Jérémie is in the news

It is Jérémie's turn to get his picture in the local paper. He and Ruben, a friend of the family, and fellow ex-Logos Hoper, will be biking 1300 kilometers through France this summer. They are asking people for pledges per kilometer with all the proceeds going to help build a school in India for the Dalits (Untouchables).
You can check out the website they created for the trip at www.1300km.org.

Rain and Rainbows

It rains a lot in northern France. Except this spring. We have had one of the driest springs ever.  Most places in France had restrictions on watering. We were thankful to have a well so we could water our garden as much as we wanted. It looks great.

And now things are back to normal with lots of rainy days. And the one great thing about living where it rains alot? Seeing lots of rainbows!!! Pictures don't do them justice, but here are a couple of today's rainbow anyway.

WEP (Pentecost Weekend)

The farm was once again invaded by forty young people for Pentecost weekend. (It is a holiday in France, so we have a long weekend.)

Lots of fun...

 Fellowship...

 Reflexion...

 And food!!!! Lots of food.

( Laura with her cousin Jordan.)

To Kiss or Not to Kiss

I have lived in France for half of my life. The last half. And in many ways I am probably more French than American. But I still feel like a foreigner here from time to time.
In France, greetings are very important. We always say hello to everyone with a handshake if they are strangers or we don't know them very well, and with a kiss on each cheek if they are friends or family. But when does a person change from one category to the other? That is the question.
Today we went to an end of the year barbecue with the families of the boys from Wesley's soccer team. For almost a year I have shaken the hands of these people, including the coaches. But today as we arrived at the soccer field, I was greeted with kisses by everyone. Even though I held out my hand. So, does the fact that we will be eating a meal together make us friends all of a sudden? Does anyone else think about this, or is it only me, the foreigner that tries to analyze this fact? Is it natural for them to switch from a handshake to kisses? Will it ever be natural for me?

Ups and Downs

No more braces for Peter!!!! Definitely an up!!!!

Wesley stopped Stéphane from making a goal while playing soccer a couple of weeks ago. The result? A broken wrist. That was a down day. But then again, Wesley has gotten out of doing alot of household chores... maybe a bit of an up after all? (Wesley is the green dwarf with the blue arm)