Bee is for BLESSED ...: Easter 2012

Despite having slept pretty late due to the Easter Vigil, Mike, Zoe and I decided to wrap up our Easter celebration by also going to Easter mass at the Cathedral. It was a great mass celebrated by Monsignor Kevin ... his homily was very inspiring (as usual) ... he spoke about God's gift of "the morning" ... that despite any of our shortcomings or failures or disappointments for a particular day, we can find peace in knowing that tomorrow, we'll get a new morning ... a new start ... a fresh beginning ... another opportunity to try our best to carry out God's plan for us. It was truly beautiful and both Mike and I (and I'm sure Zoe, too) were so happy we didn't trade the opportunity to go to mass again for an extra 30 minutes of sleep =). Now it felt like our Easter was truly complete (Thank you, Jesus!).

After mass, we went back to Sunbeam where Zoe was surprised by an Easter set up (I swear, Tita Bot has decorations for EVERYTHING). She had so much fun playing with all her Easter basket paraphernalia =). Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the family for lunch at Thai bbq followed by a trip to the Americana to just hang out and enjoy the beautiful day. It was nice to just hang out in the park area of the Americana. Zoe absolutely LOVED it ... she was dancing and socializing with EVERYONE ... it's amazing how much this little girl loves life! She's such a happy person and all of us who get to witness the amount of pure love and joy that pours out from her feels so very blessed to be a part of it all. It's my greatest hope that she never loses that despite what life may throw at her. I hope she always finds happiness and peace and joy in the simple and true fact that she is LOVED by us and most importantly, by God.

As an added bonus to an already great day, Mario Lopez and his daughter Gia was also at the Americana. Good thing Zoe and I watch his show "Extra" everyday and Mike and I watched his reality show documenting his daughter's conception to birth (me and his girlfriend were only a few weeks apart) so we had a lot to talk about when we approached him and his daughter. He was a really nice guy and was totally open to talking to whomever approached him. Zoe and Gia got along great ... I think they might be new bff's =) . We ended the day with an ice cream treat from Ninong Jay and Mao (Thrifty's chocolate malted crunch always ends things right!).

All in all, the Sudjati Fam had a wonderful Easter celebration!!! We are so blessed beyond our comprehension ... it's amazing how generous our Lord is and how often He assures us of His love. Thank you Lord for my amazing life ... thank you for a fruitful Lenten journey and for the abundance of hope that this Easter brings us!