Thanksgiving

It's too early, you say.  Yes, it's not yet the holiday.  But there's no reason why I can't be thankful today.  To give some background:  I spent a good part of the late afternoon combing hair for lice.  By the time the process was finished, I realized my throat was sore from yelling at the girls so much.  At which point Thomas (without a hint of sarcasm, honest!) pointed out that I'm the one going around telling everyone to be thankful.  So, was I?  It's true.  I've been thinking a lot about being thankful over the last few months.  So, although I probably failed the thankful test during the combing process, here is why I can still be thankful.

1.  If I was spending so much time combing, it's because I have 3 little girls.  I haven't forgotten the point in our lives where we weren't sure we'd have any children.  We have not one, not two, but three miraculous gifts from God.

2.  If they have lice, it's because they have hair.  It doesn't take much browsing on the internet to know that if a post or an article or a comment is accompanied by a picture of a child with no hair, it's probably not a happy one.  Our children are in good health, and their hair is part of the proof!

3.  They do have gorgeous hair.  Three colors, three textures, but gorgeous, gorgeous, and gorgeous.

4.  I live in a country where there's good medical care and pharmacies where one can purchase (not-always-effective) lice treatment and special combs.  

5.  Gotta be thankful for the comb!

6.  They're alive.  There are over a hundred families in Paris that can't say that about their loved ones tonight.  Then also, part of the combing took place in front of a

7.  roaring fire in our

8.  beautiful house.  And, when I realized that the combing was taking longer than expected (2 hours for baths and de-licing seemed reasonable at the time), my

9. amazing husband offered to go and get

10.  frozen pizzas and ice cream.

There you have it.  I may not be thankful for all things, but I can learn to be thankful in all things. 

Vacation and La Rochelle

It's been vacation time here for the last 2 weeks.  We needed a break, and we have had a very enjoyable one.  Here are some of our fun times:

 Tassia's not very happy about getting eaten by a giant ant.

 She was very creative at the beach, however.  This is some of her artwork from close up.  Below is the entire work from a bit farther away.

Beware of geeks bearing gifts?

Alina's 9...I mean, 8!

Hello, it's been a long time since I've posted anything...  Here are some pictures of Alina's latest birthday.  She's now 9, but, shhhhh, don't tell her.  Actually, since her favorite number is 8, she has insisted that she will never be 9, but will remain 8 for the rest of her life.  She was VERY upset when she received a birthday card saying "Happy 9th birthday."  Very upset.

 Everyone needs their crown and jewels when they drink hot chocolate, right?

And we spent all morning putting together the ranch of her dreams!

Forest Frolic

 It's starting to feel a bit like spring here.  Above, admire Alina's floral artwork.  Right underneath the crown, you'll see Tassia's second missing tooth.  Below, this is the picnic that Sybille invited me to:

Bon appetit!

 Over our recent vacation, we went to see the Hermione, that was making a stop in La Rochelle.  This ship is the exact reconstruction of the ship that the General de La Fayette used to bring troops over to the English colonies that were fighting for their independence.  We thought that as a Franco-American family with a little passion for history, that this was a must-see.

 So, here she is, and below is a view of La Rochelle:

 Here she is at sunset:

 This is in case they meet any enemies (and also, they realized that they needed the weight of the canons to make the boat navigable.)

She'll be in NYC for July 4th, if all goes on schedule!

All Through the Night