Halloween to Thanksgiving

Let me catch you up on the highlights of this past month.  We had a halloween party with the kids, Lauren and Angie did a great job planning everything out.  We had a great time with games and activities and even a trick-or-treat in our hallway.   The kids really enjoyed the evening, complete with scary stories, snacks, and a movie. November 3rd, Lilia celebrated her 15th birthday.  We have started researching options for high school.   She has really been enjoying her swimming and she performed very well in the competition that she did on the 15th.  She qualified for region tryouts which will take place in December.
This has been a busy month with the AVF.  This is officially the month dedicated to the new arrivals to Limoux.  The 4th we had a committee meeting.  The 5th, I had an all day training in Toulouse for dealing with the media; newspapers, radio, TV,  which was very interesting.  The 6th, we took all the new arrivals out for a stroll in Limoux, showing them the sites and useful places, followed by lunch.  The 11th, had another meeting to prepare the newsletter.  The 13, we took the new arrivals for a bus tour of Limoux, and a guided tour of the mayors office, followed by a meal open to all the members of the AVF, we had around 60 present.  The 18th, I had a regional commission meeting with the AVF that lasted all day as well.  All these activities take up a lot of time, but I enjoy the chance to get to know people, especially all the new arrivals.  And as president of the association it is good to make an appearance.
The kids have had a good month at school.  I had parent/teacher meetings with Lilia and Caleb.  This includes a lot of waiting in line, but they both had really good comments from their teachers.  Caleb will have a field trip to Toulouse tomorrow to tour the Space museum.  Micah is going out tomorrow as well to visit a local art museum.  Andrew and Micah had the benefit of being chosen for a computer class at school that had limited places.
Basketball has been full of a little drama.  I have continued the referring which I enjoy and have been able to get to know more players and coaches as a result. The team I play on has been shaking up recently by our coach saying he was not happy with the results of the games that we had played and is withdrawing us from the championship, and that he will only be attending one practice during the week instead of two.  Mix of feelings from my teammates.
Other one time things that have occupied our month...I helped a handicapped lady move her son's things to Toulouse.  I have had to do several things on our vehicles since we have gotten back.  I replaced the tires on the Dacia.  I changed the front brake pads and the oil.  I noticed a shake and misalignment in our van.  I took it to get it looked at and it ended up being the rods that needed replacing.  I decided for the sake of time, not to do that one myself.  It also needed to be aligned and have the two front tires replaced.  Another time consuming activity was applying for our visa.  We have had a one year visitor visa, but this year we were able to apply for a ten year residents visa.  It took quite a bit of paperwork and we each had to be interviewed.  Now we must just wait to see if we are approved, which could take a couple of months.  Also this month, we found a kitten and adopted it for a week until the owners were found.  We found out that they are a handful and appreciate our cat, Flurry, that much more.  The owner was really happy to have the kitten back.
The Bible studies have continued thought attendance has been limited to just us at times because of people traveling or sicknesses. The grand event of this month was Thanksgiving, which we celebrated this past Saturday.  We invited 54 this year, and about 45 were present.  We had a great time.  We started cooking well in advance and things went smoother than last year.  Had great comments on the food and the event in general.  I was also able to have some good spiritual conversations.  We pray that God will continue to grow and bless this opportunities.  God bless, JASON