Did you hear about the snowfall in France this week. It’s been a MAJOR talking point on all newscasts since Tuesday. The snow made for a lot of happy kids and a lot of inconvenienced drivers But as always, there’s peace in the storm! Continue reading
If you follow me on Instagram, you will have already seen today’s feature pic. It’s one I took Wednesday morning when I dropped Timo off at school. Although the days are getting longer, it’s still pretty dark first thing in the morning, but somehow that adds to the charm of walking through these pretty little streets of the city that we call –(at least for now)– “home”.
This week we got to look at a big empty place.
You know the one. In fact, you’ve probably looked at that same space in the last several weeks… just like us. Curious?
Good morning from France!
It’s an “Over and Above Blessing” weekend for me so, with the exception of church tomorrow, I’ll be enjoying the disconnect of being on a little French Hobby Farm.
If you’re curious about today’s post title and the big blue “Why?”… I’ll get to that toward the end of the post. First though, I want to tell you about the special visitors we got to see last weekend.
Today Liz & I are in Melun for Bible School. We drove up last night – it gets dark so early at this time of year – but today we’re expecting a real treat … long-time friends are coming through and we’re hoping to cross paths with them.
More on that next week… let’s talk the week that was.
Do you recognize the word “Belgien“?
You might not unless you speak German, although you’ve probably guessed – given the title of today’s post. It’s the German spelling of Belgium. I’ll get to why I used the German spelling but for now, suffice it to say that Belgium is where we rang in 2018… indulging in old memories and creating new.
Snow! Yesterday we watched snowflakes fall and drove in… well… OK – since they melted almost as soon as they landed it wasn’t the fluffy white stuff… more just a grey slush, but still, it gave us a taste of home.
Before I get to the snow however, let me dial the clock back and tell you about Christmas in Châtellerault.
Like many of you this year, the focus of our Christmas Eve was service at church.
We had two first-time guests with us for that service – a school friend of Timo’s and a friend of Annie & Ghislain, who have been attending since September.
Following service we enjoyed a pot-luck dinner which involved everything from a traditional turkey to Cantonese rice.
One couple brought a basket of oysters to share. My, my my…. I must admit, I’m not a fan and let’s just say that Dominic’s first oyster experience wasn’t a positive one.
That being said, folks stayed fellowshipping for over 2 hours following the service. The youth were back in the sanctuary jamming on the instruments and the adults were content to sit & chat… a real bonding time – for which we thank the Lord.
That night the kids opened their annual Christmas-Eve pajamas and we watched The Nativity Story – also a Christmas Eve tradition.
The next morning started out with a read-through of the Christmas Story from Luke 2, followed by stockings, coffee & muffins and then a few gifts.
It’s funny how different things will catch the kids’ eyes. They’re almost always just as excited about the stockings as they are the other gifts.
I’m thankful that our kids are easily pleased and quick to express gratitude… We are blessed!
Turkey anecdote: It’s hard to have as much leftovers as back home. The biggest turkey Liz was able to find was roughly 6 lbs… SIX! (Back home it’s difficult to find anything smaller than 10 lbs). She must’ve really been missing the big-birds because she even suggested raising some of our own… A Christmas Miracle!!! 🙂
The remainder of Christmas Day, boxing day and the 27th were “Lay Low” days… except for Liz who has been working on translation for Purpose Institute.
Thursday we hit the road. Our final destination; Belgium to spend New Year’s with Liz’s parents. On the way, though, we stopped in Paris for the afternoon.
It was the first sunny day in roughly 1 week so we spent a few hours taking in the sights – including the ultra cool tribute to Louis XIV – “the Sun King” – covering one whole side of the Louis Vuitton store, Place Vendôme (today’s feature pic).
Even Pollux got to ride the Paris Metro.
He did it like a pro!
Late Thursday night we arrived in Belgium to everyone’s delight – glad to be out of the car and glad to be at Nonno & Nonna’s!
As for the snow & slush… yes, we did see it fall and yes, we did drive in it. While watching it fall gave you that warm fuzzy holiday feeling, driving in the wet, cold, sloppy mess was a definite reality check. One that I don’t miss all that much! 🙂
On that note friend, I will leave you with our best wishes for your New Year.
Thank you for being part of our lives in 2017.
May the Lord guide your steps and bless your walk with him in 2018.
Is it New Year’s yet?
Seriously… although we’re still two days away from Christmas, it feels like we’ve not even yet begun to really settle and enjoy the holidays. If you’re anything like me… there’s still a number of things to do before church tomorrow and Christmas on Monday, so I won’t keep you long. Let me give you 5 pictures that sum up our week…
It’s a FIRST!
This is the first morning of 2017 where I’m sitting, writing today’s post in front of a lit Christmas tree… and it feels wonderful!
I know that many people have been enjoying their tree for weeks already but artificial trees here – while they exist – costs an arm and a leg… (maybe TWO!) and aren’t as nice as back home generally. What’s more… having a real tree makes us feel just a bit closer to home, though we’re about 5,000 km away.
So we have gotten used to doing something that we never ever did in Canada… buying our tree from a store… Early on in our married life and even when the kids were small, we’d go cut one down from a tree farm or, on the odd occasion, out in the woods. Then we took the plunge and went artificial. Here though… options are few…
AIM Long 