learning

I haven't had time to post about the weekend yet - will do that soon - but I wanted to quickly share something Betsy and I discussed the other night our time here in France...
We have both been so blessed by the people that have come into our life and these people, we feel would have not been there had we not been so reliant upon God trusting in Him to provide for us. When we first arrived, we knew no-one, and we spent a lot of time alone with God. He blessed us in countless ways and brought us friendships and a great church amongst so many other things. When you rely on people, they will always let you down. But we have found that through relying on God, knowing he alone is enough, he brings amazing people into our lives with whom we can share God's love and joy and have fun!  :)

"Rejoice in the Lord, always. I will say it again: rejoice!" 

(Philippians 4:4)

that was one nasty week (in the life of work!)

Yesterday I posted a 'happy birthday' post for my lovely sister. It seems to have disappeared and I have no idea why :( I think blogger is messing up! Anyway, she is amazing, and I miss her, and I'm sad because I missed her 18th... instead, I was being screamed at by a 4-year-old and cleaning up wee.

But it's finally Friday night, the parents are finally home and putting their children to bed, and I am sat here, very tired but happily thinking that I have over 2 days of freedom! However, this week has been so energy-sapping that I'm struggling to muster up some enthusiasm for going out tonight!

I am going to write some good things that happened this week, and try to forget how awful the four-year-old was. (I know its not really his fault and I love him really.) And how awful wednesday was. (Think cleaning up wee from the living room floor then realising that another child is flooding the bathroom - sums it up really!)

1 - Tuesday night! There was a thunder storm, and Betsy and I trecked it over to Lauren's lovely flat in a part of town we hadn't been to before in rain macs and flipflops. Good times. Lauren proved to be an excellent hostess, and along with Matthias, Ian and Maria, we all had an amazing Korean-style dinner! (apparently she learned how to cook like this from watching Korean dramas online!) We went for an adventure out of her bedroom window, climbed under a dripping fig tree and explored the wild garden, every so often jumping at thunder and lightning! Later on there was poetry recitals (no idea how we got onto that), fun with Sgt Pepper (Lauren's cat, an American citizen with a Beatles-inspired name) and a crazy game that was terminated around 12:30am when we realised how late it had got! The night was ended with a beautiful walk in the still of the evening, the rain having freshened everything up after the heatwave.

2 - Wednesday night, children in bed, I went for a walk in the twilight and spent time with God. It was very much needed and it was really beautiful.

3 - Thursday morning, helping out in the school. So much fun! Children are somehow cuter when they're not your responsibility!

4 - Thursday lunchtime, walking through Vielle Ville and watching all the restaurant owners setting up their chairs and tables on the terraces and the buzz of it all.

5 - The weather generally. Just such a good climate here. One reason to live in France!

6 - Giggles with Betsy last night - and booking our trip to Luxembourg next weekend!

7 - Chatting to a really nice man over coffee in my favourite cafe this morning. I just love how much easier it seems to make friends and have conversations when you're not in your home town. Great for the French too...

There, 7 really good things about this week :) God is so good and is keeping me so positive even though it's hard. There is so much to be thankful for!
I am also thankful that it is not this time a year ago. We were all so stressed  finishing our degrees and I would never want to do that again. Thinking of and praying for everyone in the situation right now!

Have a fantastic weekend!!
A bientôt! xxx

My sister...

is 18 today!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

She is also the funniest, sweetest and most amazing sister I could ever ask for. She ALWAYS makes me laugh, her comments just make my day, and she is one of my best friends. For always. 


...I'm sorry I can't be there, but Im thinking of you!
Love you very much xxxxxxxxxx

Spoke too soon!

So yesterday morning went well, but going to bed wasn't so great! I was all alone with the kids last night, and they just didn't want to go to bed. I managed to get them down in the end and enjoyed a quiet evening to myself. However, this morning, they were really bad. I think nothing of having to get the kids out of the house by myself. It's tough but it's normal. However, when I speak to the other mums at the school about it, they are often shocked! Some of them find getting one child out of the house bad enough, so I guess I shouldn't feel so bad when it doesn't always go completely right.

Before I came here, I never knew I could get so cross! I have since discovered that what gets to me the most is when I ask a child to do something completely reasonable (like cleaning their teeth before going to school) and they shout 'NO' in my face and carry on running around like crazy. This was this morning. When the super-nanny tactics from last week, when counting to three still doesn't work, when the oldest child is ready and waiting and we are going to be late for school - what do you do?
Needless to say, it was a difficult morning. But we got there in the end.
I got the kids to school, and I jotted all this down while grabbing a quick cafe before going off to do my English lessons. They were actually a delight: I love teaching the little ones sometimes! We did the colours, and the weather, and I taught them how to sing 'Sing a Rainbow'. We also talked about the Royal Wedding and I'm going to bring them some pictures next week so we can learn about the Royal Family!!

It's still really hot, but today is a bit muggy and feels like rain. One thing about the warm weather is that the fashionable youth of the city get even more fashionable! In England, you would be looking at some of these guys and saying to yourself 'he's got to sway the other way!' But here you just think 'typical French guy!' (This doesn't refer to all French guys, I hasten to add, just some of the more fashion-concious ones!)


Bruise update: I have discovered bruises on my right elbow and arm, my hand is nicely bruised and the one on my shin is about the size of an apple... looking good! ...I'm going to hesitate before I take that trottinette out again!

Darn trottinette!

Last night, I headed over to Besty's. As it was a Sunday night and I didnt think there would be many trams running, I took one of the trottinettes (scooters). It seemed like a good idea. It was nice to be speeding along on a warm evening and it definitely halved my journey time! I stopped at a corner shop for a bottle of wine, and put it in my bag and continued along. However, I was clearly getting a bit cocky, and as I was crossing the road near Betsy's apartment block, I hit the curb a little hard and fell down, hitting my hand really hard and whacking my shin on the side of the trottinette. It was SO painful!!!
Thankfully, I was so nearly there, and was able to rest up with a bag of frozen veg on my leg, so the swelling isn't too bad, but it still hurts a lot this morning! Teach me to be so speedy!!
Anyway, it was great to see Betsy!! We got take-out pizza and shared the bottle of wine that had (thankfully) not been smashed during my fall! We spent the evening catching up on our holidays and laughing lot! She had had a wonderful time at the seaside and was looking very brown!
It was such a good evening and totally made up for the pain!!

This morning, the kids were very sleepy, and for once, they didn't want to get out of bed! But it was back to school today, and they all got off to school well with minimal fuss. I think I might be getting pretty good at this routine malarky! (Probably shouldn't speak too soon though!) However, I was the one who messed up this morning, and forgot my keys to get into the school where I sit in on the 10-year-old's grammar class. I'm not too upset though, as I'm sure you can imagine! It's such a nice day, so I think I'll just catch up on my lesson planning and chill in the park!

God bless you all xxx