Coming Soon....

So...Ireland draws closer and closer. Less than two weeks now. I told my mom the other day (and some other people) that I feel a little like a bride planning her wedding, in that all I can seem to do is talk about Ireland. It's practically all I think about.

Oddly, though, it doesn't seem to be bugging anyone yet. In fact, I keep getting asked questions about my trip, before I say a word. People seem to be excited for me, which is pretty cool.

I've completed and purchased pretty much everything I need for my trip (except a raincoat--I left mine in Branson!), including contacts and a camera (hence the new picture).

I saw a commercial for some upcoming movie the other day, one I was mildly interested in (though I can't now recall what it was, so it can't have been anything huge) and it said it was coming to theaters July 18th. I thought to myself, Well, that will have to wait, I'll be in Ireland July 18th. And then I let that sink in. I repeated aloud , in amazement, "I'll be in Ireland July 18th!" How crazy is that?!?

I've visited and lived a lot of places, but mostly in the States. I've never been anywhere that required a passport before now. I've wanted to see that part of the world since I was a little girl, and this is the first real opportunity that's become available to me. So maybe you can see why this is pretty much freaking me out.

It's like my very own, real live adventure. A new culture. A new country. A new home? We got a rough schedule the other day, but there is still so much that unknown and undetermined...at least for us humans. Just before we go, I'll post a prayer calendar of sorts that I made up for our church bulletin. I'm also hoping to do some mobile blogging from Internet cafes and the like, posting some pics if possible to my flickr account. We'll see.

Well, if you're not sick of hearing about Ireland yet, you probably will be by the time I'm done. Or, I suppose I could be positive, and imagine that folks will want hear about our experiences. Whatever happens, I want to drink it all in with eyes, ears, and heart wide open. May God grant me the grace until then to live in the moment and not wish away the next eleven days.