Sweet Sweet Summertime

The first Friday of July. The first day of summer vacation. School is out! Let the lazy mornings and relaxed playtimes begin. We'll be at the beach if you need us!

It's a tough life having just graduated from kindergarten. I'm so proud of her.

Les Kermesses 2011

Or End-of-the-School-Year-Parties...

They're usually before the last, last day of school.

They're a way to raise money for the school.

The kids usually have some sort of dance/song (very likely with coordinating costumes) prepared to show the parents.

It's a social event for the parents usually taking up an entire evening or even a Saturday afternoon, with food and drink (champagne and wine, anyone?) and fun.

Zachary's and Lily's kermesse(s) were both last week. Zachary's event didn't follow all these school-party rules, but that's probably because his little "school" is basically glorified babysitting (his "classmates" are 6 months to three years old). But for the event, Zachary's school yard was turned into a little petting zoo, with small farm animals brought in for the kids to touch and feed. Goats, chickens, pigs, and bunnies- the little kids loved it.

Lily's event took place on Friday night. There were games set up for the kids to play (the fund raiser part) and then everyone settled in to watch each class perform their song and dance on stage.

As I watched Lily on stage, I had tears in my eyes (every Mom does, right). She was so full of confidence (where does she get that?), so elated to be in front of an audience, dancing her little heart out. Her class dressed up like cave-men, and for the ages of the kids, (3-5 year olds), it was an impressive effort.

After all the classes had performed, most families stayed around for the bbq dinner and social hour.

We brought our American grill and Phil volunteered to help cook the 400 sausages. Of course everyone was amazed at the size of the grill...to us (americans) it's nothing big at all...but you would have thought Phil was Bobby Flay the way they went on and about it. I think he like the attention. Oh, and did you know the drink of choice for men bbq-ing in France is pink champagne??? I had to take a picture of Phil "drinking with the boys". "When in Rome," he told me, shaking his head.

I kept having "Look How Far We've Come" moments during Lily's party. I distinctly remember going to Lily's kermesse at her old school last year---I went alone with the kids, no one talked to us, and I barely made it to the car before I burst into tears. Oh what a difference a year makes, and maybe a new school too. This year, we were right in the middle of the action, Phil chumming it up with the PTA moms as he bbq-ed, Lily running around all night long with her big group of friends, and me, totally relaxed, talking to other Moms about summer plans. We left late this year, (soooo many people to talk to), and my heart was happy and full, appreciating to the deepest levels feeling a sense of belonging. (That's right, Lily's in kindergarten, but my social skills and needs are still at a high school level :)

Where have I been?

Well, it's lots of things really...

1. I talked to a friend and got scared about having too much of my life on the internet...but really, it's sorta late now to do anything about it.

2. I'm struggling with extreme fatigue and a "I want to do nothing at all" attitude. It's my thyroid stuff. I'm sure there is a problem with the dosage of my medicine. Nearly every afternoon I CRASH and COLLAPSE on my couch for a nap. And it's a lot easier to sleep than to get up the nerve to call a doctor in French and then have an appointment in French and then be talked to like I'm an idiot (which is pretty much how most French doctors talk to people). My contribution to getting better is putting myself on a gluten-free diet (some people think there is a link between an allergy/intolerance and thyroid conditions). It's pretty miserable not being able to eat the best bread in the world.

3. We've been busy. Phil came home early from Libya (fantastic) because Lily had surgery to remove her adenoids and tonsils, and put tubes in her ears.

Just before that, my sisters came for a week long visit--it can probably be said that I've never smiled more in France than I did during those eight days. Pure sister-bliss--lunches at restaurants, walks along the beach, and furniture purchases (A TABLE!!!)...oh yeah, and a getaway to Paris for three days.

Before they came, I had three different groups of friends come and visit--April was B&B month at the Hoblets. All of this is good, happy stuff.

4. It continues to be busy. Now that it's summer time, and the cigales are singing all day long, and the French have come out of their winter hibernation pattern, we are invited to, and hosting BBQ's every weekend. Our social calendar is full. Last weekend was a three day weekend and we had lunch and dinner engagements for all three days in row. It was incredible. And fun.

5. Which brings me to this...I'm so happy here. We have friends, our kids have friends. We have come to understand the lifestyle, we aren't fighting it anymore. And it's fabulous. This is the most beautiful place I've ever lived. It's the most agreeable climate I can imagine. Right now, I'm sitting inside with all the doors and windows open enjoying the breeze coming through the house...no bugs (very, very few bugs), no humidity, and eighty-five degrees, but just if you're in the sun, which is ALWAYS shining.

So there you go. I haven't been writing as much because I'm worrying about weirdos looking at our lives online, or I'm sleeping...when I'm not doing either of those two things we're out having a lunch at our friends house...and when we're not doing that, I'm soaking it all in, falling more and more in love with the life here in southern France. How's that for an update---Sarah is happy! But I will try and write more often.

A Sunday Snapshot

What is culturally universal...

A church youth-group having a bbq after the Sunday service in order to raise money for a summer camp. Check.

And the food is surprisingly pretty close to the same too. Hot dogs, sausage, chicken and chips. Check.

Something I have NEVER experienced at a church family bbq put on by the youth-group in the US... a glass of wine to go with THAT hot dog.

I saw the sign,and had a great laugh, imagining all the elder meetings and discord something like this could bring to a church in the US. The French (like the French evangelicals) aren't like that so much when it comes to wine. And it's sorta refreshing...refreshing like a cool, crisp rosé!

Grocery Store Friends

The kids and I have just enjoyed a marathon weekend of food and friends. We had a lunch on Saturday with a family from Lily's school. Saturday night I was invited to a dinner at my friend's house--the friend who invites me to all the art museum outings. Sunday we had lunch at friends' house--friends who have adopted the kids and me as a part of their family. Right from there, we left to go to a couple's house for the "gouter" (the French snack in the afternoon). I didn't cook all weekend long! And while I was still lonely for my husband, it was very nice to have fun people to see and places to go, making the weekend pass quickly. And can you believe it, all these people were French...

So, do we know people here? Yes. Are we making friends? Yes. Are beginning to feel embraced by the locals? Yes. And you know what? It wasn't just this past weekend's busy social agenda that confirms all of this...

I passed my "move every three year" test: Running into someone at the grocery store. It's only Tuesday, and this has happened twice already. More importantly, more than just seeing someone I know in the grocery store, these French friends seemed genuinely happy, interested, and went out of their way to acknowledge me.

I love feeling like I belong!

Answered Prayer

This adventure of living in France has been one of the most difficult and challenging things we have ever done in our lives, so we are trying to keep a journal (like a real book and not just a blog) of ways we have seen God open and close doors for us, guide our decisions, and precisely answer specific prayers. He does this ALL the time, but during difficult moments of transition, Phil and I are more tuned-in to His leading and made much more aware of our utter dependence upon it.

We've been here a year and half. And as we look back at that small amount of time, we can see His hand and His perfect provision for us in every way. It's faith-building stuff. Stuff that I want to write down and keep for my kids so I can say, "Look at what He did for us in the past! Our God has always been faithful to our family. He is always with us. And we can trust Him with what is to come."

Voilà, the story of Julie. It was early in September 2010 and we were preparing for Phil's upcoming deployment with the French Navy. I was seriously stressing. This was the third deployment since we got married, and I knew what was coming. Crazy loneliness, twenty-four-seven parenting/disciplining/consoling, and all of the running-a-household-responsibility falling to me. But I could do that. I have done that before. However this time, on top of all of that, I was going to be, pretty much, alone--a foreigner in France struggling with the language. Combined with another big issue-- I was soooo far from family and my support system.

So Phil and I started talking and praying about finding a girl to live me with during his mission. I really, really wanted someone French. I wanted someone who could help me with the language, help me on the phone, and someone who would know the system, the way, French people do things. I was really praying for a miracle and telling everyone I knew what I was looking for.

Through our tiny church of twenty-some people, we found Julie-- the daughter of an American missionary couple there. She was born and raised in Toulon. A Franco-American! She went to college in the US and was finished with her classes and looking for a job. A real job. Not a "nanny" job. She was so overqualified for what my "job" entailed. But as soon as I heard her name, I prayed and prayed and prayed for weeks that she would come back to France and live with me during the deployment.

And God answered that prayer. At the last minute, having never met us, she agreed to come! She stayed with me and the kids through the four months of Phil's planned deployment. And even more recently, she so graciously agreed to come back for a little bit of Phil's unplanned, new deployment (to Libya).

I'm will never be able to express how much she means to me. She helps me the kids and they adore her. She is longsuffering and gentle as she corrects my French as we talk (about 40% in French and 60% in English). She helps me make doctor's appointments on the phone and sometimes I practice my little speech with her before calling someone myself. She helps me correct emails I'm trying to write in French. She explains to me vocabulary I don't understand. She does the dinner dishes while I'm upstairs doing the whole, exhausting, bath/pj's/teeth/stories/bed thing. She helps me find places when I'm lost in Toulon. She has become a very close friend, something I don't really have here--seeing me, and my kids, at our worst, and encouraging me with her sweet smile and kind words. She has talked me off of on-the-edge-of-seriously-losing-it-craziness. She is a gift to me.

And bigger than Julie...bigger than how much she's helped me and encouraged me...is the bigness of my God who ALWAYS gives me His best. Who ALWAYS meets my every need. I will look back for the rest of my life at this time, "Phil's Deployments While in France", and think of the Julie. The gracious answer to a very specific prayer for a specific need. I will say to Lily and Zack with confidence and faith..."Look, remember what God has done for us...Remember how He sent us Julie? He is good-- hearing and answering our prayers...and we can trust Him with everything."

Sunny with a Little Sadness

It's been only four weeks, and the home-coming-honeymoon isn't anywhere close to being over. The kids love making pancakes on Saturday mornings with their Daddy.

And on Saturday afternoons, I love having leisurely French lunches with rosé. We were just settling into a nice family rhythm again. But the party is coming to an abrupt end tomorrow...

Right now our bedroom is filled with suitcases and pieces of uniforms as Phil learned Friday that he will be leaving with his French ship to head to Libya Sunday. Great. How long, we don't know? We're guessing three to six weeks. But who knows, in general, the French public support for the mission seems to be lacking.

It's a sunny day in Southern France. But the deployment, or "depointment" (as Lily calls it) cloud looms large again in this house.