My Sweet Mattie Caitlin

Mattie and Libbi
This is truly my sweet Mattie, so full of life, always making me laugh!!
Isn't she a beauty? She's just as beautiful on the inside as well.' Mattie and Lillian, posing before Homecoming.
Well, this picture was mistakenly added twice...or...maybe it's Libbi's twin sister, Lacie!! You never know with those two. (O.K. girls, just kidding, I've been able to tell you two apart for years now!





I've spent the past 24 hours with my precious daughter, Mattie who now lives in St. Petersburg. She has a lovely apartment right on a canal. It was so beautiful this morning when I opened the blinds and looked out to her "backyard". It's not a small canal, it's quite wide with a lot of boat traffic.



I'd post pictures for you to enjoy her view as well but my camera no longer works due to an accident. I'm waiting for my new one to arrive.



Which brings me to the "WHY" of the title of today's post.



Mattie informs me that my blog is boring, she would like a little more excitement than "Ireland" pictures and my music is...I THINK she called it "lame"???



So...I suppose I have some work to do!



I am, however, posting Mattie's picture to keep you all entertained for the time being!!!

P.S. THERE WILL BE MORE OF IRELAND TO COME!!!

As We Leave Powerscourt...

Love this angel watching over the gardens of Powerscourt.
















This is my DREAM HOUSE! Love the house and love that
it "lives" in Ireland.



One of the many churches that I was so taken with. I never
had the opportunity to go inside of church (that wasn't in ruins). That will be on my "To Do" list for the next visit.

The View From Powerscourt

Please enjoy the beautiful view that surrounds Powerscourt. Can you see the sheep on the hill in the distance?

Powerscourt, Continued

These pictures are taken in the same room as the previous post. This
is an arch around a doorway. Notice the brick work. In the near-center of the picture, there are some raised shapes. These are sea shells! What a surprise.







This is a close up picture of the shell detail.
A lovely Cherub statue.














This room is actually below first room I posted. This one is a beautifully restored ballroom.

Powerscourt

Powerscourt is situated in the mountains of Wicklow and was originally completed in the year 1300. It passed to many families and underwent many renovations throughout the centuries. In 1974, a major renovation took place inorder to open the house to visitors. But in November there was a fire that left the main part of the house a roofless shell. And what remains is the most interesting stonework dating back to the 16th century. So the following pictures are what remains and is opened for visitors to enjoy. I've been to many wonderfully old homes and Castles but found this one so interesting because I was able to view the way it was built and the materials used to build it.

Isaac Timothy Delisle

This is baby Isaac, the baby you all prayed for. He was born yesterday, October 7, weighing 4 lbs. 12 oz. and 17" long. He lived for 16 minutes.

Donations for a playground to honor Isaac's life may be made to:

Mountain View Community Church3401 Urbana PikeFredrick, MD 21704Attention: Pam Wilson-- Isaac's Playground

Let's all continue to in our prayers you Stacy and Spencer as they walk the difficult road before them in these next days.

Request For Prayer

My daughter Meghan has been following a young woman's blog for some time. She just sent me an email requesting prayer for her. I thought you'd want to join in praying for this little family.


Hi Mom,

A friend from my bible study had this girl's blog on hers.... so basically this is a friend of a friend kind of thing. Anyways, She is pregnant with a boy, Isaac who has a chromosome disorder and is not expected to live more than a few minutes after birth. She chose to carry him to term and deliver, while praying for a miracle even when all her medical advisers told her to terminate. So, I have been following her blog for a month or two and she is scheduled for a c-section on Tuesday. Even though I don't know this woman I feel called to pray for her. Could you pray too? Here is her blog address: http://www.sgirl79.blogspot.com/

Love You,
Meghan

Please take a look at Stacey's blog, "He Will Carry Me". You will not read her words of faith with dry eyes.

It's so wonderful to read of a person's strong faith in time of trouble. It's the kind of story we all want to read. The kind of stories they write books about and put on the Oprah Show.

I think we're drawn to this such story because we can't imagine going through it ourselves. How would we possibly cope? But for Stacey and her husband it's not A story, it's THEIR story. It's their life and it's breaking their hearts as they live it.

And so here we are. Each of us is now given the opportunity to be an unseen, unknown part of Stacy's story. We can each lift her and her sweet family before our Heavenly Father. (She has prayer requests listed on her blog.)

James 5:16 says "...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

As you read her post for today, Sunday, you'll read Stacy's remarkable insight into scripture. Her request today is to be able to hold Isaac "while he's still living and breathing".

Please...read this blog and pray for this family! You can get there quickly by scrolling down the right side of this page and clicking on HE WILL CARRY ME.

Finally...Day 3!!!

This is Maura and I with Maura's Auntie Margarete. Auntie Margarete lives in Sandy Cove. We had a lovely visit with her in her home. She is such a lively woman, very energetic! I wish you could hear her accent. I could have sat and listened to her talk all day long.

Our next stop was an area called Powerscourt. There is a brand new, beautiful Ritz-Carlton here and one of Maura's cousins was in its building. The next few pictures are of the gardens

This was our view as we sat outside (in the rain) and had lunch on the terrace. We held umbrellas over our heads as we ate. Of course we were the only ones to finish their lunch in the rain. Where is the picture, you ask? If I showed you the proof, Maura and Beth would kill me! They were both in the midst of chewing as I snapped the picture. They are both beautiful women but trust me...it was pretty! And you know what they say, "Turn about is fair play.".

I love this angel statue. She's so majestic looking over the garden. It's as if she's guarding the grounds.