Summertime Fun

My friend F, who comes to help me with my French every week, helped me harvest the rest of the cherries that were left on the tree. My neighbor spied her climbing the tree and me trying to reach the branches to pull the cherries off. He and his wife were very distraught at this, so they brought over their very tall ladder with a hook to hang the basket on. It is kind of hard to see in the picture. Anyway, F had a hard time getting all of the cherries off the tree, because they were so high. She resorted to shaking the tree at the end much to my neighbor's dismay. Apparently picking cherries is an art over here. One must have all the right equipment and never shake the tree as cherries are "not like apples" he kept reminding us. Well, the result was delicious, as I was able to make cherry muffins, cherry cobbler, "clafouti" (a French dessert, i.e. cherry flan), and F took home some cherrie as well!

SA and Daddy harvesting strawberries. They have been deliciously sweet and SA loves to eat them with "chantilly" (whipped cream)!

My first strawberry harvest! I was so proud!

Little Miss Sunshine, the big sister. We are thrilled to announce that we are having a girl! I am in my 27th week, so the third trimester is here already. I am so thankful for the weather we are currently having. It is 63 degrees farenheit right now- very comfortable! Thankfully our small plug in airconditioner is set up and ready to go when we need it. So far I have only needed to use it one day. I am hoping that now that I know when to open and close the shutters that I will be better at "climatizing" the house this summer.

Battle at Kruger

A friend emailed me this video and it brought me to tears (which is admittedly easy lately). Anyway, I was thinking about I Peter 5:8 which depicts the devil as a "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" and the responsibility that we have in Christ to rally around new believers and those who are weak/ struggling. This video really brought home to me what a real life and death struggle we are in spiritually against very real enemies. Watch this video all the way to the end. We are the buffalos!

Mon Petit Paradis (My Little Paradise)

Life in France is not without its frustrations, that is for sure, and often, the combination of loneliness, cultural stress, and pregnancy hormones along with life's normal challenges and duties seem too overwhelming to bear. But then there are little "eclaircies" or glimpses of sunshine that bring encouragement, bits of relief, and reminders that I am not alone and that I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. An email, a call, a playdate with a potential Christian, English speaking friend (y'all must have been praying!), and a successful conversation in French with a neighbor are examples from this week.

Today, after a much needed afternoon nap, SA, D, and I ventured out for an afternoon walk. The funny thing is that we didn't make it out of our "jardin" (yard) because of several delightful discoveries. We have a beautiful jardin that brings weekly blooming surprises. Today I discovered some beautiful tiger lillies and several raspberry bushes that I had never noticed before! They were hiding behind some other bushes. We also harvested a couple of baskets full of delicious cherries from our cherry tree in the back yard. Last year I didn't realize that we had a cherry tree and inadvertantly fed the birds and bats with my cherries. This year I am planning to make lots of yummy cherry cobbler, sauces, and treats!

For several weeks I have been focusing on the rose bushes which have been beautiful! We have 11 red ones, 5 pink ones, one yellow, and one coral one. I have never been a gardener before and still don't claim to be, but I have been trying to just take care of what was here already in our garden and keep our planters filled with cheery pink geraniums and daisies. I added window boxes last year and have several pots of herbs and strawberries this year as well. I was so excited when the first strawberries appeared as they are my first real gardening success, my first fruit bearing plant, and they are deliciously sweet! I love this time of year, because all of the stone, medieval walls, houses, and buildings of our town seem to burst into bloom bringing a cheering relief from the gloominess of winter. And this year my garden is bringing forth wonderful fruit that I pray our lives will match in the spiritual realm as well.

As I sit here on my kitchen steps, it is starting to rain. I can hear the church bells ringing and the birds chirping, and it seems good to just be still. The birds are never in a hurry or stressed out with communication difficulties or cross-cultural conflict. I don't think they ever get bummed out when they feel fat and unattractive at 6 months pregnant or frustrated at the daily battle with weeds outside, dirt inside, laundry, and stinky toilets. Wish I could be more like them at times. I am, however, thankful that I am not them, because then I would miss out on the joys of motherhood, friendship, marriage, family, and being a part of God's work in the world. Life is full of joys, and today I am determined to just enjoy them!