Top.... Pics and Memories of 2013

Reflecting back, and looking at pics is such a fun thing to do. I couldn't narrow it down to just 10, so here are our top... however many pics/memories of this year.

#1 of 2013 is when Elijah came into our family on April 27.

1b. meeting brother and sister

From here on out, in no particular order, it's just how they uploaded:

London trip in March to see Krissy!!!

Enjoying the sunshine and backyard... with Tim (and Sophie!)

Little boys, will be... little boys... mud puddle splashing!

These two... love them just as much as they love each other.

SNOWman building!!! We enjoyed the snow in the early part of the year!

When Grandma Jannie came for a visit and 

we went to see the castle about 20 min. from our house!

Brother/sister love... play, fun, backyard. love it.

Greece TRIP!!!! Making new/old friends.

Fall Pumpkin hunting at the farm

Love his beard. Love this boy.

 Strasbourg Trip with friends... #Christmas2013

oh brothers.

(Stephen only): got to see the Tour de France around the Arc de Triomphe

NanNan's visit and lots of fun with her!

And, the beginning of school with princess and batman. 

Looking back, it's been an amazing year. We are blessed beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined from the Lord. He's blessed us with each other, our 3 little treasures, friends, travel, weather (getting to see hot and cold!),  and all around lots of great adventure. We are excited for what 2014 holds and are thankful we can trust Him who holds it in His hands. 

Statues Around Town...

You NEVER know what you will see here in Paris. This man... painted himself in gold and plays a small pretend violin. He is a "statue" until someone puts some money in his little bucket... then he'll "play" you a song and will move, and give you a wink. 

This was was especially notable, as he SITS THERE like this (somehow)...

Well, it was cool.

Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days)

This past weekend here in France was Patrimonie Day, Heritage day... day where we celebrate, uhhhh.... Our French Heritage (?)... I guess. Well, Elijah can fully celebrate being a little "frenchy" at least!
It's a special weekend when things not normally open to the public Palais de l'Elysèe (my apostrophe is wrong on that, but I don't know how to make it go the other way!), which is the equivalent to the White House. Other things like museums are also open... but when you have a 5 year old, 2 year old, and a 4 month old... you go to... NESTLE Factory!!!! I know my 3 little ones would not wait in a 3+ hour line to get to see the Presidental Palace. Maybe when they are older...? And, from what I gather, this weekend is the ONLY days of the year the factory is open! So... we went to enjoy and see behind closed doors...
I'll be honest, I was expecting Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was disappointed that it was NOT that. I mean, who wouldn't be, right?!? Basically it's an OLD factory, no longer in use, but they have LOTS of free-be's inside. Ice cream, coffees, chocolate, and their other products as well. Who knew Nestle made other things besides chocolates! Here's some of the fun...

This is us walking up... notice the line down the left side of the pic! 

(Thankfully, it went fast!)

 Clever idea to have Nestle products being distributed outside while we waited. 

Coffee or hot chocolate, in a book bag!!! Amazing!

  Little Missy with her hot coco! 

Noah with his... cheers! He LOVES chocolate!

Cool old building that the dam runs under...

"I scream, you scream, we all scream..." (Really loudly) when it's 

FREE ICE CREAM!!!!

Ok, so Noah loves ice cream too! 

We also love our Knacki Hot dogs

(France's "Ball Park" hot dog!)

Part of the old chocolate factory!

And at the end, we all left with a goodie bag of chocolates... 

1,2,3... "Chocolate!" (Again, Noah= SUPER excited!)

Fun day, thankful to celebrate France! 

Super Fun Family Outing...

In Boone, we use to (honestly before I was big enough to remember) have an ice skating rink called "Polar Palace"... and in France, this is our version of that! On Christmas Eve, the four of us ventured out and had a super fun time watching Sadie ice skate on something... that was NOT ice.

It seemed like some kind of plexiglas or something that worked for ice skates and made little shavings like ice skating would. 

It was nice because Stephen could just wear normal shoes and help her... she LOVED it! Noah also got to ride a couple of times and he was a fan! 

As night fell, they even had crazy fun lights!

This melts my heart to see them together... so sweet. 

The Eid with friends...

After living in North Africa for a few years, you fall in love with the people, their food, culture, and some of their customs. I was told the Eid for Muslims is like Christmas for the Christian. It is a time for family, giving, sharing, and being together. We celebrated the Eid in both Egypt and Sudan and so it's fun to now have the experience with some North African friends here in France. For the Eid, Muslims celebrate when Abraham went to sacrifice his son and God provided the ram in place of his son. 

So, we had a few invitations from friends and neighbors who we have met here and were able to join in the celebration. We, as Christians celebrate God's provision of a sacrifice too, but believe this sacrifice was in Jesus. Here are some of the pics of the fun we shared with our friends...

This is  Sadie and her friend from school...

Kids... they ALL love cartoons!

While my friend and I prepared the food, the kids were very entertained.

Here is one of the meals we enjoyed. Our Algerian friends served us Cous Cous, lamb, vegetables, fruit, and amazing desserts! 

At our Moroccan's friends house... this was hanging up right by the door. (Sadie was a little scared of it, and I completely understand!... very different for a 4 year old!) This is the lamb they had sacrificed the day before the Eid. 

The kids had a great time playing together. Sadie likes being the only girl because she always gets to be the princess! 

This is my precious friend and her 3 month old daughter. 

This is her husband, a friend of Stephen's. We felt so special that they invited us to share this special time with their family. 

One of the best things about living overseas is learning all the different cultures and customs from around the world! What a precious gift we are getting to live out!

End of Year Festival

Today we went to the end of year festival at Sadie's school and enjoyed the sights, sounds, and fun of France. Sadie's class performed being caterpillars turning into butterflies. It was really cute. 

After each class did a little "something" for the parents, there were games, food, and lots of fun to be had (and lots of french to speak!). 

We had a great experience with Sadie's first year and I'm so thankful for how well she did! Hope you enjoy the pics!

 Sadie was right behind her best friend... 

this is some of the group walking out to perform. 

Performing!!!

Her sweet teacher even made Noah some caterpillar antlers. 

Brother and Sister Bugs...

It's not a French festival without crepes! 

This was an interesting sight to me... seeing the diversity of France. "Country line dancers" in the background and a table of Muslim ladies doing crocheting right beside them.  

End of Year Field Trip

Well, it's the end of a long year for us and Sadie. She has been so brave going to a new school, in a new country, speaking a new language, making new friends. We've had our ups and downs, but I truly praise the Lord for His grace and strength for Sadie and the rest of us. He is faithful and 

has carried us through. 

Her class went on an end of year field trip near the town of Beaufort. It's in the mountains about 45 minutes from our town. I was so excited to get to go as I have heard this area is beautiful. Sadie and I packed our picnic lunch, sunscreen, hats and headed out for a beautiful day! 

Here are some of the sights... 

Sadie and her two best friends in the class. 

We went to a dam and walked around the lake... this is a pic from the dam.

Sadie and her two friends, being silly

At the beginning of the hike... a class photo. 

(Sadie Mac is on the right side near her teacher)

Yes... it was amazing and beautiful.

Looking over a bridge at a waterfall...

A swinging bridge over a lake...

Some scenery...

Time for lunch!! 

An apple and peanut butter, her favorite!

Picnic with a view!!!

And a little play time with friends afterwards...

I had a great time watching Sadie and her friends. I was amazed at how much french she is speaking. Her accent is... well, so much better than mine!!! I'm thankful for how well she is doing and praise God for His grace in the closure of this year! We've survived our first year of French school(s)!!! 

Thanks for joining us in the journey!