A Busy January in Review ...

Its hard to believe that a New Year has begun ... January was quite a busy month for Joel and I. We definitely felt the difference of having teammates away for home ministry vs. here on the field with us :0) Bryce, Carolyn, Nathan and Abigail were in Canada (they left in December) and return in May. Lee and Joanne Freace were in the U.S. (they left in September) and arrive home on the 6th of February (only 2 more sleeps!!).

Above is a picture of our only "teammate" available for team meetings ... as you can see, he isn't the most active participant in these meetings :0) This is Boxley, Lee and Joanne's dog. We picked him up on Christmas Day from a family in our church that was looking after him. We have had him since then and can I just tell you ... VERY good practice for having a baby ... we have loved having him, but we miss our "sleep in" mornings :0)

Boxley loves to curl up and sleep on your lap ... usually mine. Here was a rare moment when he wanted some cuddle time with Joel. Joel was actually talking on Skype to Lee and Joanne when this photo was taken (now you know why he wasn't more responsive to hearing your voice Lee ... he was busy at the time - ha ha). Anyway, I can't wait to see Boxley's reaction to Lee and Joanne when they return in a couple of days! There will be some major excitement for the little guy I'm sure.

During January, we were pleased to attend the wedding of Larissa and Ruslan. Larissa and her son Alex have been attending DBC (Douglas Baptist) for a number of years now, and Ruslan had been coming faithfully while he was here. He is now in Canada working as he could not get a job here in Ireland. Please pray for them as a family as they seek God's direction for their lives ... whether to live here in Ireland or in Canada.

Here you go ... a "baby bump" picture! This is Carol and I at Ruslan and Larissa's reception. Yes, the bump continues to grow ... our GP says there is a "good sized baby" in there! I asked him did that mean a "Joel sized baby?" ... I think I got my answer from his grin back at me! Our next appointment with our consultant is this Friday, so we may get to see another scan (ultrasound). We are definitely feeling the reality of having a child soon! We are both super excited to see whether it will be a boy or girl! My parents are in the process of booking their flights to come over. They plan to arrive on the 24th of April and stay until the 14th of May. We will be asking Lee and Joanne to be our "Plan B" people to pick them up from the airport just in case, "Baby Bump" decides to make a prompt arrival (my due date is April 23rd).

Well there is a short update for you. Its nice to know people are checking the blog ... I will try to put up a recent "bump" picture this week. This weekend we are taking some youth up to Teenstreet Ireland, then we have a missions conference the following weekend, and lots going on in between. We just sent our prayer letter via e-mail today, and for those of you who get it "snail mail" it should be coming to you as soon as our church (in Canada) can get it sent out. Hope everyone is enjoying the "New Year" so far ... we hear that some of you are experiencing some very cold temperatures!! We don't miss that yet! In fact, I've been cold here the past couple of months and begin to question my own "Canadianess" (ha ha). Must go, HRH Boxley needs to "go out" ...