Hubby is Cross Stitching - A Tribute to You (on our 15th year of togetherness)

Not many people had a chance of meeting someone from the male specie who knows how to cross stitch. I happen to know one guy who do, and he's very good at it.

The first time he showed me one of his pieces I couldn't believe it. It was like an are-kidding-me moment. Because really, I wouldn't be able to do anything like it. Not even close.

The pattern

The finished material

Then he gave me a card, I was in awe. To say I was floored was an understatement. The front cover, has cross stitch pattern #1, the text came from a card. When I opened it, it was a cross stitch spread - the left side has cross stitch pattern #2. The text was a personal letter to me. The right side has cross stitch pattern #3, the text was from another card. The back cover has letters of our names hugged by bears, all were cross stitched. He even made a bar code.

front cover

inside spread

back cover

Then he gave me a pillow. The pillow case has an Aida cloth sewed into it (her mom did the sewing). The cloth's design was cross stitched. The text were from different songs.

Then he gave me a scroll.

Then he gave me a portrait. Her sister told me that it took his brother 3 months to do this.

8 years ago, I married the man who made all these. 7 years prior that, we agreed to be partners.

When Ramir and I decided to be married, we knew it wouldn't be grand. We also knew we wouldn't be asking financial help from family members. We already saved up 3 years prior. But 500 pesos every payday for 3 years wouldn't really get us far. We went into different kinds of business ventures to supplement our wedding budget. We made water fountains, sold Divisoria items to friends and officemates, we even joined a bazaar. And since we wanted to have a place of our own after the wedding, we also saved up for the re-tiling and re-painting of the apartment where we would stay. It was not easy but we did it.

These were the fountains we made and sold to augment our wedding budget.

For the months that we've prepared, we were hoping for a glitch-free wedding. But it didn't happen. At that time, I was thinking, probably if we have more money, our wedding day would be unscathed. Fast forward to today, 8 years later. I realized that our wedding day, is just that... a day. A lot of things might have gone wrong, and it might have been heartbreaking. But the wedding day will be over and tomorrow will come. And tomorrow... and tomorrow... until you'll realize that there has been a lot days when everything was right and moments were perfect. And the wedding-day glitches and the tight wedding budget wouldn't really matter.

When I met Ramir 15 years ago, I knew he was the answer to my prayers. Every single detail that I told my God how I wanted my husband to be, with him, fitted to a T.

Last December 20, the night of our wedding anniversary, I cried, because I received three cards from him. The next day, I cried again. There in our dining room, were 3 dozens of roses. I remember I cried a lot during our wedding day. In the church. In the reception. I cried. Buckets. I have come to realize, every time I am taken by an overpowering sense of love, I cry.

3 cards in a day

Thank God for husbands who love their wives... who take time out to make them feel special... who love and take care of their children... who look out for their welfare.

Happy anniversary, Ramir Cruz. Thank you for our 15 years. Mahal na mahal.