The Irish Wilderness of the Ozarks

Whenever we get the chance, the family stops at historical sites and parks. This past Monday, we were driving through the Mark Twain National Forest and saw a sign for the Irish Wilderness. My first name has Irish roots and my hair is auburn, but apparently I do not have a drop of Irish blood in my veins. However, I've always had an attraction to that country, possibly for the above reasons. Imagine my surprise when I saw something with Irish connections in the middle of the state of Missouri! Since I was behind the wheel at the time, I determined to stop and discover what this place was and why it existed. Everyone got out of the car as I pulled into the parking area - nobody else was there at the time. The kids had a chance to run down the trail a bit, and I took a few photos. There was no history or explanation to the name on site, so I had to do a bit of research. Thanks to the internet, research doesn't take quite as long as it did years ago. The site dates back to before the Civil War. The hope had been a new beginning for Irish immigrants, thanks to a Catholic priest by the name of Father Hogan. It didn't last long, however, and much about it still remains a mystery. But what has been discovered is documented in a book that recently won the Gold Medal Award for non-fiction.
Although our visit lasted all of 10 minutes, the kids were able to let out some energy and I was able to satisfy my curiousity. Sometimes we just need to stop to taste some history even when there aren't any roses to smell.

Lost and Found

So, the family goes to the park today to run/walk a 2-miler. Dave is getting geared up for the marathon tomorrow, and the day before is an "easy" day for him - a few short miles to keep him loose but not expend too much energy before the big race.

Halfway through, he calls out to me that I shouldn't be too concerned . . . but that the car key fell out of a hole in his pocket . . . probably along the sidewalk. Hmmmm. I had gone 1 mile at this point. Let's see, find the key . . . finish the 2-miler - I think I'll look for the key. So I did. I searched and walked up and down the sidewalk between the van and the track - nothing. Then I moved on to the track, slowly working my way along the 1/3 mile circle while Dave finished up and searched again near the van. Worst case scenario - we knock on a door to call for the people who open locked cars, because inside were my keys, my purse, his cell phone, the house keys, need I go on?

There is a happy ending to this story. The key was found at the halfway point in the track. There, in the grass, it must have slipped out of the hole and landed. Dave was very grateful, and for my efforts and success in discovering the location of the key, I received a smile for giving him

a "hand" - a plastic ring trinket someone must have lost and never found.

Thank You, God, for answering my prayers - and, thank You, for the lessons I can learn from this.

~You, Lord, searched for me until you found me - never giving up.

and

~A backup plan is always a good idea (we didn't have one in this case) - thankfully, we didn't need to use one!

I love you, Dave - glad we didn't have to use that belated $100 anniversary gift we got today on the key issue - so anytime you want to celebrate our 15 1/2 years of being married, we can go do that!

Settling In

So it is October now - 10 days into it in fact. I have made a few changes on the website to represent some of the changes we've gone through as a family over the past 4, yes 4, months. I went for simple (black and white) with hints of Mexico (palm trees) in the background. My kids are my focal point as we home school here in the States. The picture of them was a fun one, taken in St. Louis, MO the day after visiting a church in the area. We took in some history, too, as we traveled up The Arch in a tram and viewed a film about Lewis and Clark.

Here is a collection of some digital collages I created from our experience that day.

Underground, in addition to the IMAX theater, there is a Mercantile Store which sells items from an era gone by - the boys had fun spinning wooden tops while Bekah perused the various books of dress and recipes from the 1800s.

We have traveled past The Arch, also referred to as the Gateway to the West, several times. We have even stopped to see it, but this was the first time we ventured inside to get a bird's eye view of the city.

Stay tuned for our next great adventure!