Blizzard (well, almost!)

I love snow !!!! And I love pictures of snow, especially when my kiddos are in the pictures too. So here are a few of my favorites from today.

 Nathan

 Wesley

Laura

 Blizzard (the dog) : yes, he let them do this!

 Inside the barn.

 In the hay mow.

 This is the first time our kids have seen snow drifts here in France.

 Isatis

Україна

Philip and I are in Ukraine to start the adoption process for adopting a sibling group. We thought that while we are here we might as well enjoy ourselves! And Philip is discovering his roots! (remember, our last name IS Ukrainian!)

Borscht, pirogies, pickled mushrooms, beet salad, smoked chicken wings. Sort of a Flunch Ukrainian style!

 Dany Boon, a famous French actor, has made it all the way here!

Winter Wonderland

I love living in France and don't miss the US very often. But I do miss the weather sometimes. The hot Chicago summers and the cold, snowy winters! If it does snow here, it usually lasts 24 hours before a warm front comes through and turns it all to rain.

So our weather right now is pleasing!!! Just the way I like it!!!

Take snow, add cousins, friends and neighbors on a Sunday afternoon, and what do you get? A great time!

Our front yard.

 Sled dog in training.

 Before the fun begins.

 Betsy and I are just spectators. Or so we hope.

A shower for Wesley.

 Too much snow is not so fun.

 Unless it is on someone else!!! Ruben was too big to cry.

 Nathan's turn.

Gospel Concert

Just had an amazing weekend!!! Our church, to celebrate 20 years of existence, invited a Gospel choir from Paris for a concert. We organized the concert, housed and fed the singers, and got to be the ushers and ticket takers (free concert but we still had tickets). The choir sang beautifully to a full house. And not only did they sing gospel, but they shared the gospel as well. Very nicely intermingled with the history of slavery.
This is a picture of the workers, not the choir. A good portion of our church in Feignies.

Laura turns 13 !!!!

One of the fun things about big families is celebrating birthdays! Not only do we have plenty of birthdays to celebrate, but we have lots of family to celebrate with! Laura wanted her brothers to plan the games for her birthday party. They got off to a reluctant and last minute start, but they pulled it off, and Laura thinks they are the best brothers ever!

Peter's turn

Peter has been officially accepted to Operation Mobilization to join their ship ministry for two years!!! He needs to raise his support, and if all goes well, he will head to Germany in January for a two-week training session, and then join up with the Logos Hope, probably in Hong Kong.

Nice way to start the day

We live along the Sambre river, and BLF, where Philip works, is along the same river.
Philip tries to take his bike to work as often as possible. Or maybe I should say, as often as it isn't raining, which it quite often is here. We have had fantastic weather the past few days, and here is what he saw on his way to work this morning. What a way to start the day!