Last year, I stumbled into my friend, Rica’s multiply site and I saw this beautiful tribute she had made for her Mom.  Rica and I seem to have so many things in common- same name, same Mom’s name,  we both love hearts and it seems we both share a lot in common when it comes to family and life…and of course the same admiration towards our Mom.  So,  I asked her if I can share her beautiful tribute to her Mom at Heart2Heart

by RICA CONCEPCION ARANETA  April 1, 2008 

When friends tell me that I live a charmed life, I cannot help but agree for I am blessed with a mother who loves and cares for me like no other.

Being raised by mother along with 4 brothers brought a great deal of happiness and contentment in my life even at a young age while teaching me timeless values worth sharing to many generations.

My mother taught me the value of FAMILY FIRST. She was a devoted wife and a dedicated mother to her 5 children. She was happiest when she sees all of us happy even if it meant making sacrifices on her part. She made sure that she managed her time well and her family was always her priority.

I have never appreciated my mom so much more now that I have my own family.

She has cared for me and my brothers well. And she extends the same kind of motherly affection to her son and daughters in law as well 16 grandchildren.

I likened her to a star which you don’t always see but you know she is always going to be there. And not a single day passes that I am thankful for that.

My mother taught me the value of SIMPLICITY AND SINCERITY. Despite her social status, she has remained grounded and simple in her ways. She is quick to remind me that what lies in the heart of the person is far more precious than any wealth in this world.

My mother taught me the value of TAKING CARE OF OUR FAMILY BUSINESS—a passion she held with the same esteem as taking care of her family. She is organized, focused with her goals and was good at motivating people and managing resources. She was instrumental to the growth of some of our family businesses but chose to remain in the background rather than basked in the limelight.

My mother taught me STRENGTH OF CHARACTER during difficult times. She remains placid even under extreme pressure. Its hard to see through her during trying moments for she does not complain and is always ready to flash a genuine smile. My mother is beautiful inside and out.

Its true what a poem says about mothers… “They are Angels God put on earth to take care and guide us. Am Blessed to have her as my both my angel and my earthly Mother”

This was what Rica’s Mom wrote about her Mom,  Also a beautiful tribute  

VALUES I LEARNED FROM MY MOTHER

(NATIVIDAD LONTOC DE LAS ALAS)  April 2008

I am the youngest of twelve siblings. My mother gave birth to me when she was already forty-four years old. I was very close to my mother, I being the baby of a big family.

From my mother, I learned a lot of old time values. My father was a firm believer that a woman’s place is the home. That is why for my mother, the family, above all, came first. As a wife, her priority was my father. 

As a mother, her greatest concern was her children.  My mother brought me up in a happy and peaceful home. She made sure we were all in good health.  My mother taught me the importance of a family praying together. There was nothing more meaningful to her than she was surrounded by my father and all her children in praying the Angelus at 6’clock in the afternoon when the church bells rung.

She showed me by example how to love and serve the poor and the less privilege. Every month she would go to GOTA de Leche and help the nuns attend to the abandoned and sick babies. She also supported a lot of young boys who dreamt to become priests.

She was humble at all times.Now that I myself am a mother and a grandmother, it gives me joy and satisfaction that the old values and old traditions taught to me by my mother have been passed on to the children and grandchildren. Today even with the modern times and modern ways, the values have already been instilled in the family and nothing can ever change this or take it away from the family.

I have 5 children, namely, Raul Stephen, Raul Joseph, Raul Patrick, Rica, and Raul Anthony.

I have 15 grandchildren, soon going to 16. 

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