Philippines here we come!

We are moving to the Philippines in 2008! Justin got accepted for a diplomatic post in Manila for 2 years. I am beyond excited. The timing of this move is perfect for our family. We have always been interested in living overseas and wanted to do so before Addie was old enough to be in school. For the past few months we were hoping our next move professionally and personally would become apparent to us, and here it is!

From the moment Justin mentioned applying for this post I began my research of the Philippines. I am an obsessive researcher. Knowledge is comfort for me. I of course was excited to learn that our new home is safe, tropical, westernized, English speaking for the most part, Catholic, and is very inexpensive regarding cost of living! To give you a tad more insight into my secondary priorities I became even more excited after I completed my research on the shopping malls and the food in the Philippines. I'm sure you aren't surprised by this. What girl doesn't love to shop and eat? Luckily Manila boasts an amazing variety of cuisines from Caribbean and Japanese to Mediterranean and Thai. I was thrilled to find plenty of American cuisine and pizza joints as well. Manila also happens to be the home of the SM Mall of Asia located right on the beautiful Manila Bay. It's the largest of the 8 malls in Manila and the third largest mall in the WORLD! Right in my backyard.

The beautiful beaches will by far be my favorite part of this move. There are 7,100 white sand beaches in the Philippines. I attached a gorgeous picture of Big La Laguna Beach which reminds me of Moloaa Bay in Kauai, HI where Justin and I stayed for our honeymoon. I have a feeling we will make a very nice home in Manila for the time we are there.

The pictures above are of the Manila Bay at sunset, the Manila skyline, Big La Laguna Beach on Puerto Galera.