Catching up

For the first time in way too long, I am sitting in a quiet house all by myself.  Nate is at work, the kids are in school, I have no errands to run, and no chores requiring my immediate attention.  In short, pure bliss.  I have almost forgotten how very much I need these quiet moments alone to sit with my thoughts, calm myself, and regroup. 

We've been back in Ireland for 3 1/2 weeks now and are finally starting to settle back into a more normal routine.  The kids and I really enjoyed our time at home in the States, especially when Nate was able to be there with us, but by the end of the 6 weeks, I think we were all looking forward to coming back to Ballyneety.  Living out of suitcases for 6 weeks is only fun for so long, and we all had a difficult time settling in without Nate.  It was an eye opening experience in the sense that it became very clear that it really doesn't matter where we are, or where we live, as long as the four of us can be together.  It's been nice to all be in the same house again and to finally have all the suitcases unpacked and put away. 

My mom was able to come for a 2-week visit when the kids and I got back and it was so nice to introduce her to Ireland.  (For some reason Blogger isn't letting me upload photos.  Grrr!)  We did some traveling around and visited the Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher (yes, again), Galway, West Port, and Dublin before heading back to spend the last few days at our house.  Hopefully mom will be able to visit Ireland again with us.

The kids started school last Thursday and are loving it!!  Watching Scarlett bounce into school every morning with a backpack almost as big as she is takes my breath away, and hearing her tell me how much she loves her teacher already completely melts my heart.  Grayson walked into the school like he owned it on the first day, and hasn't looked back since.  He's very happy to be back with his friends, and surprisingly excited to be using his new textbooks. 

Gray decided he wanted to play basketball this year in addition to soccer, so we're already busy getting back into the swing of our extra-curriculars.  Scarlett is thrilled to finally be old enough to participate in dance class, and will be trying ballet for the first time next Tuesday. 

I'm still not sure what exactly I will be doing with all of this "free time" on my hands, but I'm sure I will find plenty to keep me busy.  Hopefully I can finally make a comeback with the blog and get some pictures posted for your viewing pleasure.  ;)

See you soon!