A Weekend in Co. Limerick!

Hello again... just trying to keep up with my husband on this blogging thing!

Niall plays volleyball here in Belfast with his club team, but he also plays for the Irish national team.  They have training weekends every so often in different parts of the country.  This past weekend they had to be in Limerick, which worked out perfectly for me to see the Noonans!  We got half of the journey overwith on Friday afternoon by heading down to Naas...  we had another great night with Niall's family before driving to Limerick Sat. morning.  I dropped Niall off at U.L. (University of Limerick, where we met) ... it's always fun to be back there and think "Wow, this is where it all started!"  :)

I took the car from there and drove into Bruff... being back on those little country roads made me smile.  I feel so at home there and everything seems so much slower once you get out of the city.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the hills and fields were that typical Irish green... just what you'd imagine.  It's about a half hour drive to get to the Noonan's house; I was so excited driving up the long gravel passage way that leads out to their big country home.  It was so great to see Bob, Lucy and Ben.  I'm so grateful that over four years later, I still feel so welcomed the moment I step in their door.  Marie was gone on a work trip until Sunday afternoon, so I got to visit with John before getting my old aupair job back for the day!  I took Ben and Lucy to horse riding practice, Bob to swimming, then the kids and I went and bought some groceries before making burgers for dinner (not quite the same when you don't have a BBQ, but it was still a nice little taste of home!)  Some of their extended family members "called in" to say hello that night which was also special for me.  Niall was staying in a hotel with the team, so I got to have a sleepover with Lucy in her room.  :)  Marie got back Sunday and it was great to catch up with her over a cup of coffee.  Niall had a scrimmage in Croom (a town ten mins away, slightly bigger than Bruff), so I picked him up afterwards and Marie made us a lovely dinner before we made the long haul back to Belfast.  Overall the weekend was a perfect opportunity for me to be with the Noonans again, I'm so grateful it worked out!

So now it's Wednesday and as usual, my weekdays are a little quieter than the busy weekends since I'm on my own.  I am still learning every day more and more about being a wife and leaning on the Lord and Niall for strength.  I still have my down days, that's for sure... but I've already had so many fun days & new adventures as well since being here.  I've had lots of doors close on the job front-- it can be discouraging-- but I'm still waiting it out, applying, and hoping that one of these days a door will open for me.  Like my mom said to me on the phone the other week... if I hadn't experienced some "closed doors" years ago, I never would have come to Ireland!  So I know God has a plan and I'm trying to trust in that with a joyful heart.  Please keep me in your prayers.

As always, I love you and miss you all!

   

A quick recap

This week marked Erin's 1 month anniversary of becoming a UK (Irish depending on who you ask) resident. The time has been flying by. So it seemed appropriate to summarise all of what has happened so far.

Erin found our journey particularly tiring. She prefers her East Coast stopover. I prefer heading straight to London. We ate at a nice restaurant called Giraffes in Heathrow airport. We were there in body but not in spirit:

 And this is how we really felt:

When we arrived in Dublin my dad picked us up. He had to bring his big van because we had so many suitcases (6 in total) weighing approximately 250lbs in total. That was fun to lug around. So we drove to Belfast snoozing half the way. When we got to the Bakery we were in for a surprise. My mum had gone up earlier on that day and decorated our place. So as I carried my wife over the threshold I almost dropped her with surprise when I saw this:

We then got a big greasy takeaway:

Hours upon hours spent in IKEA readying our pad. Ridding our home of the 'bachelor' feel. I mean, why do you need a jar to put your utensils in? Why can't they just go in the drawer?

 And then the joys of carrying it all home:

And for those who haven't seen...

Part 2 of the Bakery Tour

I should be showering, so I'll blog!

Blog, I don't like you and you don't like me but you are becoming a permanent fixture in my life these days. Blogging just isn't a very manly thing to do. But apparently it has its merits so here I am. I'm a busy man these days. Work aside, my day always feels pretty crammed. Even now with all the red-tape and paperwork associated with de-yanking my wife completed, and with our house fully kitted out, I can't find a spare moment to myself.

For example, I just got back from watching Erin play her second game for the Ulster Elks volleyball team. The Elks, 3-5 before now, are 2-0 with my powerful wife on the scene. I'm a mighty proud husband that much is for sure. My explosive wife was the most prolific hitter on Monday scoring a game-high 23 kills. Not bad for someone who prides herself on being a defensive specialist. Erin won't admit it but she loves playing front row. The glory of getting a kill is taking over her. Here is some footage from tonight's game:

And some photos from Monday's game:

Shopping in the city... I sure do love my sugar daddy :)

Our sitting room... Niall thought this was "furnished"... I begged to differ!

Now that's more like it  :)

My handy man.  (Our room is much cleaner now... this was taken the first week!)

Av and Me... having fun when she came to visit!  I love my new sister :)

Greetings from Naas!

Well, after two weeks I figured I would write again!  Sorry for my lack of activity on our blog... I'm still getting used to this.  Hope you enjoyed Niall's last update.  :)

It's Saturday evening and I am currently snuggled on the couch in my in-laws home.  The fire is lit and it feels wonderful to be on a little weekend getaway.  Niall and I headed down south last night to spend a couple days in Kildare with the fam... Benny and Marie are the perfect solution to missing everyone back home!  It is so comforting to be here, I am enjoying every minute of it and wish we could stay longer.  They are wonderful... I feel so blessed to have them both as my new mum and da.  :)  We had a lazy morning just visiting over breakfast and tea, then Niall and I went to the gym with Avril for a gym session and swim.  It's nice having another sister and friend... Avril is so fun to be around and has such a sweet heart.  Today she taught me some Irish sign language-- I've only got a couple phrases down but I'm hoping to learn more!  (watch out Brooke :)

So let's see... the last week and a half or so I've been applying for jobs online and looking into what is required to substitute teach in Northern Ireland.  It can be daunting trying to figure out the system but Niall is very encouraging and helpful whenever I have questions or don't understand something.  He keeps me staying positive, even though sometimes it's easy to get discouraged.  I've applied for a couple classroom assistant jobs which would be great-- but also turned into resumes to random places (secretarial jobs, Starbucks, babysitting...)  It would be my dream to get my foot into the education door over here but we'll see.  I'll keep you guys posted on the job front... as of now I'm still unemployed so you haven't missed much these past two weeks!  Keep me in your prayers in that regard... not only for an open door, but also that I would remain determined and proactive while having patience.

We stay busy in the evenings, there always seems to be something going on-- Niall has had several volleyball games so it's nice to be able to cheer the star outside hitter on.  :)  I haven't had a game yet, but the girls' team is scheduled to play Monday night so hopefully that will be fun.  We both go to weights training session every Tuesday night and usually when we have a free evening, Niall will set up a raquetball game or something of the sort.  We signed up for a home group at church but I think we came in the middle of a session, so we may have to wait a couple more months before we can get involved in that.  Needless to say, Niall's not one to just sit around!

Niall and I are still enjoying married life and as Karen Dohm would say, no "red flags" yet.  :)  Since we've been here nearly a month now and I'm feeling more settled in, it's easy to let feelings of loneliness creep in.  I'm anxious to have a life and close friends but everyone keeps telling me to be patient and I know they're right.  I'm already looking forward to Heather and Taylor coming to visit in April-- now that our apartment is all set up I want to share it with friends!  I can't wait for you girls to get here.

Love and miss you all, thanks again for the e-mails, photos, and especially letters in the mail!  I feel like every few days I get something in our mail slot-- it's such a treat, I love it.  :)  Will write again soon...

xox,

Mrs. Madden

The man blogs too?

Hello fogies,

I, too, am a blogger! Albeit a lazy one. My wife and I are sitting in our living room at the moment enjoying a beer. She is talking on the phone to T-Payne while I write this. She has transitioned incredibly smoothly into her calling as a wife. This girl is a natural! Respect to Mrs. Dohm for her home-schooling in that regard.

This is my wife multi-tasking as ever in our kitchen earlier on...

The heating is currently switched off in our guest room! It's a work in progress. So far we have had two wonderful guests, my sister and my best man. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our next. Heather, its all ready. Don't worry - I'll blast the heating up to the max for your stay. I already think its roasting in this house but my high-maintenance SoCal wife disagrees (joke honey :)

Church has been good to us. Helped settle us after the move. Crazy story actually - I'll let Erin tell it. But we met a family who lived in California for a long time! But they were totally Irish. Anyway, I won't do it justice now. I'll let you field that one babe :)

Right, impending skype call with 5543!

Miss you all,

Mr. Madden

Come take a tour

Welcome to our home....