A Gorgeous Irish Day

What a beautiful day in Youghal!
Last night I slept so well! And I even slept in a little (so did Daniel--yay!) When I woke up, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I figured that the rain would come eventually. Jess, Daniel and I decided to make sugar cookies with these cool cookie cutters that Jess has (well, Daniel didn't really decide to make the cookies--he didn't have much choice). So much fun! There was flour, sugar and cookie dough everywhere!! Then we went for a family walk, since it was such a pretty morning. I wish I could have this view all the time--you can see the water (the Youghal Bay) from Jessica's kitchen window, and a walk around the neighborhood is so pretty! After lunch, and after Daniel went down for his nap, Jessica and I decided to go into town. The sky was still blue and the sun was still shining. It's Easter Holiday here (Spring Break) so there were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful day. We stopped at a cute little restaurant called Sage and had some coffee and a yummy strawberry shortcake dessert. Everyone here drinks tea so it's hard to find good coffee, but Jess said it was the best cup of coffee she's had since she's been here. We even got to sit outside while we ate! Then we stopped in a few cute shops and just enjoyed a nice walk! I miss my friend so much! We even looked at real estate fliers...found me a cute little cottage to buy when I move over here (only half a million dollars!)
This evening we had some of the teenage girls over to make jewelry. Jess made some yummy homemade pizza and pretzels and we set up all the beads in the dining room. We began counting the number of girls who were coming and Jess was worried that we wouldn't have enough beads. We prayed that God would bless the time together and that there would be enough food and beads for all the girls. Wow! God sure answers prayers! It made me think of when Jesus fed the multitudes with just a few loaves and fishes. The beads seemed to multiply! We thought that the girls might be able to only make a pair of earrings each. But each of them walked out with at least a necklace, and some with a bracelet and earrings, as well! It was amazing! Jess loves to be creative and make things, so it was so exciting to see her do something she loves, and for the girls here in Ireland to be excited about it as well!! How awesome for her to be able to make a connection with these young girls through something she loves to do (and she's good at!)
Tomorrow is my last full day here--I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly! We are going into Cork tomorrow to do some final shopping, and Jess has a doctor's appointment (well, I guess David has the appointment...) And then we are going to dinner at their teammates' Ernie and Nancy's. I probably won't have a chance to blog again, so this is it from Ireland! Until I come again, which I hope is soon! I'm going to start saving NOW because the plane ticket is so worth it. I kept telling people that I was just going to spend my spring break with my best friend...it's just a bonus that she happens to live in Ireland. And as I near the end of my visit, I definitely feel that way. I am just so thankful that I got to come hang out with Jessica, Seth and Daniel...the fact that I am in Ireland is a total bonus!