One of Nanay's "trademark" clothes - from Oly's collection

Remembering Nanay


I've come across this site again quite by accident tonight and saw my brother's last post- a beautiful song which MUST have been composed with Nanay in mind...


Olive at 90 - it's probably time to rename this blog to Olive Forever, corny but definitely more fitting.  






She's in our hearts and minds all the time --

...a beautiful rose 

...a funny anecdote 

...her favorite seat at church 

...her gardens (any of the 4 she loved to tend) 

...freshly made brownies or kutsinta

...a long/short drive on places familiar or new

any of these and more is enough to trigger laughter or tears, memories of our Nanay.












Just the other day, Ryan asked again if Nanay would like to come down to Heaven to visit us.  I love that he knows his Nanay is in a better place, but like Ryan, I also wish that I come hug and kiss Nanay just one more time.


I love you and miss you so much, Nanay.

A Mother's Love by Jim Brickman

Thank you for watching over me
All of the sleepless nights you lay awake
Thank you for knowing when to hold me close
when to let me go

Thank you for every stepping stone
And for the path that always leads me home
I thank you for the time you took
to see the heart inside of me

You gave me the roots to start this life
and then you gave me wings to fly
and I learned to dream 
because you believed in me

There's no power like it on this earth
No treasure equal to its worth
The gift of a mother's love

thank you for every sunlit day
that fill the corners of my memory
thank you for every selfless unsung deed
I know you did for me

thank you for giving me the choice
to search my soul til i could find my voice
and I thank you for teaching me
to be strong enough to bend

You gave me the roots to start this life
and then you gave me wings to fly
and I learned to dream 
because you believed in me

There's no power like it on this earth
No treasure equal to its worth
The gift of a mother's love

I thank God for a mother's love

'... no meeting occurs by chance.' P Coelho

"Because it has lived its life intensely
the parched grass still attracts the gaze of passers-by.
The flowers merely flower,
and they do this as well as they can.
The white lily, blooming unseen in the valley,
Does not need to explain itself to anyone;
It lives merely for beauty,
Men, however, cannot accept that 'merely'.

If tomatoes wanted to be melons,
they would look completely ridiculous.
I am always amazed
that so many people are concerned
with wanting to be what they are not;
what's the point of making yourself look ridiculous?

You don't always have to pretend to be strong,
there's no need to prove all the time that everything is
going well,
you shouldn't be concerned about what other people are
thinking,
cry if you need to,
it's good to cry out all your tears
(because only then will you be able to smile again)."

Mitsuo Aida (1924-91), Japanese poet & calligrapher

Happy Mother's Day: 8 May 2010

The magic of digital...

One of these guys is not in the original picture....

Bonding in front of the telly

Mac, Kallen, Ryan, Jaylen, Maic, Wiws, Kuya Danny, Kimi and Irene...

Kuya Danny touched down

Hello all, especially those not in Australia.

Kuya Danny from San Diego touched down safely this morning at Sydney [Kingsford Smith International Airport].

They are on their way to Avoca Beach for the first day of Nanay Olive's 90th Birthday Celebration.