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.