Happy Birthday Clarita Bonita!

Hoy es el cumpleaños de Clara. 14 años, no me lo puedo creer! I just love that blond 'little' girl, though not so little any more. I used to love playing with her as baby. What I most remember of her then is her happy smile, curly-blond-baby-hair (very very cute) and her big, bright, happy, brown eyes.  

At 14, she still has those beautiful Spanish eyes, a great sense of humor, and a very loving, fun, giving, happy, good and just lovely personality. She plays the cello beautifully, loves being active, children, and anything that is lovely or lovable. She is simply great! Happy birthday and happy 14 my beautiful sister!

 

Carlow

I thought I'd put together a few of the things we have learnt about Carlow. (I love this flower shop in the centre of town. I feel like taking a picture every time I pass by it!)

County Carlow is one of Ireland's smallest counties. It is 90 Km from Dublin and located on the Southeast of the isle, on the banks of the River Barrow (I've been trying to learn my geography with the girls at school), and is bordered by the Blackstairs Mountains to the east, the limestone land of the Barrow Valley and the Killeshin Hills to the west. 

 

Carlow town is quite the bustling market centre and seems to serve a large rural area and many students. The meeting point for students is the Liberty Tree, in the centre of town. One of the most impressive pieces of architecture is the courthouse (modelled on the Parthenon in Athens). Saint Patrick's College is, in part, connected to the grounds of the Cathedral of the Assumption. The ruins of the old Castle stand next to the river Barrow and a lovely park is on the other side. Again, we are looking forward to seeing all the green and these historic sites when leaves are in the trees and nice spring colours are out! We took a little walking tour around the city yesterday. Here are some of the pictures.

 

 

Leaving and Settling

Believe it or not it has already been a little more than a week - it's taken a while, and it is a work in process, but I have finally sort of settled, found my whereabouts and am a little more organized about things here in Ireland.

The adventure started Saturday, 10th of January. The day before we had the biggest "nevada" (I think this whole blog thing will be mainly Spanglish) I have seen in Madrid. It was lots of fun but the airport kind of shut down and we were not sure whether we would be flying the next day. Lucky us, we did! The airport was in a bit of a chaos but after a few bumps and 8 hours of travelling we finally got to Carlow, Ireland with our new families.

We have soon discovered that the Irish are very welcoming people and love having a good conversation. I was so happy that the President of the Waterford Branch (closest to us, though almost an hour and half away drive) offered to pick us up and take us to church on Sundays- he drives around 10 miles, picks us up, then his son and then goes all the way down to Waterford - I have to say, it is a BEAUTIFUL drive with all the rivers, hills and valleys, country houses here and there, little villages and, of course, sheep). President Gibbons is the nicest man anyone could ask for. The entire drive down to Waterford he explained a million different things about the area we are in, the people, the branch, and it was all so helpful. He made us (Carol came to church too) feel so welcome and comfortable. 

Everyone at church has been super nice to us. We have learned or their excitement for all the baptisms they've had lately - the last one was Kaelyn (probably didn't spell that right), a young woman, who got baptized in the sea! She is absolutly great, a super missionary and has such a great personality.

I think, for now, I'll just say I am so grateful for everything I am being able to do and experience and for the people around me. They all are so good to us and such good examples of giving, loving, keeping a sense of humor, and working hard. Oh, I almost forgot! The family we are staying with is great (I need to take pictures). Patricia is our "mom." She's great and so good to us and her family. Then there's Becky, James and Jack. Becky is 14 and is a lovely young girl, she is very nice and we even get to play the wii-fit with her. James or "J" is 11, supports Liverpool FC and is a #1 food fan! (it is amazing how skinny he is and how much he eats!), he is really nice too. Jack is 9 and a lot of fun, never stops still. Carol and I love how the boys sing to call mom, "Maaa" ... it has the funniest tune to it. We love the McGraths. :)