Shrimp Salad
Banana Pudding
Hello there! I was supposed to do this entry last Friday but I got sidetracked because of THIS. Hee hee! ;) I’m all yours now so brace yourselves for what might turn out to be a long and picture heavy read.
April, on the Texas home-front, has been a very blessed month for us. April 19 to 22 alone, when relatives came to visit us, turned out to be a 4-day-blessing-avalanche. Instead of my usual “Day 1, Day 2″ type of story-telling, I’ll do it “Counting Blessings” style. 
Blessing #1: Relatives Came to Visit
First up on our list of blessings is the arrival of Tito Jess and Ninang Petite, their daughter Rina, and Tito (Fr.) Kit. Tito Jess and Ninang Petite are the parents of our cousin-blogger Pinky of Saudi Sexpat Stories whose hubby is also an avid blogger, Keith of Leap of Faith. And Ninang Petite (hubby’s baptismal ninang and our wedding ninang) and Tito Kit are siblings of my MIL. Whew! Now you understand how we are all related. Hahaha! They arrived in the afternoon of the 19th and as always, hugs and smiles from arriving relatives are priceless. Don’t get me wrong, hugs from leaving (it sounds better than departing) relatives are just as priceless. I just prefer the former for obvious reasons. ;) The fun started the moment we saw them coming down the escalator led by Tito Jess.
Dimly-lit indoor shot = snowy pic. Sorry! :D L-R: Rina, Ninang Petite, Tito Kit, Hubby with Abby and Tito Jess
Blessing #2: Masses & House and Car Blessing
Tito Kit, is a priest, a blessing in itself. In 3 of the 4 days he was with us, mass was celebrated in the comforts of our home. ;) Way cool! And best of all, we had an impromptu house and car blessing, too! Woohoo! :D After living in our present home just a few days short of one year when our houseguests arrived, nakatikim din ng blessing ang bahay namin. *sigh* That’s a dream come true for us. It’s great that our car, which was only a week old didn’t have to wait that long to be blessed. We also saved on stipend for the priest. Nyahaha. It’s so good to be, uhm, well connected, plus, Tito Kit and I share the same birthday.
The benefits of having your own priest…photo opp before mass starts! Hahaha! At pari pa ang naghihintay sa mga magsisimba! :P This was the first mass celebrated in our house (19 April). Our dining table was converted into an altar table. I guess that means we’ll never be out of food. Yey! 
After the mass, the house blessing immediately followed. We started at the front of the house and worked our way in, going to each of the rooms one by one, from the first to the second floor and then ending at the garage.
After the house blessing came the blessing of our car.
Abby’s bike got blessed, too! Gulo ng garage namin ano? We ran out of time to clean it up. But we will soon, as the things occupying the space for another car might block the energy of a possible second car from coming to us. Hahaha!
Blessing #3: The Bountiful Meals We Shared
All in all, we had 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 3 dinners together…all of them fun-filled and “food-filled”. Hee hee! Our first meal together was a very late lunch on the day of their arrival…as in 4pm late. That explains why there are no pictures. We were all just famished. Our houseguests came from California and woke up at the break of dawn for a 7am flight to Austin with a layover in Houston. Hubby and I skipped breakfast and a timely lunch because of house cleaning. Hahaha! That lunch, by the way, was at Waterloo Icehouse.
Our after-blessing handa: storebought assorted sushi, 3 kinds of salad and oatmeal cookies. Everyone was still pretty much full from our late lunch.
We were all happy with our healthy dinner, which turned out to be good considering they were all store-bought.
Rina and us at The County LIne at the San Antonio Riverwalk where we had dinner on Day 2.
Yummy barbecue: beef ribs, pork ribs and chicken with loads of side dishes and a loaf of soft, thick homemade whole wheat bread. I posted more pictures from our al-fresco dinner at the Riverwalk HERE.
On our last night together, Tito Jess and Ninang Petite treated us to dinner at Saltgrass (pronounced “saltgress” according to Abby). Dondi, Rina and Tito Jess enjoyed their rib-eye steaks, while Ninang Petite, Tito Kit and I couldn’t say we felt the same way about our chicken fried steaks…because we were expecting chicken. My bad! It is actually beef coated in batter and fried chicken style. Hee hee. I ended up eating Abby’s chicken nuggets. I have not eaten beef since mid January.
I guess we could also count as blessing that nobody seemed to have suffered from stomachaches the few times I dared to cook. Either that or they were all just too nice to let me know. ;)
Blessing #4: Pasalubong
Oooh, we had some very nice pasalubong. Lookey…
O ha?! ;) Spanish sardines, peanuts, garlic chips, dried mango, otap (not in picture) and choc-nut! Weeeee!
Abby got some new dresses, too, from Wowo Jess & Wiwa Petite and her Ninong Monty, Tita Millie and cousin Alyssa. Tito Kit also gifted her with a Pluto stuffed toy.
Tito Kit gifted us with a statue of the Holy Family, Benedictine crucifixes for Abby and the car and a green scapular, all of which he blessed after his first mass with us.
How are you holding up so far? I told you this will be long. :P I hate to do this but I think this will have to be part one of two parts. Hee hee. That’s an improvement from my 6-part holiday diaries, diba? So, to be continued na lang ulit ha? Dami pa kasi talaga, promise! Richly-blessed as in! :D Have a richly-blessed week, y’all!
