went back home last June 07, 2008.

This is my picture with TJ taken during Uncle Lito's birthday party last May 31, 2008 held in the Philippines. This was TJ's second trip to the

Philippines.

KUYA EDEL AND TJ

This was my picture with TJ taken during his
first trip to the Philippines in Oct., 1999. He was
three (3) years old then.

VCD COVER

This is the design I made for the cover of the

VCD disc pack which I played during the birthday party of Uncle Lito, Tita Angela and my brother, Boy Ramos, last May 31, 2008. The concept was all about the JOURNEY. The evolution of RAMOS FAMILY spanning from generation to generation. The first picture(upper right) was the family picture of Lolo Pablo and Lola Irene with their children namely; (from left to right) Marcela, Candido, Lourdes, Lorenzo (extreme right), Lydia (second from ledt, second row), Angela and Uncle Lito (in a small wooden box). The smaller picture was the wedding picture of my parents(Regina and Lorenzo). The third picture (below right) was the children of our grandparents with Tita Mari-lou, wife of Uncle Lito. The first picture (left side) was taken during the wedding of my cousin Trinity. Uncle Didoy's picture follows...then Uncle Lito and my Mom. The lower picture (left side) was taken during our trip to China with my sisters and cousins.

KUYA EDEL

This picture was taken last January 26, 2008
when I stood as one of the principal sponsors
during the wedding of a friend held at Villa Escudero, Quezon Province. The wedding was
very romantic since it was a garden wedding.