This little piggy, Vigipirate

Andrew dressed up for the carnaval.

Here I am playing the piano at church.

Lilia put Arianna's hair up.

All the almond trees are in bloom.

What another great week that we had.  We had a few days of rain, but Friday ended up being beautiful.  It rained and was windy on Wednesday and Thursday, so much that while we were at basketball practice some insulation fell from the gym ceiling.  Thursday night, after our Bible study, I had not planned on going to the market on Friday morning because I felt that the weather would not be good.  However when I walked out of the front door on Friday morning to take the kids to school, I was greated by a clear sky and no wind, with birds chirping.  So I joined one of those little piggies and went to the market. We had a great time with several people showing up at the same time.  Friday afternoon, Angie had a doctors appointment while I had my language session with my language helper Eric.  Eric and I worked on writing a formal letter, a request to have Arianna's name corrected on her French birth certificate (it only has one "n").  Formal writing is always a good excercise because you end up using totally different vocabulary and style.  Angie's doctors visit went well.  Her blood pressure is high and she had an infection, so an antibiotic and some blood pressure meds will be in her diet the next few weeks.  Arianna had a doctors appointment as well on Wednesday for her 18 month checkup.  She is doing good.  She is now at the middle of the average size for her age.  Up until now she had been on the lower end of the growth curve.  The boys had the carnaval this week and dodged the rain and the "vigipirate".  As a result of the shootings in Toulouse, an hour from here, the terror alert level was raised to level "vigipirate on Wednesday.  Meaning all public school events were cancelled and there were barriers and officers posted in front of the schools.  Thankfully they caught the person responsible.  Caleb seemed touched by the whole situation, he was keeping up with everything at his school, and even asked to make sure I locked the door at night.   Saturday was a busy day, the kids cross country run that morning was cancelled (vigipirate) so I helped a friend pick up some utility poles he plans on using as fencing.  Saturday after lunch we had a family over with two boys, one is in Micah's class.  We had a really good visit with them.  The moved here about the same time as we did and are originally from Paris.  I read in the newspaper recently that this is the fastest growing region of France.  I thought that was due to the amount of retired people who settle down here, but retirees only make up 14% of those moving in.  So many are young families.  Late saturday afternoon we had tea with one of my basketball teamates (who also moved here from Paris a few months ago).  Thankfully we remembered to advance our clocks on Saturday night.  I played the piano at the church in Carcassonne Sunday morning.  Which despite my lack of experience, went well.  Lilia went to a swimming competition in Wednesday and on Sunday morning.  She did well in both.  Wednesday she won bronze in the relay.  Sunday she won first on the 100m backstroke, and 2nd in another type.  Since she was a the competition, we had an extra place in the car to give a teenager a ride to church.  Her parents recently bought a bed and breakfast nearby, the Domaine Michaud, that they are re-doing,it was amazing, if you have the means I would definitely suggest a stay there.  We stopped by after church for a quick walk thru tour.  Today we are enjoying beautiful weather once and again and getting some work done.  Hope you have a blessed week, JASON

Winter guests

The kids got a box of Christmas goodies from their grandparents.

Arianna runs to give Lilia a hug.

We have had a good week so far.  The theme so far has been guests.  Frequent guests of ours have been our neighbors across the street and down a couple of houses.  The son is about a year older than Caleb and has some discipline problems.  We have already had to deal with him opening our garage to get our bikes out and playing in our yard without permissions.  We have to keep an eye on them when he is over.  He has a nice streak at times and just needs love. His family has been tight on money because they just moved. We are trying to be loving and wise in our relationship  with them.  We also met with our next door neighbor and he high school age daughter.  We had a real good visit and even let them taste Dr. Pepper and some leftover cheesecake.  Angie visited with her a couple of more times these last couple of days.  We also visited with one of the members of our Bible study, she is having a hard time finding work.  Please pray for her.  The weather has cooled off and looks like winter is finally here.  It is supposed to get down to -8 degrees C tomorrow and the high is -2.  I do not imagine I will go to the market.  It has been snowing off and on all day, but is not sticking yet.  I am ready for the Bible study tonight.  Angie is getting her haircut done this afternoon by the lady I mentioned previously who is looking for work.  Arianna was not interested in watching scooby doo (in French) and decided to push her baby stroller around the couch.  God bless, JASON

Sleep walking



Arianna enjoys playing in her bed.

 

Andrew at the end of school program.

 The past weekend went well.  We divided the kids up between us.  I took Arianna and Micah to Caleb's swimming lesson, he had the end of school swimming party.  Meanwhile Angie took Lilia to watch Andrew's end of year program.  We joined them after the swimming was over.  Afterwards, Angie and Lilia went to the youth meeting in Carcassonne.  Sounds like it was a great time.  They did a photo scavenger hunt at the Walled City of Carcassonne.  They had to take pictures of certain things and whoever had the best won.  Sunday we attended the an English speaking church in Mirepoix, about 30 minutes west of us.  We enjoyed the services and fellowship.  It is basically an Anglican church, but the members are from several different denominations and are mostly English who live in France.  I did get several presents for Father's day, mostly clothes, which always useful.  Monday we had a guest over, a lady that I meet at the Market on Friday.  She is Christian, and has a wonderful testimony and sweet spirit. She has some beliefs that are different than ours, but we still hope that we can fellowship with her and minister to her.  Yesterday, the first day of summer, was the warmest day of the year so far.  I think it actually got up to about 90, even though the forcast said 82 for a high.  In the evening we had a three thunderstorms roll in, one after the other.  It was a rare treat.  It also cooled things off.  It was still real warm in the gym when I had basketball practice.  I am still enjoying practice and we are hoping to invite some of the guys over during summer.  There is one more story I need to share.  While Angie was putting away some clothes she noticed that the boys closet was wet.  After an inspection, we discovered that one of the boys had slept walked and thought their closet was the bathroom.  We suspected Micah and after school confronted him about it.  Caleb, however, spoke up and said, "I think it was me". He went on to explain that he needed to go to the bathroom, it was dark and he looked around until he found and door and then . . .went.  He said he thought it was a little too close to his bed.  We all had a good laugh about it.  The fun part came a little later.  Andrew was looking for a drink in the fridge when he found some pineapple juice in a jar. He brought it to us to see what it was.  I immediately saw a golden opportunity.  I called Caleb and Micah to us and told them that someone had gotten up during the night and thought that the fridge was the bathroom and that I wasn't upset, I just wanted to know who it was.  The boys were speechless.  I asked for the jar and took a drink and said, "It is you Caleb I can tell."  I wish you could have seen the look on his face and Micah's.  His eyes were big.  After a few moments he said, "No, because everybody's tastes the same."  We couldn't hold it any longer and had to laugh.  Tuesday we had another friend over for lunch. She is going to be returning home during summer, the first time in 14 years.  We will miss her over the summer, but we are happy that she has the opportunity.  Pray for her because her home country is having political troubles and she is a little worried that once she arrives it will be difficult for her to leave again.  Angie is currently visiting with a friend in Carcassonne, getting a little break from the kids.  God bless, JASON

Pétanque and Le Cross

Micah is on the far right.

The crowd approaches.

Lilia in the purple.

Caleb in the blue with the hat.

Lilia, purple shirt, helped registering students.

Wow, we are just finishing a busy weekend.  Let me catch you up from the last blog point.  (For your information if you see a highlighted work, it is a link, meaning that if you click on it it will open another window with more information related to the highlighted word.)  Tuesday was spent studying and preparing for lessons.  Wednesday afternoon, I had a lesson for Lilia and another teenager in Magrie. Thursday morning after my language session, we walking to the Magrie Mayors office and picked up Angie's visa.  An answer to prayer, just to have it in hand.  Thursday night we had two for the Bible Study.  Friday morning at the maket  I talked with several regulars and also met a lady from a village about 20 minutes from Limoux, she was already Christian and we knew some of the same people.  We talked for a while and she seemed interested in the prospects of having a work in Limoux.  Friday afternoon, my counseling sessions went well and the week finished with basketball practice.  Thus began the busy weekend.  Saturday morning there was the "cross des mille enfants", it was a long distance race with over 1300 children from schools in the area.  Micah, Lilia, and Caleb participated.  I had a choice of either serving as one of the volunteer crosswalk guards, or getting pulled into racing along with the kids.  That's right, I chose being the crosswalk guard.  I attached several pictures of the event.  After that finished we grabed lunch and prepared for having some guests over for an "apéritif" (snack before the evening meal).  We had a great visit with them, I play basketball with the husband and there kids go to school with ours.  Sunday we left immediately for a BBQ (french style) put on by the basketball coach for celebrating their last game of the season.  We arrived just as everyone else did and had a great time.  I during the afternoon, everyone asked about why I was here and what my work entailed.  In typical french fashion, it took about three hours before all the eating was done.  Afterwards, we played a game of  Pétanque, briefly explained a French game kind of a mix between horseshoes and bowling.  My team won. By the time the BBQ was over it was almost seven.  We ate a quick supper and helped the kids get the homework finished before calling it a day.  It was a great weekend.  We had the chance to build some great relationships. I also want to attach a music video.  I try to help you get a glimpse into French culture.  This music video won two awards.  The artist is Ben l'Oncle Soul and he won two awards for this song entitled Soul Man.  I was surprised by the style of music.  There is an English Version and also a version with French subtitles if you want to cheat.  (see youtube) Below is the original.  God bless, JASON

Christmas Eve

All the "kids" at our Tex-mex dinner.

The Christmas season has been going great.  Tuesday we did some Christmas shopping as a family.  We also picked up some Christmas cards and enveloppes to stuff for the church in Carcassonne.  We worked on them as a family and it only took a couple of hours to stuff 100 Christmas Cards.  Wednesday and Thursday morning I helped the pastor in Carcassonne pass them out.  It was fun, good time of fellowship, getting to see the area, and placing cards in mailboxes that share about the true meaning of Christmas.  Thursday evening, we watched some fireworks in town and then we had supper with our friends from Magrie.  We served Tex-mex and had a great time sharing about Christmas in Texas.  We also got to explain what a redneck was.  This morning Caleb and went to the market and distributed about 80 bible verse calenders. There were not a lot of people there and it was cold.  Caleb really enjoyed it.  This afternoon Angie is going to pass out gifts to our neighbors and visit with some friends.  I will take the kids to Carcassonne and pick out some more fish for the aquarium and also stop by downtown Limoux and let the kids have a turn on the obstacle course they have set up.  I am looking forward to tommorrow.  We had planned on Skyping with our family, but Skype was down yesterday because of server trouble.  Hopefully we can try tonight.  I pray that you have a very merry Christmas and that you take time to think about the greatest gift ever given, Jesus.  Enjoy my favorite Christmas song, What Child is This.  God bless, JASON

Thanksgivingly ever after.

Thanksgiving meal was real good.  We spent two days in preparation,

 made the desserts on Thursday and then the main dishes on Friday.  One of the guests arrived early Friday to help out which was great.  We got everything ready on time and 15 guests came.  We got started at 7:30 and we had a wonderful time.   I gave a history of Thanksgiving and everyone shared something that they were thankful for, I led in prayer, and then we dug in.  The food was enjoyed and we had a lot less leftovers that I expected.  The favorite seemed to be the Buttermilk pie (grandma's recipe). Everyone stayed until about 11:00.  There were really good conversations.  We assigned seats so that we would have Christians sitting with non-Christians.  It went really well, even the kids were well behaved.  I hope that God will bless and we will see some fruit.  Angie and I stayed up until 2 in the morning cleaning and washing dishes.  I called my parents house and spoke to my mother

 for a little bit, wishing them a happy Thanksgiving.  As in the case in many families, you can have three or four Thanksgiving meals just to get around to all the family.  We went to bed and I slept the best I had ever sleep.  My eyes closed and I opened them back up and it was 8:30 and Andrew was standing beside the bed asking if it was time to wake up.  Saturday we finished washing dishes, took borrowed tables and chairs back to Carcassonne, started putting the furniture back in the living room.  Services went well today, we are taking part in the Christmas program with the churh in Carcassonne.  Lilia is playing Mary and Caleb is Joseph.   I hope that your Thanksgiving holidays went well. but that you keep up the Thankful spirit all year long.  God bless, JASON

Invitations

Hello again. We have had a great week so far. I have been helping with the Bible Exposition in Carcassonne. It is a exposition of antique Bibles and other items of interest concerning the Bible. I will post pictures of the exposition in the next post. Monday evening we enjoyed the aperatif with our neighbors, they are a really sweet couple and I hope that they will start coming to the Bible Study. I sent off some invitations to give out to others with information concerning the Bible Study. I will attach the front page. Caleb was sick with fever Tuesday, Micah joined him Wednesday, and Andrew, Thursday. Nothing serious, just kind of like what happened a few weeks ago, a slight fever for a few days and then nothing. We did make it to the beach with our friends from language school Tuesday. It was a pretty day for it. There was very little wind and so the sand wasn't a problem. Probably for that same reason the beach was crowded. Tuesday and Wednesday morning I was at the Bible Exposition. Wednesday evening we had supper with the new pastor in Carcassonne and his family. Thursday, since the kids were feeling all poorly and several others were out on vacation, we called off the Bible Study. I started moving Lilia and Caleb into their new room, which was finished on Monday. They seem excited to be sharing a room together, and I hope that it will draw them closer together. Today I started painting our bedroom, just one wall to see how many coats of paint it will take. Angie is in Carcassonne, first babysitting so a friend can go to the doctor, and then going to the doctor herself for what could be her last checkup before the baby arrives. She may also do some shopping. We realized recently that we have no baby stuff. This hasn't happened since Lilia was born almost eleven years ago. Andrew was 18 months when we came to France so most of the baby stuff was sold or given away. We have had a lot given to us, but still need to pick up some things. So here I am watching the kids and working on getting several things done as well. Speaking of watching the kids I had better check to see if anyone is playing in a room with a freshly painted wall. Very tempting for young boys. God bless, JASON

Schtroumpf

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent preparing a lesson for the Bible Study and helping Angie keep the house running. The cool weather has ended for a few days. Wednesday, I had another good conversation with Cédric, my language helper, concerning his beliefs. Thursday Caleb and I went an visited a couple who are members of the church in Carcassonne, they live about an hour south of us. It was a nice drive and we had a really good visit. They have a pull out bed that they are going to pass on to us. They loaded us up with all kinds of good stuff; cakes, cookies, jelly, honey, fresh eggs. . . Nobody came to the bible study last night. Vacations, working late, and visitors kept everyone occupied. Friday evening we watched Toy Story 3 with our kids and some friends. It was great, even better in French. Before the movie started I saw a preview for a movie called the "schtroumpf", it ended up being the smurfs. I can't believe they are making a movie based on this old Saturday morning cartoon. Today we have some friends arriving. They were language school classmates of ours that we haven't seen in two years. We are looking forward to having a good weekend with them. They plan on leaving Tuesday. I went shopping this morning, finished my monthly report (just waiting on the proofreading), and cleaned around the house some. I'd better get the guest room ready. Attached pictures are Lilia and Caleb playing DS and Andrew and Micah playing with some toys that arrived in a package from their grand-parents. Thanks for reading and God bless, JASON

Fruitcake

Christmas day ended well. We played with the kids, talked with both of our parents on Skype. I made some Fruit cake as well. I guessed at all the amounts, but it came out well. The color was a little of because the graham crackers (actually cookies) were a lighter color, and the only marshamellows we could find were pink and white. But it tasted good never-the-less. Saturday I got our financial reports done and spent the rest of the day straightening and playing with the kids. It rained all day long. Sunday was nice and sunny. Services where good in Carcassonne, the sermon was over Simeon from Luke ch. 2 and what we could learn from him. Afterwards we went home with Neil and Helen, a British couple who have a vacation home in a village not too far from Carcassonne. We enjoyed a good meal and visit together. They served fruit cake for dessert and it was very good. We all sat outside and watched the kids play and enjoyed the sunshine. We made it back in time to hear the services from our Church in Texas. Tomorrow I will work on the monthly report to be sent to all our supporting churches. Angie's cough which had seemed to almost have disappeared was worse today and yesterday. Please join me in praying that it does not get any worse. Attached pictures are of our meal and a view of the Pyrennes Mountains just south of us. God bless, JASON

Bienvenue!

We had a good day today. We straightened things us this morning. We had guests come over this afternoon. A pastor in Paris and his wife visited with us for a couple of hours. We had a really good conversation with them. He had a lot of good advice, answered a lot of our questions, and confirmed a lot that we thought to be true. We plan to visit in their services in a couple of weeks. We have a large project to do in school tomorrow. We have to do a mock job interview for 15 minutes.

Micah evidently is a little slow to catch on to some things. A couple of days ago he said to me, "Do you know Shane is in a different class." This having been the case for six weeks. After we were closer to school and he saw the people waiting to get in, he said, "Everyone is speaking a different language." Yep. I guess that is a very important step to learning French is realising that there are people around you speaking it. Attached picture is Micah enjoying an Ice cream cone in Paris. God bless, JASON

Soiree.

We invited our language school teacher and her husband over for dinner Monday night. It went real well. Angie and I and the kids spoke french for the entire evening, several hours. Suprisingly it wasn't too difficult. Afterwards we breathed a small sigh of relief and talked a little without having to think a lot before hand. The weather has cooled off a little here and there is thunder rolling in the distance. I like bad weather myself. I looked forward to moving here because I knew they got more rain than we did in East Texas. So far we had not had any big storms because the weather has been cool still. I'm looking forward to seeing some good storms this summer. Thankfully the exchange rate has taken a turn in our favor. Over the last week it has dropped 5 cents. If it stays this low or gets any lower I may make a large withdrawal to put into our bank account here just to have while the exchange rate is good. God bless, JASON