Ireland (Part 2): Breakfast and Day 2 in Dromoland

Irish Breakfast
Each day in Ireland began with a traditional Irish breakfast at the hotel buffet.  I liked the eggs with sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes best.

His plate (front) & mine

 Every morning of our trip, the traditional breakfast buffet at every hotel looked almost identical, though some were tastier than others.  Buffet items included:

• Sausage
• Canadian style bacon
• Eggs
• Sauteed tomatoes
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Black pudding
• White pudding
• Potatoes
• Irish beans (baked beans)
• Assortment of white breads and rolls
• Dark soda bread
• Fresh fruit
• Boiled or fried potatoes
• Various soft cheese
• Occasionally pancakes

At the next to the last hotel, the eggs looked green, and none of my usual selections tasted very good, so I decided to try out the Irish pudding.  It looked more like a dense muffin than what I would consider to be pudding.  It wasn't sweet and tasted more like bread, but it wasn't all that bad.  It looked like it had bits of barley and salmon inside.  I was curious to know the ingredients, so I looked up a recipe on-line after breakfast.  My stomach turned into nauseating knots when I read this recipe.  The first ingredient was 4 cups of fresh pig's blood. Gag!  Other ingredients included:

• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups steel-cut (pinhead) oatmeal
• 2 cups finely diced pork fat (or beef suet), finely chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice

Dromoland
We spent the next two days in Dromoland County.  The golf resort there which provided our accommodations was also supposed to be a 5-star hotel, but the entrance and grounds paled in comparison to our first night's lodging.

Touring Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in Dromoland County took up most of our second day in Ireland.  The 15th century castle has been fully restored in great detail.  It is Ireland's "most complete and authentic medieval fortress".  Historic homes have been moved and/or reconstructed and farms established to give visitors a real-life experience of Irish life in the 19th century. The village includes homes of the poor and the wealthy, a church and a school, a post office, and a mill.

Ireland (Part 1): Day 1 in Dublin and Laios County

My husband and I each celebrated a significant birthday milestone this year. At the top of my birthday wish list was an exotic romantic vacation to Hawaii.  At the top of his list was a ticket to outer space....with or without me.  My request was more affordable (ya think?), so I through him an outer space party instead and began planning a trip to Hawaii.  However,  we could not get there, visit major destinations, and return home before Grandma and Grandpa returned home after so generously watching our kids for a week.  So, we began looking for fun getaways closer to home that neither of us had ever visited.  We finally decided on a 7-day trip to Ireland, where we both had familial roots.  We usually choose relaxing venues for our anniversary celebrations (vs. the more adventurous trips we have taken on missions or with family), but this trip was not relaxing at all. It was a wild adventure involving several near death experiences, and we just aren't as young as we once were when we set off on adventures like these.  And instead of the low-stress, all-inclusive cruises we normally choose, this trip ended up being way more expensive than we imagined due to terrible exchange rates, horrible traffic safety issues requiring an additional insurance waiver that cost more than the rental car and the auto insurance combined, high gas prices, and extremely costly dining options.  But we're still very glad we went.

We took an afternoon flight to JFK where we landed late with barely enough time to catch our red-eye flight to Ireland. We had hoped to sleep on the plane, but the bizarre yet interesting people seated around us kept me alert most of the flight, while the stewards seemed to be bringing us yet another dry, processed airplane meal whenever I was finally getting settled for a nap.  We arrived in Dublin around 5:00 a.m. the next morning.  We had already been up for over 30 hours, and it was now time to start a new day.

We picked up our rental car, opting to use our phones for GPS instead of renting one from the rental car agency since the cost of renting a GPS unit would have paid for at least three new ones back home.  So, as my husband tried to download maps to his phone at a download rate that would take the next seven hours, we finally gave up and tried to navigate using high level (no details) paper maps in the car.  Here my brave husband was without sleep (which they say is like being legally drunk in terms of reflex speed), and he had to suddenly learn how to drive a manual transmission economy car, shifting with his left hand while seated on the right side of the car,  while driving on the left side of the road in a new country through a city as busy as Manhattan without GPS using foreign maps on roads that bore few if any street signs.  The roads there are crazy with roundabouts at every intersection.  At the first roundabout, we saw our same style car with the same Dooley Car Rental sticker on the back stuck up high in the embankment. It had crashed through the median rail guards and was literally hanging from the embankment with the back end dangling over us we circled the roundabout.  Praise God for my husband's military training because I would have had a total panic attack at the site of that dismal omen. The 2-hour drive to our hotel was treacherous, but we made it.  Thanks to all who prayed for us back home.

The hotel was beautiful. It was a gorgeous golf resort with fabulous landscaping seated in the middle of nowhere.  We arrived around 7:30 a.m., but they would not let us check-in until 4pm or possibly 2pm if a room was cleaned soon enough.  So, my husband, DC, logged onto the hotel WiFi long enough to check emails, primarily at work, but also at home.  That's when we learned that much to our surprise, the first home showing for the year, which took place during our flight to JFK resulted in a written offer.  This summer was our 6th attempt over six years to sell the house, and it sold during the first showing!  We had a month to pack up our entire house, find a new place to live temporarily and/or permanently, coordinate movers and to figure out what to do about our kids' schooling since we had already paid tuition at their current school (45-60 minutes from our target relocation destination) and registration deadlines at all other schools had passed, and schools were on summer break.  YIKES!  How would I enjoy this vacation when I had so much to do back home?  I can't compartmentalize aspects of my life like men can, so I was exhausted and stressed as our vacation began.

Thankfully, the hotel let us store our luggage at the front desk while we took time to regroup.  For my husband, regrouping involved breakfast at the overpriced hotel buffet.  For me, recharging my sleepy batteries meant visiting the hotel spa fitness center.  So we parted ways as I giggled over how romantic our anniversary getaways tend to me.  I married an introvert, so I respect his need for personal space while he lets me satisfy my workout fix.  Something about exercising helps me focus on God and lay down my stresses.  We're an odd pair, but it works for us.

After digesting the news of our home sale and our breakfasts, it was finally late enough in the morning to do some site seeing.  We began with the nearest tourist destination well over an hour away.  We visited Emo House first.  It reminded me of the Biltmore House in many ways with a lovely tour of the sophisticated mansion, lush gardens, and breathtaking views.
We enjoyed a quaint lunch in the courtyard gardens where my dingy yoga pants, frizzy hair, and exhausted face from the previous day's travels looked most out of place in such a perfectly landscaped, upscale courtyard restaurant.  "Whatever," I say.

Next, we journeyed to the Rock of Dunamese, a 9th century hill fort which was conquered by the Vikings in 845 with a castle being built there later.  DC explained the structural features like the murder hole, where boiling water would be poured down on invaders as they entered the gates.  He noted the stair path built into the walls where soldiers traversed during invasions, and we observed how the window openings afforded much protection while slinging arrows at enemies.

The views from the Rock were simply gorgeous.

Later after returning to the hotel, we decided to attempt reached Dublin during the middle of rush hour traffic and spent an hour trying to find the factory which spans a full block or two.  Finally we found it with five minutes before the entrance doors closed, but we could not find a parking place, so then we had to fight the rush hour traffic back to our hotel. My husband had by then gone two days without sleep while driving a manual transmission on the left side of the road.  He is amazing! 

We stopped off  at a mall, which looked very much like the malls we have here, for dinner.  With gas prices around $15/gallon, we regretted having wasted all that time and money driving only to not get into our destination, but at least we enjoyed the beautiful landscapes along the way, and my husband got more practice driving along those crazy roads.

Views of Ireland and our rental car parked at the mall

Fun snippets from life with our silly kids

When we moved from the country into the middle of a busy city, I was very surprised to discover that the Greenway here, while shorter than the 36 mile paved river trail near our previous home, are actually greener and more rugged than any of the trail paths in the more rural area where we previously lived.  The change was so stark that I even traded in my top of the line (for me) road bike for a hybrid which I am enjoying so much more.  I feel much more comfortable on the new bike as I cut sharp corners, climb steep heels and catch some air over bumps along the way.  All this bike needs is a banana seat and some fringe from the handle bars, and I'll feel seven all over again.

My childhood bike that still resides at my parents' home

Another difference is that the trails here connect a large number of very sophisticated parks where the sounds of young children giggling on swings or slides or the thumping sounds of teens playing basketball can be heard over my Pandora music.  Oh how I wish we had lived here when the children were younger with so many nice parks scattered all over the city.

The largest difference between the trails here and those in the country are the bridges.  In the country, shaky, wooden planked bridges span across swamps, marshes, or streams.   Here, enormous truss bridges with bright metallic ornamentation cross major interstates.

View from my bike as I cross the bridge

The contrast between the rugged, wooded bike paths and these urban bridges with the swooshing sounds of cars and trucks zooming underneath is overwhelming, and I feel nervous every time I cross those bridges.  I wondered how my more cautious, 6-year-old, who only started feeling comfortable on a 2-wheeled bike this summer, would feel crossing that bridge if his 40 something sports enthusiast mama gets nervous on it.  He took it slowly but seemed much less nervous than I did my first time crossing it.

Kids' first trip across the bridge

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While our son waits for any of his four front teeth to appear, our daughter has been losing teeth again. She lost her ninth tooth as soon as we returned home from attending my uncle's funeral last weekend.  She immediately began complaining about how odd her mouth feels with the new gap inside of it.  So I  told her that whenever she notices that gap in her mouth, she should pray for my aunt who has experienced a huge loss now that her husband has passed, and like my daughter's mouth, our family will not feel the same with this new gap in it. But praise God that as our girl's temporary tooth will be replaced with a permanent one, my uncle's temporal body on this earth will be replaced with a new glorified body that will last forever. While he spent most of his years on earth looking only through one eye following a bad accident, he will gaze upon our Lord through two eyes that see perfectly.
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Speaking of teeth, I had to get a filling replaced in one of my teeth last week.  I took my home schooled son with me, and he tried to encourage me by saying, "Sometimes you just have to face the facts, Mom."

Then while the dentist was drilling feverishly, he repeatedly cried, "Mom! I'm done with my writing and grammar! Can I watch TV now?"...as if I could have said anything in that condition.
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Later that evening, that same 6-year-old who implored us to let him wear an afro to my uncle's funeral (my uncle would have loved it) and while at the funeral, insisted that his dad and I buy burial plots ASAP in case we die tonight (since, as he says, we need to be prepared for death both spiritually and logistically), lit candles so we could eat dinner with ambiance. He's a hip, romantic planner. What more could any girl want? 
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The following day during our homeschooling time, I gave my son a science assignment which required him to name, describe, and classify animals found in the desert. He wailed, moaned, & lamented with a few false tears thrown in for good measure. I pressed with words similar to those found in Dr. Seuss' classic book, Green Eggs and Ham:

"You do not like them.
SO you say.
Try them! Try them! And you may.
Try them and you may I say."

As soon as he began reading, his eyes grew bright, and he excitedly told me every amazing detail and feature about every animal he discovered. He loved every minute of his study despite his little tantrum. And though he did not say it, he was probably thinking:

"I do so like
this science work!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Mom's no jerk!" 

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The images my son's innocent comments evoke put me in stitches sometimes. My son noticed a new sports top in my room and asked about the zipper across the chest. I explained that the pocket could hold keys, gel packs, or even a phone while I'm exercising. Having recently grown interested in tennis now that we live next to some tennis courts, he asked, "Can you fit tennis balls inside it?"

There was a time during my early teen years, when I wished I could have worn two tennis balls there and gotten away with it.
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Now that our girl has to wear stiff dressy uniforms for school every day, I assumed this super active, outdoorsy girl would choose casual, ultra-comfortable clothing for non-school hours. Instead, she has been opting for sequins and ruffles at bedtime instead of her comfy pajamas.

She sure does seem to be growing up all of a sudden.

Deluge

What word best describes the summer of 2013 for our little family?  There are many words that come to mind, but lately, "deluge" seems most fitting.

Our area has had one of the wettest summers in history.  Rain is not conducive to building a house.  One day of rain sets lot grading back at least two days.  So, here we are two months after we signed our initial contract to build the house, and the lot still hasn't been graded.  Well..we thought we had it ready for footings to be poured until our builder quit.  When a new manager came in to take over the construction, he decided to totally regrade the entire lot taking down even more trees (humph!) and lowering the elevation another few feet.  Is his goal to put our house in a pit?   Whatever the case, he seems to know more about this business than we do, as this house is only the third one I've built, so we are trying to trust him.  So after two very frustrating and hugely expensive months of renting, we continue to wait for construction to commence, and considering that rain has been pouring down again ever since our last conversation with the builder last week, my fickle emotions feel as if we will be waiting forever.  Looking forward to the new house is what keeps me content in this unsettled, crowded, dumpy apartment, so I keep trying to keep my eyes on the prize, having faith that some day we will reach it even though our eyes have seen little to no progress thus far. 

This ordeal with the house has me pondering spiritual parallels.  God never promises us an easy life, and chances are, that if life is nothing but smooth sailing, then we aren't in God's will.  If we are doing kingdom work for God's glory, Satan will attack us, but if we are merely lukewarm, living for ourselves instead of the kingdom of God, Satan isn't as likely to waste his time messing with us, for the enemy's time isn't infinite like God's is.

Matthew 10:22-23a (NIV)

²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another....

For many, life isn't just hard, it's unbearable.  We must not forget that this life is like the blink of an eye compared to the glorious eternity that awaits us.   When we fix our eyes on Christ and His promises, earthly trials seem trivial, and we find His strength to carry us through any hardship.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We can press on through six or more months of rough, unsettled living in an old apartment with many problems and continue waiting somewhat patiently for the earthly house we can only see in our minds but not with our eyes because of the hope we have through faith that a better, long term home will eventually be ours.  Similarly, we can endure whatever troubles come our way in this life because we have hope in what we cannot see but believe in our hearts to be true.  Jesus is preparing a home for us with God in heaven.  And whatever house we build on earth is like a spec of dust that gets tossed by the wind compared to our eternal home in heaven.  This world, or anything in it, is NOT MY HOME!

John 14:1-3 (NIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

When delays keep multiplying, however, and my confidence in the builder wavers, the harder it is to find contentment in this temporary dwelling which has endured not only rain torrents outside, but also a deluge of sorts inside.  The leak I noticed during my first walk-through inspection only got worse despite my daily visits to the property management office to remind them that their investment in this apartment building is washing away like the tide with each passing day during which they fail to remedy the situation.  As a spiritual parallel, when we stop trusting our heavenly Father, Creator of all things, frustrating floods will wash away contentment in this life until we renew our faith in the perfect Builder and Restorer of all things.

The rain sent this frog to our patio in search of dry shelter, but none could be found.

The property management company sent out a pest control company to treat the bugs, but the pest control guys told me exactly what I had been telling property management, "The bugs won't go away until the water stops pouring into the unit from upstairs."

I found that clothes were taking 4-6 hours to dry in this apartment compared to an hour in our previous home.  So, I took photographs of the dryer vents and pointed out the violation of fire code. They sent a duct cleaning company out here to clear the vents and then insisted that the clogged vents were causing the leak? Say what?

Spiritually, are we addressing the root cause (a sinful heart) of our problems, or are we only cleaning up the outside, masking the symptoms and denying the core issue?

After taking more photos of the flooded bathroom and noting that the carpet in the adjoining bedroom where our daughter sleeps was also soaked, the property managers finally agreed to investigate the problem further.  They sent a plumber, and I encouraged him to inspect the AC unit and attached drains upstairs.  He noted that the AC unit was sitting in a tub of water but did nothing.

What do we do spiritually after identifying the root problem?  Do we confess, repent, and ask God for strength to overcome, or do we give up and do nothing?

So we continued collecting buckets of water and wiping up all the water that sloshed elsewhere along the walls and floor with my nicest towels (since I purged all my old ones before the move).  Every day I had to wash a load of towels, and we've had to keep everything up off the floor in the room where the carpet was getting drenched each day.  While folding all those extra towels I had to wash each day, water dripped on my head.  That constant dripping reminded me of Proverbs 19:13.

Proverbs 19:13

A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

Water began soaking the carpet in our daughter's room.

Three weeks after we moved in, the property managers raised our rent another $100 per month.  Yes, we are living in a swamp and paying double our previous mortgage for a house three times the size of this apartment, and they think we need to pay more.  It's a multifaceted deluge over here!

Thankfully, after three weeks, they did finally replace the dishwasher, and after 3.5 weeks, we finally got internet service, so at least those sources of frustration floods were adequately dammed. (Gift #366)  Four weeks later, property management, fearing that the Dept. of Health and some attorneys may soon be on their way over, sent a licensed AC repairman to stop the leak.  He cleared all the clogged drains, so the leaks finally stopped.  Then carpet cleaners arrived with high powered fans and microbial treatments to dry out the carpets and fight whatever mold and mildew dared to wash over us like a tidal wave.  Each of those fans sounded like jet engines taking off, so the noise robbed us all of sleep that night.

Then at last, the water deluge inside had abated, so we could wait with calmer hearts for the prize.  (Gift #367) But then while our daughter was giving our bunny yet another bath (cage living keeps his paws constantly dirty), the rabbit jumped out of the sink and hopped like a wild banshee all over the apartment.  One again, the floors were soaked, but by then we were pros at mopping and sopping, so we cleaned that mess up rather easily.

Another deluge has recently been soaking my heart in the form of periodic torrents of loneliness.  Moving to a new town where I hardly knew anyone and into an apartment with so many problems occupying my time removed frequent fellowship (except for our church activities) from my life for a time.  As we returned to homeschooling, I found my 6-year-old to be my only constant companion, and as gifted as he is in communicating with people of all ages, I longed for adult conversation.  Our life class at church was once filled with homeschooling families, but now, almost all of them send their kids to public school.  It's more challenging to find fellowship with women my age when I have a kid in tow and school work to complete.  My husband's job has been very demanding, with late nights, 7-day work weeks, and rare sightings of him only late at night after I return with the kids from all their busy extracurricular activities.  Perhaps some of my loneliness has stemmed from empathy and prayers for my aunt, who lost her husband last weekend after 48 years of marriage.  He died at a Hospice facility after years of fighting for his health.  He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior less than two weeks before his death.  Praise God Almighty for the faithful pastor who courageously and patiently presented the gospel to him at a time when he was finally ready to receive it.  (Gift #368)  Loneliness was taking a toll.  But God is ever faithful, and He knows our needs before we even think to ask Him.  (Matthew 6:8)

Events transpired this past weekend to fill the hole in my heart at a time when I needed it most.  While I know it's selfish to put oneself in the center of anything, it did feel like God had orchestrated events on my calendar this weekend to speak to my need.  He is so faithful!  On Friday, some friends invited me to a Girls Night Out to celebrate two ladies' birthdays. (Gift #369) We laughed, ate, giggled, talked, traveled back to one gal's home to talk some more and feast on some homemade birthday cake (the same recipe my late Maw-Maw made for me on my birthdays during my childhood).  Time with the girls was exactly what I needed that night even though I was reluctant to go wanting time with my husband whom I had rarely seen in weeks.

Birthday Girls

Girls Night Out (please excuse horrid "mural" in background)

Our daughter quickly found a new BFF (Bonnie) when we moved into the apartment.  This new friend spends a lot of time with us and feels like a family member, but I had not yet met her mother who travels much of the time for work.  While at the gym on Saturday after our fun GNO, my daughter and Bonnie interrupted me to say that Bonnie's parents were in the indoor pool and wanted to meet me. We had a wonderful chat and found much in common.  I also learned that they are considering homeschooling Bonnie next year, but had no idea where to start, so I gave them lots of encouragement and invited them over to borrow books, look at my schedule, and get information on how to get started.  It's such a joy to help parents in that way since educational methods are such a fascination of mine.  She came over today to borrow some books.  I pray the best for their homeschooling adventure, and I'm excited to have found a new neighborhood friend.  (Gift #370)

Saturday evening, a family we have known and loved for over 12 years drove to meet us in our new city and to take us out to dinner.  This mom friend is still faithful to God's calling to homeschool all of her children, so she understood some of the feelings I had experienced as we resumed homeschooling within our family.  We rarely get to see these friends anymore, so it was such a pleasure to spend time with them.  Finding friends who walk so closely with the Lord in a way that any time spent together is a time of sharpening one another in the faith  (Proverbs 27:17) is a rare and sacred gift for which I give God praise. (Gift #371)  My soul hungers for more friendships on that deep spiritually uplifting level as opposed to superficial relationships.  As an added bonus, my husband actually had the weekend off from work, so he could join us.  (Gift #372) It almost felt like a double date night were it not for the five kids tagging along behind us.

Family Night Out with Friends

Church was  spiritually refreshing as usual on Sunday, and I always enjoy watching my husband serve in music ministry and serving with him through deacon/deacon wives ministry.  As he waited for me to complete my service in the special needs ministry after the third service, I felt closer to him than I had in quite some time. (Gift #373)  I've always known that serving others blesses the served more than the one being served, and one more way it blesses the server is that it draws couples closer together as they both serve in a common ministry under the same vision. 

Later Sunday, I had yet another opportunity to replace loneliness with fellowship.  The parents at our daughter's new school are very engaged in school life and strive to draw families together. Two weeks into the school year, they had already planned a fellowship dinner for all the mothers of fourth graders at the school at a nice restaurant in a fabulous, sprawling shopping complex only five minutes from our lot. (Gift #374) I was thrilled to find yet another shopping/dining destination so close to our new house after living the last 12 years in the country far away from almost everything.  I did not know anyone there when I arrived, but they were friendly enough.  I could tell they all knew each other very well which made me feel better about the nature of friendships I could find there.  I just happened to sit next to and across from the mothers of the four different students from our daughter's class whom she mentions most often. I was very impressed by all of them and am excited to see parents so devoted to their children and committed to improving the school experience for everyone. Their positive energy and hilarious personalities lifted my spirits and gave me great hope for the future.  (Gift #375) It also inspired me to be as involved as I can at the school.

Whatever deluge may come, God is greater.  He has and will continue to part the seas as we take steps of faith while leaning wholly on Him and resting in His power and perfect promises.

1st Day of School (August 2013)

School started early this year for our daughter who transferred to a new school that operates on a modified year-round schedule.  We were all a little nervous since this new school is so much more structured than her previous school.  The new school has a strict uniform policy and formal positions and postures required within the classroom when working, listening, speaking, etc.  The rules are very precise regarding manners and behavior with swift discipline administered as needed.  They offer grace to new students as they adjust but after that initial grace period, students are expected to follow all the rules. As one teacher put it, "We extend more grace than mercy here."  I was scared for her as I considered her exuberant energy level and unbridled imagination.  Her previous school, which she absolutely LOVED, was much more laid back and would even let her stand on her head while taking a test if she preferred.

Saying goodbye on the last day of school at her former school

There is a place for catering to unique learning styles, but there is also a time to learn self discipline and structure.  The real world certainly doesn't cater to learning styles or unique bents, so I think this training will be good for her in the long run if it doesn't suppress her love of learning.

Aside: 

Our kids' love of learning flourished so much at their previous school, which had a no homework policy, that as soon as they got home on the last day of school, the started working through the math workbooks their teachers let them have after our kids begged to take them home so they could do math all summer long!

Doing math problems at home after the last day of school!

I could see the nervousness on her face when we arrived for orientation.

 After meeting the teacher and seeing her new classroom, she mustered up a small smile.

We were both nervous the next day when school actually began.  Thankfully, a friend had taken me on a dry run through carpool a few weeks earlier because drop-off and pick-up at this school are much more complicated than at the previous school (which was less than 1/8 this school's size).  It was a rainy, dreary day, but we made it into the right carpool line the first time around (Gift #358), and she had a fabulous first day (Gift #359)!  She loves her teacher who has an endearing sense of humor (Gift #360), and our daughter seems to be adjusting to the new structure miraculously well (#361).  All the teachers have been so wonderfully supportive, and our girl is making many new friends (#362). The kinder-buddy program is great outlet for our voracious reader's energy and creativity.  She loves spending time with her designated kindergartener every week as she reads books to her and discusses the book or life in general with her little friend who our daughter claims is just as independent and strong-willed as she is. (#363)

Since the dress code is so strict, from the clips in her hair to the socks and shoes on her feet, her only opportunity for self expression is her backpack.  So while it may clash with her uniform, it matches her new bedroom decor in our new house (which still doesn't even have any footings yet) perfectly.

The school did not have any openings in 2nd grade, so our son started homeschooling with me again on Monday.  When he started attending school last year, he cried a bucket of tears at drop-off only to fuss at me for not sending him sooner by the time I picked him up.  He loved that school, so I feared he would be upset about having to be homeschooled again this year.  Yet, his attitude has been amazing ever since we realized he would have to be educated at home.

However, when his sister told him how much she loved the new school, he then realized it is not as scary as it seemed during our interviews and screenings.  He went from hoping he would not ever have to go to that school to praying another 2nd grader would move so he could have his or her spot.

We started homeschooling on Monday after he finished an awesome week of science camp.  This year's topic was genetics, and I loved watching his eyes light up as he explained all that he had learned to me.  He and I both learned lots of new ways that he takes after me, even though everyone says he is his father's mini-me. 

On our first day back to home schooling, we sat down at the table together and began with Bible study and prayer. As I read the beautiful words of John 1 with him, he burst into tears and ran into his room. I guess that's when it finally really hit him that his sister was going to school while he had to stay at home.  After that episode and a few other brief cries, schooling has gone well, and I'm enjoying it more now than ever before.  I'm sure my excitement over home schooling again will wear off as our schedules get busier, but I feel blessed to have such a sweet, loving, studious, little pupil and for the privilege to be home with him. (Gift #364)

In the last house, I had a large bonus room dedicated to homeschooling with  school desks, tables, computer desks, file cabinets, and closets and shelves filled with supplies.  I had two different computers available for typing, spelling, research papers, and other subjects necessitating a computer.  Here, all I have is a small corner in the breakfast room with a few rolling carts of supplies, a kitchen table with 4 chairs, a laptop and a printer.  And I did not even have internet access for the first 3.5 weeks we were here.  I have found that schooling goes more quickly in such a small space and with less stuff to manage.  It's working out much better than I anticipated.  (Gift #365) One week down...who knows how many more to go!

Top 10 observations since moving into an apartment in the suburbs (and some kid quotes)

1) With 90% of the kids' toys in storage, they occupy themselves with the following:

• Playing a lot of UNO, tag, monkey in the middle, and hide-n-seek

• Riding on bikes, scooters, and roller blades for hours of exercise and several injuries each day
• Running after the ice cream truck

• Feeding, bathing, brushing (with the sibling's hair brush - ugh!), and loving on their bunny

• Enjoying picnics and Bible studies (led by our 9-year-old, Bible-toting evangelist!) with their new friends and the community's most popular resident, our bunny.

 

2) Apartment living trades privacy for the presence of kids on your patio, knocking on your door, or in your dwelling whenever the kids are home.

3) I can outsource helping my daughter with her homework to the neighborhood kids because they will gladly call out spelling words just for the pleasure of spending time with her.

4) I can survive if the dishwasher, dryer, and toilets don't work.

5) I can swat 12.5 bugs a minute with my bare hands.

6) The tenant above us shares approximately one gallon of water with us every day through a leak in the ceiling. 

7) The library downtown looks just like the one I frequented as a kid and makes me feel happily nostalgic.

8) Life without internet* would be tolerable if the rest of the world did not revolve around it. 

*What should have been a simple, seamless transfer of internet service took TWC over three weeks with us spending hours on the phone (usually on hold for hours) each day begging for assistance, waiting on servicemen who never came, trouble shooting, driving to the stores and back, replacing modems, and after all that, TWC raised our monthly fees 35% for no apparent reason.

9) Apartment life builds community like they had in the good old days thanks to close proximity to one other, sharing similar sufferings, and hearing others' conversations and footsteps through the paper thin walls, floor, & ceiling.

I keep asking myself, "Have I relocated to a new community or have I traveled back in time?"

10) Living in an apartment gives perspective. Circumstances may seem less than what we may have had before at a much greater cost, but a house does not make a home. No matter how much is broken in the apartment or how few things fit inside it, there is always room for what matters most. What we have inside this apartment is infinitely valuable and very rare. We have a happy marriage rooted in covenantal faithfulness and unconditional love. We have relatively healthy, loving children, and all four of us share the strongest bond in the universe, the bond of faith in Christ. God's love reigns in our home, and He will never fail us. This world is not our home, but with His Spirit dwelling in us, our home here, even if it's a hut with a thatched roof, can be a taste of heaven on earth.

As a postscript to this post, I'd like to share some recent quotes from our resident theologian, age 6.

Occasionally, my husband has to work on Sundays, and lately he has had to work some seven-day weeks.  We understand the value and necessity of the Sabbath, and if this type of demand at work happened often, he would be looking for work elsewhere.  IT guys have to fix or improve systems when no one is using them, hence the Sunday work, but at least he hasn't ever had to miss church because of it.  Even so, whenever he has to go into work after church, our son pronounces loudly as we walk down the church halls, "Daddy is breaking the Sabbath today!"

This past Sunday afternoon while my husband was at work, I was very impressed by my 6-year-old's understanding of eschatology when he said "I'll be so glad when the New Jerusalem is established."

When I asked him to tell me why, however, he answered, "Because then Daddy will not have to work so much."

My son doesn't realize how many children grow up without a father physically or emotionally present while other kids' fathers have to travel all the time for work.  At least his father is home at night to tuck him in, read him books, lead him in Bible study, and pray with him.  Our kids are blessed more than they realize!

~~~~~~

The kids have noticed that whenever we sit down to say the blessing at meal times, our bunny will start drinking water. So, when my son just happened to notice our bunny drinking water, he said with all seriousness, "Cody must want us to pray now."

If you are struggling in your prayer life, you are welcome to borrow our thirsty bunny who will regularly remind you to drink the water that will quench your thirst forever.

John 6:35

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.