Skibbereen-ing

I spent my day in Skibbereen, the heart of West Cork, at a arts, crafts, and food festival. Mmm! It was so much fun to watch the kids sing and dance and embrace the beautiful and strong Irish culture. This little guy was amazing. 

Mrs. Millea

My sister is married now. 

I thought I'd be in a crumpled heap of tears at the wedding. Alas, only when I was helping her put on her pretty, pinkish wedding gown did I shed a tear or two. It was then that I really, and deeply felt the big-ness and awe of the moment. It was so perfect. She is so gorgeous.

Life transitions, the ebb and flow of sorrow and joy, the love-filled wonder of our small worlds-- all of these things capture the curiosity and thoughts of my mind. It is the people that we love and the God in whom we owe our lives to that makes my world go round.

My sister has a big piece my heart.  

This morning, I accidentally began to Facetime her. It was probably 1:00 in the morning in her time zone. (oops!) She kindly texted me to see if I was o.k. and was sorry that she missed my call. Oh, what a dear! Even though we are thousands and thousands of miles away and there is an ocean between us- we will forever be sisters and close at heart.

Mrs. Millea, I love you. 

If you want to see more pictures, check them out here. 

Summer Joy

April, May, and June were a blur. Turns out that July is too! As busy as it has been, I have been trying to soak in all the joy that I've experienced. 

In Greece, it was my job to herd little munchkins around and try to keep them out of trouble. I spent some time in Dublin for work and then went to the states for a few weeks to spend time with my family and marry off my sister. In the meanwhile, I also happily and officially became the girlfriend of the illustrious Joel Kurtz (more on that later!). I have two new nephews (one biological and one that I claim :) and it is a high compliment to call me Aunt Emily. My heart overfloweth with love and thankfulness. I am behind on laundry, lacking sleep, but am quite ahead in joy. 

Here are a few snippets of joys that I've experienced this summer. 

Greece Joys in May 

[Emily, Sabina, Joe, and Daniel]

Half Marathon Joys with my friend in Cork, Ireland in June

[Ann and Emily]

Baby Joy when I got to meet my "nephew" for the first time.

[Isaiah and Aunt Emily]

 Wedding Joys with my dear college friends at Temple and Philip's wedding in VT.

[Joel, Philip, Temple, Shama, Kristin, Timothy, and Steven]

 Family Joy at the Fisher home.

[Here, brother Sean and sister Anna share a laugh over the coconut "milk cow"]

More Baby Joys in June when I met my sweet and kissable nephew! 

[Aunt Emily and Hudson]

Wedding and Sister Joys 

[Emily and Mrs. Millea]

Joel Joy

[Emily and Boyfriend Joel]

Adventuring Joys with college friends in Ireland in July

[Margie, Heather, and Emily]

What makes you smile?

Giddy

Home.

The countdown is in the single digits. 

(!)

Life full of Love and Schedule full of Life

Over the past few weeks, my sister got engaged, my younger brother started courting a sweet girl, and my older brother and his wife gave birth to a darling son.

I hear it's kind of crazy on the farm right now.
Oh yeah- it's asparagus season too. (Anyone want to do a farm internship??)

Over here in Ireland things have been gaining momentum. The weekends usually include plenty of time with the youth at church and the weekdays have the usual: exercise class, supper club, counseling, and office work. Oh yeah- the laundry, dishes, and cooking gets done too.

I'm at that stage of blogging where there is so much that I could write about but have no idea of where to begin. My heart truly is filled to overflowing. And so is my schedule. Maybe I'll just share a few pictures and go from there. :)

 Hudson Elijah- Don't I have the most handsome nephew??

 Spring time in Ireland is pretty much the best thing ever. This little stream is in the woods by my village. They have a great little set of trails back there! 

Ross Castle at Killarney. We got to do some exploring on Easter Sunday. 

If you come to Ireland---> Killarney is a must! 

Last Sunday was the physical fitness test for the Pathfinders. 

Jared demonstrates how to fly, uh-- I mean how to do the long jump. ;)

Have you ever played crab soccer? Yeah, me neither.

Here's how: Assume the crab position. Play soccer. Laugh hard.