Leavin' on a jet plane....

Today was the day! Chad left for Dublin. I had mixed emotions about him leaving. First of all, I am going to miss him like crazy for the 2.5 weeks that we are apart! This will be longest period of time we have been apart since we were married : ( Second, it means I have only 2.5 weeks to get the house ready, packed and get Lola to Jackson before I make the trip over the pond.  Insert PANIC here.

Chad and I had a busy last weekend together in St. Louis!  Friday evening we had the Neurosurgery Chief's Party to bid farewell to the graduating residents. It was nice to have an excuse to dress up and visit with friends before we leave.

Saturday Chad started packing...he waited until 2 days before he was leaving to start this process which made me soooo nervous! I need time to mull over what to take, not to mention I'm sure I would forget something. Lola figured out something was going on when all the suitcases came out.

Please can I come! I promise I won't drool on your clothes

Sunday morning Chad sang at church.  All the LOLs (little old ladies) at church just love them some Chad.  They are always asking him when he's going to sing again and he figured he had to fit one song in before he left! He sang "We Shall See Jesus" and it was beautiful.  I wish I had a voice worth listening too.  I think I'm better off sticking with the car and the shower.  P.S. the decor in the back is for vacation bible school....we don't usually have airplanes in the sanctuary!

After church we went to lunch with our St. Louis adoptive grandparents - Bob and  Joann Alexander and Larry and Carol Sapp.  They call us their "gran-doctors" and we really treasure the relationship that we have developed over the past few years.  It's so nice to have a "pseudo family" here since we are far from home.

The Boys - Mr. Bob, Mr. Larry and Chad

The Girls - Me, Mrs. Carol and Mrs. Joann

 

Today was D-Day.  I went into work to round on my patients while Chad finished some last minute packing. I came home at 11am to pick him up and take him to the airport : ( I still can't believe he is currently flying to Dublin! I miss him all ready.

 

 

Saying good bye to Lola

Ready to go!

 Chad arrives in Dublin at 3am our time! He has a busy day ahead of him setting up a rental car and phone and finding a place for us to live. No pressure right?!?

Up and running...

I've started a blog. Yes it's girly and pink, but it's my blog and that's how I want it.  I figure this will be a good way for all our friends and family "stateside" so keep up with us while we are galavanting around Europe.  So here is my first attempt at broadcasting our lives on the internet....unless you count Facebook, ha! Here we go y'all!

So from the beginning...As part of Chad's neurosurgery program we are headed to Dublin, Ireland for 6 months.  Chad will spend his time operating on the Irish folk and I will be playing tour guide to our family/friends, Irish housewife and travel agent.  Chad leaves in less than one week :(  and I follow 2.5 weeks later. While we are both very excited for all the adventures ahead we are sad to be leaving our house, Lola and our families for 6 months.  I don't know how I'm gonna leave this sweet face for 6 months!  She will be eating Cheetos in bed with my dad before I am even on the plane.

Did y'all know that Ireland is an island?  Obviously I was not a geography major. Apparently the entire island is about the size of Maine.  We will be living in Dublin which is the capital and Ireland's largest city. 1.2 million people live there, almost 1/4 of the countries population. Hopefully we will blend in but I have my doubts.  Famous exports include U2, Guinness (and their World Records), Waterford Crystal, Liam Neeson, C. S. Lewis, The Titanic, and The DeLorean (from Back to the Future).

The summer weather is a lot cooler in Dublin than what we are used to! The highs for the month of June/July are in the 60s and it rains almost daily.  Chad and I are going shopping for rain coats tomorrow...gotta look cute if we are gonna be wearing these things daily.

I'm thinking something like this for me. Chad will want something a little less conspicuous.  Oooh and I definitely need a new pair of "wellies" to keep my feet dry!

Can't wait to get this adventure started! Hope you can keep up with us.