 | Photos by Wi | Aug 7, 2008 |
this site is named after a park in glendale heights, illinois. it will house most of my photos, little things and what nots. welcome!!! |  | TJ to his dad: “daddy can I help you please”
TJ to lola and lolo: “lola, lolo, daddy said I can help!”
lola ran for the camera. lol
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| | it was overcast but we decided to go anyway. it was drizzling when we got there so we just ate in the car. nothing fancy just the usual fare from portillos. it had been a busy day so we lingered chatting the time away with family back home. then lo and behold, the sun peeked through albeit briefly, painting the sky so incredibly beautiful before it slowly faded away.
it was magical |
Chicago is hosting the NATO summit expecting world leaders, diplomats and journalists from across the world on May 20-21. A pack of protestors are expected as well. This unprecedented event and related activities, including organized lectures, informational forums and even planned marches and rallies, will disrupt the city’s daily routines. There will be road closures, parking and pedestrian restrictions. Commuter rail lines and public transit will have special schedules and of course security alert in all areas is heightened. Airspace and maritime security are in place. Most business offices are closing during the summit, HCM included. HCM will be open for business but offices will be physically closed for two days. All employees will work remotely on Friday (before the summit) and Monday (the day of the summit) with the possibility of expanding those dates if and when necessary. Our emergency call tree had been updated and we have received our new business IDs for these purposes. Guest visits are minimized or totally avoided and messengers/deliveries are restricted. As for our building, a glass protection will be installed on the exterior and additional security personnel will be present as early as Thursday next week. I’m sure we will be bombarded with more updates, notices and alerts as we near the date.  | winners | May 10, '12 4:34 PM
for everyone |
| | after several disappointing years, i’ve given up on these vines of clematises. i’ve pruned them (http://mylittlegarden.multiply.com/journal/item/108/Tough_Love) two years ago but they remain lazy bloomers. I didn’t have the heart to uproot since both continue to grow lush vines so I just let them be. two weeks ago, they emerged winners surprising us with gorgeous, stunning flowers. |
| | I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs
early evening at mallard lake |
| | two young lives united as one. he was dashing and she was more than beautiful.
Christian and Kristen, with their loved ones, on their wedding day!
congratulations and best wishes!
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it is friday and i’m very much looking forward. time flew by fast this week. so many things going on at work aside from the month-end reporting crunch. every time i leave the doors of hcm i feel good knowing that i’ve given my best. i smile and i give HIM thanks. been playing with this picture i took during the trip to st. john. i wish it didn’t have the house at the back; it would have been a postcard shot. yay… have a great weekend dear ones! 
st. john, indiana
after some cool, dreary weeks, temperatures are on the rise. the warmer side of the season hopefully has arrived. trees are blossoming and the early blooms unhurriedly painting the ground. daylight is longer too, the birds twitter as they greet the morning sun. the geese are back on the trail while rabbits are munching the ground. it is undeniably spring! those that have gone to sleep are back into life and the earth is renewed once again. i can’t wait to venture outside to soak up the sun. oh sunny day come! 
sunset at mallard lake last week
| | the basilica of the national shrine of mary at holy hill in wisconsin had been our annual lenten pilgrimage site for many years. the outdoor stations of the cross start at the bottom of holy hill and end at the top by the entrance to the lower level of the basilica. the stations are life-sized each beautifully nestled in wooded trail. of late however, the steep and winding half mile journey of prayer poses difficulty to the physically challenged.
so this year’s site, at the suggestion of pete and giselle, was at the shrine of Christ’s passion in st. john, indiana, a little over an hour drive from bloomingdale compared to the nearly three hour drive to wisconsin.
the shrine of Christ’s passion in st. john is an interactive winding pathway of life-sized bronze statues on flat terrain. A&E broadcaster bill kurtis is the voice behind the narrative of every scene. the stations of the cross start with the last supper and garden of gethsemane and end at a beautiful setting of the resurrection. adjacent to the shrine is the equally imposing st. john the evangelist catholic church whose pristine grounds house the three story statue of our lady of millennium.
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| | Lolo, TJ and I met up with Pia at the airport. She had two hours to spare before a final leg en route to OC. Bliss! |
| | rey’s ordination to the diaconate was at the holy cross, one of historic churches in the archdiocese of chicago. it was built by lithuanian immigrants in the early 1900s. presently, holy cross is run by the claretians and is a vibrant parish community located in a predominantly mexican-american neighborhood in south side chicago.
rey is a transitory deacon serving in fresno, california. he will be ordained into the priesthood in june back home then he will be back in the states to serve the poor in the claretian u.s. province where he belongs.
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| | april lunch was supposed to be at chilli’s in bloomingdale but evelyn suggested a potluck at melotte’s instead. odie’s birthday is coming up this week and we all wanted an extended visit rather than just a couple of hours max at a restaurant.
this special group goes way, way back. way back since we were young families. now, a good number of us are already retired, mostly grannies, some empty nesters. while a couple still live in a near chicago area, most of us moved into the western suburbs. some downsized and now live in far outer reaches. another couple retired in las vegas but are back quite often visiting their kids and grandchildren, so we get to see them regularly as well.
when our kids became older so our lives have definitely gone separate ways. unlike the old days, special occasions and holidays are now confined to our own extended families. so to keep abreast of each other, we decided to have lunch cum get together on a monthly basis.
now in our golden years, hosting can be daunting so we eat out, trying different venue each month. and because we cannot stay too long in most restaurants, we end up at a nearby starbucks for additional couple of hours. then goodbye is another thing. weather permitting, we carry our conversations well into the parking lot before we actually part.
this month, however, was kind of special. we had the luxury of spending unhurried time at melotte and odie’s lovely home, enjoyed home cooked food where conversations and laughter abound. and for us girls, what else but the never ending picture taking.
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| | it was a whirlwind visit but he managed to squeeze in a get together over dinner. and since he was craving for asian food, Sunda was the place! chicago’s favorite asian fusion place with fantastic food, gorgeous place and great service. Sunda by all accounts did not disappoint.
the evening was wonderful, fun and lots of laughter.
it was great to see Rey again!
here are some photos swiped from a's album |
my friend E has always been a dreamer. she’s been dreaming of the city of light for as long as we both can remember. but there’s the reality that there are more things pressing and the unending demands of a single mom like her that take priority. also, it is so easy to get caught in the daily grind and for some, dreams are simply dreams – farfetched and unrealized. but as they say, hope is eternal – and my dear friend is ever hopeful. she has a good grip of reality but always looking beyond. she’s a friend i go to when i’m let down. she has a gift of turning challenges into positive ones. and because she hardly gives up, maybe, just maybe, her longtime dream will soon be a reality. i pray. 
with friends at a b-day party
stratford square mall is literally across the street from us. we could see the mall signage from a bedroom window upstairs. though it opens daily at seven a.m. for walkers and joggers, it doesn’t come alive until after 9 when all the stores are open. it is a family oriented mall so there are quite a number of attractions for kids all on the ground floor. TJ gets to play in the mall as often as two or three times a week especially during winter. lolo dutifully takes him most times and of course his favorite is the soft playground. he loves the carousel and the mini-train ride but the playground tops them all. his eyes light up as soon as he gets in, bursting with energy totally wrapped up in his own world where he’d be running, climbing, crawling, jumping and sliding for a good hour. 
TJ sapped after an hour at the kids play towne choir practice is very much in full swing, not just for the sunday masses but for the easter triduum that’s coming up next week. karen, our music director, conducting at her best brings out the choir beyond all expectations. what a joy! and what a blessing! we are so enthused. karen would always say “pray it” and there we are, all singing from the heart. and even during practices, songs meticulously picked stir the soul oftentimes I could hardly hold my tears back. some favorites for triduum – via dolorosa, the power of the cross, not a word, when you prayed beneath the trees, above all, and many more. singing they say is like praying twice. i truly believe in that. this season’s lenten journey has become more meaningful. someone had told me that to suffer with him is to share his glory. i find this so very true lately.  | Of Late | Mar 27, '12 5:12 PM
for everyone |
long over due post .... lost in the file :) 
winter here in my part of the world has been kind thus far – mild and temperate and we have enjoyed some unprecedented balmy temperatures. and i hope i’m not writing too soon because chicagoland weather can be erratic as it can pound a snowstorm in april or even in may. and while I am enjoying a good amount of time outdoors, spring, though some days feel like it, is not in the offing as yet. of late, i’d been laid back, just taking things in stride – resting the body, clearing the mind and calming the heart. laughing and loving a lot, and very much grateful for life. sunset on a balmy winter at mallard lake | hello | Feb 24, '12 10:27 AM
for everyone |
Yesterday, arriving home from work, our precious one came running to greet Lolo and me. TJ: Lola, I know your name Me: You do? Now tell me TJ: Lola is your name, right Lola? Because I call you Lola. Me: That is right, TJ. You are good! So how’s your day? TJ: Wait, Lola. One more thing. You have another name. But it secret. Me: Oh, I do have a secret name? TJ: Yeah, it’s Wi, Lola. Remember? (hugging and kissing me - no more wet kisses by the way J) I went to bed smiling and grateful for the gift of TJ. I am smiling a lot lately. Smiling with gratefulness. And the reasons are aplenty. I am grateful for God’s love and presence in our lives, in all that we are and in all the things that we do. I am grateful for His love and presence in us not only through family and friends, but also through others those whose lives, words and/or actions challenge us to do what is good and just. I am utterly grateful, too, for despite our failings, His blessings abound, His mercy inexhaustible. His love lavish and constant. Dear family and friends, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! | | Photos taken here and there capturing more colors of fall!
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