The joys of nice weather

We finally bought our return tickets and it’s starting to feel more real that we will be leaving in less than 3 months!

On Wednesday Benjin flew in from America and we met up with him at the metro stop on our way back from a grocery run. We were all so happy to have daddy home!! We made a picnic lunch and walked down to a park near Benjin’s work and just relished in the fabulous weather and the fact that we were once again all together. In the evening I walked with the boys over to a park right at the foot of the Chateau Vincennes. The weather was perfect, and we found a delightful little bamboo forest that the boys loved running through. It was one of those moments where everything just feels right.

On Friday we took advantage of the weather again by doing a spontaneous park lunch meet up. In the evening we met up at that same park to rent some row-boats. While waiting for Benjin, however, we ran into one of the boys from Gideon’s class (“Adon” – AKA Adam). I got to chat with his mom for a minute and Gideon and Pierce commenced to play with Adam for a long time. They LOVED it. It felt so good to see them playing with other kids. Finally, we decided it was time to head out and had to pull the boys away from the big group of kids that had accumulated. We went over to the lake, rented a rowboat named “Hercule” and all hopped in. Unlike the US, the boys were not given life jackets, so we were a little bit nervous about Pierce attempting a spontaneous belly flop. But, the boys did very well. Benjin was the muscles behind our voyage (with a little help from Gideon and Pierce.) I, meanwhile, got to sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful ride. We saw lots of blooming flowers, swans, and an island full of peacocks, etc. I know I overuse this word, but it really was magical.

Saturday we went to a local Saint Mande Family festival. It was Olympics themed and had Olympic activities for all the kids. Gideon got to run a race where he carried a pretend torch and Pierce participated in the “baby Olympics” obstacle course. It was delightful to see all the people from our little community who we have grown to love. We saw our favorite policeman/crossing guard who adores Pierce and always calls him “mon pote.” Gideon got to hang out with tons of kids from his school and we got to talk to their parents. We saw our friends that run the ludoteque and have them give us the inside scoop. It was fantastic.

From there we had to rush home, throw a lunch together and race off to catch the train to the temple. It was our ward’s temple trip and three of our temple prep students were planning on being endowed. We got to the temple just in time and Benjin was kind enough to watch the kids so that I could go in with our ward. Once again, it was such a beautiful thing to see so many people that I have come to love all in the same place. When I got out, I took the boys home and Benjin did some baptisms.

 

Sunday was a day I had been dreading because I had been asked to give a talk. I was so nervous!! I had tried to write it multiple times, but my computer repeatedly deleted all my progress. But, thanks to prayer and google translate, I was able to give the talk in French and people assured me they understood! Additionally, we had our last priesthood prep class and we gave out framed temple photos of the Paris temple to our Temple prep students.

 

On Monday Gideon attended his first day of a week-long horse-riding field trip. Every morning for the next week he gets to go to a local pony farm and ride ponies with all the other 4-year old’s at his school. I don’t have any experience with pre-school in the states, but I feel like that is a remarkable thing for a pre-school class to attempt! It is amazing to look back and remember how much anguish I had over Gideon’s school and whether I was doing the right thing, because now I feel so incredibly grateful for the remarkable experiences, he has had at Tillion. He has grown leaps and bounds in so many ways.

Benjin picked up Gideon from his horse-riding field trip and raced home to have lunch with my cousin, Elder Stewart who is a missionary in the Paris mission and got permission to meet up with us on his P-day. It was brief, but fun to catch up with him and hear about all the great work he has been engaged in and how he is getting ready to head home.

In many ways this week has felt like a final exam or the culmination of so many things from our time in France. It has been so rewarding to realize just how much we have grown to love our community here. From the crossing guards to our ward family and Gideon’s class mates to workers at the ludoteque, we really have finally started to feel like we are beginning to belong…just in time for us to start to think about moving back home. Isn’t that always how it works? Right when we start to feel comfortable, right when we start to have friends or start to understand the language or figure out our job or our calling, that is when we are thrown into another new grand adventure.

Bisous!

La famille Facer