David's Family

Meet David's family! I wish you could all have the blessing of meeting them in person as I did and experience their warm hospitality and delightful company. What a great family!

We'll start with David's mom and dad. David's mom (Maryanne) is blessed with talent. She paints incredible pictures, cooks delicious meals, and thinks of every possible way to make a person feel right at home! She even sent me home with a beautiful framed painting that she did of Mt. Errigal. I couldn't believe that she gave me such a treasure!

David's dad (Caldwell) is man of God who loves preaching the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the lost and does so very well and with passion. (Click here to hear him!) It was a highlight for me, hearing him preach. He also works with horses--doing some early stage training and breaking before selling them. Here is a picture of him hunting down a fox that was after the chickens...!

Next, meet Paul (David's brother) and Karen. They live a few minutes away from David's parents and were great fun to hang out with. They invited us over for the most amazing pizza one night (I'd never heard of bananas on pizza before that! It was great stuff!).

Paul and Karen have two children. Their oldest is Rhiannon and she was my little buddy while I was there. She LOVED my violin and we played all sorts of songs together on it. What an angel...so cute!

Their youngest is Reuben. He will be two this summer and is learning to say all sorts of words. He even learned to say my name by the time I left!

Sarah, is David's only sister and she was a blast to be with. She left halfway through my visit to go to Israel on a tour but the time I was able to spend with her was a lot of fun.

Here are a few more shots of the kiddos...because I just couldn't resist!

David and his little shadow

Karen and a sleepy boy.

Rhiannon loved bowling when we went one evening. She had the highest score for a long time (aided by various kid's bowling tools of course--Now that I think about it, I should have used them too!)

Little Reuben

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And that is David's wonderful family--the favorite part of my trip!

Back to the Emerald Isle

It seems almost like a dream that I was actually able to fly across the Atlantic once again to visit beautiful Ireland. What an incredible experience and wonderful time I had! This time I was privileged to stay with David's parents, Caldwell and Maryanne, and have the blessing of being in their home for two weeks. Here is a picture of it...

While I was there I was able to see David in action in his many jobs related to music. One that he had while I was there was directing a small choir for the Good Friday service. They sounded beautiful.

David and I also played a few songs together throughout the weekend. At one service, David, his brother Paul, and I all played together before their dad brought the message. It was so great and a privilege to be included like that. I really enjoyed playing with them and also hearing David's father preach. A wonderful man of God!

We had time to do so many fun things. One of them was taking a ride on David's amazing bike through the rolling hills of Irish countryside! I am convinced that there is absolutely no better way to see the beauty of the land than on the back of a bike. It was incredible!

We also visited the Giant's Causeway, which is a wonder of creation that just blows your mind.

My favorite part of the trip was spending time with David's family. (I will introduce them to you in my next post.) They were so nice and made me feel so at home. Here David is playing with his nephew Reuben...such an adorable child!

I had a completely wonderful time...it was a trip that I will never forget!

This was the view out my window as I flew back home.

I was sad to leave but so grateful and happy to see how God's hand was at work in our lives. As David says so often, "God is good!"