i'm a big girl... at least that's what i tell myself... :)

nat made it safe and sound into barcelona. he's now at the conference, doing what, i'm not sure. but anyways. i think these 3 days and 3 nights are a preview of germany this summer. woo hoo, previews!

well, i did not fare to well on sunday when he left. he left at 11 AM to go off to chicago, and i went to church. after church, i was thinking "what do i do with myself now"? the funny thing is, i did all the same things i would have normally done -- socialize, go home, eat lunch, etc. -- but nat wasn't there and that really threw me off. i did watch a couple hours of tv to occupy my time and not think about how nat wasn't there. then after dinner, i decided that i wasn't going to veg out the whole night just to not think about how nat wasn't there. when that happened, i got anxious--anxious about being alone, anxious about what to do. it was weird b/c most of the time i was thinking, "what's wrong with you ramona? you've been alone before, what are you so freaked out?" i literally jumped when i heard the breeze blow on the blinds, and i freaked out looking into the dark outside thinking, "people know i'm by myself, and they're coming to get me". fear not, i did not become a complete nut. God really helped me to do productive things, e-mailing friends i hadn't e-mailed in a while, and spend time reading the Bible and praying. that helped out immensely. i was surprisingly able to fall asleep really quickly, only woken up by nat's call telling me he made it to amsterdam.

but last night was good. i got a little bit scared of being alone in the house again, but i was able to fall asleep quickly before i let my mind go nuts. :) all is well. ramona is not psycho. yet. :)

thanks for all of you that wished me a happy birthday, and tanya and nat for planning a wonderful brunch and skating. :)

ignorance is bliss

i think that God has used my naivete to protect me. :) i can think of three things, but two in which i think everyone gets to experience.

1. marriage. the pastor that married us shared in one of our pre-marital counseling session that if we knew what we were getting into with marriage, that we probably wouldn't want to get married. don't get me wrong, it's worth it, but it does take lots of work! :)
2. children. i've been having baby fever since the beginning of the year, but i don't think i fully understand the reprercussions of having kids--pain of childbirth, latenight feedings, terrible twos, conflicts, etc. i think i'm in a happy bubbly place where babies are cute and nice to play with. but again, i think if any of us really knew what it takes to raise children beforehand, we probably wouldn't procreate. :)
3. nat going to germany for the summer. i really don't think i realize how hard it's going to be for me when nat leaves which has been good because it makes it easier to encourage him to take the position. i think it's because the internship seems so far away, in regards to time. but it's a great opportunity for nat, so i think that 3 months apart, though difficult, will be worth it.
   

easter weekend!

this weekend nat's parents came into town. i've heard stories of in-laws, but i must say that i love my in-laws. it was a sweet time of just hanging out, going out on walks, and of course lots of eating. it was just such a nice weekend. last night, nat's mom and i just had time to talk, and it was really sweet. it was kinda odd, though, because i had trouble sleeping during the weekend. we think it's b/c we wanted to be awake and entertain in the morning, so sleep wasn't quite as restful. but all in all, it was a sweet weekend. :)

road to world cup 2006. ole ole ole ole!

many teams prepare for the world cup as soon as the last one is done. they start picking potential players for the national teams and practicing. before the qualifying games, teams may play friendly games with other teams, and it gives coaches the opportunity to see their players and begin to think about their roster. games for qualifying to be in the world cup begin a year in advance, and coaches need to balance winning, dynamics of the team, and picking players to play. even when you qualify, coaches need to figure out the final roster of the team. a long, intensive road.

well, nat's road to the world cup has been up and down, but it's looking on the up and up now. in 2004, while we had only been dating for 4-5 months, he asked if i would like to accompany him to the world cup in 2006. i think that his love for soccer clouded some of his thinking, especially in regards to whether or not we'd still be together. but all worked out well, and we're married. he entered into the lottery for world cup tickets: 2 tickets for any US games. we were denied twice. all hope seemed lost, until now. nat is probably going to have an internship this summer at deutsche telekom in berlin. the offer and details are currently being ironed out. but it looks like he might have a good opportunity to see a game in germany. :) i wonder if i'll be able to see him on the tv in the crowd if he goes. (by the way, i'll still be here in town). :)

holy dunked

nat got baptized yesterday. woo hoo. it was a real blessing hearing how he became a Christian. it was also a blessing to see how the other two guys became Christian as well. it was a little bit funny watching nat actually get immersed in the water, as our pastor is at least 6 inches shorter than nat. but it was also really sweet seeing members of our church come and see the baptism.

i also had some time to reflect about our relationship. the more i thought, the more i found myself overwhelmed with joy and blessing by having nat in my life. i am so grateful for him. love you, nat!

i passed. :)

well, i passed both the basic skills and mathematics certification tests for illinois! it's kinda unreal to find out. :) i'd like to see the breakdown how i did in each category though (which is being mailed to me as we speak!)!

secret readers . . .

while having lunch today with a friend, i realized that there might be more people i know that read my blog than i realize. i know a few people that read my blog regularly, but i have a feeling that i don't know all my readers. are you a secret blog reader of mine? :)

i guess the only way i pick up on these things is when i have conversations with others and they begin referencing what i wrote in my blog. :)

(changing subject). it was nice last night to go home when it was still bright outside. i love the long daylight in spring and summer. ah, sun!

storm was a brewing

last night around 7:10pm, we were in the middle of cleaning up our dinner when the tornado siren went off. nat was tempted to ignore it, until we flipped on the tv and heard the anchor say, "if you are in champaign county, you need to take cover now. this storm is very dangerous."

we could hear the wind howling as we waited in our hallway, with a mattress as a wall, and some blankets for cover. as nat went back into the living room/kitchen to get my rings, flashlight, and telephones, i asked him to be quick. we heard our bathroom window break (our neighbors shingles flew off their roof and smashed into window), and the wind intensified. we decided to go down into the crawl space. we waited and prayed. i was scared that the house might fall down on top of us and crush us. it wasn't so much the dying part that scared me, just the pain i might feel. (nat shared later that he said it would've been great to go up to heaven last night!) but i asked God to forgive me for my lack of trust and faith in Him. specifically, i asked Him to forgive me for my anxiety, fear, and worry. we also prayed for God to keep people safe and to relent the storm, and He did. the tornado warning passed, as the storm faded from thunderstorms to rain. praise the Lord! it was such a blessing to be with nat at the time, just to be close to him, pray with him, and just talk with him. i was so grateful that he was there.

this morning i saw the aftermath of the storm--broken branches, streetlight outages, power outages. it's quite amazing how powerful a storm can be. i also thought it was interesting that no matter how much technology we have, we can't guarantee our safety or the safety of the ones we love.

i hope that all of you that are in champaign-urbana came out of the storm safe and sound.