Christmas Letter 2007

(This is the first and only Christmas Letter I have sent out from 2007. Obviously, a lot has changed! Maybe I'll do another one this year.)

We would like to wish you a very blessed Advent and Christmas season!

Dearest Friends,

2007 was quite a year for us! The four of us traveled to Egypt for five weeks in the summer. It was my parents’ first time back in 30 years and the first time for my sister and I. If you want more details, I have ample stories and pictures to share. My parents were able to visit their friends and we were able to meet them and visit our family. The trip had its ups and downs, but it was good to visit despite the hardships we witnessed. The trip gave us stronger sense of gratitude for the good life we live in the United States, truly the land of the free.

My dad is still enjoying his medical practice and we still get to see him every weekend. At work, he is in charge of the Depression Championship, designed to help people gain more insight into the roots of their psychological issues. He finds comfort in being able to share his Christian spirituality with his patients. Lastly, my dad is gathering a group of friends and acquaintances to help an Italian priest. The priest is living in Cairo and is dedicated to helping the poorest Christians in Egypt living in the Haret el Zabaleen (the trash district).

My mother is still hopping back and forth from Bakersfield to Simi Valley! She’s a very busy lady what with her daughters traveling all over the country, trying to keep track of us is a lot of work. She is also still active in our home parish, St. Peter Claver Catholic Church in Simi Valley, Ca. She is part of two Bible studies and an active member of the Bereavement team. I am always very impressed by the fact that she is able to attend so many funerals during the year and be a source of comfort and grace for those who have lost their loved ones.

Nicole left her life in beautiful Costa Mesa, CA and a great business-consulting job to pursue a master’s degree in Liberal Arts/Philosophy at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. It is a Western Classics program; a cross-section of philosophy, theology, and political science. The classes are Socratic method (no lecturing) and only primary sources are read. While living on the East Coast, she is able to participate in the John Witherspoon Society, which both she and I are members, since our knighting as fellows under the Order of St. George in the fall of 2005 and 2004, respectively.

As for myself, I still fly around all over the country for my job. Thanks to my fabulous mother and friends Jasmin and Rebekah, I made some nice holiday weekends out of them. I was able to visit a lot of our family and friends. I also started taking theology classes at the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, via their Distance Learning program. Maybe in 10 years, I’ll have a master’s degree. I have also gotten involved in a Catholic charismatic community called City of the Lord. I have been hoping and praying for such a group. Lastly, I moved into an apartment in Simi Valley with my good friend Rebekah. I’m loving my closet space, and being only 10 minutes from my parents.

With love, affection, and gratitude for you,

Simone & The Rizkallah Family

May the Lord bless each and every one of you in 2008!

Life in Virginia (August '08-'09)

I can't believe it. I can't believe that I have been living in Virginia for one year. I truly can't. Never, in my entire life, did I think I would leave California or my parents! (Or my GRANDMA!) Life is so surprising!

Today, I spent all day giving my room a makeover and it dawned on me how much has happened this past year.

When I moved out here last August, I was pretty lonely being new to the area. I spent a lot of time stressing out (It was my first semester in graduate school after all!) and visiting my sister at the River House in Crownsville, Maryland. I have a real affection for Annapolis now. Our friend Natalie came to visit in August and our friend Marc came to visit during Halloween. (We watched The Corpse Bride.) Mom and Dad came for Thanksgiving. It was the first time we spent a holiday with just the four of us. I really enjoy living in Alexandria and especially being only fifteen minutes from Old Town!

The best part about living here is the Catholic community. The Arlington diocese is amazing!

Here's some fun stuff I've done this year:

1. Experienced my first Tridentine mass at St. John the Beloved in McLean, VA.
2. Watched a live taping of The World Over with Raymond Arroyo for EWTN.
3. Spent my birthday in Jerusalem. :)
4. Went on a boat tour of Boston and attended an "Evening with Haydn and Mozart" concert performed by the Metro Chamber Orchestra at the Education Conference. As a result of that...
5. Started a School of Community (www.clonline.org) with a friend at my graduate school!
6. Visited the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Father Fisher took a group of us to visit. Before he was ordained he asked St. Elizabeth to help him become a priest and in return he promised to bring people to her shrine.
7. Visited Michigan for the first time to attend the Acton Institute. www.acton.org. Faith and Economics: My new found interest!
8. Sang in the church choir at my parish.
9. Go to the Faith Discussion Dinners almost every month: www.faithdiscussion.org
10. Attend bi-monthly John Witherspoon Society meetings!
11. Visited the National Gallery of Art with the intention of viewing all the Raphaels. This trip was inspired by a Crossroads Cultural Center event: "Raphael and the Divine Harmony: A Window on the Renaissance."
12. Attended a concert dedicated to Krzysztof Penderecki's 75th birthday at the John Paul II Cultural Center. The musicians were violinist Patrycja Piekutowska (one of the most renowned in Poland) and Beata Bilinkska, a leading Polish pianist.
13. Took thirty youth group kids (25 of those were boys) to King's Dominion!
14. Completed ten theology classes.
15. Started a blog!

P.S. I miss the beach, though!