Coffee and Basketball

Arianna reaches out for mommy.

Arianna loves holding and chewing on her blanket.

The kids about to open a package from the grandparents.

Waking Arianna up in the morning.

Let me think about the last time I have blogged and what has happened since then.  We had a good Bible Study Thursday evening, two were present.  Friday morning I met a man at the market I have spoken with several times.  He even came to church with us one time.  I have not seen him during the Christmas break even though I tried to contact him several times. It was good to see him, we took a break and had coffee together and a good conversation.  Friday night we had basketball practice leading to our game on Saturday night.  This was the first and only game I will play in this season, because the rest was on Sunday morning.  The game was good.  We lost by thirty points, but our team was only started two years ago and the majority are new this year, like myself.  I had two rebounds and 8 points.  Coffee and basketball have proven to be good ways to build relationships.  Sunday morning services were good.  We planned on having a restful afternoon because we didn't get back home after the game until almost midnight, but we received a phone call from saying that there was a get-together the community center for the new year.  We enjoyed last years so we packed up the family and drove down the hill.  We had a good time, we were able to meet a family from town and exchange contact information.  The was one funny part for the evening where Caleb got dragged up front to dance with this lady.  He resisted and it was clear he didn't want to be there. All the rest of the family had a good laugh at his expense then Micah ran up to join in the dance.  Monday which is my day off, we shopped and I also scheduled an appointment to get Arianna's birth certificate, social securiy number, and passport.  We will have to drive three hours to Marseille to accomplish all this.  After I made the appointment on the phone, I couldn't help but tell Angie, "Angie, they spoke English!"  Wasn't really expecting that.  Today, we took Arianna for her 4 month appointment.  We will eat lunch with some friends.  After school our kids are having some classmates come over, followed by basketball practice.  God bless, JASON

Home Furnishings

Saturday - Our last few days have been spent shopping. We have alternated between several stores Conforama, Ikea, Dartie, and But, looking for the best prices. So far we have purchased beds and matresses for the kids and a refrigerator. We are still looking for the best option for the kitchen cabinets, going to check out Ikea today. The most important thing about today is I walked the aisle at church 11 years ago today. Not what you think. I walked out of the church. . . . with Angie. Thats right, our 11 year anniversary. What a blessing it has been!
Sunday – The group that visited in the services in Carcasonne returned this Sunday and the services were translated into Dutch for them. After services we ate at McDonalds with a newly married couple that has just moved to Limoux. We had a wonderful visit.
Monday – We purchased our bed and washing machine. Today I put all the beds together and while Angie and Lilia went to Ikea to pick up bedding. It took several hours for both of us to get finished. We spent the night here in the new house.
Tuesday – Spending the day getting ready for Lynn and Brenda to arrive tomorrow. For those who may not know. They are a part of our “missionary family”. They are veteran missionaries who have personally worked with us since our call to the France. They have helped out immensely and we are really looking forward to their visit. They are coming through on their way to put on the Greece retreat for Missionaries in September, which we will be going to. We picked out couches and a small breakfast table today.
Wed. - I left the house at 4:30 this morning to get down to Barcelona at 8:00 to pick up Lynn and Brenda at the airport. I really liked the airport, it was small and not to busy. We made it home and had lunch. Then Lynn and I went to bring a load of stuff from the vacation home to our new home here in Magrie.
Today Angie and Brenda went shopping while Bro. Lynn and I put together an Armoire. Attached is a picture of the new place. God bless, JASON

House hunt approaches the end.

Our house hunt is nearing the end. A few days ago we visited again the house in Magrie and we received a call yesterday saying that we can come by Wednesday to sign the papers. So here we go. We still are trying to not get too excited just in case it does not end up working out. Services went well at church. A group of about 20 tourists from Holland visited in the services. We had to bring out all the extra chairs. Angie stayed at home this morning with a head ache and tired. The younger boys were real tired as well because some storms came through last night and they stayed up watching. Lilia, Caleb, and I enjoyed the services and lunch at the church afterwards. I will try to keep you updated as soon as we find out about the house. God bless, JASON