Let The Packing Begin

Well, as of last night, the packing has officially begun! My Mom and my youngest daughter were gracious enough to help me sort, check and catalog ALL my Precious Moment figurines. I knew I had a large number of them, since I've been collecting for years, but I didn't realize HOW many until I started pulling them out of my corner hutch, off shelves, bookcases and out of every room in the house (except the bathroom)! By the end of the evening we were more then tired of looking at Precious Moments. . .in fact, we had experienced all the "Precious Moments" we could handle for one night, hahahahaha! We did, however, get all of them done. . .go us! Now I have to clean them all and then decide which ones I will be taking to Ireland. Since over half of my collection has been retired or is currently suspended, I will probably leave most of them here. No reason to risk them getting broken or stolen during shipping. Our oldest daughter has volunteered to become the "guardian" of the Precious Moments after we move to Ireland. I told her to guard them with her life if she and her sisters wish to have an inheritance!

As we went through each of the figurines last night, I found myself remembering the reason I'd received some of them. For instance, when we got to "Baby's First Haircut" or "Baby's First Steps", I was transported back in time to when the girls were little, and my mind was flooded with happy memories. There is an entire lifetime of memories for me in those figurines. I was happy to be able to share some of those memories with my youngest daughter. Now that she knows the stories behind some of those Precious Moment figurines, those memories will continue on for another lifetime. That's a good thing!

A Little About Me

For those of you who just happened to "stumble" across this blog, let me tell you a little about me. I have been married to my husband Bob for 29 years and have three wonderful daughters. Our oldest daughter is married, our middle daughter is in Nursing school, and our youngest daughter will graduate from High School this year and then off to college she goes. I'm not really looking forward to that day, however I know it's part of the growing up process. . .but I still don't have to like it. I have never been one of those mom's who couldn't wait for their children to leave the house. I have always been the opposite. . .why can't they just stay home forever?

This year will hold many BIG changes for our family. Not only is our "baby girl" going to college, but Bob and I will be following our dream of missions work and moving to the country of Ireland in July of 2009. We were originally heading to the country of Mongolia; however, due to health issues, the doctors in Mongolia and those here in the states will no longer give Bob medical clearance for that country. After praying for God's direction we found the doors being opened for us to travel to Ireland for two weeks in June of 2008. Soon after arriving in Ireland we both felt that we were at "home". We just seemed to "belong" if that makes sense. Needless to say, we are very excited, and a little nervous about this new adventure in our lives. We will be leaving our children, along with the rest of our family here in the states. As a mother and daughter who comes from a very close family, this is a concern for me at times; however, I know that God can take better care of them than I can and He, more than anyone, knows how much I'll miss them. I also know that God will take care of the "homesick" issues and the "nervous belly" that I'll face as the time to leave draws closer and even after I arrive in Ireland. I'm excited to see what He has planned for us in that country and how He will use us to reach the Irish people for Him.

First Blog Entry

Well, I have decided to join the "techno" world and try my hand at blogging. We'll see how this goes, hahahahaha! I'm sure the page will change frequently as I learn via "trial and error" best.