Today it hailed for about 15 minutes straight. Yesterday I wore my winter coat outside and hoodie and fuzzy slippers inside. On Sunday we took the kids to Belfast for lunch and got drenched. Joaquin had to ride home half naked. There has been a handful of sunny days in May and June which is taking a lot of getting used to for the Californians up in here. Serious lack of vitamin D equals serious mood dips.

Our moods however are picked up by the warmth of the people here. We are consistently having dinner get togethers and tea and coffee chats. Which by the way, if you are not looking you will consume 4 cups of coffee and 2 cups of tea in one day...easily. I am volunteering in the Mission Shop (church thrift shop) which proves to be great craic and a good lesson in Irish History.

Joaquin managed to have his first broken bone in his right arm. He fell down the stairs in our home. I am sure he was trying to do a trick or two on the way down. We didn't decide to go to the doctor until four days after...poor kid. He got a small cast which he removed himself two days later right before mommy and daddy were going out. Not frustrating at all. Especially because the hospital is about 30min away and we have no car. So Joaquin is now in a full arm cast for 2 weeks. I am positive this will not be the last. By the way, a big thank you to the UK health system. The only money spent on the arm was bribing Joaquin with treats to let the nurses (about 4) put his arm in the cast.

Chloe will be turning five in about two weeks. I had to convince her not to have a princess party because 90% of the party guests are older boys. We settled on a beach theme with a pinata and treasure hunt. Maybe a beach themed party will hold off the rain. In our minds at least. Today she told me I was mean and that she didn't want me anymore because I was making her put on her school uniform instead of watching Peppa Pig. I am bracing myself for the tween years.

I have experienced most emotions that new missionaries experience in the first three months of relocation: excitement, sadness, regret, joy, frustration, what the heck did we do, peace and many more. The training by our CA family is thankfully normalizing most of the fears.

Our family will be traveling to Czech Republic for three weeks to teach at an English camp in July, Hungary for 1 week of CA training in August, and eventually home for 4 weeks in the Fall. I am going to start loading up on airplane snacks and toys now.


All in all, four months has flown by and we continue on with open minds and hearts for what God has for us today and in the future.