Trinity International Retreat 2011

Almost two whole months since my last post... embarrassing. After multiple reprimands from friends and family, I have decided to make a desperate attempt at getting caught up, at least somewhat. As a side note, praise the Lord for Mother's Day Out (which, of course, is where my son is today, allowing me my only shot at a little computer time). Anyway, I posted about the Trinity Retreat last year, and this year's retreat was no-less wonderful. Forgive me as I post unedited pics with relatively little commentary in my attempt to catch up... but know that this weekend was important enough to us that we specifically designed our departure to the US around being able to attend the retreat. No joke. And we were not disappointed...

The retreat center (also in Normandy, though a different location from last year's stay) was beautiful:

And included a volleyball court:

Which we made very good use of:

Fabulous playground equipment:

And peaceful places to walk and appreciate the beauty of God's creation:

I got particularly carried away when Oliver found the old horse fence... fun to play with the light and angles, though I confess I wish he were not in sweatpants and his giant coat. Ah, well:

Though I was negligent in taking pics during many of the activities, I did catch Aubrey and Peter looking adorable in the dining hall:

And Tim and Rachel singing Billy Jean during karaoke:

We had the blessing of childcare provided by a sister church, so we enjoyed incredible worship and teaching from Al, Tim, and Todd; we visited a nearby antique/junk sale (which was so fun!); we played some seriously fabulous group games (organized by yours truly ;), and we even enjoyed a salsa lesson from one of our church members who is a professional instructor. Overall, it was a time filled with joy, laughter, encouragement, challenge, and (for us) great sadness that we were leaving this family we had fallen in love with over the past two years. To all of our brothers and sisters at Trinity, may God bless you richly and continue to give you the grace to love Him and others... until we see you all someday in heaven (and hopefully before!).

Au revoir, Paris!

As I sit on the airplane to Houston, I confess that I’m a little numb emotionally. My toddler is thoroughly enjoying Baby Einstein on the ipad (thank you David, Tracie, and Elisa!!), and I am finally finding a moment to answer emails and process our move. Sad? Definitely. Excited? I will be when I have a little more energy. Feeling abundantly blessed beyond all I could imagine or deserve? Undoubtedly.

I have quite a few posts to catch up on, but I am going to break my usual m.o. and post my thoughts today. Now. At this moment. Or I guess they won’t actually post until I connect to the internet this evening, but still… almost real-time coverage. Though I could share a million sentimental or profound thoughts (or so I’d like to imagine), I think a more fun closure to our two years in Paris would be some top 10 lists… So here I go in my sleep-deprived, nausea-laden, toddler-distracted, hormone-imbalanced state.

10 things I will NOT miss about Paris (in no particular order):

1. Required swim caps at the public pools. Need I say more?
2. Being bombarded by but not being able to consume salads, or French wine, or coffee, or cheese, or most of the spectacular French delicacies because I’m pregnant.
3. Having to carry home anything we buy.Note: In order to do this, I had to transfer the contents of the stroller (i.e. my son) to my hip, tie him there using a sheet which happened to be under the stroller, and walk home in a zig-zag line as I pushed the two-handled stroller with only one hand.
4. Having to process and translate mentally (and often research manually) EVERYTHING before I can do it: what are peanuts called? How do you pronounce them? What do I plan to use them for? And any other imaginable question someone might ask me when I’m trying to find them at the store.
5. Going into a situation feeling confident that I am ready for any and all said questions concerning the topic at hand, only to have my morale crushed by a mumbler whom I can’t undestand to save my life or a nosy busybody who insists on asking questions outside my scope of preparation and comprehension, forcing me to be the stupid American who has lived in Paris for two years and still can’t buy a package of peanuts for a summer salad.
6. The lack of decent Mexican food.
7. The way they look at me like I’m crazy when I ask for ice in my drink.
8. The difficult task of finding clean, accessible restrooms with space to change a baby’s diaper.
9. The Frenchies’ incessant need for paper work. Despite incredible advances in some areas, the French want multiple hard copies of everything. Twice. And then they want it translated into French. Twice. And you still have to appear in person.
10. Metro stairs. While pregnant. While nauseated. While carrying a 30-pound (yes, I said it, 30-pound) 17-month-old. And my purse. And the diaper bag. And sometimes the stroller, too.

10 things I can’t wait to do in Houston (also in no particular order):

1. Hug my family.
2. Eat Mexican food. Lots of it. Daily.
3. Sit on a comfy couch.
4. Let Oliver play in the backyard.
5. Wear flip flops outside the house and not have someone look at me like I walked out in my underwear.
6. Throw all my necessary junk (PLUS a whole bunch I don’t even need) into the back of my SUV and drive around with it just in case we might need it later that day.
7. Eat LOTS and LOTS of Sonic ice.
8. Grill out on our screened porch in December while wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt.
9. Visit the big HEB and listen to the hosts of angels that sings each time I enter.
10. Take Oliver with me to the gym where a bunch of nice ladies and cool toys are waiting to play with him.

10 things I will miss terribly about living in Paris (again, no particular order… though I’m sorry to be breaking my previous promise not to get sentimental. Sue me.):

1. Trinity International Church: the incredible mixture of age, ethnicity, background, interest, occupation… a little taste of “every tribe, tongue, and nation.”
2. Being a mere 10 minute walk from the Eiffel tower, with a fabulous playground, lots of dogs to entertain Oliver, running paths, and (of course) the view.
3. Tartes citrons (lemon tarts).
4. Tartes framboises (raspberry tarts).
5. The fresh produce at the outdoor market.
6. Being a mere 2 minute walk from said outdoor market.
7. Our friends (i.e. my regular vendors who adore Oliver) at the outdoor market.
8. Fresh, cheap bread available on every corner. And the pain au chocolat at the same place. And the pastries. And did I mention I like boulangeries?
9. The beauty of the city, the ease of the public transportation (when you aren’t toting a toddler), the numerous public parks, the eclectic mix of people and languages, the museums, the obsession with good food. In a word, the culture.
10. The gorgeous, precious, fascinating, loving people I met. My friends from the US, France, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Egypt, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Nepal, Cambodia, Uganda, Kenya, Bolivia, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Columbia, and whatever country I’m sure I’m forgetting at this moment. Thank you for enriching my life over these past 2 years.

A bientot, Paris!

Uncle Rhys

Praise God, my brother made it back safely from Afghanistan. We were SO thankful for his safe return! And, as an added bonus, he came to visit us in Paris shortly thereafter. Even better, since my mother flew back with me to help my oh-so-sickie-pregnant self, we had a regular fun house on our hands. So good to enjoy family!

Although we actually had a very cultured and busy visit (include the Orsay, the Pompidou, and lots of yummy crepes, among other things...), I again failed to document very well. Alas, I have only a couple of pictures from around the apartment and then photos of our day at Versailles.

Versailles was a little rough because poor little jet-lagged Oliver didn't sleep well the night before (and, of course, neither did the rest of us as a result), but once we made it out of the crowded madness of the chateau, we were able to fully relish the incredibly gorgeous gardens.

I think they were the most beautiful I have ever seen them (and I think I've been to Versailles 6 times before):

The chateau gleamed in the sunlight:

And the orangerie was immaculately glorious:

Oliver, however, cared only about one thing - the stairs. He was so excited about climbing up and down them that we had a very hard time getting him to go with us into the actual garden:

Eventually, however, we managed successfully:

And even did some exploring:

In the end, I'd call it a successful morning, despite our exhaustion and the hoards of Spanish tourists we were forced to dodge. Back at the apartment, due to our full house, we had a mattress in the living room, which Oliver LOVED:

Lots of tickle fights ensued:

How could life get any better? We miss you, Rhys, and can't wait for the next visit!

Au Revoir Nice!

To end our time in Nice, I leave you with a few pictures of Vieux Nice ("The Old Town"). Since Nice was actually part of Italy prior to 1850, the colorful facades of the Old Town reflect more Italian designs and architecture than French. As beautiful as I find Paris to be, it was fabulous to enjoy something different on our vacation.

Our apartment was situated on a little plaza just to the right from this photo:

We were just around the corner from Nice's cathedral (at the right of this photo):

And we enjoyed walking all throughout the Old Town because the people were animated, the food delectable, and the shopping fascinating:

And to celebrate our final evening there, we took one last stroll along the Promenade...

And captured a few father-son pics:

And mother-son pics:

All in all, a FABULOUS fun-filled family vacation!

The Rest of Nice

Sorry this has taken so long... I've had so many things going on (which I promise to fill you in on shortly!). In the meantime, here are the pics from the rest of our time in the south of France.

The fifth day brought a lot of rain, which was unfortunate, but we still enjoyed a little excursion to Cannes, home of the annual international film festival. Oliver enjoyed the train ride there:

Fascinated by the passing views:

Once we arrived, we saw a charming little church, where we escaped the rain for just a few moments:

As the rain let up, we enjoyed a stroll along the "ritzy" promenade:

With gorgeous views out over the water:

And a final stop in front of the film festival red carpet:

The next day we enjoyed the gorgeous weather at the beach:

Oliver was unsure of the water at first:

But he warmed up to it:

And he enjoyed the lounging on the beach enormously:

Ok... I guess I can't manage to fit all the rest of the pictures in this one post... But I promise another to come soon. And then, the rest of what's been going on.... I promise!