A quick work visa update

So it is really obvious that we haven't updated our blog in absolutely forever! A quick recap since a new post is long overdue. After turning in our final appeal in July, and after a year of fervent prayer, in late August we finally received positive news that my work permit was approved. Amazingly, we heard this news the first day that my school started. Thankfully, I was able to tell my principal to hold my teaching position for me and once I received my visa in the post I hurried back to Ireland to start back to school immediately. Unbeknownst to me, there was a teacher lined up to take my spot, so literally it was in the knick of time that my work visa came through! Being back at St. Andrew's has been an absolute blessing and joy.

Throughout this year, God has graciously held us as we learned to rest in the midst of great uncertainty. We have become firm believers in the power and persistence of prayer and see this as nothing short of a miracle. So many times this year we felt like this great opportunity to live abroad was slipping through our fingers, and now having the gift restored to us we feel as though we have been given new eyes for Dublin. We truly see each day here as a gift, one to be treasured and rejoiced over. We appreciate everyone who has journeyed with us this past year!

Because of job uncertainty these past two years, we hadn't gone on a proper holiday, which was driving us crazy since we are so close to so many amazing European cities that we had been dying to travel to! So to celebrate a huge work visa victory after a year of rough going, this past week we were blessed to go on our first long awaited holiday to Italy!

Bummer news on the Inman front :(

Unfortunately, this week we received news that we have been dreading to hear. My second attempt at a work permit was once again denied. After all the frustration we have faced these past two years, it doesn't surprise us that it was once again denied, and emotionally we took the news much better than last time! We are trying to remain hopeful as we try our last attempt at an appeal. I have attempted to contact my employer who applied for the work permit on my behalf, but he is on vacation for 10 days! Of course!!! From the date the letter was written on June 23, we have 21 days to respond and request for the decision to be appealed. We have a little less than 2 weeks left to respond to the denial. I have been in contact with my school trying to see if there is someone else who would be able to submit the letter of response I drafted addressing the 5 reasons they listed for why they refused my application. In the denial letter, they addressed one legitimate reason for denying it, that my school did not advertise the post for the full 8 weeks, a reason which I attempted to clarify was a result of miscommunication between my school and the advertising company. But besides this one legitimate reason, the other 4 were completely ungrounded and some blatantly contradictory to the official document on their website.

Please join Ross and I in prayer this one last time as we go through the appeals process. We truly feel that this is a spiritual battle and would covet your prayers! First, pray that I would be able to get in contact with the appropriate person at work who could turn in the appeal for me within the time constraint. Also, we would love to have it approved and processed before school starts for me on August 31. Lastly, pray that if it is denied that Ross and I would have wisdom in the next steps that we take. If it were denied the next phase of our journey is dependent on a few factors: whether or not Ross gets a lecturing post at Trinity next year to allow us to stay in Ireland without me working or whether or not Ross would be able to finish his PhD from a distance.

Although, we are frustrated that we are once again in this place of uncertainty, we feel at peace that we are in the Lord's hands and that regardless of where we are in September and in whatever capacity that looks like, we will be okay. Our journey is far from over. We would ask you to join us in praying that we would continue to abide in the Lord's peace and that we would not be overcome with discouragement or fear.

Thank you to everyone who has walked with us through this long and tiresome process. I know we aren't the only ones who will be greatly disappointed at this news! Hopefully better news will follow!

Irish Adventures with the Palacios!

It is quite comical that this was written for this post for almost two years, "Coming soon! Pictures and stories of our adventures with Mingo and Fallon!"  So "soon", probably wasn't the right phrasing, more like "Eventually coming!"  or "When I have two weeks off from work..."  Ok so there is no excuse!  I repent!  One of the most worthy of all posts got unpublished, agh, until now that is!

Our wonderful friends, came all the way to Ireland and we had the trip of a lifetime!  The pictures say it all!  I will try my best to capture the week of adventure to keep you as entertained as we were.  Fallon and I didn't know what we were in for as our husbands lived life together, reminiscing of their classic stories, making rap songs with the T-pain app, frolicking through fields and obsessing over baby lambs (oh wait that might have been me and Fal!)  Well you get the point!  So here goes nothing...

Our first day at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Ross and Mingo philosophizing

Trinity College

Best buddies :)

A book always smells better when you're in good company!

Beautiful couple enjoying the rays in People's Park

Unashamedly getting the burn

There are no words...

Heading out of Dublin and marking out our journey to come!

Fallon and I are the luckiest!

As you do in a cemetery

Galway City

Drawing Room at Dromoland Castle

Cards, tea, and friends at Dromoland Castle... It doesn't get any better!

Frolicking on the grounds of Dromoland Castle

A little healthy go-cart competition

Cliffs of Moher

Apparently a music video was being filmed on our ferry ride to Dingle! If only we had known we could have come prepared :)

Lookout point on the drive to Dingle City

Love this girl!

Not to shabby of a view from our room!

Mingo throwing out the vib!

Stopped for a lamb crossing... only in Ireland!

Baby lambies!!!  We're obsessed!

Making our way to Slea Head

Slea Head at Sunset

We made it just in time for a beautiful sunset!

Dingle Bay

We don't want to leave!

Killarney Town

It is only right to have ended the trip at a tea house... These boys look way too comfortable!

Blood Orange Yumminess!

Seduced big time!  Who couldn't resist this face!

Leaping for joy!  We love Ireland and green pastures!  Ross has been stunned by Fallon's extreme enthusiasm :)

Precious friends, priceless memories!  Thanks Mingo and Fallon for sacrificing so much to come and visit us in Ireland!  This is a trip we'll be talking about when we're 80! Love you guys!

Newgrange with the Sturms

Saint Patrick's Day is CRAZY in Dublin! All the locals leave town as the tourists flood in! Since we had experienced the parade and excitement of Patty's day last year, we decided to take the day to explore outside of the city. We went with our friends Katie and Aaron to one of oldest historical sights in the world, Newgrange. It is a prehistoric burial mound dating to 3,000 BC, predating some of the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge! It has artistic concentric circles and spirals carved into the stones, but the most fascinating thing about Newgrange was the architectural precision! Those who built this tomb were brilliant astronomers. There is a narrow square opening above the tomb entrance way. Every year in December during the winter solstice when the sun is rising, the rays of light shine through that small opening, extend to the back walls of the inner chamber, and illuminate the inside of the tomb! These engineers were smart!

When Newgrange was discovered the grey rock face seen in this picture had fallen, so they reconstructed the face of the tomb using the same rocks from the original

Get the shot Katie!

Weekend trip to Southern Ireland in County Tipperary

In late February we had a long weekend to do a speedy trip down to one of the southern counties of Ireland called Tipperary. We borrowed Sarah and Adam's car and made a big loop hitting a few different cities along the way. Our first stop was in Kilkenny, a town I fell in love with. Why, you might ask? Because there is an amazing castle of course! The grounds extend as far as the eye can see and are covered with lush, green lawns and tulips. It was sunny and beautiful, so we decided to have a picnic overlooking the castle. To our shock, clouds swoop in and HUGE hail stones pelt us as we crammed food in our mouths and jetted to the car! It was painful!

Kilkenny Castle

Cathedral in Kilkenny

Next stop, Rock of Cashel! This huge stone structure dominates the skyline as you drive up to it. The green hills around it were stunning in the sun light. Although there was some serious construction going on, it was still a very worthwhile stop.

Entrance to Rock of Cashel

Rock of Cashel

A view of the surrounding green hills from the Rock of Cashel

We have a slight obsession with Celtic crosses

On this trip, going against my normal vacationing style, we decided to be adventurous and not plan B&B arrangements ahead of time. Well to our surprise, many B&B's close when it is not tourist season! As night was setting in, we stopped at 6 B&B's that were all closed for business. We soon were second guessing our carefree approach! Luckily, our 7th B&B we stumbled upon in the tiny town of Cahir was open and ended up being a charming little place. We learned our lesson and will call next time!

The next morning we visited Cahir Castle, a very well preserved fort. The tour was fantastic! And we discovered that a scene from Braveheart had been filmed there!

Cahir Castle