pictures and sister

My baby sister, Laura arrived from Spain Wednesday afternoon for a long weekend.  She is a senior at Auburn and is finishing university outside of Madrid.  I haven't seen her since Christmas and am enjoying getting to introduce her to our friends here.  Erin and I met her in Belfast on Wednesday and brought her back up to Ballymena.  We went to dinner at the Blackstone Restaurant with our friend Paul.  Erin and I have been waiting to go for ages since we heard it was the best restaurant in town and thought Laura's visit was as good excuse as any.  The food was amazing and the music was interesting.

Yesterday, we took her along on our 'prayer walk' around Millfield.  Every Thursday afternoon, we help Ballyloughan with a door to door prayer ministry.  We met a really cute little girl named Caitlin who had a bag full of bread to go feed the ducks at The People's Park.  She was very excited.  

It was a beautiful day, so we met up with Katie and went on a walk around the estate to take pictures.  The kids have all been off school for two weeks for Holy Week and Easter Week.  They are in the process of going back to school at the moment, so some were out playing while we walked.  We got to see Lizzy Carson and her girls, a family in Millfield we met on a walk last summer.  They were out in their front garden one day last July and happened to have a trampoline, so of course I introduced myself and asked if I could jump on it.  We have been friends every since.  Erin used to help Chelsea, the oldest daughter, with her homework last autumn.  We enjoyed chatting with them and some of the other kids we met along the way.

Some pictures from our walk:

One often comes across interesting things when walking around Dunclug.  I have seen a dead cat, a decapitated doll, a burnt motorbike, a dog hanging from a rope of the football goal, and now an abandoned trolley.  You can't hep but to take a picture.

On Tuesday while locking up after the afternoon art club at Hillside, I noticed a bit of graffiti on the church gate.  I have quite a fondness for this particular art form around here.  I'm not sure if the artist here was trying to communicate here.

On Monday, the boys left for France to snowboard for a few days.  The weather was perfect, so Erin and I recruited Paul for a trip to The People's Park.  The bit of water in the picture has ducks and swans.  Since we have been here, we have learned that the swan is protected by the Queen and you will serve eight years in prison for killing one.

On Easter Sunday, I went to a sunrise service at Mount Slemish.  I took this picture through the car window, so you can't see how clear this rainbow was.  I have never seen one where the green was so clear and bright.  Since I was in the car with a physics professor, I learned the scientific explanation of how rainbows work.  They are from God.

We are off to the coast for the day.  The boys get back tonight, hopefully in one piece.