Hello God, It's Me Jennifer... and I Hear You Loud and Clear.

Be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember, that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others had to wait for you

Freddie had a moment of nostalgia last week when the words of this song popped into his head during a moment of impatience... I can't remember if the person(s) succumbing to the impatience was him or the kids. Nevertheless, he got really excited because it brought back many warm memories and he began researching online the song the words came from and ran across a cd that his mother used to play for him and his siblings. Then, our children became obsessed with memorizing the lyrics so for a week I heard "Be patient, be patient.. la la la la.. la la." It was cute... and convicting. I have many faults and in the past I would say impatience was not one of them. However, recently, it gnaws at me like a beaver on wood (lame analogy but it gets the point across). Constantly chewing and causing stress. Does a beaver stress out wood? I mean, maybe in some roundabout physics sense? But, I digress...

I used to wonder how God speaks to people. Before I was a Christian I thought it was a ludicrous statement for someone to say "Well, God told me ....". Did you hear it verbally? Did He come to you in a dream? And, even after I put my faith in Christ and started to turn my life around to follow Him... I still didn't get it. Now, after a few years of praying and following Jesus, I can definitely look back (hindsight being 50/50 and all... or 20/20...whichever :) and see clearly where the Lord was leading me or things he was trying to teach me and usually it was through some hardship or difficult time. Sometimes I followed and sometimes I didn't and you can guess which scenario worked out best for me. Never was it through a spoken word. Often times it is a thought that would pop into my head, or a feeling that keeps nagging at me or, many times, it was something becoming very clear to me when before I could not see the truth at all - usually those were behaviors or attitudes he wanted me to change. One day it would be acceptable to me and the next day I would think what on earth was I thinking??? Now, my sinful self would follow that thought with "And what does such and such think of me??" and, for the longest time (like, my entire life), I thought that was ok. One day the Lord revealed to me that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of me. What matters is Him and if He alone is pleased with my heart. This issue is still a big struggle of mine. The Lord is still working with me through this and I can see (usually again in retrospect) situations he has placed before me that have, in a sense, tested me to see what I am putting first - my idol of what others think of me or Him.

It is no secret that I have been struggling with having a positive attitude about the new addition to our family - the white fluffy furball named Noel. She was a gift to my sweet Sophia for her 4th birthday. Sophia has had an affection for animals practically since birth. Freddie really wanted to get her a puppy and my first response was no way Jose! In an apartment? With three little kids? Did I mention.. in an apartment?? Then, after some cajoling and convincing and puppy dog eyes from Sophia, I came around and with a cautiously happy heart we adopted little Noel in February. And... ever since... the fleshy human part of me feels like my life has been turned upside down. She interrupts my schedule and my time playing with and schooling the kids. She leaves us presents all over the house. She chews up books and toys and shoes and computer power cords. She is stinky sometimes. I have to interrupt my routine and schedule to bathe her. She won't obey me. I have to walk out in the cold and rain and sometimes at midnight, for goodness sakes! Mini-hell on earth, right? Well, I share these thoughts with you not to complain.. yet again. I share these thoughts because the Lord has spoken to me through a Bible verse that I read yesterday while reading the book Beyond Survival: A Guide to Abundant Life Homeschooling - yet one of those random ways I sometimes hear from the Lord - and I was immediately convicted about these feelings and attitudes I have had towards this dog.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18:

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in EVERYTHING* give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

*Capitalized for emphasis... as the author in Beyond Survival said, everything means everything! Dog poop, rainy days, bad hair cut, husband gone for a week, dirty house, mounds of laundry to fold, inability to communicate effectively, burned toast... everything!

Now, mind you, I still have the thoughts. But, this verse pops into my head and instead of being impatient and feeling like my head might pop off my neck in anger I get perspective and realize that our God is in control of everything.. not some things... not spiritual things... EVERYTHING. Including our purchase of this dog. And, I am pretty certain now that his purpose in giving us this puppy was not simply to provide a companion for my Sophia. I think He is teaching me patience and how to find joy in all circumstances and to rejoice everyday and be glad in it.. regardless of how very poopy it may be.

Carnaval 2010 - Clermont-Ferrand, France

Clermont-Ferrand had their very own Carnival celebration this afternoon in Place de Jaude.. just a few blocks from our apartment. We dressed the kids up as princesses and a cowboy and walked to the Plaza just in time to see the parade of Brazilian dancers and singers. We thought we were going to be those crazy Americans who you can spot by the naked eye a mile away but there were other children disguised as various characters, bugs and animals. The only thing that gave us away was Freddie's Boston Red Sox baseball cap.

It was a beautiful day today and a great day to have some family time. Here are some pictures from our day...

Snow White and her fairy godmother?

Aww... la Blanche Neige.

Papa and his petite princess, Emily Claire.

Mmm.. i scream... you scream... we all scream for ice cream!!!

I thought I was making a mistake by giving her an entire cone to herself.. thinking sharing would have been a better idea... she took care of it all by her messy self.

Cowboy Josh.

Once Upon a Time...

L'hotel Flore, Royat, France

In a land far far away, when the American lady thought she could be shocked by the culture no more....

she visits a spa in Royat, France and... she gets a massage.

I had heard that massages in France were sans clothes but I thought that surely meant in the same way you are barely clothed in America. Not a lot on underneath, but the important parts completely covered up.

I have always found spa treatments - massages, facials, foot rubs - a little awkward. Maybe it is the inherent intimacy (in a totally non-sexual way) of having someone rub parts of your body. Maybe it is the tension created with knowing whether to talk or not and when. Maybe it is the New Age environment that envelopes you when you walk into the dimly lit room smelling of incense with Enya chiming in the background. Maybe it is a combination of it all. But, usually the experience is pleasant and I drift away into a relaxed semi-sleep state - feeling refreshed and not nearly as uncomfortable after wards as I did upon entry.

Last weekend, for one night for my Christmas present, I left Freddie and the kids and stayed in a hotel and had a soin du visage (facial), reflexologie plantaire (foot massage) and a californie massage (California style massage) at the adjoining spa. Up until the point of the massage, the uncomfortableness was limited to the language barrier. Totally manageable with broken french, sign language and copious and sometimes insulting usage of the "tu" form of the verb instead of the respectful "vous" form (I mean, really, it is asking too much to remember two "you" verb conjugations.. some choose to err on the "vous" side and I always seem to err on the "tu" side... ah, c'est la vie). The morning of the massage I have a breakfast fit for a king (or 3 or 4 of them) and leisurely read the US Today newspaper before doing 20 sit ups (in a lame attempt to burn off the 2000 calorie meal I consumed the previous night and the inordinately large breakfast I just ate) all while listening to an awesome 80s radio station on french tv - rock on Cyndi Lauper!

I put on my fluffy bathrobe and soft slippers and head down the hall to the elevator to climb literally 1/2 of a floor to the Institut Sanhoa for my blissfully relaxing massage. I am pleased to find that the massage therapist is going to be the same lady who did my facial and foot massage the previous day.. no need to reestablish the fact that I don't speak good french and have to figure out how to communicate effectively all over again... we accomplished that yesterday... or so I thought. She instructs me in very fast french what to do with this piece of paper in a bag and how to maneuver myself in between the towels, follows with a "vous comprenez?", I nod my head and squeak out a "oui" (because, the answer is always "oui" even when it isn't), all while thinking that I have no idea what you are saying but surely it can't be THAT hard to figure out what to do with the paper-y thing in the bag (it is for your hair, right?) and how to cover myself with a towel on a massage table. Or, so I thought. She will return "tout de suite" (right away). D'accord, merci.

So, the paper thingamabob is not for your hair.. it is a "slip". (Please google translate for the translation.. It feels weird writing that on a blog and who knows what kind of traffic it would bring to my blog from the search engines) Ok, well, ok. That is about all I could manage at the time. What to do with the fancily folded towels? If I lift this one, the leather bed is shown. Surely, I am not supposed to lay there. If I lift this one, my feet are not laying on a towel. That can't be right. If I don't lift anything and just lay down, I am totally exposed. And, SURELY, that is unacceptable. So, I decided feet on bare leather table must be the way to go. I am sure that is what she said, after all. Slip, check. All necessary body parts covered, check. Therapist enters and giggles out loud, check.

Levez-vous, levez-vous! In my slip???? Oh gosh, I am really not in Kansas anymore. So, legs flailing everywhere with my trusty towels being removed, I find myself standing - exposed - while she re-fancily folds my security blankets. Prime example of one of those moments when you aren't quite sure what to do with your hands - where are pockets when you need them? Or escape routes, for that matter. I am then instructed that I should have used THAT towel -rolled up over there - to cover myself. Ah, phew, breathing sigh of relief.. at least that means I will be covered.

Recovered and ready to relax I begin to drift off into that familiar semi-sleep state when "swoosh" the towel betrays me and I realize those people with the "sans clothes" french massage theory were onto something.

All of that said and done, I had a wonderfully refreshing and energizing evening. In addition to the spa treatments, I was able to complete some tasks that needed to be done but I kept putting off, took a three hour nap, ate a four course meal without having to work on table manners, and read a book until my eyes would no longer stay open voluntarily without having to worry about needing to wake around 6am. Many many thanks to my sweet husband for giving me this precious gift. Next time though, I think we will exclude the massage from my agenda.

My room... super comfy bed with oodles of not useful pillows but they really do make such a cozy difference.

The his and her bathrobes in a very American style bathroom - aside from the half door bath/shower combo.. I will never understand that.


The dining room of the restaurant where I ate my four course dinner.


And... in honor of my friend Clarrette, I became a photographer of my food...

Course 2 - Smoked salmon cannelloni stuffed with goat cheese and veggies. Course 1 was a complimentary puree of green peas topped with whipped cream that kind of fizzled in your mouth like pop rocks. Yes, it was a hopefully once in a lifetime experience.

Mmm... creme brulee. I had eaten so much at this point that I couldn't eat whatever creamy confection was in the cute little votive candle like container. I am pretty sure, I have never eaten so much in my entire life. I left out pictures of the main course of chipped beef in a delicious marinade topped with creamed carrots, asparagus and peas.

Despite over indulging the night before, I decided to partake in an American style breakfast with a side of the scrumptious french patisseries. It could have fed 5 people easily and I totally lived up to the wasteful American stereotype but I did my best.


The street view from my balcony.

The hotel is located in a quaint little city right outside of Clermont-Ferrand called Royat, France. It is known for its thermal baths and water. Adorable architecture and ambiance.

It's ParTAY time!

As Sophia called it last Saturday before her "fête d'anniversaire" (birthday party) at Kizou (think Monkey Joes, sort of). My little princess didn't just have a birthday.. she had a birth month! Her birthday fell during the french school system's winter holiday so we delayed the party with her friends until March since many were out of town on vacation in February. So, last Saturday we partied hardy at an indoor play place called Kizou with 9 of her favorite friends in France. She thought she was queen of the world and I think everyone had a wonderful time. The birth month celebration started on her birthday which she celebrated with her family and with her sweet friend Lena who, unfortunately, was unable to make it to her birthday party. Next year!

Not quite awake...

We had the special birthday breakfast - belgian waffles, strawberries and whipped cream.

Sophia's special friend - Lena.


Note to self - Balloons entertain 3-5 year olds for a good 30 minutes.

Making a wish... for a second time that day.


My daughter - the knife sale's model. And, I promise, she has other pajamas besides the size 2T pj's she insists on squeezing into every other day.

Joshua setting the table... notice, he is the one NOT with the knives.


And, making a wish for the third time on that special birthday over Mom's deflated boxed chocolate cake. Seriously, it looked like a bundt cake... except it wasn't. I love to cook but no one ever said I was a baker.

Awwww!!!

Loving life with her new Littlest Pet Shop Nintendo DS game.

And.... It's ParTAY time!

The friends! Love them!


Sophia between two sweet little boys from the school she attended last year and will attend next year. Sophia and her petite amour, Alexis.

Bustin' lots of moves to unedited American music as my eyes bulge out of my head trying to keep in mind that they are simply sounds to the francophones. Thankfully, there were lots of distractions.


The Page "no dancing with the opposite sex" rule isn't in effect.... YET!

Looks of sheer joy... love it!



Happy 4th Birthday my Sweet Sophia... I hope it was half as fabulous as you are!!!! :) :)

Seriously Mom.. This is Lame...

But we will be good sports!

This is what home schooled kids do when it is 20 degrees outside... pose for their Mom in their pjs for the sake of posterity between the three "Rs" ... and The Princess and the Frog.

Emily Claire - 2 years

Sophia Elisabeth - 4 years


Joshua Bryant - 5 years

Gosh I love these little monkeys!

Faire de la Luge at Super Besse

My favorite fellas.

Today we met some friends at Super Besse, France to go sledding. It ended up being a spectacular day for sledding with the temperatures hovering just below freezing with the sun peeking out periodically during the day - albeit with intermittent bouts of blizzard-like conditions - but who's complaining? It was a great day to be with our family and to play with friends in the snow. Freddie and I caught the skiing bug again and hope to make a trip up here before the season is over to practice our skiing skills and hopefully sign the children up for ski lessons. I am determined to become a family of skiers! It is so much fun and I am thrilled that there is a ski station only 1 hour away from our home.

Wee!!!

Joshua and his sweet friend and sledding race opponent, Bérénice.

Emily Claire resting.

Daddy pulling Emily Claire up the hill. This was her preferred position during the day.

And...

a friendly downhill race between the siblings...