BLISSFUL AND BLESSED FOUR YEARS TO US!

#throwback
Engagement Photo Shoot - Oct 2010

Four years have passed since Vince and I walked down the aisle on a whim. Ours was not a whirlwind romance but our trip to the altar was a little rushed. We were in a long distance relationship and the physical separation was getting harder with each "goodbye, see you again, my love," no matter how frequent our visitations were. We both knew that we were going to marry each other and it was just a matter of when. So one time over our daily Skype dates, and this was after a few days of our engagement, we randomly decided, "Tara, pakasal na nga tayo!" Our plan was to civil wed, file for my J2 visa, then move to the US to be together. However, God's hand allowed us to get married in church despite the lack of time (28 days after engagement) and resources, and that was a wonderful blessing we both will never forget. We got married in late October and by early January, I moved to Pennsylvania to be with my beloved husband. When people asked us then why we hurried into getting married, we would joke and say, "Napagod na kasi si Vince mag-drive."

Fast forward to now, we celebrated our anniversary last month in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. This was the second of our two-part Caribbean holiday, the first one being in Mexico to celebrate Vince's birthday the week prior. We didn't have any plans other than having a babysitter for Vonn Kaleb, so that we could have alone time together at the resort. You know, do regular stuff, like maybe eat, swim and talk, and be a childless couple even for just a couple of hours. Things happened so spontaneously though that our supposed to be simple anniversary celebration turned into a sweet and special two-day event, really worthwhile and memorable:

1. We biked around the resort's bumpy cobblestone and paved paths. We had sore bottoms afterwards but we had fun! ☺️

2. We kayaked on the wavy waters of Atlantic Ocean. The waves were so strong, we got knocked off a couple of times, and our camera fell in the water! We almost lost all of our vacation pictures but the kayak staff who was helping us fortunately found it. We kayaked and rolled with the waves until we both felt a little seasick.

3. We had a very relaxing couples massage. I was really glad that it finally happened as I had been wanting Vince and I to get massage together for the longest time. It was his first time and he was very satisfied with it. He was "oooohing" and "aaaahing" a few minutes into the massage. Hehe!

4. We played beach volleyball under the scorching heat. I just realized now that volleyball was a significant part of our love story ☺️ so it was just appropriate that we did that.

5. We enjoyed a romantic dinner at the beach under the stars ♥ I will tell more of this in a separate post (or two) and will share lotsa lotsa pictures ☺

6. A surprise bubble bath was waiting for us in our suite. Another hopeless romantic must! I will share details and pictures in a separate post.

I'm so thankful I married my best friend, my one and only soulmate, the love of my life, the awe to my some, the beat in my heart. Vince, there's no one else I'd rather have as a partner in life than you. You're one of God's greatest blessings to me. Every day with you is a celebration of happiness and love, and I'm looking forward to four scores and forevermore with you. I love you. ♥