Holiday Adjustments and Joys

Once again, I must apologize for the absence of new posts recently. I always have good intentions, however, those intentions don't always make their way from my head to the computer screen. Things here in Ireland have been moving at quite a fast pace. Although Ireland does not celebrate Thanksgiving, Bob and I had our own "Thanksgiving Day" celebration, despite being away from our families. It was very strange spending the day alone when we knew that back home our entire family was at my parents enjoying lots of food and fun. We tried our best to keep it as "normal" as possible, but it just wasn't the same. We had turkey, pumpkin pie, the whole works, we even spent the evening watching American Football, but we went to bed that night feeling quite homesick.

We are now preparing for the Christmas holidays, which will be quite a different situation. Two of our daughters will be coming to Ireland to spend Christmas with us this year. Needless to say, we are very excited to get them here. Unfortunately, our oldest daughter will not be able to join us. Please keep Trisha in your prayers, as this will be very difficult for her to have all of us over here and her back in the states. She will spend the day with her husband, my parents and my brother and his wife. They will also be spending time with her husbands family. Although she will have family there, it will still be quite a change for her. We will definitely be setting up some "Skype" webcam time, that should help a little.

The Church here is going well. We are currently running right around 19 each Sunday. We had a Christmas Dinner after church today, the people seemed to enjoy the time of fellowship. The Lord has really blessed us with a great group of people.

As you can see from the attached picture, the Christmas decorations are all up and ready for the girls arrival. I love Christmas. . .I love everything about it! I know this year will be quite different for our family, but I trust that God will ease the ache of being apart and give each of us a wonderful holiday.

To each of you, I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Enjoy your time with family and friends and be sure to give hugs and kisses in abundance :o)

My "Spidey Sense" is Tingeling

As some of you might know, Ireland has no snakes! Irish folk lore has it that Ireland did at one time have snakes, however, St. Patrick charmed all the snakes on the island to come down to the seashore, slither into the crashing waves, thus drowning all of them. Hence, the absence of snakes on the Emerald Isle! Okay, I think we all know the real reason Ireland has no snakes ~~ God didn't want any snakes here. . .however, for this blogs sake, let's just pretend that St. Patrick really did banish all the snakes to a watery grave. . .WHAT WAS HE THINKING!

Did he not realize that if he banished all the snakes off the island, there would be a bil-zillion spiders moving in? I really don't think he thought his plan through very well.

Everyday, I go out with my "spidey" broom and I whisk all the cobwebs, with their occupants, away from my house, windows, deck, balcony's (you name it those stupid spiders are there). Ireland is seriously being invaded with those nasty, crawly things. The Irish people are telling me that this is the worst time of year because they are looking for a nice warm place to hang out for the winter. . .NOT IN MY HOUSE!

Now, I realize that if I was Tom Hogsed, (a great friend, and fellow blogger), I would be making all kinds of spiritual applications from this experience. Well, I'm not Tom, and I HATE SPIDERS! That's the only application that I can dwell on right now. I read an article once that said that nine out of ten women are born with a fear/hatred of spiders. . .so nice to know I finally made a "statistical group".

I'm sorry, but I have to go ~~ my "spidey sense" is telling me that somewhere a spider is trying to attach it's little creepy web to my house ~~ now, where did I leave my "spidey broom"???

Learning To Drive In Ireland

Sooooooooooooooo, the time has come for me to learn to drive here in Ireland. Normally, driving would never be a problem for me. I have actually always enjoyed driving. However, it's all the differences in driving here in Europe that have me a little uneasy about this new adventure. There's the obvious difference. . .they drive on the opposite side of the road, and then there's the fact that they drive from the opposite side of the car, and then, if that's not enough, I've never driven a stick shift. . .which is what they drive here in Ireland! My brother told me that I wouldn't have any trouble learning to drive a five speed since I ride motorcycles. He said I already have the basic knowledge of how it all works, all I have to do is transfer all that knowledge to my feet. Well, he was right! I haven't really had any trouble learning to drive stick shift, it's just getting used to all the other stuff. I did drive myself to choir practice last night. I didn't have any trouble until I hit the hill at the end of our road. Don't let anyone tell you that a little Fiat Punta won't burn rubber, especially when you're trying to get it up the hill after stalling it once. . .;o)

We are going to take our "Driving Theory Test" next week, and then we have to wait six months before we can take our actual driving test. We are going to take some driving lessons right before our final test. Apparently, the National testers have a list of driving skills that you have to be able to do if you want any chance at all of passing. The driving schools here will teach you exactly how to do those exact skills. They did tell us that most people don't pass on their first try. . .now that's encouraging!!!! Keep praying and I'll keep you posted as to my driving progress.

Our church services are going very well. We had 24 in attendance last Sunday. The people are excited and very happy to have their own church to be a part of. We will be choosing a name for the church in two weeks. Please pray that God will give us direction in this matter. We want to be sure that we choose the name that He wants for this ministry.

God did answer a huge prayer for us just recently. We had been praying that God would provide us with Hymnals for the church. We had nothing for the people to use during the song service. I was typing up the songs each week and then running 15 to 20 copies for Sunday services. Well, the Massillon Baptist Temple donated some of their old Hymnals and then two families in the church paid to have them shipped over to Ireland. Praise God. . .we received them in less than a week! In fact, we had them for our services this past Sunday. Our people were so excited and amazed. They couldn't believe that people they have never met, and probably never will meet, would be willing to go to that much effort. It's things like this that make me feel so honored, and privileged to be part of God's work here in Ireland.

First "Church Family" Get Together

Today we had our first "Church Family" get together! We had a grand time! There were a total of six people there, (including Bob and I). We shared food (duh. . .we are Baptist!),
tea (duh. . .we are in Ireland!), and lots of giggles. Our main objective for today's get together was just to get to know each other better and hopefully help them feel a little more comfortable with Bob and I.

They told us how they had been praying for God to send a preacher to Mallow. They wanted someone who believed in eternal security and preached the Bible. . .guess God answered their prayers :o)! It was so sad to listen to them tell us about how alone and lost they felt without a church or a church family to connect to. One lady told us that she has felt more alive in the last two weeks, (since we started our services), then she has felt in years. I am once again humbled, and amazed at how perfectly God orchestrated all of this. I am so thankful that God is allowing Bob and I to be a small part of what He has planned for these dear people! They truly love the Lord, and as they said today. . ."we were just waiting for you to get here".

Thank you for your prayers and support of our ministry! Despite missing our families, and our friends, there really is no place we would rather be. . .especially now that we know how long they have been waiting for someone to come.

Oh God, please keep us faithful to you!

Good Things In Ireland

Things here in Mallow Ireland, are falling into place rather nicely I must say. It has become home, and we are very happy and comfortable here. Aside from missing our daughters, family and friends, we have adjusted to living in a different country quite easily. God has continued to go ahead of us in each situation and make our transitions very easy up to this point.

We received our Immigration/Garda cards yesterday and have already gotten our "first year" visa stamp in our passports. After some of the horror stories that we had heard from other missionaries, about the hoops they had to jump though to get their stamps, we were very relieved to get ours in one trip and with no problems. The next step is to go to Cork City and get our PPSN numbers (basically, the equivalent of a Social Security Number). We will attempt to do that on Monday morning. After that is done, we will have completed all the government requirements to stay in Ireland, (other than our drivers license). At this point we do not have to check in with Immigration again until next August. Once again, God has proven to be Almighty!

Our first services are this Sunday (September 6th). We are very excited about getting the ministry off and running. We have had a number of people show an interest, but it will be exciting to see who actually shows up for the service. Please join us in fervent prayer for this service. I will write a post on Sunday afternoon to update all of you as to how things went.

Another answer to prayer for me was that I was able to join the Mallow Community Choir! This choir does a lot of singing around town and also competes in a number of choir competitions throughout Europe. I am praying that God will allow this to be a great opportunity for me to meet more people from Mallow, and also to make many new friends. More friends mean more opportunities to share the love of God.

When we came to Ireland, we told God that we would walk through every door that He opens for us. That we would take advantage of every opportunity that He brought our way to win the Irish people to Him. We are trying our best to do just that. Please pray that we will remain faithful to that vow.

First Year Stamp In The Books

Yesterday, Wednesday, August 26th, Bob and I had to go to our local Immigration Officer here in Mallow to see about getting our "one year stamp". Ireland only gives "Religious Workers" permission to stay in the country for a year at a time now. It used to be that they would give you a three year stamp, but that has changed within the last year or so. Anyway, we went to the Immigration Office in order to get our stamp, not really knowing what to expect. Other missionaries had told us how they had to go back seven or eight times before Irish Immigration was satisfied. We had also heard stories of people not being allowed to stay in Ireland and being told they had three months to leave the country. With all this in our heads, we went with quite a bit of reservation and "nervous belly". We arrived at 3 pm (right on time), and began the process of registering as "Missionaries" in the country of Ireland. In less than one hour we were leaving the Immigration Office with our "one year stamp" granted. We will receive our Immigration Cards next week. Praise the Lord, once again He proved "Almighty".

We will have to return each year, for the next three years, to allow Immigration to recheck our status. After the three year mark we may have to change our visa status unless the Irish laws change in regards to "Religious Workers Visas". However, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, for now, we are praising God for giving us our "one year stamp", and for allowing us the privilege of serving Him here in Ireland.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us -- God is hearing, and answering those prayers.

Tiff's College Address

Here is Tiff's college address if any of you are interested in sending her mail. I'm sure she would appreciate it bunches. Please continue to pray for her, as she is trying to get adjusted to college life and having her mommy in another country. I know both of us will be fine in time, but right now it's really difficult. I know that both of us are where God wants us, which means that He will also take care of us. This is just another of many transitions in our lives for this year.

She is going to love Liberty, as soon as she realizes that she can survive without me there, :o)

Here is her address:

(For regular mail use this address)

Tiffani Hutton
MSC Box E9612
Liberty University
PO Box 20,000
Lynchburg, VA 24506-8001

(For packages use this address)

Tiffani Hutton
MSC Box E9612
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24502

Thanks in advance to any of you who take the time to send her a card. It means a lot to me!

College Bound & Ireland Address

I will start this post by apologizing for the lack of updates lately. As most of you know, I am in the states preparing to take Tiffani down to Liberty University for college, thus the lack of time for blog updates. I have also been without Internet service since Tiff and I are staying with my parents. I know, it's hard to believe that there are still people in the states who don't have Internet in their homes, hehehehe!

Please pray for Tiff, myself, and my mom as we will be pulling out of the driveway bright and early Monday morning to begin this next adventure in our lives. Tiff, like myself, has mixed emotions right now about this new venture. We are excited, nervous, and sometimes numb! I know she will be fine, and will love Liberty! I also know, that I will be fine in Ireland without her. Right now, it's the task of getting her there, and then leaving her there that keeps me right on the verge of a mental "meltdown". God has made it very plain that Liberty is where she is supposed to be. God has also made it very plain that Bob and I are supposed to be in Ireland, so given those two facts, I have no doubt that God will give all of us exactly what we need to get through this huge change in our family dynamics. . .just like He's done with all the other changes in our lives. I love knowing that in times like this I can step back and let an Almighty God be just that. . .ALMIGHTY!

Some of you have been asking for my address in Ireland, so I will be including that at the end of this post. As I've told some of you, I love to get mail! It really is the highlight of my day when I find mail waiting for me in the morning after the postman has come. For most regular letter/card size things it will cost around .94 to send it to Ireland.

I want to thank all of you who have been so faithful in praying for our family as we have embarked on these very large family changes. God has already blessed us in so many ways it's absolutely amazing to wake up each day to see what He's going to do next. Life is exciting, and it just keeps getting better!

Ireland address:

Marilyn Hutton
Woodlawn, Navigation Road
Mallow, Co. Cork
Ireland

No Rain, And New Friends

Well, we made it all day (so far), without any rain! WOOHOO! That may not seem like such a big deal to most, but here in Ireland that's HUGE. Oh well, Ireland has never claimed to have the best weather in the world.

I was able to meet another one of my neighbors Sunday afternoon. Tiff and I were walking into town and met our neighbor, Olive. She lives three houses down from ours. I have now met Nora, Noreen, Olive and LaLon (not sure of spelling). All four are very pleasant widow ladies, who love company. I am so excited to begin these new friendships.

I decided to bake some Banana Bread today and take some to each of my new friends. I spent the majority of the morning baking and then Tiff and I delivered a portion of bread to each lady. They all seemed very thrilled with the bread and the visit. Hopefully they will remain thrilled after they taste the bread, hahahahaha.

Please join me in prayer for each of these wonderful ladies. Pray that God will allow me, though friendship, to show each of them the love of God.

The Practical Stuff

We have now lived in Ireland for three weeks, and I have to say, I love it here! I understand that three weeks might not seem like a long time. However, when you're living in another country, away from your family, friends, and every other person you know, three weeks can seem like an eternity.

We are adjusting very nicely so far. Bob is getting very good at learning his way around Ireland, and also learning to drive on the left, (wrong) side of the road. I haven't started driving yet, so I'll have to get back to you on how that goes, should be very interesting don't ya think?

The house is done, for all practical purposes. It has already started to feel like home for us, which is always a nice feeling. I am learning how to use the cooker (oven). All the temperature settings here in Ireland are in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, so that has proven to be quite a task. I have figured out that 180 Celsius is 350 Fahrenheit (just in case you ever need to know). I have also almost got the washer and dryer figured out. . .at least I think I do. Again, it's not as simple as picking which fabric and wash time you want. The washer settings go by water temperature instead. The dryer goes by settings like "Ready To Wear", "Cupboard Ready", or "Iron Ready", etc. I have yet to find a setting that offers an anti-wrinkle option. Apparently, the ladies here like to Iron! I really can't complain though, I haven't shrunk anything to "Barbie Doll" size, or turned Bob's underwear pink yet, so things are good, yes!

I can also now cook an entire meal without having to stand in the middle of the kitchen and think "Where in the world did I put. . ." (whatever I happen to be looking for). See, I told you it was feeling like home.

As some of you know, Bob is allergic to dairy and eggs, so everything I cook or bake has to be done with Soy. I've been able to find Soy milk and butter in our local supermarket, but cannot find an egg substitute yet. Our local health food market is supposed to be ordering me a powered egg substitute to try, but it hasn't come in yet. If this works that would be great! Right now I'm limited to cooking things that don't require eggs. I have also found that no one sells "Minute Rice" here. I have found a good "cook" rice that actually tastes very good and works well in recipes. See, God is supplying us with everything we need, even down to egg substitute.

It's The Little Things In Life

I was brought to tears today by the simplest thing. When I woke up this morning I found that I had gotten a card in the "post" (mail). It was from my mom and dad in the states. I was so excited as I opened it up. Not only was it my first piece of "post" here in Ireland, it's from two of my favorite people in the world. . .my mommy and daddy. I was very careful not to rip the envelope as I opened it. Since it's my first piece of mail received here I wanted to keep the envelope nice also. You know how store owners frame the first dollar bill that they make? Well, I told Bob I should frame the envelope being it's my first one in my new home. He just laughed at me. . .wonder why?

Anyway, I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a beautiful card that my mom had underlined parts of. She also added a paragraph below the card contents. . .that's when my eyes started to leak! I could see her sitting at the kitchen table writing her thoughts on this card knowing that it would make me smile, laugh, and cry all at the same time. I can almost guarantee you that she cried as she wrote it. My heart aches as I miss her and my dad right now, but I know that I'm exactly where God wants me to be, and so I have to trust Him to take care of them and this hole I feel in my heart.

I've decided to walk into town today and buy some postcards to mail back home. I'm sure they will be as excited to receive mail from me as I was getting mail from them.

Please continue to pray for all of us! This is a huge transition, and although God has been wonderful to us, sometimes our hearts almost break in two missing those we left behind.

Ireland At Last

I am writing this blog today while sitting in my living room here in Ireland. As I write I can see it raining outside, as it has been all day, and I can hear and smell the logs in the fireplace as they slowly burn and give the house a nice warm, cozy, country feel. Those of you in the states are probably wondering why I would have a fire burning in the middle of July. . .well, come visit me in Ireland next July and you'll have the answer to that question. There is always a damp, cool feel to the air here, and with the all day down pour the house was especially damp and cold feeling.

It almost feels surreal to be here. Although we've been planning for this move for so long, it always felt so far away, but now, I'm here -- finally! The deputation, the packing, the heart tearing goodbyes, along with the millions of other details, are all done and we're ready to see what great things God has planned for us and for the good people of Mallow, Co. Cork Ireland.

We already have almost all of our boxes unpacked and the house has come together quite nicely. God has truly blessed us with a great house. It is perfect for Bob and I, and also for the ministry. We have plenty of room for Bible study groups, Church meetings, and of course guests. God always thinks of everything. He leaves nothing undone nor does He leave anything to chance.

We have already met a number of wonderful people that I believe will prove to be very good friends. I would ask that you begin praying for Catherine, the lady that we are renting our house from, along with one of our neighbors, Nora. Pray that God will allow me a friendship with these two ladies that will eventually enable me to show them the love of God.

As God begins to bring the pieces together for our ministry here in Mallow, I ask that you also pray that Bob and I have the wisdom and the discernment to do things God's way and in God's time, not our own. This is God's ministry not ours, pray that we never forget that!

Next Stop Ireland!

Since it is already after 1 am and I was planning on getting up tomorrow around 6:30 am, I'm going to keep this blog entry "short and sweet". This will also be my last post until I get to Ireland and get an Internet connection, so keep checking back often.

Tonight we said our final goodbyes to our daughters, my parents, and even our dog Halfpint. Amazing how attached you become to those little "furry ones"! He will be living with my parents from now on. It will be a good thing for all of them, but I will miss him -- terribly! Saying goodbye to the girls and my parents was "gut wrenching". . .that's the only description that seems to come close to how it made me feel. Even as I type this post, it's hard to see the keyboard as I battle the tears in my eyes. I know without a doubt that God has called us to Ireland, I just wish the "getting there" was easier, ya know?

Please continue to pray for Bob and I as we prepare to serve God in the country of Ireland. We are very excited to see what He has planned for us and for the people of that amazing country. I would also ask that you continue to pray for our three daughters, and the rest of our family that will be here in the states. It's hard to be the ones left behind! They will continue to do the same things they've always done, and go to the same places, but we won't be there -- that's hard!

Well, I'm off to try and get some sleep, and then Ireland here I come -- woohoo!

Post For Mrs. Young

Okay, so I have this friend who informed me the other day that she cries every time she reads my blog. Well, being a kind person who loves to laugh, I hated to think of this poor soul crying every time she reads my updates. Sooooooooooooooooooo, Mrs. Young -- this blogs for you! I will not be putting anything in this blog that will cause your eyes to leak. . .I promise. Let's see, it was very sunny today (that's a good thing). I was able to ride my motorcycle (another good thing). I'm doing laundry, and cooking supper, opps, that maybe kinda sad (sorry).

I hope you will now continue to follow my blog to see what great things God is doing in Ireland. Hey, I just thought of something else that will make you smile -- if you ever get to Ireland, you will have a place to stay -- with ME! Now that should make your smile huge, hahahaha!

Tiff's Graduation!

On the evening of June 5th, 2009, I watched as our youngest daughter, Tiffani, graduated from high school. We are so proud of her! She graduated with honors and was also her class Valedictorian. She was extremely nervous about giving her speech, but she did a great job. She also sang at her graduation ceremonies, which she also did very well. It doesn't seem possible that she will be off to college this fall. It seems like she grew up over night. I'm sure it was just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital -- well, maybe not yesterday, but close to it! It was so hard to watch her cross that platform and get her diploma. I wanted to jump up on the stage and grab her off and scream "this is a mistake, my baby isn't old enough for this to happen", however, I did refrain. As difficult as it is for me to let her go , I'm so excited to see what God has planned for her in the future. She's a great girl and I know she can accomplish anything she feels led to do. Congratulations baby girl. . .we love you, forever and always!

Shipping Container Fun

For those of you who have been following my blog, you are aware that I tend to use the phrase "Praise God" a lot! Well, this blog is no exception, I have to say "Praise God", one more time. When I woke up this morning it was gloomy, rainy and just all around "yucky" outside. Why did this matter to me you ask? Well, you see, today was the day that we were scheduled to load our shipping container for Ireland. I could just see us trying to load everything we own into a container in the rain (not fun). Then, the driver of the semi called and informed us that he had been sent to the wrong city. He was sent to Kenton, Ohio, instead of Canton, Ohio. Because of this, he was going to be at least an hour late. . .oh joy! On top of all this, we weren't sure how many people would show up to help us. We had asked for six to eight people, but we didn't know how many would or could help with it being in the middle of the day. So now, the weather is less than perfect, our container is late, we don't know if we will have enough help to load, and on top of those things, I had a major case of nervous belly. Actually, I thought I was going to throw up at any moment, (sorry for being so graphic). This is where the phrase "Praise God" makes it's blog appearance. You see, by the time we got to the storage unit, we had close to twenty people to help load. The sun had come out and the sky was as clear and blue as I've ever seen it, and because the driver was so late he said we could take as long as we needed to load, (instead of the original time of two hours ONLY). Now you know why I have to use the phrase "Praise God" once again. He orchestrated every event of this day to perfection! Despite the container looking way to small for all the stuff we had, our "movers" did a great job of loading it. They were able to get everything in except two bookcases. I'm including a picture of the finished project. As you can see, there was "no room in the inn" by the time they were done. We'll let you know what happens when we open those doors in Ireland, hahahaha! Now, that might prove to be interesting. Thanks again to all who gave up their day to hang out with us, our stuff and a metal container. . .you really are the best!

A Tearful Memorial Day Service

On Sunday, our church had a special Memorial Day Service, as they usually do. They recognize all past and present service men/women, along with special music etc. I have always been extremely sentimental when it comes to our Country, our Flag, our service men/women and of course our National Anthem. Well, Sunday was no exception. . .the tears fell almost the entire service. They had asked all the service men/women who could still fit into their uniform to wear them on Sunday. During the service they asked all these people to come up to the platform. As I watched as men in their seventy's, and some closer to eighty, walked down the aisle in their uniforms, (some with the help of canes), I couldn't help but notice the pride in which they carried themselves even after all these years. Then as our National Anthem begin to play, I couldn't help but cry as I watched these special men place their hand up to their forehead and salute our flag. By this time I was crying so hard I couldn't even sing the National Anthem. In fact, I was barely able to stay standing. It's so hard for me to understand how some Americans can be so blase' when it comes to all things patriotic. Have they forgotten what a great country we live in? Or maybe they've forgotten what freedom has truly cost us. Which ever one is true, I just wish more people were still brought to tears when they see our Flag, or hear our National Anthem.

I will miss seeing "Old Glory" flying freely when I'm in Ireland. I will also miss hearing our National Anthem played prior to sporting events, or celebrating July 4th. These are things that I didn't think about when I was making my mental "things I will miss in Ireland" list, but I will miss them - terribly!

God Sent Us A Miracle

This morning (Tuesday, May 19th), the doctors were able to wake Jody (my sister in law), up without any issues. Within two hours of opening her eyes, they had removed the vent and stopped all other life support machinery and drugs. She is alert, ornery, and breathing on her own with little help from the nasal oxygen that they gave her. When I saw her tonight at 5 pm, she was complaining because they won't give her any regular food. All they had given her was liquids so far (for good reason).

They are planning on moving her up to the hospital's rehab floor tomorrow. For those of you who don't know, Jody has been on life support for a total of 14 days. We've already had a couple of the Doctors and Nurses tell us that they gave her little to no hope of surviving, but to see her make a complete recovery has them amazed. That is why I am claiming her recovery as a miracle! I am so thankful that God never loses control of any situation. Thank you Father, for being everything we need, even when we don't know what that need is.

ICU Waiting Rooms and Vending Machine Food

On Thursday, May 7th, my mom called me to let me know that my sister-in-law, Jody (my brother's wife), was in ICU at one of the local hospitals in our area. Apparently, she came home from work the night before and wasn't feeling well. By midnight they were headed to the ER and everything went downhill from there. She was admitted with Septic Shock (a bacteria of the blood). In the process of fixing that issue, she contracted Septic Pneumonia. She has been on life-support since then. Just when we think she is getting better, something else happens and she takes two steps backward. I know that God is ALWAYS in control, but it is so hard to watch her lay there hooked up to all that machinery. Jody has never been a sickly person. She works hard, plays hard, and loves her family to the extreme.

They have tried a couple of times to wake her up with the intent to remove the vent, but both times she struggled so much that they had to put her back under. The doctors have told my brother not to expect to take her home for at least a month or so. They say she will remain in ICU until the vent is removed, and then an additional two to three days after that. Once they are sure she can breath on her own they will transfer her to a rehabilitation facility where she will stay until she is strong enough to go home.

The family is tired, frustrated and sometimes confused, but despite all that, we still know that God is in complete control of Jody's life. The doctors are now (after eleven days), giving us a good prognosis, it's just going to take a long time (patience has never been one of our families virtues). Please pray for Jody, and the rest of the family.

Festival Of Tables

On Saturday, May 2nd, our church had what they call a "Festival Of Tables". Basicly, women volunteer to decorate tables and then these tables are judged and some are given prizes. They also then fill each table with eight to ten women for a wonderful luncheon. My friend Sheila, and I, decided that we would decorate a table this year and then invite our moms, and our daughters to join us for the luncheon. We had a blast coming up with our theme, and then planning what we would put on the table, and then finally putting it all together. We decided that our theme would be a "Redneck Table". I've attached a couple of pictures so you can see how detailed we were in our planning. Unfortunately, we didn't win any prizes, but we sure had a great time doing the table, and then spending the afternoon with our moms and the girls - that was priceless!

I've determined that the reason we didn't win anything is because, just like in life, Rednecks are good for laughs and giggles, but when it comes to "money time", we're never taken seriously. :o)

If you ever have the chance to attend one of Canton Baptist Temples "Festival Of Tables", you have to go - it is a great time.

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered

Recently our three girls and I were able to take a bus trip to New York City. GREAT TIMES! We left our home town at 11pm on a Friday night, got into New York City at 8AM on Saturday. We spent the entire day Saturday touring the city, and then headed back home at 8pm that evening and were back home by 7am on Sunday. I know most of you are probably thinking, "Are you nuts?" Well, maybe a little, but we had an amazing time. The bus took us to each place, dropped us off and then picked us back up and we were off to the next stop. We didn't have to worry about taxi's, subways, or getting lost. We were able to see the following places while we where there: Battery Park, Ground Zero, Grand Central Station, Central Park, China Town, Little Italy, Pier 17, and ended the day at Times Square. We also saw many other interesting things in between each of those mentioned above.

We bought shirts, purses, pizza and hot dogs all from street vendors! Only in New York can you get everything you need for a day from someone standing on the street, hahahahaha. We wanted a slice of New York Cheesecake, but by the time we found it none of us were hungry enough to eat it. . .how very sad. Needless to say we were tired, full and smelly when we got home, but we would all do it again tomorrow if we had the chance.

Easter 2009

Keeping with family tradition, our family along with my brother and his wife, went to Mom and Dad's for lunch Easter Sunday. I have attached a couple of pictures that were taken after lunch. The first one is of myself, and the three girls (Trisha, Tiffani, and Tara). The other picture is of my Mom, Dan (my brother), myself, and Dad. My brother and I were laughing because I think this may be the only family picture with just Mom, Dad and my brother and I since Dan and I were very young. We've had many pictures taken with our extended families, but very few with just the four of us. This is definitely a picture that I will treasure.

The afternoon was wonderful! We ate way too much (in fact, by the end of lunch I was wishing I had worn my "fat pants"), and we laughed until our cheeks hurt -- good times I tell ya. I will miss days like this when I'm in Ireland. It will be the memories of these times that I call on to get me through the rough days. Thank you Lord for an amazing family, the gift of laughter, and pictures that make it possible to hold our memories for a lifetime.

Surprise 49 1/2 Birthday Bash

I know most people don't celebrate their 49 1/2 birthday, but those people apparently don't have friends with the same sense of humor that my friends have. You see, a number of my closest friends have recently celebrated "milestone" birthdays. Being the good friend that I am, I couldn't just sit back and let these special birthday's come and go without harassing them a little - okay, maybe A LOT! I felt pretty safe doing this because I will be in Ireland for my next "milestone" birthday. In light of this, my friends decided to celebrate my 50th birthday five months in advance so they could have their fun/revenge (depending on how you look at this).

Since my birthday isn't until September, I didn't suspect anything when they told me they were planning a surprise birthday party for one of my friends husbands. I brought the covered dish that they requested I bring and I even had my daughter pick out a funny "old man" card for the man whose party I thought was taking place that night. Even after we got into the building I still didn't realize that the party was for me until one of my friends ask me, "Marilyn, where are you going to be on your 50th birthday?" I couldn't believe they got me! I'm usually pretty good at picking up on things like this, but I honestly had no clue on this one. I have to give cudo's where their due. . .this plan fell together perfectly.

The party was wonderful. They had invited all my family and they even invited friends that I don't usually get to see very often. Of course, the room was decorated with black tablecloths. The centerpieces were made of metal coffee cans filled with dead tree branches and black balloons. They also had lots of "Over The Hill" signs, and blowup walkers scattered around the room. They were even thoughtful enough to provide a roll of toilet paper so people could write "Happy Birthday" notes for me. I must admit, this was one of the best "Over The Hill" parties that I've ever been to. One thing is for sure, when my friends throw a party it's a huge success!

I can't believe they got me, but I also can't believe they went to all that work just for me. I truly do have the best family and friends in the world! Thanks guys for all your work and effort. I will remember this one for a lifetime.

First Motorcycle Ride Of The Season - WhooHoo

Due to the bright sunshine and the warm temps today, I was forced to get my motorcycle out of our storage unit and fire it up for the first ride of the season. It took quite an effort to get her started, but once we got her running she ran like a jewel all day long. I know some of you are probably saying "why in the world do you ride a motorcycle". Well, if I have to explain why I love to ride, you probably aren't a rider, which means you wouldn't understand even if I did explain. Motorcycles are one of those things that people either love them or they hate them. I happen to love them!

Riding for me is a great stress reliever, along with a great time to pray. There's no radio, no cell phone, nothing but me, the bike and time. I've done some very valuable praying over the years on my motorcycles. I'm so thankful that God provided this beautiful day for us to enjoy. It felt good to feel the sunshine and the warm temperatures after a very long Ohio winter. Regardless of how you relax or enjoy your sunny days, I hope that you were able to get outside today and spend some time appreciating the blessing that God sent our way. Those of you that enjoy motorcycles, well, maybe I'll see you on the road someday. Until then, ride free, ride long and ride safe!

Fun With Moving Sales, and Shipping Containers

Since I've had many people ask where we are in the process of moving to Ireland, I've decided to use this post to update all of you on our progress to this point. Our target date to leave is the week of June 28, 2009. The exact day will depend on airline ticket prices, and departure and arrival times from here to Ireland. We are very excited about the knowledge that in three months we will be in Ireland beginning our ministry. However, we are also very aware of how much work lays ahead of us in order to make that a reality.

My next huge project is going through all the piles and boxes of "stuff" that we have to sell before we leave. I would like to just drag the boxes outside and stick a sign in the yard that says "Moving Sale - Make An Offer", but that probably isn't the best way to handle it. So, what I have to do is go through everything and separate it according to price. Then I'll have to start getting everything on tables that can be pulled out in the driveway. I wish there were "Moving Sale Preparers" that you could hire to do all this before hand stuff. You know, like what "Three Men and a Truck" does for people who are moving. Hey, there's a business opportunity for anyone who enjoys doing that sort of thing. You could call it "Three Women and a Price Gun", (or something like that). Just remember whose blog you were reading when you got the idea, hahahaha.

Once I get the sale taken care of then we have to turn our attention to getting our shipping container ready to send to Ireland. That will have to be sent the first of June. Right now it's taking approximately four weeks to get the container from the States to Ireland. The most difficult thing will be deciding what clothes, shoes, kitchen items and things like that we'll need over that month. We can only keep out what we can fit into our suitcases for the flight to Ireland. This part should prove to be rather exciting. I just know I'm going to send something that I'll end up really needing after the fact. Doesn't it always work that way?

Daddy's 83rd Birthday

Today, March 25th, we celebrated my dad's 83rd birthday! Instead of going out somewhere, my mom decided to cook a wonderful lunch and we were able to eat and visit with them for awhile this afternoon. Of course, we also had "birthday cake". I mean, what's a party without the cake, right? It's hard to think that I won't be in the states for his next birthday. Everyone knows that part of being a missionary is leaving family and missing family events, but that knowledge takes on new meaning when you're the one who will be missing those events. I know I can call him next year and maybe even arrange some "web cam" time with him at one of my daughters homes, but the fact still remains that I won't be there to give him a hug or a birthday kiss. Next year will be hard for dad and I both. I'm thankful for the promise that God's aware of that already, and He'll give both of us the strength we need to get through the day even though we will be in different parts of the world. I'm so thankful for the privilege of being the daughter of Dr. W. Jay Dolvin. God has truly blessed me. Happy Birthday Daddy. . .I Love You!

Florida

I always love it when our Missions Conferences take us to nice warm, sunny places. . .like Florida! We got here last Saturday, March 14th and will be here until Monday the 22nd. We have been staying with my husbands youngest sister and her family, in Cocoa Beach.

So far we've spent two days at the beach. Soaked up lots of sun, and played in the ocean. We've also done lots of running around to different little shops. . .just in case they were having sales or anything :o)

Yesterday, we were able to surprise Tiff with a trip to Disney World for her graduation gift. Needless to say she was very excited! She was there years ago, but doesn't remember any of it, so we were glad that the Lord provided a way for us to take her this trip. I have to admit, I'm a huge Disney World fan myself. I love riding the rides and watching the fireworks and the big Main Street Parade. We took our niece with us also. She had never been there before so it was fun watching the two of them enjoy all the "Magic".

We will leave here tomorrow (Saturday) morning and drive to our next church. I will be speaking for their "Spring Ladies Luncheon" on Saturday, and then Bob will be presenting our work and preaching in the Sunday morning service. After lunch we will drive to Lakeland Florida, where we will present our work to a different church during their evening service. Sunday evening we will be staying with a dear couple that Bob and I have stayed with before. They actually live right around the corner from the church in Lakeland. They are one of those couples that make you feel like your "at home" when you stay with them. We thank God when He brings people like that into our lives.

We will leave Florida on Monday morning and then it's off to Atlanta, GA. We will be spending Monday night with another missionary family that we met during one of the missions conferences we were in. Here again, it's so wonderful how God has brought such neat people into our lives while on deputation. These are people that we will be friends with long after all of us have moved to our specific countries and begun our individual works. On Tuesday, it's home to celebrate my dad's 83rd birthday, and start getting things ready for our moving sale prior to moving to Ireland the first of July.

Unwelcome Changes

When Bob and I surrendered to the mission field we knew it would bring about some major changes in our family dynamics. We also knew that those changes would come in one of two forms. On one hand there's the kind of change that makes you jump up and down, waving your hands in the air and yelling "yippie", and then there's the kind of change that makes you think your heart will break in two and you're convinced that crying has become your favorite hobby.

Well unfortunately, on Thursday March 12th, we will experience a change of the second type. I will be taking our cat, Katherine Noel (affectionately known as Katie), to her new home. She will be living with Bob's sister and her husband, and I know she will be loved and pampered. Although God has blessed us with a very good home for her, the fact still remains that she will be missed greatly. Now, I know some of you might be thinking, "it's a cat, what's the big deal". Well, any animal lover knows exactly what I'm talking about here. . .it is a big deal!

Katie and our youngest daughter have shared a room and a bed for the last five years or so. Needless to say this is going to be a hard transition for Tiff and Katie both. I know her new owners will take great care of her and make sure that her "Heiness" gets anything she needs or wants, but we will miss her terribly. Our house will feel a little less "homey" (at least for awhile), without her "welcome home" meow's and her "I love you" purrs.

Just so you know, we also have a dog that will be going to my mom and dad's before we leave. Yeah, you guessed it. . .there will be another post involving me, a pet and bunches of tears. Just so you know!

New Friends

We have just returned from a Missions Conference in sunny California. In fact, this was the first time we had been to California. It was nice! Far to much traffic for me personally, but it was wonderful to see and feel the sunshine again. Our wonderful hosts, Jeremy, Heather and Avery Mayol, (I've attached our group photo), were gracious enough to take us on a couple of very interesting and fun site seeing trips. On Monday, we went to the Regan Library and Memorial. That was really nice! I enjoyed reading all about his life and looking at all the memorabilia that they have there. We were also able to go aboard the "Air Force One" that Regan used during his presidency. I was amazed at how big it was and yet they said that three of his plane could fit inside the new Air Force One. The plane we flew home in seemed so small after seeing his plane.

On Wednesday, they took us to Beverly Hills and Hollywood. We walked down Rodeo Drive and saw all the expensive stores and saw a number of "Hollywood stars hot spots", as Heather called them. Unfortunately, we saw no stars, or at least none that I recognized. We were also able to see Kodak Theater where they have the Oscars along with the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I'm glad that I got to experience it once, but believe me, it doesn't look anything like what you see on television. The Kodak Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame are both in a really run down area of California. Our hosts were telling us that none of the stars even live in or close to Hollywood anymore. They have all moved out to more expensive, secluded areas. One of the highlights of our trip to Beverly Hills and Hollywood, was our stop at "Sprinkles", a fancy "hole-in-the-wall" cupcake place. The church even sent each of the Missionary families home with a box. Needless to say, ours are almost gone!

Although we enjoyed the site seeing, the best part of the trip was the wonderful way God worked in the conference itself. Their church was packed to "standing room only" almost every evening. The church staff and the congregation treated us like we were royalty. They made us feel like we were at home with family. There were a number of times during the conference that I was brought to tears by the outpouring of love from these dear brothers and sisters in Christ. These dear people truly love the Lord and they genuinely care about lost souls. They gave freely of everything that they had. Praise God for churches that still believe that it takes people to win people and for churches that are willing to give above and beyond to make sure that people like Bob and I are able to do what God has called us to do.

Please join me in praying for the people of Faith Baptist Church in California. May God bless them for their willingness to give so we can go!

Problem Solved

As you can see, I was finally able to reload my "Family" slide show on to my blog page. I would love to tell you it was because of some extremely intelligent programing talent that I process; however, that would be a complete lie. The truth is, I signed on this morning and WAHLAH it worked. I was also able to remove my "Ireland" slide show, add some pictures, and reload that one with no issues. Don't ask me why I thought it would be a good idea to try that, given the problems I had with the other one, but I did it anyway. To my pleasant surprise and great joy, it worked just like it was supposed to. I really have no clue what I'm doing on this computer. I just push buttons and hope for the best most of time.

Bob and I will be flying to California bright and early tomorrow morning for a missions conference, so I will try to post when I can, but I'm not making any promises. Of course, I'm sure my faithful blog followers are used to my posts being more, hmmmmmmm, lets say sporadic in nature, hahahahaha!

Becoming a Blog Master - yeah right!

Okay, not even close to a "blog master", but I did determine that I was going to learn how to dress up my blog today. Like anyone who is looking for information about how to do something "techie", I headed for the Google search bar and typed in "free blog backgrounds". Much to my surprise the first site I clicked on turned out to be a gold mine. I found backgrounds, blog accessories, and a truck load of "how to blog" helps. This site walked me through changing the background, changing the layout and lots of other cool stuff. If you're reading this post then you've seen my finished blog project. What do ya think?

The only issue I am having is getting my "Family" slide show back on my blog. I removed it to add some more photos, and now it will not allow me to reload it on my blog page. If anyone has any hints on accomplishing this, please contact me. I would greatly appreciate any help in this matter. The worst thing is that I had it on here and just couldn't leave it alone. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. You're saying, "why don't you just do whatever you did to get the "Ireland" slide show on here". Well, I've tried that, and for some reason it will not allow me to reload the "Family" slide show. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, but for now it does leave me a tad miffed.

Family Game Night

Recently our family has started having regular game nights. Nothing fancy, just lots of snacks and bunches of laughs. Those present usually include Bob and I, along with our three girls, our son in law and my parents. Everyone usually brings a snack of some sort and we spend the evening playing games and eating. Let's see, family, laughter and lots of food. . .sounds like a perfect evening to me, hahahahaha!

Last night as my parents were leaving and we were done with the normal "goodbyes", my mom turned to me and made this comment, "why haven't we been doing this all along, why did we wait so long to have a planned family night?". My response, "I don't know mom, I guess we thought we were just too busy". TOO BUSY! Are you serious? How can we be too busy to spend time with family and even friends for that matter. I look back now and wonder why I let work and other "junk" be more important than time with the people who love me the most.

I understand our situation may be different than most. Our family realizes that in four months Bob and I will be moving to Ireland. Once that move is made our only contact with our girls and parents will be through webcams, email, facebook and "snail-mail". Your family may not be leaving the country, but that doesn't mean that the people you love the most will always be with you. I think of all the "family game nights" we could have had if we had just planned a regular evening a couple of times a month to get together.

Your homework (as my faithful blog followers), is to determine to take advantage of every opportunity to be with family and friends. Don't let things that have no eternal value keep you from enjoying life the way God intended you to. . .surrounded by family and good Christian friends.

Our Amazing God!

Have you ever had one of those "duh moments", when that proverbial light bulb comes on in your head and you finally realize that God has and is answering your prayers? Let me explain! Since we returned from Ireland back in June, I have been praying that God would completely break my heart for the country of Ireland. I wanted Him to give me a love for the Irish people that runs so deeply in my soul that I would wake up every morning wishing that this would be the day that we leave. Well, the other day I was watching our missions presentation video on my computer, and I found myself crying. I'm talking real tears down the cheek and the whole deal. Now, I wish I could tell you that my reason for watching the video was to fast and pray for Ireland, but my reason was much more selfish and much less spiritual. You see, I was trying to figure out a way to change the picture that my husband used. On a side note, why is it that men always choose the WORST picture they can find of the family (or at least of you) when they are doing things like this?????? Anyway, back to the story. . .so there I am watching our video and wondering why I can't seem to stop crying. This is where the "duh moment" happened!

At this moment it dawned on me that the last couple of times we had shown our video at missions conferences I have had to fight to hold back the tears. I just figured I was having "one of those days". However, when I couldn't hold the tears back anymore the other day, I finally realized what was happening. God was and is truly answering my prayers in a BIG way. I don't know if I can explain this in a way that those of you reading this entry will be able to completely understand, but when I see those pictures of Ireland I feel like my heart will explode if I don't get there soon. There is no place else in this world that I would rather be!

Please join me in prayer for the country of Ireland and it's amazing people. Pray that God can and will use me in very special way in that country. Praise God that once again He has shown Himself amazing!

FINALLY! A new post. . .at last!

Okay, so I admit that I've been a little lazy in my blog postings; however, I hope to correct that starting tonight. So, let me fill you in as to what has been happening in my life over the last three months. We celebrated three major holidays since I've posted last. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I've attached the family picture that we took on Thanksgiving day. As with most holidays, we spent as much time with our families as possible. Of course, knowing that we will not be with our families next year for the holidays, made a big difference in how I approached each one. I found myself spending a lot of time standing back and watching and listening to all the excitement of each day. I wanted to burn each laugh and face into my memory for future recall when we're celebrating these same holidays next year without those me call family. God has truly blessed me!

Another big change that has happened since my last post, is that we have now moved out of our house (after 26 years), and into our churches mission house. We will be living here until we leave for Ireland on July 1, 2009. Moving out the house was quite traumatic I must admit. I really had to make that a matter of prayer. Although I understand that it's only a house, the fact still remains that we had lived there 26 years and all our girls were babies in that house. Any mothers reading this will understand what I'm saying. As always though, God did supply the strength and courage needed to make the move. He also sent us a great family, complete with kids and dogs, to take our house. I pray that they enjoy living there as much as our family did.