Mobility

Dreams of a White Christmas

Alina thinks her sister is a reindeer!

It snowed here! This is a pretty unusual occurance, as I may have said last year. Schools are closed, and my lessons are cancelled for tomorrow! The only downside is that we have our church Christmas program on Sunday, and we're pretty encouraged by the people we anticipate being there. If the snow and ice don't keep them away!

Flies

Last night, I was helping Tassia finish her dinner, and Alina was already up from the table. As she was playing in the kitchen, she suddenly looked up to me and said in near-perfect French, "Tous les mouches adorent les cacahuètes." "All flies love peanuts."

I had no idea.

Eating like a Big Girl

A Photographer I am not

The girls were given matching dresses, and I figured this was a good opportunity to take some photos. Armed with my matching subjects, my camera, and a neutral background, this is the best I could come up with...

Anatomy Lesson

Today, we were all 4 sitting around the table eating lunch. It became apparent at one point that Tassia was furnishing a great effort toward the accomplishment of a specific task. As we watched her grunt and turn red, Alina said, "Maybe bébé Tata tryin' to go poop out her nose." And, if that wasn't funny enough, she added after a slight pause, "Like the other day."

We're still trying to figure out what event she was referring to.

All's Quiet

at the Constantini house. OK, Alina is still talking herself to sleep, but hopefully it won't be long now. Recently we've started shooting for 8:00 as the girls' bedtime instead of 9:00. Somehow, when we moved the clocks back, someone forgot to tell 2 little bodies. So instead of dealing with Tassia falling asleep during dinner and then not being tired at bedtime, we've moved both dinner and bedtime up an hour. So far, it seems to work well.

Thomas is gone this evening. He's in Niort doing a conference. The title is, "Obama, a Calvinist in the White House?" The conference is organized by the Reformed Church in Niort, but it's been widely publicized and some of the people who are interested in our church will be there. Hopefully after this evening, there will be even more people interested in our church. Thomas gave them several possible subjects, all having to do with Jean Calvin or Calvinism. This year, of course, is the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth. They chose Obama. I'm not sure what Thomas is going to say, except that Obamas not exactly a Calvinist, but that Calvinism has had an influence on America and its politics.

Before dinner this evening, Alina and I watched, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." It's a bit early, but I was afraid it would be checked out from the library by the time it's actually officially the Christmas season. I must admit I was unprepared for the barrage of questions this sparked. "Mama, why was him mean? Why him take their Christmas tree? Why it needed fixed? Why him take their sleepy things? ("Those were candy canes, sweetie.") Why him put the dog in that red thing? Why that green thing tell me one story?" and to finish, "Me like it when him tell me one story. Dat mean him love me!"

Yes, Alina, the Grinch loves you.

To Piano or not to Piano?

We're getting a piano! We won't actually move it for a couple of weeks, but we agreed today to buy it! It was made ca. 1900, so it's lived a little bit. But that, to me, is a plus in an instrument. Here are some pictures:

Do you know what a piano is? It's an invitation. Who can walk by a piano with the lid up and resist playing a few keys? Very few people. A piano invites music, it inspires somehow. In a way the violin, even though I love the violin, does not. Maybe because it's never put away in a case. Or maybe because you push a key and the note is just...well...there. Anyway, we're going to have an invitation in our living room.

I could give you several reasons why it would have been better to go electronic. It's easier to move. It doesn't go out of tune. It's not so sensitive to hot, cold, and humidity. You can plug in earphones to play without disturbing anyone. But, I'm sorry. An electric piano is not a real instrument. You can't run your hand lovingly over the wood. You can't feel the vibration. It's an approximation of a piano. It's not a real piano.

We now own a real piano. It needs tuned. Badly. It needs repaired. It has silly bronze candleholders on it. But it's beautiful.

Tassia's First Tooth

just came in today. Tooth #2 will probably not be far behind. It's been a (relatively) painless process, at least for us. No out-of-control-grumpy baby. No flaming red cheeks. No runny noses. No fever. Maybe it's the amber necklace she's been wearing, or maybe it's just luck. At any rate, we're not going to remove the necklace.

Gardening with Missia'

Bunny Fun

Our First Halloween

You know what's great about America? During fall and winter, we have a holiday on average every 4 weeks. Halloween...Thanksgiving...Christmas... In France, Halloween is not common, and Thanksgiving is not celebrated. But, we decided that, since our girls are American, they should celebrate Halloween. So we did.

In order to be correctly celebrated, Halloween has to be a community thing. Here, if it is observed, it is mostly by families with young children, ie the people doing the receiving of the candy. While we were out this evening, I saw several cases of families or groups of kids knocking on door after door and getting no answer. Because the older generations, those who would otherwise be giving the candy, don't celebrate Halloween. Because it's an importand holidy and therefore a recent addition and they're just not used to celebrating it. We crossed paths with one mom pushing a stroller and accompanying a young witch. She asked, "You having any luck?" I smiled and said, "We're only going to houses where we know the people and where we've warned them ahead of time." We talked to Thomas's parents and grandma and a couple of friends yesterday and asked them if we could stop by with our little princess(es). They said sure. Somehow, we didn't get a picture of the princess in her costume, but you've seen the princess and the costume in a previous post.

Alina made out like a bandit. Her grandparents and great-grandma, either because they didn't quite understand the concept, or because they were purposefully avoiding candy, got her presents. The neighbors who gave us our cat included a few candies, but also another present. And the other neighbors decided that since Alina wouldn't be visiting very many houses, they would single-handedly make her trick-or-treating worthwhile.

Since we were perpetuating American traditions, I made chocolate chip cookies this afternoon. We left a little packet of cookies everywhere we stopped. That's a bit atypical as far as Halloween behavior is concerned, but I felt good about making the whole thing sort of an exchange. Anyway, a good time was had by all. The only downside is that our pumpking somehow ended its short life splattered on the street. We're not sure if it did that itself or if it had some help. Oh, well.

Goin' to the Zoo, zoo, zoo

Alina has discovered my favorite Peter, Paul and Mary album, "Peter, Paul, and Mommy." Her favorite songs are "Goin' to the Zoo" and "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (no, no, it's not about pot). This sparked the following conversation:

ALINA: Me would nike to go to the zoo with Grandma-Grandpa.

ME: Well, the next time they come, we can probably go to the zoo.

ALINA: You would drive. Grandpa would sit by you. Grandma would sit by me and Bébé Tata!

ME: There's just one problem. Where will Papa sit?

ALINA: Him would walk.

Have a nice walk, Thomas...

Tassia's sixth month

Tassia is a funny kid. She has discovered that she can blow raspberries. She will lay on her back, stick out her tongue, and blow so intensely that, not only is her chin and upper lip covered with spit, as you might expect, but she also has spit in her eyelashes and hair. She thinks it's just great when I blow raspberries back. She's started eating applesauce and other mushy fruits. It seems to me that she's much more excited about solid food than Alina was at this age. I made the mistake yesterday of peeling a banana for myself while holding her in my arms. Have you ever seen a six-month-old try to bite a chunk out of a banana? The banana-eating process ended up taking a lot longer and being a lot messier than I had expected. She's started to hold herself up in a sitting position unassisted. She's fascinated by Pongo, and also by her older sister. She is capable of rolling over, but seems to have forgotten that. It's probably been a couple of weeks since she's actually done it. We keep expecting that first tooth any day now. For now, her eyes are still blue, but I expect they will darken. Her hair isn't exactly blonde, but it's pretty light. Which is easier to tell now that there is a bit more of it. She has foiled our hopes of having a baby that takes consistent naps. If anything, she actually sleeps less than Alina. How is that possible? Who knows.

Alina's 3! (II)

Alina is 3. Her favorite color is pink, the color of the new bike she got for her birthday. Ever since receiving said bicycle, she wears her helmet almost non-stop, and bugged me this morning until I let her go out and ride it before church. Her favorite number is 8. On any clock, or on her new watch, she'll be happy to tell you when one of the hands is on the 8. Her aspirations are, when she grows up, to be a star, a swan, Bob the Builder, the blue cat, a mama, and a Mina. She often insists on being called Alina Cat, Alina Butterfly, or Alina Spider. She loves her little sister, and often gives her kisses or affectionate bonks on the head. She is a bit confused, although relieved, that she didn't have to get another Band-Aid on her tooth. She misses her Grandma and Grandpa, and often suggests that we go visit them. Often when her Mama objects to something she wants to do, she says, "Silas likes to do that." Her progress in both French and English is astounding. Sometimes, if I didn't understand what she said in English, she'll repeat it to me in French, and has begun to ask, "How do you say that in French (or English)?" She asks lots of questions about God, notably about how we can't see him right now. Her favorite Bible stories are the bobo-girl and the one where God gets a present. (Go try looking those up in your concordance!) She has a plastic giraffe named Gang-gang-doyoyo. In her tummy, she has her Baby Tata, her Baby Hannah, and her Baby Henri, who don't like to eat crepes and who get tired whenever Alina doesn't want to do something.

She's a beautiful little girl and a great big sister, and we thank God for 3 wonderful years with her so far!

3...and 6 months!

Alina's tent:
A princess, suspenders and all!

Alina's 3!

Random

Thomas refuses to let me call him the Rev-ster.

Today, Alina said, "Pongo can lick his bottom!" to which Thomas replied, "Yes, he can because he's a cat. Can you do that?" Now, everybody reading this knows that the expected reply is no, but is this really the sort of question one wants to ask a three-year-old?

Also today, Alina found a little box in which she had imprisoned a ladybug some time ago. The poor insect has long since made its way to the happy meadow in the sky. When Alina looked at it, Thomas said, "Um, it's...sleeping." To which Alina immediately replied, "It's DEAD!"

Our cat is infested with fleas. I've had cats and dogs all my life and I had never before seen a flea. This is no longer the case.

I was helping Thomas with something, and he was disturbed to realize that I didn't know how to spell sacrament.

Mean

As I was helping Alina into bed for the second time tonight, I noticed that the wooden toy animal that had accompanied her to bed the first time was nowhere to be seen.

ME: Alina, where is your donkey?

ALINA: Him was mean.

ME: (Looking around) Did you throw him on the floor? (This is the fate that often befalls toys that are deemed "mean.")

ALINA: No, me put him in ma oven.

This does not bode well. At what age can one start conflict management classes?

Organization

Organization. Yes, that's what I need. Organization.

I started teaching again this week. I think it's been a bit stressful for everyone involved. Let's see. Tassia cries every time I leave the room where she is. Which makes it really fun when I'm gone for 3 hours at a time. Alina has entered into a new phase of relationship vocabulary. Which means that she now can tell me, "Me love you. Me going for miss you," as she's sobbing because I'm going to go teach. Promising her her very own violin lesson every day only helps slightly. And I'm suddenly realizing how invaluable my crockpot is going to be this school year.

The vast majority of my students from last year are back, and I have 7 beginners, plus another new-to-me student. Just to give you and idea, the 2 previous years I only had 2 beginners each year. I've also agreed to do daycare music programs. This will involve singing, banging on drums, shaking maracas, tambourines, or bells, and other such pleasantries. Only at this point, I don't actually know what I'm doing. I'm sure it will all come together somehow.

I've also had to purposefully make up my schedule to include nursing breaks. Good thing my inlaws live close enough to where I teach for them to bring me Tassia or for me to go to them. But we start applesauce soon.

Movie star Alina

Photogenic?

You know, when you take pictures, you want them to look like this:

But, often they look like this:

Or this:

Or even this:

Hooray!

I haven't written much about our church recently. This is not because nothing is happening. Up until last Easter, the only people in the pews of our church on a given Sunday who were not retired were named Constantini. At Easter, we had a family with 3 boys start coming. They come faithfully every week and are eager to get involved. Recently, another woman has started coming with her 2 children and her elderly mother. She has been without a church home for quite some time. She is going through a difficult time right now and says she is extremely grateful to have found us. Last Sunday, we had 7 kids in church, and none of them were visitors!

Tonight, Thomas is in Saint-Maixent, a town about 30 minutes away from Melle having our first-ever Saint-Maixent Bible study. It "just happens" that all of these new members, as well as another of our most dynamic members live in this town and were all eager to meet together on a regular basis.

We're really encouraged by this and excited about the possibilities for future growth, both individually and numerically. If you pray, please keep our church in your prayers.

Cuties

Not for the weak-stomached

ALINA: Me went prout the other day. (Prout being kiddie-slang French for having gas.)

ME: Oh, really?

ALINA: Me was in ma bed, and me heard a noise at my bottom...Mama, why you laughin'?

Porridge

I've got a theory. I think that for me (and I believe I am not alone), fairy tales are almost as much about the words you use as about storyline. I mean, think about it. The Three Bears could eat anything for breakfast: ham and eggs, waffles, chicken fried steak, oatmeal. But in every rendering of The Three Bears you've ever read, they eat porridge. I submit to you the theory that Goldilocks and the Three Bears is not Goldilocks and the Three Bears unless someone says, "Somebody's been eating my porridge."

The giant doesn't have to say "Fi, Fie, Fo, Fum." Or the Gingerbread Man "Run, run, as fast as you can..." "The better to eat you with, my dear." "Not by the hear of my chinny-chin-chin." These phrases make these stories what they are.

Here's my dilemma. Alina just received a couple of books of fairy tales. In French. In French, the giant is not a master of alliteration. The bears eat bouillie. The Gingerbread Man has to change what he says depending on if he's using tu for one person following, or vous for multiple people.

It's just wrong.

Thomas can read them to her in French if he wants, but I think I'll continue telling the stories in English while turning the pages at the appropriate point in the story.

Random America Pictures

A Promise Kept (Almost)

I practiced every day last week except Sunday. Now, here goes for this week!

Meow...

...or should I say, hello! My name is Pangoban, or Pongo for short. At least that's what they keep calling me here where I'm living now, at the Constantini's. They had a long discussion and kept talking about some movie, Brendan and the Secret of Kells, that they really liked. I guess there's a cat in that movie, and they decided to name me after him.

Like most cats, I prefer to keep an aura of mystery about myself. Therefore, we will skip over my early life. Suffice to say that I am between 18 months and 2 years old, and that I was recently living in a campground. A nice lady and her daughter came to the campground. They fed me and, when it was time for them to go, they decided to take me with them. They brought me to a town called Melle, and even took me to a cat-doctor, to make sure I was fit to live with humans.

It could have been very nice living with their family. There was just one problem. They already had a cat, and I hate other cats. Hissssssss. We didn't get along at all. I spent 2 dreary weeks living in their basement until, one day, they put me in a little cage and brought me here, to the Constantini's. I had met these people before. They had come to the basement and let their little girl pet me. But, how was I to know they had actually come on purpose to meet me, to see if I would fit in with their family?

You'd probably like to know about my tail, wouldn't you? Well, the cat-doctor said it looks like it is probably a malformation I've had since birth. And, if that isn't the truth, I'll never tell!