Stephen and Alisa Walton

Easter Meal

2022-04-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

Every year (except during COVID), we have had an Easter carry-in meal after our Easter service. This year we had a small-ish group, but we also had lots of food! It was a lot of fun to be with everyone and eat delicious things. Here are a few pictures.

Good Friday Tenebrae Service

2022-04-28T10:04:00.001-05:00

This year for Good Friday, Stephen wanted to try to have a Tenebrae service. Tenebrae means "darkness" in Latin. There are several different ways to do it, but mostly it is characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a loud noise taking place in total darkness near the end of the service. We were late in getting candleholders, so we kind of had a haphazard collection of 15 candles in which different people in our congregation read about the last few hours of Jesus' life, followed by the blowing out of one of the candles. Stephen lead the music from a different room, so you could hear him, but not see him which helped give it a different mood as well. Stephen focused on songs that talked about Jesus' suffering, but not necessarily his resurrection. At the end of the service, Stephen hit a cymbal, and everyone left the dark church focused on what price Jesus paid for us. It was definitely a different experience, but I think it went well.

In order for it to actually be dark at the end of the service (the sun doesn't set until 9pm currently), we had to cover our big windows at the front of the church. Tiffanie and I worked at taping aluminum foil on the window. It took almost an hour and a half, and used just a bit more than one roll of foil (I was thinking it would take a lot more). It got it to where it was definitely more dark than what it was outside. I thought our church looked like something from space from the outside.

St. Patrick's Day 2022

2022-03-30T11:19:00.001-05:00

We were so happy to be able to celebrate St. Patrick's Day again! Three years we have not been able to, but this year the parade was going again. Also, as something special, our kids were able to walk with their rugby team in the parade!

I was very excited to have the time off and celebrate (the Friday afterwards was a bank-holiday too, making for a long weekend), but sadly, I got sick the Wednesday before. The next day I was feeling better, but not good enough to made it to the parade. Stephen had to take all of the boys while I stayed home. Thankfully, the parade goes right by our house, so I was able to snap a few pictures from the window. The boys are difficult to see, but they are there, trust me!

We had grand plans of eating Bacon and Cabbage, but we had to wait until the next day as the day grew too full with Stephen taking care of everything. It was good the next day too.

Lots of people lining the street.

More people waiting to see the parade go by.

"St. Patrick" leading the way, and Moycullen's own olympian in the carriage.

There's all my guys going by.

Yummy bacon and cabbage with mash.

I am the Vine, You are the Branches...

2022-03-28T11:04:00.001-05:00

This sermon series, as a church we are memorizing John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

Stephen wrote a nice little song to help everyone memorize it. It really helps!

I had been listening to a podcast with Dr. Curt Thompson and he was talking about how before we think anything we have to have a physical encounter with it. Children learn this way all of the time, but sadly, as we grow, we stop thinking that we learn in these ways, and so we just.... stop. I was just thinking more of ways we can worship God physically in church. As I was searching for a craft for a children's lesson I got the idea for this one that our whole church could do together.

I made a twisted "vine" and cut out "branches" for everyone to put their names on. The kids worked on coloring leaves and fruit to put on it afterwards. I know it is kind of cheesy, and so far, we have not even figured out how to hang it, but I thought it was cool to physically stick yourself "into" the vine. Knowing, from the vine is where full life is possible. Thank you Jesus.

Morning Sunday School

2022-03-23T11:50:00.001-05:00

We tried something new this sermon series, having a morning class where we can go more in depth with the topic. This series is called "New Life" and is focusing on spiritual disciplines, rhythms, or practices that help us to grow closer to God. This class begins at 9 am before the service and we come together to answer people's questions and talk about the value of these different practices and try to help people schedule them into their lives. Stephen talks about how you are being formed, even if you don't schedule these things in, so you may as well be formed by these things that you can be intentional about instead of just letting life flow past you and wondering how to grow closer to God. It has been great to hear people's different experiences and opinions, and how everyone thinks about these things.

Luke has been a huge help during these classes by taking care of childcare. This has helped Tiffanie and me be able to attend as well as other moms who usually can't attend classes like this. What a blessing.

We have been happy with the response of this class and are hoping to do more classes like this in the future. This class will run for 6 weeks and then we will take a bit of a break as to not over-ask of people at our church.

Church Meal

2022-03-21T11:50:00.001-05:00

On 13th of March, we were very thankful to have a church carry-in meal again. We had not had a church meal together since our outdoor pizza party in September and a carry in meal ages before that.

We ran into one small problem during this meal.... we ran out of plates! This has never happened before! Also, space around tables was limited, the poor kids didn't have enough space at the kid's table. We know our church has grown, but this really showed how many more people are there now than before. Thank God for this! We even had a few people missing who would have been there usually.

We asked people to bring a dish that represents where they are from. It was fun to see and try the different types of food. Stephen and I were at a loss at first for what to bring. Stephen ended up making Runzas (minced beef, cabbage and cheese wrapped in bread dough and baked). I made Kringle which I just thought was a normal desert everyone had heard of, not knowing it was a special Wisconsin/Danish thing. I made pecan Kringle. Here are the links for the recipes we used. Runza

Kringle (This turned out ok, but you have to watch the recipe as it was not written the best, also, I would have skipped the egg wash as they turned way too brown).

God is Good- Baptism!

2021-08-06T08:50:00.001-05:00

Since we have been able to meet in person again we have had a new family who came to church the very first Sunday we re-opened after our lockdown. She and her children have been coming ever since. This woman came to Christ online and has been attending an online church for the last five years. Recently, she realized her need to find a local church, so that is when she got in contact with us. Once she started coming she expressed her desire to be baptized. On the 20th of June, after church, we drove to a nearby beach and Stephen baptized her. A few people from church came too. It was nice. Please continue to pray for her and her family that she would continue to ask questions and grow in the Lord.

We were able to get a snapshot of everyone (except for Stephen who was taking the picture) from church who was able to come that day (for second service).

Also, the kids had fun together afterwards playing on all the rocks and getting a little bit soaked (even though none of them had swimming gear on).

It's always wonderful to see someone surrendering their life to Jesus. May we all do this continually every day.

Christmas 2020

2021-01-27T11:17:00.000-06:00

As everyone's year has been interrupted in dealing with Covid, ours has been too. Ireland's numbers were rising in the autumn and soon we found ourselves not being able to meet in person at church. Thankfully, just before Christmas, we were able to meet again for three Sundays, with distancing, masks on and no singing, but TOGETHER! We all praised God in different ways for that.

The week before Christmas we were able to have people over to our house. We had dinner with dear friends we hadn't seen for months, had a man over from church after the Sunday service, and had the same man with his roommates over for Christmas dinner. We were so glad for this time to fellowship.

On Christmas day, we spent the morning together as a family. During the afternoon we started getting ready for our guests and called our families. We made appetisers and dessert for our guests, but the main course was brought by our guests- curry! Our friends are from India and made two curries (chicken and lamb), fried bread, biriani (rice), and brought over many other treats from India. It was delicious! Elisha and Andrew cannot handle any spice, though and even though our guests did not make it as spicy as usual, Elisha and Andrew couldn't handle it. Also, our guests told us the best way to eat the curry is with your hands to get the flavors into the rice, so we did! It was a fun experience. Even when I served pumpkin pie and apple crisp for dessert our guests didn't need forks, but just ate with their hands.

We were so thankful for the time together, but sadly everyone in Ireland enjoyed their time together even if they were sick and Covid cases were starting to soar even before Christmas. We went from having 300 cases a day to 7,000! We could not meet in person at church anymore after Christmas and could not have anyone over to our house in the new year. Our numbers are dropping, but it has been very slow. Some people predict we will be in lockdown like this until the end of March. God knows!

Praise God! Another Baptism!

2020-09-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

The first Sunday we were back to church, we were privileged to witness a lady from our church be baptised. Since moving to Ireland, she began attending church with her family. One day she contacted Luke and explained how she wanted to raise her daughter in a Christian home, but realised she needed to make a commitment to Christ in her own life for this to happen. It was a beautiful Sunday. The air was warm, but apparently the water was not. We are glad that did not hold her back. We are so happy to have her as a sister in Christ! Since being baptised, she is very enthusiastic about reading her Bible and says she "wants to tell everyone about it." Yes! Please keep her in your prayers. We are so thankful to see the Holy Spirit move in such a strange time in our world.

Most of her family who came down to the beach to watch.

Her little sister braved the cold to watch nearby as well.

Hugs from grandma who has prayed for years. Thank you Jesus!

Connecting with Supporting Churches

2020-05-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, when the quarantine started, Alisa's home church, Roxbury Church of Christ (one of our supporting churches) contacted us and asked if we wanted to attend one of their small groups. We were happy to! The first week, Stephen met with them as Alisa had to teach early the next morning. The group was gracious with making a time adjustment, and now Alisa has been able to attend too. It has been nice to see everyone and to learn more about God together. We finished up the end of the book of Isaiah with them and last week went over Psalm 23. It's been nice to attend something we haven't had to prepare for!

We were thinking this is a great way for us to connect with supporting churches that we haven't been able to see in awhile. If your church meets online for a Bible Study or group, we would love to meet with you sometime. Please contact us so we could fill you in on all that is going on here, or just to connect and say "hi!". We would love to see you and to hear how you are doing. Please contact us so we can schedule a date.

Scripture Songs

2020-04-27T04:00:00.000-05:00

When we had Kid's Club or Holiday Bible Club at church Stephen would try to put the memory verses to music to help aid memorization. The kids would always have fun dancing around. We were always so glad to hear when a child was singing the verses at home.

Now, along with our homeschool curriculum, I encourage our kids in memorization of God's word as well. At first the boys are very shy to sing, but as they hear it every day they gain confidence and make it their own. Like in the 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 song, it was the boy's idea to change octaves. When they first did it, they were singing at the top of their lungs. It was so fun to hear.

Stephen had the idea to record a few of the songs with the boys. Enjoy!

Genesis 9:13

Psalm 89:14

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Psalm 47:7

Let us know if there is any verse (or two) that you would like us to make a tune for! Have fun memorizing!

Stephen's Grandpa Bill

2020-04-24T09:32:00.000-05:00

Many of you probably have heard by now, that Stephen's Grandpa Walton passed away last week.

Last week, Stephen’s grandpa, Bill Walton passed away. He had been sick for some time and even though he fought, his body just couldn’t take it anymore. I am glad to know he is not suffering anymore, but is face to face with his Saviour, Jesus. The Saviour he worshipped every day with his heart, mind, soul, and strength.

To those who didn’t know him, he was truly an inspiration. He was a preacher, a professor, a counselor, a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather. He was a joy to be around. To anyone who was needing help, or needing grace, he gave freely.

Even though we are happy to know he is with Jesus, we miss him greatly. It’s even harder feeling very stuck in Ireland right now as we are not free to fly home when we need. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and for all of your kind words.
Here is what Stephen said about his grandpa in a recent post:

I have delayed writing anything about my Grandpa since his death on Friday mostly because I didn’t know what to say. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say but more because I could probably write a book. What do you say about someone who meant so much to you and accomplished so much in his 85 years? He was my Grandpa but he was also my friend and my hero. For those of you who knew him and especially for those who didn’t I hope this story helps you to understand the kind of man he was.

In Moberly, the traffic lights at Hwy 24 and Morley always turned from red to green as you approached them at 2am. I know this because I made the trip often from the college dorms to my Grandparents house where I was living for the summer. As I approached the lights I didn’t slow down because I knew they would change. They didn’t. I blew through a red light as if it wasn’t there. The next thing I know I saw another red light along with a blue one and they were flashing behind me. I knew I was in trouble and without excuse. The officer approached the car and took my license. As he did he saw that my last name was Walton. He asked me, “Are you any relation to Bill Walton?” I confessed that he was in fact my Grandfather and that I was actually on my way to his house. The officer didn’t go back to his car but instead spent the next 10 minutes recounting how much he respected my Grandpa and how over the years he had seen my grandpa help so many people who were in trouble or on their last ropes. He told me about the many times he had met my grandpa at the police station as he was there to council someone, to mediate a situation, or to speak on someones behalf. This is the kind of person my Grandpa was. He cared equally for all people. He never sought accolades nor did he find his identity in education (though he taught for over 40 years). He was profoundly changed by Jesus and lived a quiet life of loving God and loving others. I left that night profoundly proud of my Grandpa and thankfully without a ticket. Well done good and faithful servant, enjoy the celebration!

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” - James 1:27

Girl's Day

2020-03-23T11:39:00.000-05:00

During the midterm break in February, we had another Girl's Day at our house. It was a super rainy, miserable day, but it was not miserable at our place. Everyone had a blast. It was nice to be able to see everyone again. A bonus was that the two women who brought
the girls decided to stay. It was nice to get to know them better as well.

Tiffanie brought a painting project and the girls put their own take to it. She also brought her Wii to play a dancing game. The girls had a blast. I arranged face masks, nail painting, snacks, and baked sugar cookies to make mini fruit pizzas. Many of these things had been requested again since our last times together.

I am glad for these chances to get to know the girls in our church better and to be able to build memories. I was also really glad for the opportunity to get to know the women who brought the girls better.

Here are some pictures.

Church Dinner

2020-02-11T09:25:00.000-06:00

We had a great turnout for our last church dinner. Everyone brought something delicious too! Here’s a picture of everyone. We were running out of plates, and there were even people missing! We will have to invest in more tables soon as well. Several people took turns doing the washing up. It’s quite a challenge with only one sink and no running hot water. We have to heat the water in a kettle every time. It was so nice hanging out with everyone.

Visit from the Enrights

2020-01-31T12:06:00.001-06:00

On Christmas Eve, Jeremy and Brigette Enright came to visit us. We had Skyped with them awhile back as they are interested in coming to Ireland as missionaries. Jeremy's father is from Ireland and so Jeremy has taken the time to get his dual citizenship. We were not sure how our families would click together, but our visit was great. Their older boy was really ready to play with our boys and they had a blast. It was nice to get to know Jeremy and Bridgette better than just over a computer screen. It was interesting to hear more of their stories and to hear where they go to church now. They were able to see our church and tell us how they felt they are gifted to serve. Please be praying for them!

Mid-Winter Rally and Italy!

2020-01-31T12:06:00.000-06:00

For years Stephen and I had heard about this conference for Christian Church missionaries in Europe (and elsewhere) called the Mid-Winter Rally. We had always thought about going, but Christmas is such a busy time, we never actually planned on it. Until we heard the rally was going to be in Italy! It also helped that Tiffanie and Luke were planning the conference this year.

So a couple days after Christmas we took off for Italy. We landed in Pisa and took a train to Florence. Then we took a short train ride outside of Florence and we waited for more than an hour for a bus we weren't sure was actually going to come along a busy road to take us up a mountain to the retreat centre. We made it! Stephen was leading the music and we got there just in time on the first night for Stephen to pick up the guitar and start. We stayed there for 4 days. Elisha and Silas were looked after by a group that came over from Ozark Christian College. The speaker was a church planter in the States who was very encouraging and convicting. Stephen and I felt it was so good. We also broke up into small groups where we were able to discuss different questions and share what was going on in our lives and ministries. It is so freeing to be able to talk to different missionaries as we all go though similar experiences. We were able to ring in the New Year there. Stephen and I went outside and watched fireworks being lit all over the Tuscan Valley. It was really special to be at that place at that time.

The speaker, Bobby Wallace/ My view of the Alps from the plane/ Elisha making sure Silas stays back from the edge before our train arrives/ Andrew's nap time at the conference.

The beautiful view/ Stephen leading music/ succulents growing out of a stump.

Sunset at Casa Cares/ Part of our New Years dinner/ Enjoying fireworks

After that we went to spend a couple days in Florence. Other than children complaining about having to walk (when they would gladly run for miles and miles!), we had a spectacular time. We were able to go and catch the view of the whole city. The weather was cold in the mornings and evenings, but we were able to have sunshine all the time, which feels quite luxurious coming from an Irish winter. We also loved our air B&B we stayed in which was conveniently near an excellent pizza place.

After Florence we traveled to Pisa by train to see the leaning tower (which the boys were constantly asking when we were going to see it ever since we first arrived in Italy). We had a lot of fun taking these pictures, which you just have to do.

We had a friend in Ireland tell us we needed to visit the city of Lucca and I am so glad they recommended it as it was one of my favourite days. It was a 25 minute train ride away from Pisa. It is an old city with it's city walls still intact. They made it so you could ride bikes all around it. We ended up renting this bike and had a blast. I could not stop laughing and the boys could not stop honking horns and ringing bells. We had so much fun. It was just a nice cute little city that was fun exploring. Elisha and Silas also decided they wanted to try octopus in a local grocery store, and thankfully the lady behind the deli gave them each a piece for free. Elisha said it tasted like the sea. Silas said it tasted like broccoli. We were afraid at one point Silas was not going to keep it down, but he did!

It was a Sunday on our last full day in Pisa. We decided to find the Church of Christ. So we met with the small church there and worshipped with them. It was interesting to see how they did things. We also found a playground, to our children's delight, and continued to eat more pasta, pizza, cappuccinos, and gelato.

Andrew with statues that look like him in the background/Stephen and the boys/ eating gelato

We had a wonderful time, but sadly Andrew got sick the last night we were there and continued to have a bad fever on the plane ride back. He got over the fever after a couple days, but has continually stayed sick for this whole month. All of us have continually come down with colds and flus.

In any case, we really enjoyed our time away. It was much needed as we were so incredibly busy this past December.

Christmas 2019

2020-01-31T12:05:00.000-06:00

We went to the Galway Christmas Market on the opening night when they turned the lights on.

On the 15th we had a meal together at church before a few of our church members started travelling away to visit family for Christmas. It was nice to get together and hang out this way as we hadn't had a meal together like that in quite awhile.

The next Sunday we held our Carol Service. Tiffanie, Stephen and I lead the music while Luke gave a short message. We even had "Jingle Bells" sung by a couple of our kids in Irish. I was glad they were brave enough to do that. At the end of our service we had our tradition of saying John 3:16 in multiple languages. It's always so interesting to hear.

For Christmas this year we had our usual morning of reading the Christmas story and opening gifts as a family. After Skyping with our family in the afternoon while preparing Christmas dinner, we had a few people from church over for dinner. It was fun. We ate together, opened gifts and then played a few games. Our kids did not want to go to bed, but definitely needed to as it had been a very full day. Here are some pictures.

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Saviour!

Walk for Freedom

2019-11-13T14:02:00.003-06:00

On the 19th of October our church attended a Walk For Freedom in Galway City. It is a walk that is sponsored all over the world by the organisation A21. It is to build awareness about human trafficking around the world.

Even in little Galway we have problems with trafficking and recently, Stephen even got a call from a man and his wife who had been trafficked to work without pay. The man and his wife live in a different county a few hours away, so thankfully Stephen was able to contact a church in their town to direct them to. Also, the church has been aware of others who have had this problem and are going to help them. Please pray for the victims of this horrendous crime.

Hopefully the walk helped to shed light on this crime to people in our area so they know what signs to look out for and of how to get help.

Holiday Bible Club 2019

2019-11-13T13:59:00.000-06:00

This year instead of having our Holiday Bible Club (VBS) during the summer, we decided to hold it during the school break at the end of October.

The three days following our pumpkin carving event, we started the club. We had kids from our church attend. We played games, had snacks, lessons, crafts, music and Bible verse memorisation. It was nice. This year Stephen did music, as usual, and I (Alisa) was in charge of games. I had never lead games before for a Holiday Bible Club, so this was a new experience for me. Some of the kids caught on well, others weren't so good. Still, I think all of the children had fun and it was nice to get to know them better.

We invited lots of children from the community, but again, no one seemed interested in bringing their children. There are always lots of options for children to do things outside of the church, and so I think people just choose the other options. Please pray for our community so people will begin to trust us and desire for their children to learn more about God. Still, even though children from the community didn't attend, I am so glad the kids from our church did attend. They all had lots of fun learning more about Jesus, and it was nice to hear stories of the kids singing the Bible memory verses at home. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to speak truth into the lives of our church kids as they live in a land where most people around them do not know the truth about Jesus.

Regional Leader's Meeting 2019

2019-11-13T13:53:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of October Stephen spent four days in Germany for the annual Regional Leader's Meeting.

Stephen wasn't able to attend last year as I was about ready to have a baby, so he was thankful to be free this year to go.

All of the regional leaders (plus more) with Kontaktmission get together once a year to talk about different issues and pray for their regions. These are long days with lots of meetings, but very worthwhile.

While Stephen was away, Alisa kept busy with the three boys, keeping up with school and other activities like swimming lessons, Parent and Toddler group, and special life events like Elisha loosing his first tooth!

Pumpkin Carving 2019

2019-11-13T13:39:00.001-06:00

We had over 70 people attend our pumpkin carving event this year. The church was just bursting with people and pumpkin guts!

Everyone seems to have a really nice time and it really helps us to get to know people in the community who wouldn't usually step into the church at other times.

Different people in the church provided snacks and treats for the event, plus Tiffanie thought up other games and activities for people to play while they were waiting for a table to carve. I (Alisa) was even painting faces for the first time ever this year! That was intimidating and I am not sure that I am gifted in that area.

All in all it was very busy and fun!

Rob's Visit

2019-11-13T11:53:00.002-06:00

From the 17-21st of October Rob Harris from Kontaktmission USA came to visit the Swains and us. It was great to be able to update him on all of what is going on with our church and with us. He is very encouraging and it's wonderful knowing we have a boss who cares so much not only about us but our ministry as well. He stayed at our place the whole time and was a good sport about sleeping on a mattress in our living room!

Our Little Holiday 2019

2019-09-30T16:22:00.003-05:00

With church planting, sometimes we just keep going and going. I realised recently we hadn't taken much time off at all since last summer when we went to the States (and even that had a mix of work in it as we were reporting at churches most Sundays).

We took some much needed time off for a little holiday to Drogheda and Northern Ireland for a week at the end of September. We stayed with and visited friends along the way, plus we rented an Air B&B for a couple of nights just for some family time.

Drogheda was our first stop where we stayed with some dear friends. It was nice to visit with them again. Stephen and I always have this feeling of "coming home" when we go to Drogheda. It was also great to visit the church in Drogheda and see many people we had't seen in years. We could have chatted on and on if our kids would have only let us. It was wonderful to see how the church dynamic was now and to see many of the youth we had ministered to. That evening we were invited to a birthday party. Our kids had a blast, and we did too. It was wonderful to catch up.

On the Monday we hiked in the Mourne Mountains and got totally soaked! Once we were already wet, we just kinda kept going, because.... why not! It was a very beautiful area. C.S. Lewis actually wrote his brother and said that this area was the place he imagined Narnia! Stephen and I were thrilled! They actually had a little Narnia walk there, which our children enjoyed. We stayed a couple nights at an Air B&B in Dundrum. It was clean and nice. It was just hard to keep Andrew from tearing apart the place as he is very busy and gets around easily. The second day we were there we visited some friends who had moved from Moycullen back to the North. It was great to see them again.

After a couple of nights on our own, we visited John and Sandra Woodside. John, who is now retired, was the minister of the church in Drogheda. As Stephen has said, "they are some of my favourite people in the world." I agree. We hadn't seen them for a year, so it was nice to show off Andrew. Elisha and Silas love them too. We were able to see a few more sights in the area before it was time to head back home.

The week went pretty fast, but it was nice to get away, force ourselves to stop, and make memories.

German Group

2019-09-16T16:24:00.001-05:00

Back in 2014 we had a group visit us from a church Lichtenau, Germany. They put on a Soccer Bible Camp and did a few other things around our village. This year they decided to send another team!

On the 14th- 22 of August they arrived. There were a few that came from the last trip, but this year there was a whole lot more. Thirteen total to be exact!

The first night they arrived we met up for some pizza. It was great to catch up with some of them and also to meet lots of new people from the group.

They put on a one day children's event, a two night older youth event, lead music on Sunday and taught the kid's lesson. They also deep cleaned the church and did some painting touch-up that needed to be done. Also, they walked around our village and tidied any rubbish they could see. With all this work, they also took a couple days to sight-see.

We were thankful that they have kept us in mind and hope to see another group from that church in years to come. We are so thankful for the body of Christ all over the world.

School Year 2019-2020

2019-09-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

At the end of August, Stephen had a week of classes he needed to attend in Dublin for his master's. In order to fill up time, I decided to start our school year the week he was gone.

It was not perfect, in fact the first day took us WWWWAAAAAYYYY too long, but we more than cut the time in half the second day. The first day also included a nature walk, a picnic inside, and cake (to which Elisha and Silas wanted to sing "Happy Birthday to School"- Ha!). Anyway, Elisha and Silas still seem to enjoy it and I can tell they are learning more every day.

This year Elisha started first class (first grade) and Silas junior infants (preschool). Also, this was the first year that I actually have to register Elisha with the government in order to homeschool. I had to wait until he was six to do this. They have received our application and now I am just waiting to have a meeting with an assessor. I'm nervous, but I am pretty sure everything will be ok.

I am grateful for this opportunity to be able to homeschool as it's a dream come true for me.