Welcome....Here's a glimpse of our happenings!

The verses that have REALLY spoken to me (Sarah) lately....



"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25



Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. I Peter 5:8-9



From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Acts 17:26-28



May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14



So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. Deuteronomy 5:32-33



God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It's up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation. Deuteronomy 29:29 (The Message)

About the Friesen's....

We are Marc, Sarah, Luke, and Kate Friesen. We were married June 5, 2004. We have one son, born July 21, 2008, named Luke Andrew -- now 4 years old. We also have a daughter named Kate Christine -- born June 6, 2012. Marc is working at Cessna as a Senior Accountant, and Sarah stays home full-time with Luke. Sarah also gets to work very part-time at home for Graber Backhoe -- an excavation company AND VERY part-time at our church. We LOVE being a part of Grace Community Church here in Newton, KS. We lead a Community Life Group of other wonderful couples. Marc thoroughly enjoys long-distance running and Taekwondo. Sarah thoroughly enjoys walking -- especially when the weather is nice to take Luke and/or out in the stroller. Thanks for reading our blog!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A Little Reminiscing -- Part 1....

I realize I've left you all hanging for the finale of our vacation a month ago....But, as a woman, I multi-task. I have MANY things going on in my mind at once.

So, I haven't forgotten about finishing up our vacation, BUT I need to do something else first.

I actually meant to post about reminiscing a month ago. But, you know, times gets away from us all.

10 years ago in August (So....August, 2000), three of my good friends and I took a little trip to Ireland (yep, the country).

I was 24 years old at the time -- had been out of college two years; had a great job with International Dairy Queen, was VERY single (no prospects at the time).....Perfect time to take a trip like this.

I don't exactly completely remember why we chose Ireland -- I'm guessing that it had something to do with us liking the accents (remember -- we were 24 and single at the time).

Soooo, with a little planning compliments of Budget Travel Magazine....we were off.

Before I show a few photos, here are a few things to remember.

1) This trip was, by far, the BEST trip I took before I was married. Though I LOVED this girl trip, I do also LOVE traveling with my husband.

2) Ireland is a beautiful country, and I personally found the people to be extremely hospitable. We always felt safe (four single women traveling alone). We were able to get directions and such when needed. The food was good. None of us got sick. I highly recommend it. Marc and I definitely plan on getting there someday together.

3) Tonight's photos aren't probably the best, BUT I'll show morein future posts. I have quite a few I could show, but I won't show all of them to you.

4) And, the friends I traveled to Ireland with include Tammy (my very close friend who lives all too far from us in Manitoba), Alissa (the friend who ultimately fixed Marc and me up), and Libby (a friend I don't see real often though she does live in the same town as us).

5) We did rent a car there. Yep, it was a stick shift, and the Irish do drive on the left side of the road. Because my stick shift driving is definitely NOTHING to brag about, I didn't think it was smart to drive a stick shift in all of the hills on the left side of the road. Alissa did most of the driving, and both Libby and Tammy also drove some. They all three did a great job, and none of them beat me up for being such a "backseat driver" even though I never once drove the car.

6) As I've already stated, we were all single at the time, though Alissa was dating the man she married a year later. Since that time, we've all gotten married (I was the last to do so)....Tammy and Libby have two children each, and Alissa and I both have one child each.

So, here goes....at least for now.

We saw LOTS of sheep....They were just what you might possibly picture in Ireland -- grazing on hillsides and sometimes in the road. There were several occasions we had to stop to let the sheep get off of the road.



We stayed at all Bed and Breakfasts -- Nope, we didn't do one hotel in Ireland. They were all pretty awesome, and I would say we had great experiences with them.

This pic is of me -- 10 years younger and about 20-25 pounds lighter. This photo was taken right after we arrived (thus, jet-lag) and had showers. Yes, we were tired, but that first night, we did the smart thing and got our bodies on the right time schedule immediately. By the next day, we were all good to go.



That next day (after arriving), we actually took a rather bumpy fairy ride (nobody puked, but one of us came close -- and that person was NOT me) to the Aran Islands -- just west of the main part of the country. These islands are really known for their authentic Irish woolen sweaters.

We ended up renting bicycles and cycling around the islands nearly the entire day. The bike seats WERE NOT comfortable at all (you know what I mean), and we were fairly windblown by the end of the day thanks to the cool, but strong, breezes off of the Atlantic Ocean.



We had to climb up a VERY STEEP hill with our bicycles to get this pose with the ocean behind us. Yep, we were slightly fatigued at this point. I can personally see it in our faces.

This photo is of Libby, Alissa, and myself (your's truly).



I LOVE this photo. It was also taken on the Aran Islands. I managed to snap this photo of this Irish gentleman who was waiting to take folks around to various sections of the island with his horse and cart.



And, when you have 4 squirly girls in their mid-20s traveling together for over a week, you do get some stupidity, some lovely made-up songs, and into some deep, personal conversations....

And, I truly can't believe I'm showing this, BUT one of these travel companions (I actually don't know which one did this) took this very LOVELY photo of me walking out of the bathroom. I guess I left my camera in too close proximity to one of them in the car.

Lovely, isn't it? Does my face show any disgust at all?



And, stay tuned for more Irish scenery and reminiscing.

7 comments:

The Sieberts said...

beautiful pictures! i don't think a bad picture could be taken there :o)

rentz said...

What fun! I would love to go there someday.

More than just okay said...

How very cool!

Rich and Carolyn Dewey said...

What a fun trip down memory lane! Looks LOVELY! Ireland is a place we've always wanted to visit.

Allen and Debby Graber said...

Our kids went, but we've never been there. Sounds wonderful though. Thanks for sharing a blog about it!!

The Rakows said...

i love your post :) sooo cool! :) i love the pics of you, too... :) and that one of the sheep with the green hillside...it would make a beautiful picture in a farm-themed kitchen... :) so pretty! :)
and...*cough* we'd take pictures of toilets on our trips soooo, your blackmail picture is tasteful :D

Diana said...

Ireland! Awesome! Jerry and I would love to go there and Scotland. Jerry's ancestors came from there (and a some of mine... well, everyone has Scottish/Irish ancestors, they just don't know it).

I think the bathroom exiting photo is very nice... always great to catch someone with their mouth open, huh! LOL!

Dé Domhnaigh sona duit, a chara!

That's "Happy Sunday to you, friend!" in Irish. ;)

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