Especially for you Kerri

My cousin Kerri came down to Lisburn have lunch with us the other day and she was reminding me I hadn't written on my blog for a while. I am so all consumed with this move, I just have had no time, desire, or energy to update this...but I have some photos to post, so I promise to try and do that soon. We are on the count down now, with under 3 weeks to go. We have a renter for our house which is great, but it is no joke trying to "finish" our life here - so many phonecalls and paperwork to take care of, never mind selling, packing and clearing out a house. Once I have that done then we have the enormous task of setting up a new life and all the phonecalls and paperwork that entails. I've done this once before, but somehow it seemed much more simple - I guess we didn't have 3 kids and a house then.

Happy Mother's Day (U.K.)

Last year I joked on this blog that I thought I should get 2 Mother's days, the one here and the one in May in the U.S. Well this is the one year I will actually get to experience that with moving back. I spoke in Church today on "The righteous infulence of the Mother in the home." Here's a little poem I found last year that I used towards the end of my talk.

Promise for a Homemaker

So you're just a house wife, what a shame,

What fulfilment does that allow you;

For without a business suit we're told,

You're not of any value.

For all you do throughout the day

Is help to shape a life,

And stand in the gap to pray for your home,

And be a Godly wife.

You teach your children about the Lord

And His word as meditation;

So a heritage will follow their lives

From generation to generation.

And when on that final judgement day

The saints gather around His throne;

I wonder how many shall surely say

"I'm here, cause Mom stayed home!"

This little poem gives me hope on the days when I really just want to give up on this 24/7 Motherhood thing and go back to work. It helps me remember why I have chosen a fulltime career in Motherhood - to focus all my energy on leading my kiddies back home to their Saviour and Father in Heaven where they belong.

I also loved this quote by Neal A Maxwell that was shared at our Sacrament Mtg at Church today to:

"God's extraordinary work is most often done by ordinary people in the seeming obscurity of a home and family."

Just Grateful today for a great Mum who has sacrificed a lot of her time and energy to be a devoted Mother to me and my siblings. I know if I am blessed to be worthy to stand before the Throne of God one day it will indeed be in no small measure due to my mum. She has embraced her role as Mother in it's entirety and still continues today to Mother, teach and nuture, not only me but her Grandchildren, how blessed we are! Love you Mum, Happy Mothers day!

(excuse the squished up appearance of this post, it won't seem to space properly)

Happy St Patricks day

Ireland's best export (in my opinion) has to be it's dancing. Just like I love American patriotic songs, I love Irish dancing. It gives me the chills to watch and makes me proud to be from this very wet, green Isle. The shows Riverdance and Lord of the Dance show case it so well.

I wonder if I'll get invited to a Bunco night when I live in Utah?

So I've noticed "Bunco" mentioned on friends' blogs and facebook updates for a while. I have had no clue what is was until about 5 mins ago. I decided to look up the defination on the good old faithful Wikipedia. I read through the defination, but it was the last line that made me realise why I see so many of my friends commenting about it, enough to make me wonder what it is. It's so funny that "Mormon women" would be mentioned in the defination of any game at all!

Bunco (also Bunko and Bonko) is a parlour game played in teams with three dice. A winning throw in Bunco is to throw three of a kind of a specified number.
According to the World Bunco Association[1], Bunco began as a progressive dice game in England, later being imported to the American West as a gambling activity. It was not until after the Civil War that it evolved to a popular parlor game. The Association states that during Prohibition, Bunco as a gambling game was re-popularized and the term "Bunco-Squad" was born, referring to law-enforcement groups that busted up Bunco Gaming. Bunco as a family game saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s. Although re-released in 2005 with a tagline reading "The game that's sweeping the nation," sales were initially low though senior citizens and young adults alike have found interest in the game[citation needed].
In recent years, the game has seen a resurgence in popularity in America, particularly among suburban women. As it is played today, Bunco is a social dice game involving 100% luck and no skill (there are no decisions to be made)[2], scoring and a simple set of rules. Women who are part of a Bunco club take turns as the Bunco hostess, providing snacks, refreshments and the tables to set up the games. The hostess may also provide a door prize. Small amounts of money can be involved as well. The object of the game is to accumulate points and to roll certain combinations. The winners get prizes (provided by the hostess or pooled from the club resources) for accomplishments such as the highest score, the lowest score, or the most buncos. Prizes frequently center on themes associated with the game such as fancy dice, dice embedded in soap, t-shirts featuring illustrations of dice, etc.
Bunco fundraisers have become increasingly popular over the years, earning large sums for a wide variety of charities. Large groups of bunco players have come together to support their favorite charities by paying an entry fee into the game, holding silent auctions, and by selling raffle tickets; with all proceeds from the event donated to the cause.

It is especially popular among Mormon women, presumably because it is complete chance and therefore less insidious as a form of gambling

Busy week

Deldon's parents came to visit us 10 days ago. We had a busy, but fun 8 days. The smileboxes below are some of the photos of their time with us. They came for Bryce's baby blessing. It was lovely to have both Grandfathers in the circle. We took a quick trip down to Galway in the Republic of Ireland - it was a cold windy experience, but that is to be expected in Ireland at any time of year, never mind winter lol. The first day they arrived we had to go the the US consulate to register Bryce as an American. Just as we were arriving home I saw Samantha walking in between her 2 Grandmothers, hand in hand down the street. Don't think they walked too far before she decided they should turn around and come home haha. But I remarked to Deldon, what a rare, but sweet sight it was to she her have both our mothers at her side.

Well today I booked our flights to the USA, leaving April 22nd from Dublin to San Francisco. We will spend a few days with Deldon's family in Sacramento, before driving to Utah. Things started to feel somewhat real when I sent 3 suitcases of our belongings back with Van and Barbara. I called the estate agent to advertise our house for rent, and when I booked the flights tonight I could hardly hit the purchase button, Deldon offered to come do it for me lol. Can't believe we are going to be leaving our safe, secure little life and all that is comfortable to us in just over 6 weeks - are we crazy?

Make a Smilebox postcard

Make a Smilebox slideshow