Day 5 Surprises Every Day

There's a lot of catching up to do!  I would not go so far as to say "I've been too busy to blog," as the kind of " busyness that we have experiences has been one of choice, factoring in down time, relaxation, and fun, so it is really not the kind of "too busy" that I am accustomed to, where there truly is no time whatsoever to do "frivolous things" such as blogging.  Instead, the fullness of our days has been more about living in the moment, being present, responding to our inner desires, to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and to the bumps in the road that come up, as He leads us on our journey each day.  Each day I wake up I feel excited about what the day may hold....whether it be planned or unplanned.  I really do have a sense of Jesus being a friend walking alongside me, taking me to new places and exploring new possibilities.  These last 2 weeks of adventure and reconnection with my family have felt like a wonderful gift from my loving God.

Here is a recap:
Fri, Day 5 -- Researched a little and found the local churches.  Decided to go for the oldest one.  Drove for the first time, and it is always an invigorating experience to drive here, likened to what it felt like to drive at age 15 or 16, when I first felt the freedom, power and responsibility of that steering wheel in my hands....only this time that wheel is on the right side of the car!  I forgot that in an apartment one must allow time for traveling down the elevator, walking and driving through the parking garage, and punching in the code to get out.  Then, one driving in another country for only the second time in one's life, one must allow for mistakes and wrong turns.  Subsequently, we made it to daily Mass 15 min late, and they were already serving communion, so we turned around and left.  But just finding the church, just making it there, was the fun part.  And I was pleasantly surprised by what we found.  The area of Sandyford that we are living in is an industrial, modern area....more reminiscent of modern day Slovakia than of old-world Ireland.

But here, in this pocket that is the gem called Sandyford Village, I found the comfort of the real Irish village I have longed to see again.  Across from the Ground coffee shop and outdoor shop (with the equestrian uniform hanging on the fence as a representative of their wears -- the village is close to Leopardstown Horse Racecourse http://www.leopardstown.com/Leopardstown/Home/), and behind the grey stone wall, is nestled the beautiful and picturesque 19th century St. Mary's of Sandyford, surrounded by green grass and daffodils and roses.  The grounds are immaculate.  The only parking is behind the pub next door.  The flyers in the foyer demonstrated the activity and welcoming attitude of the parish.  We so looked forward to coming back to this church and the village it lives in.

It has been really fun and convenient to have "Barista's" coffee shop just downstairs from us.  The children and I enjoyed teatime that afternoon, with gorgeous scones, cream, butter, and jam.  That night we enjoyed introducing Thomas to Sandyford village when we went to the local pub for a lovely Lenten fish on Friday dinner.  The pub is very clean and upscale....where the locals hang out, but quite a nice restaurant as well.  Horseracing was on TV, and the haike was amazing!  Thomas and I felt it was some of the best fish we have ever had.

More to come....