Funny Month

April & May are always funny months to me. Important dates such as my birthday, Queens Day, Ramona's birthday, (lot's of birthdays)! But also the beginning of spring, the end of the winter months are finally here.

It's a time of year, I think, almost everyone looks forward to.
I have been finishing up my 1st semester in college! I have been having the last tests & finals, presentations & exams. It's been a heck of a start! I have really surprised myself in terms of motivation, effort & enthusiasm. In other words, as I sometimes cannot write what I mean to say, I am happy with how this 1st semester went. As you may know, I have been getting all A's (10-en)! 2 B's are the lowest score I have gotten. Not bad.

I received my birthday gift in the mail yesterday. I had gotten money to spent on a tennis racquet! I have been playing with my brother for the past year now, as if we thought we would have monsters come after us and eat us if we didn't play. You can ask Ramona, every single fair weather day was spent with a couple of hours on the tennis courts.
I had been "demo-ing" racquets. There's this store close by which let me take home & try out racquets for only $4. I think I have tried 8 now in total! I have finally chosen my "weapon of mass destruction", to cite Mariana's father. Now, of course, it's raining, so it's still lying motionless on the table, wrapped in plastic and looking like a fish out of water. I'll let you know the 1st time I beat my brother!

Things are about to change dramatically here. W&M are moving out this week or next. Ramona & I also are moving out he end of this month. But before that we have W&M's graduation from Law School! yeah!
It's going to be a crazy month! But lots of fun! Mariana's parent are coming, my parents are coming, the Rapiers are coming...! sweet!

I love my work with Tim. I took a picture of one of our projects (see below). We made some custom shelves for in the living room. Knowing & realizing everyday that I still have a lot to learn, I am always scared to make mistakes & "mess-up" what we are working on, his tools or anything else. I take a lot of pride in my work and can only hope to meet Tim's expectations and make him feel secure and proud of what comes from my hands.

Refreshing

I have been re-energized. Ramona & I went on a weekend trip with new people in our church. We chose to go after all to get to know people more who also come to church on Sunday mornings. The trip toke us to some mountains not far from where we live. Tucked away among the melting ski slopes, the lodge we stayed in was very comfortable. With a jacuzzi, tennis courts nearby & fireplaces there was plenty of relaxation!

Our pastor was there too & spoke to us about who Liberti church is, what their vision is and what it means to be a member of Liberti. It was a great way to really understand the faith and motivations. Not on purpose, but most welcome, there were mostly young adults there who are around our age. City people from Philadelphia.
So Ramona & I mingled with them & talked & introduced ourselves & showed interest in getting to know them more personally. We felt like we found some people to have more close friendships with!

I have to say, it was not what I expected at first, I have been to retreats like this before & this one seemed more challenging for me personally. But overall I came back really well-rested & feeling re-charged again. Strengthened to take on my school work again and keep working on the preparation for the next two months.

Past Weekend

Sebastian Abdallah arrived here in Collingswood last Friday.
He was on his way to North Carolina for a wedding.
We spent the weekend together showing him New York City, Philadelphia & our area.
Spending late nights discussing & talking about everything & nothing, we connected again after so many years & enjoyed the long lasting friendship between us.

He has a sociological study and was very interested in the poor neighborhoods of Philadelphia and also Camden. So we spent Monday afternoon driving through these areas, showing him the variety of people and ethnicity's.
It was really neat to have him and joke around!

Spring

It's spring time. I have spring break. Schools out for a week. The weather has been warming up and yesterday I saw flowers coming up out of the ground for the 1st time.
Purple flowers and yellow ones. Ramona and I have been doing quite well. God has been there for us (as always) and kept us healthy and provided for us. Homesickness comes and goes, but our lives here have been a true pleasure. I am enjoying school, and so far have gotten nine A's and one B. I have a mid term exam coming up on Saturday for history. So today I am studying the 1st seven chapters of ancient civilizations. The Greeks, China and Egypt.

Ramona has been a huge part of my life. She has stood by me, showing her loyalty towards me as my wife. As I watch her in admiration she has been teaching me several things that I can improve in. She has been adapting really well to the American culture and has persisted in making a life here, as hard as it can be sometimes. She has left a lot behind and does not complain about it. She is very opportunistic and takes life as it comes.
I am truly humbled in awe, considering myself rich with her friendship and companionship. I have not been good at acknowledging this. I have neglected to notice and went on as if it were the most common thing in life. Here are some beautiful pictures of my beautiful wife.