It's Been Awhile...

I just realized I haven’t posted in ages and thought I should give an update. Things are going fairly well. I have my days where I miss Des terribly, but for the most part it hasn’t been too bad. Work has been busy enough and my evenings I usually spend with friends or on the phone/computer to Des. Soon I’ll be home for the holidays…have 6 days left to go…whaoooh!! Am really looking forward to that time!

Sunday is the children’s Christmas service at church and we are all preparing for it. I’ll be involved in the puppet show (a Wiseman and a Shepard). Should be a fun time. Afterwards is the church’s annual Christmas dinner which is held at a local Indian Restaurant.

I’ve gotten to watch quite a few movies in the past few weeks and now have a new favourite…Head Over Heals…it’s a great romantic comedy (if you’re into those sort of movies). Also, Just Like Heaven was brilliant as well.

Still have a few bits and pieces of Christmas shopping to do. Hope to finish that up on Saturday, but will have to see how the day goes. I may be doing it in the duty free at the airport at the rate I’m going…who knows =). Hopefully the carry on restrictions won’t be as bad as the last time we flew home (that was horrendous!).

I really don’t have much more to blabber on about. Without Des around life just isn’t as eventful, maybe that will change, have to get use to being on my own again. I know it was only 4 years ago, but it feels like ages for some reason. Plus, I think being a newbie in a foreign country has its disadvantages as well.

Till Later,
Jess

The Day Came & Went

Des headed off to the States yesterday morning and after traveling nearly 24 hours (flights & layovers...those can be a killer) he arrived safely home. Thank you to everyone who was praying him through his travels, we really appreciate you lifting Him up before our Father.

It would figure my first night on my own we would get the wind storm of the year! We've had some pretty bad wind storms so far this year, but nothing like last night. They are calling for more heavy winds throughout the day and again through the night. Will need to batten down the hatches. I'm surprised our Internet antenna and satellite dish are still attached to the pole.

Tonight I have G.L.O.W. so I'm looking forward to that. I haven't been the last 2 weeks as I was wanting to spend as much time as possible with Des before he left.

Des...if you read this...I Love You to pieces and I'll see you in 3 short weeks.
Mrs. Linda...Thank you so very much for collecting Des from the airport. I know it turned into being a very late night for you and I want you to know I really appreciate you going out of your way for us!!

~Jess

The Day is Soon Approaching

Two weeks sure did fly by. I think I just blinked and now the day Des departs is on the doorstep. But I have to tell you, the friends that God is blessing us with are so great. All have them have opened up there homes and have offered there support to me while he is away. It has been such a tremendous encouragement to me, I just can't thank Him enough.

Another blessing from this is that I get to come home for Christmas! I'll be home for 12 days and am so looking forward to seeing everyone. Nothing beats being with those that you love and cherish for Christmas...it's a gift in and of itself!! And to top it all off the place I work for has decided to give us Christmas week off so I will only have to use 3 of my vacation days...isn't that wonderful! That'll allow me extra time to come home throughout the year for long weekends, which I hope to do about every 6 weeks or so.

Des has worked so hard over this past week getting everything repaired, sorted, and setup for me while he is gone. He's just the best. Our home is fully insulated so I can be warm (our little place doesn't like to keep the heat in except for during the summer months). I've also got outside lighting now so that when I come home from work I won't have to come home to a dark house (I don't care for the dark)...it's great! He also got me satellite TV so that if I get bored in the evenings I can tune into some of my favorite shows....home/cooking programs!!

Wishing you...

Hope it is or was a good one...would love to be there to celebrate with you!

A Hurdle Ahead

Des is returning to the States in 2 weeks to pursue his citizenship, however the hurdle we have ahead is that I am staying here in Ireland for the time being. I am under contract with the company I work for and need to stay here until that is up. Also if I leave I jeopardize my residency status here and my chance for citizenship. I will however be making regular trips to the States during the time we are apart. It has come as a blessing that we don't have rent or mortgage to be responsible for as we can use that money that we set aside for airfare. This will, I know, be a very difficult time, but also a time of growth for the both of us. Many, many couples have times where they need to live apart for a short period of time and we are blessed by the fact that I can travel every 6 weeks or so to be able to be together. And thank goodness for the Internet and web cams!! On the flip side of things, if in fact it all does become too hard and unbearable than I can always give my months notices and return home. Time will tell and we are praying for God's will and discernment. We both feel that as of right now this is what we are suppose to do, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but looking ahead this makes sense. I will be home for Christmas!!!! Have to get those tickets booked before fare prices sky rocket through the roof. I know there will be a few people that simply just don't understand why this decision has been made, but I hope in time they will, and will accept that we are doing what we feel is right.

Matthew Turned 2 October 7th

Most everyone knows the story of our sweet little nephew Matthew. He is truly a little miracle. Matthew is a twin. Little Jack didn't make it. They were born I believe it was at 24 or 25 weeks. Jack died after being with us for only a few short days then he went up to heaven to play with Jesus. Matthew however is here and is such a blessing to everyone. The road ahead is not going to be easy but he has come so far. He just learned to crawl over the summer and is now already pulling himself up all by himself. Des is Matthew's godfather and we are just so proud of this little guy.

Afternoon in Skerries

While we were out geocaching Des took me to the seaport town of Skerries for lunch and to walk around the harbour

Geocaching Day 2

The very next day we went out again! This and the next few shots were taken at Laytown Beach (about 8 miles from where we live). This was a relatively easy find.

1st Time Geocachers

...And it was so much fun. What a great fun thing to do together that really doesn't cost any money (once you buy the GPS gadget)!!

Our First Find...Newgrange View

The Trail

The Cache!

Des on the hunt...can you tell he's enjoy this??!!

Speaking of the Camera Cable

...it has arrived. I will post pics as I sort through them.

I Promise Pics Coming Soon

I haven't forgotten we just haven't received the cable for the camera so that we can upload the pics. I had to order it from the UK because I couldn't find a shop here that carried what we needed. Once we get the cable I then have 250 pics to sort through and decide which ones I'll post.

Des has off again this weekend (hooray!!). I'm not sure what we'll get up to, but hopefully something fun and if it's nice maybe touristy. I'd love to go to Trim Castle or something and walk around and have a picnic (sounds nice!).

We've had a fairly uneventful week. Which they are nice to have every once in awhile. Des is still working on putting insulation up in the mobile home. He's finished the underneath part but is now working on the inside (which means my little house is in major disaray!!).

Under the Big Top

We went to the circus last night and had an absolute blast! I've never been to a big top tent circus before and it was a really neat experience. There weren't many animals, but loads of acrobatic routines and I can't forget to mention the clowns, they were hilarious. I'm disappointed I didn't get to take any pitures (was too dark).**Update to entry...some of the pics actually weren't too bad...not great either but atleast it's something - right?!***

Des' mom and cousins (The Murray's)

Brought a Smile On =)

Cutest Baby Laughing This will make you smile.

Just for Fun...

October Bank Holiday Update...

Well, did we have an eventful October Bank Holiday weekend! I've got tons of pictures but we've somehow misplaced the cable to upload the pics to our PC, so I've ordered a new one and as soon as it arrives I'll have pics to put up on here.

The table quiz at The Village Inn was really fun. The questions were really hard, but we had a good laugh (our table came in last...there should have been a prize for the table who got the most questions wrong!). All the money that was collected will got to an MS fund here in Ireland. Aimen's (the friends that invited us, Veronica & Aimen) brother has MS and it was his family that organized the event.

The men's breakfast that Des organized went okay, only two of the guys he invited showed up, but they had a great time just talking and catching up. Des is now planning a men's movie night. I think it's a great idea. There is always women's studies and get togethers, but the men don't really seem to plan time to get together and do guy stuff. I spent the morning getting the house tidy and ready for our visitors. The dinner was a hit, especially the desert (thanks to Paula Dean!!).

Sunday was a fairly relaxing day. After church we went over to Des' parents for dinner. Brigid always much such a nice Sunday dinner, was a treat not to have to make the dinner. Later that afternoon Des and I decided to go for a walk and make it our first geocache. We went geochaching down around Newgrange. It was a bout a mile and half walk into the cache and then by the time we found it and logged our visit it was already dark so the mile and half walk back out was in the pitch black. We had a blast though and we are officially "addicted". Monday we went back out geocaching...went to Laytown Beach, Balrothery (which we couldn't find, going back to so some more hunting as some point), Ardgillan Castle, and Lusk Towers.

Yesterday the church organized a game night for all the children in the church. It gave the children an alternative to going out on Halloween. Some came dressed up as princesses, superman, mermaids, and even a pumpkin. My game for them was pin the nose on the clown and ended the evening with balloon animals (that was a hit). As everyone left they all got a bundle of sweets (candy). It was really fun (even for the adults)!

October Bank Holiday

This weekend is the October Bank Holiday and we both have 3 days off (YEA!!! Des is off with me, this is a rare occasion as he usually ends up working at least 1 if not 2 days of a bank holiday weekend). Already our weekend is packed starting with tonight. We are going to a table quiz at The Village Inn in Slane. This table quiz is being held to raise money for multiple sclerosis and friends of our have invited us to come along and share a table with them. Des has always wanted to go to one, and I've never heard of one, so it should be fun!! Saturday Des has arranged a Men's Breakfast. A bunch of guys are meeting up at a local diner for just that...breakfast. I'm going food shopping in the morning to get stuff for a dinner that we are having with friends at our place that night. On the menu for the night is going to be Beef & Winter Veg table Stew, Homemade Crusty Loaf Bread, Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle, & Autumn Wassail. Then Sunday is church and then a family dinner that afternoon. Monday, well, that's gonna be our day and we are going geocaching (can't wait)!!

Testing

Just testing to see how this works for possibly future posts... What do you think?

Get Your Own! View Slideshow

Good Morning!

It was an absolutely beautiful sunrise this morning. I got to enjoy on my drive into work. I just love mornings like this!

The Weekend

Our weekend consisted of Desmond working till 7:30pm both days and me cleaning and doing laundry as I anticipated. Nothing of great excitment but of much accomplishment. Saturday started off with nice weather but as the later part of the afternoon approached so did the dark clouds and the rain. With the exception of between 9:00 and 11:00pm, when we went out witnessing with Sam and his fiance. Sunday brought with it really lovely autumn weather. After church on Sunday I came home and opened up all the windows and just enjoyed the fresh crips air. So far Des is rostered off this coming weekend so we are hoping to go our geocaching on Saturday, weather permitting. Today seems like it's going to be another really nice autumn day, I think I might go for a walk during my lunch break.

What the weather like where you are?

Another Day...Another Blog

Hooray it's Friday!!! I love Friday's (I think most of us do), but I love Saturday mornings even better =Þ Not much to fill you in on. Yesterday and today (so far) have just been one of those ordinary days. Des was rostered off of work yesterday so he was able to get some things done around the house. A friend of his later came over to hang out for a few hours. Later that evening we went out to run a few errands and decided to grab a take-away for dinner. We got these doner (lamb) kebabs...they were HUGE...one would have fed a family. But they were delicious. We don't usually do take-aways much, as we are changing our eating habits in an effort to be healthy (and hoping a result of that will be weight-loss), but we do treat ourselves every now and then.

Des is rostered to work this weekend so there won't be much of anything going on other than my typical routine of cleaning, laundry and the constant organizing I find my self doing (it's sort of a necessity since we live in such a small place). My show is on Saturday afternoon, so I'll take a break to watch that...The Xfactor (just like American Idol, but it's the British/Irish version...Simon is still one of the judges but along side of him is Louie Walsh and Sharon Osborne). I may go have a cup of tea with a friend, but will see how the Saturday goes.

Will blog again soon. Bye.

My Heart's Cry

Music Video:JESUS, TAKE THE WHEEL (by Carrie Underwood)

Music Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

More Pics of Holland

More are in our Flickr album...

Major mode of transport

Fairytale setting!

I think this has got to be one of the smallest cars ever...what do you think? They sound like lawn mowers driving down the street =Þ GREAT gas mileage though I would presume.

Surfers Sometimes Sink, Reality 2006

Last night I went to a Reality 2006 Women's Conference with a group of women from our church. And can I just tell you that I came away so revived and encouraged. I had been debating on whether or not I was actually going to go as it was in the Castleknock area of Dublin City at the Castleknock Hotel & Country Club and I've never driven into any part of the city before therefore had no clue as to where I was going (and the traffic here is typical city traffic...congested!). But I am so glad that I decided to just give it a go, and got there without getting lost =Þ The conference was hosted by Focus on the Family Ireland and the speakers were Jeff and Kay Lucas (Jeff Lucas has written a number of books, the one I'm going read is Lucas Outloud). The theme of the conference, Surfers Sometimes Sink, circled around Peter having walked on water, but later he found that failure gave him a permanent sinking feeling – until someone special cooked him breakfast. As a group we explored the ‘sinking feeling’ that every woman sometimes experiences, and how best to get back on dry land. There was also a lady by the name of Joanne Hogg, who is from Northern Ireland, who sang...she has such a beautiful voice and the songs she has written really spoke to my heart.

Our Life In a Snapshot

I've put together a good few of our photographs to share since coming to Ireland. Scroll down and look to the left. There is a Flickr badge, click on it and it will take you to our photo album. Feel free to leave any comments.

Also, as far as comments go, you can leave comments on any of my posts.

Look forward to hearing from you,
Jess

Holland Pics

The Netherlands

I've added only a few of our photos from our trip to Holland (The Netherlands) in an album on our family website. Click here to view. Will be posting more within the next couple of days.

Halloween in Ireland

The preparations for halloween (Oíche Shamhna) here are in full swing. I've never seen halloween celebrated like it is here. In the States it tends to be a more child's holiday with dressing up and knocking on doors. But here is all about mischief and fires. There are bonfires everywhere!! And I don't mean campfire style bonfires...I'm talking stacks of tires, pallets, mattresses, chairs, tables, you name it and it's in there. Some are taller than the house and multiple fires in various housing estates (can I just say...UNREAL!). People even have to start closing up there letter box slots (the ones in the doors) because people will walk down the streets and through live fireworks inside the house through the letter box just for the fun of it. As for going door to door in search for candy it really is trick or treat...if there is no treat then you can be sure you'll wake up to a trick (no turning off the front porch light and going to bed). This doesn't happen so much out in the area where we live as it's very rural, but it's in the towns, villages, and cities where this kind of carrying on takes place. Please pray for this country during this month.

Saturday Night Outreach

A few of us from our church went out to the streets of Navan town at about 10pm to share the Good News with those who are about the town. One of the tools that is used is a huge yellow sign with John 3:7 (just the reference) written on it. I should really give you the story behind why the sign is used, especially with just the reference written...There is a born-again Christian (Frank Hogan from Limerick) who has been going to every football (European football) and hurling match all over Ireland for over 20 years with a huge yellow John 3:7 sign and he stands with the sign right behind the goal post. And as football is just as big as American football or baseball is you can imagine the thousands of people who have seen this sign. Many don't even know what John 3:7 is. This sign gives us the opportunity to share what John 3:7 means as people walk by and make comments of seeing it a the football matches and then ask us what it is, that's our door wide open. It's absolutely brilliant.

There are two lads that we spoke with this past Saturday who had a lot of really interesting questions and appeared to have been really seeking. If you think of it please lift them up in prayer...one was named Noel and the other I can not recall, but God knows his name. The lad who's name I can't recall wants a lift to church this coming Sunday. There was also another gentlemen who didn't want to talk, but took one of the magazines we had (4you.ie) and stood on the street corner and read the entire magazine.

Navan town is a very dark community and we pray that through this outreach ministry we can be a light in the midst of all that is there. Outside of Saturday night, there are teams of two that go out occasionally doing door to door ministry, please pray for them as well, that God will give them boldness as well as safety.

Where Exactly Do We Live?

Some have been asking us what part of Ireland do we live, so to give you a better idea ...

We are north of Dublin in the County of Meath

At a closer look...we live in an area between Slane and Drogheda - Kellystown (not shown on the map)

GLOW

Girls Living Out the Word...

Last night was the church's women's bible study (I think I've mentioned it before). I just can't thank the Lord enough for this group of women. I've only been going for a few weeks now, but it's just what I need. I feel so refreshed and refueled after the study and fellowship. It's very encouraging to me to see the Lord working in establishing friendships here as well as opening the door to allow me to be an encouragement to others as this is what was impressed upon our hearts and purpose for coming to Ireland. At times it can be so hard just to trust in what He is asking us to do, but when we see the blessings from that trust it's encouraging and helps us to persevere.

Moving to Ireland for me wasn't necessarily easy. I left all that was familiar to me to move to very unfamiliar grounds. Although Ireland is very "western" it is also very different culturally as well as being a very "dark" place. Less than 2% of the Irish population would be born-again Christians. Our heart for the Irish people is immense... for them to know and experience what Christ has done for them. Our pray is that we can be and will salt and light amongst the people here.

Nothing beats knowing you are in the centre of God's will.

In His Grip,
Jess

Currently...

Currently Listening To....



In the Company of Angels II: The World Will Sing...Caedmon's Call



Currently Reading...













Living Well on One Income in a a Two Income World...Cynthia Yates
~I have to say this is an excellent book, lot of great practical ideas as well as many thoughts to consider. This will be my second time going through her book. I had first heard her on a Focus on the Family progam. Definately recommend this one...even if both spouses are working it still has very beneficial information.

Dinner with Friends

Saturday night was such a blessed time. We had a couple that we are getting to know and there children over for dinner this past Saturday night. It was such a nice evening just spending time chatting and developing a friendship. It's an encouragement to me to see God working and bringing people, that would be like-minded, along our path to get to know. Sunday we spent the morning at church, which I have to say is another blessing!! We've only been attending for a few months now, but it feels like "home". Afterwards, Des and I went out to dinner at the Valley Inn in an area by the name of Monesterboice. When Des has off of work on Sunday's, which is usually only twice a month, we treat ourselves and enjoy a dinner together after lunch. We then went into town for a bit (Drogheda) and then over to visit our nephews (Joshua - is the oldest and Matthew - his little brother).