Okay, my last post was obviously written late when I was tired and grumpy and had spent the entire morning in the immigration office waiting to have my new passport stamped. So to counteract the heavier topics below, here is a list of things I LOVE about Ireland!

-ruins, architecture, newness, and living in a place so rich in culture and history. The delight of never knowing when you turn a corner what you're going to see - an O'Brien watch tower on a hill in the distance; a row of Georgian townhouses with their charming doors to examine; crumbling ruins of castles to oogle; and monuments of great events that happened right there where you are standing. History is so interesting when you're living among the tangible proof of its existence.
-playing with my kids on our field trips and seeing their wonder and delight as we go to new places and try new things
-that my kids get to experience school here, making friends and learning Gaelic and having some great missionary opportunities. They're finding out a lot about who they are while we're here.
-ranch dressing. I know I can get this at home too but for some reason we are all craving it daily here! I've never made so many salads!
-just being a mom and focusing on the kids without a gazillion other distractions
-reading on my kindle (again because of the lack of said distractions)
-our daily devotionals at breakfast, usually featuring conference talks on video or Mormon Messages from LDS.org. Moving always gives me a chance to establish new routines or improve upon others.
-the smell of peat brick fires
-the Medieval Feast. The kids still talk about it daily.
-the wild swans that live on the River Shannon which flows right through the UL campus
-hearing lots of different accents and lots of different languages spoken everywhere we go
-thatched cottages (Adare!)
-aged white Irish cheddar, and chips! But not together.
-the kind people here, esp. at church
-being closer to France! One more month...
-the garden view out my back window
-having time to work with Spencer on his letters and numbers, and watching his joy as he puts everything together. I kind of missed this with Sophie; those were the dark, stressful, sleepless years that I don't remember very well.
-watching my kids build castles out of cereal boxes and milk jugs. Since we're seeing so many of real castles I thought we'd study castles as a family so we know what we're looking at. The creative outcome of said study is messy but so cool! I'd way rather have them trying to figure out how to add a curtain wall to their defensive keep using tape and fruit cartons than watching tv.
-that Gary gets to work on his research full-time!
-our taxi driver Christie who drives us to church every Sunday - and gives us a discount
-that I always see the Lord's hand in my life when big adventures like this roll around. Or maybe I'm just looking for it harder. Either way, I'm very aware of the numerous tender mercies that have blessed our life since this adventure began.


And to be fair, here are the few things I miss from home:

-my dog, as previously mentioned
-being able to call my mom and our families and friends (although skype is a helpful option)
-warm weather
-my hot-air popcorn popper. Microwave poppy just isn't the same. Also Sun Chips and Triscuits.
-having a car
-cleaning products that work. I think the ones we've tried here just spread the grease around... ugh
-Little Caesar's $5 pizza deal - such an easy meal!
-clogging and zumba, although I can do both here in my kitchen
-my full-sized fridge

Not a very long list. We are very happy here and are in no hurry to get home!