Holiday in Geneva

We had more visitors this past weekend as Jay, Joyce and Jake drove down from Germany on Friday.  We took them downtown on Saturday and went ice skating at Reformation Park.  Jake was by far the best and helped all my kids. We always have so much fun together, but we missed Hailey, who is in the states at Longwood as a freshman.  But it still was a great weekend with some of our favorite people in the world, or atleast on this continent!

Just a side note, we see on The Weather Channel it might snow in Georgia on Tuesday...it's going to be in the 50's here all week and not a flake in sight.  Go figure.

A Modern Day Pilgrim Story

Early in 2011 a family decided to take on the adventure of moving to a foreign land.  After months of preparation, they sold their home and packed up their belongings and dragged their 4 reluctant children aboard a not-so-uncomfortable 777 and set out across the Atlantic.  They traveled through the gruelling hours of the night (OK, not really-but just go with it) and battled air sickness and bad airplane food along the way; to finally touch ground in Geneva, Switzerland.  They were now the foreigners in a foreign city, surrounded by-let's just say "Indians," as the people who lived there were no more Swiss than the Native Americans were from the West Indies.  The inhabitants of this strange new land were from every tribe and tongue on the planet, yet they came to the rescue of these desperate and scared pilgrims (alright, I was the only one who was desperate) no different than Squanto to William Bradford.  When they needed a place to sleep, Ivan, the landlord from Italy gave them a home (we won't mention the rent). When they were starving from the lack of poptarts and Chick fil A, Gunilla from Sweden took them to the grocery store and when the mother lay sick and dying (it was actually just a kidney stone), Margaret from England took her to the hospital. Each, along with many others, helped this crazy family survive and adjust to their new (albeit temporary) life in Europe.

So as the harvest rolled in their first November in Switzerland, with grateful hearts they gave thanks for the many blessings they had experienced over those first eight months.  They joined hands and prayed alongside their new friends from England, Scotland and Sri Lanka.  They ate turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoe pie and shared the story of Thanksgiving to people who had never heard of the abundant provision of the One True God and His love for His children.  And although they longed for their friends and families in their homeland, this Thanksgiving would be remembered perhaps not as the most beloved, but certainly as the most authentic.

Jackson invited Deklan from England

Kathryn had over Sithara from Sri Lanka

Joshua and his lady friend, Tatyana from Scotland

And how did I pull all this off?  With Emalee-from Georgia-who makes all of this possible through her constant assistance to me.  And who makes a mean pumpkin roll.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Turkey Day in Kami's Class!

Elisa, Kamryn's teacher, invited the four "American" parents to come in last Thursday and do some activities to teach the other children about Thanksgiving.  We had a great day making pinecone turkeys, getting our faces painted like Indians, reading stories about the pilgrims and eating pumpkin pie!

Different, Yet The Same

Of course, living in a foreign country is very different than living in the United States.  However, we have found that kids are kids the world over and boys still love to play sports and girls still love sleepovers.  Here are some pictures from Jackson's first basketball tournament at school and Kathryn's birthday sleepover (a month after her birthday-we have been busy!)

Jack played great and his team won the tournament.

The girls had fun decorating and eating cupcakes.

And of course, played "Just Dance" on the Wii.

Additional pic:  Kate sang in her first choral concert at school.  They sounded beautiful!

A European Girl's Weekend

Only in Geneva would I have the oppurtunity to go away with 16 women from all over the world for a girl's weekend and stay at a chateau in France.  I'm more than a little embarassed to share these pictures because yes, it was as amazing as it sounds.  And yes, I know I am spoiled rotten.  But no, I'm not taking one minute of it for granted and am completely humbled by the abundant blessing of living here. 
That said, here is a glimpse of a great weekend in the French wine country with some fun and beautiful women. :)

We stopped at a medieval village in France for lunch.

This is galette and is fantastic.

My roomie and friend, Tracy, overlooking the French countryside on the wine tour.

We had a little rain, but funny-it didn't bother us one bit :).

This is an old wine press made into an overhead light.  I am so copying this idea.  I just have to find an old wine press...

It was actually a very educational experience.  I learned a lot about how wine is made and the different kinds of grapes used, but most interestingly-that I am a cheap date.  The less expensive the wine, the better I liked it.  Geof is so proud :).