Magique!

This Wednesday we finally cashed in on our tickets from Papa Noel and headed to Disneyland Paris!! As you might imagine it was so incredibly fun! The weather was perfect, the crowds were manageable and the boys were in heaven. Favorites included battling Zurg on the Buzz Lightyear ride (especially because we found it hilarious to hear Buzz speaking French), watching Mickey and Donald dance around during two different shows, driving crazy on the slinky-dog ride, pretending to be mice on the Ratatouille ride and of course repeatedly letting the boys drive us around Autopia. We pushed it hard with no stops for lunch or dinner (just eating while in line) but the boys did not complain. They were all in on the magic of rides, characters and fun. 

It was not only fun for me to see the boys eating up the magic of Disney, but I also got a little emotional feeling proud to be from the country that had produced this magical dreamland. It was incredible to walk around and meet people from the UK, Spain, Basque country, France, Korea, etc and to see how people from all over the world were being influenced by the magic of Disney. I feel so grateful to come from a country that encourages imagination, creativity, dreams and childhood magic. At Disneyland Paris we got a small taste for how that has influenced the world for good. 

Thursday night was Gideon's "spectacle." We all met up at the Marie (townhall -- which happens to be just around the corner from our house) and watched all the 4-5 year olds tear it up on stage. They sang/danced to songs from different cultures including "head, shoulders, knees and toes" from England which Gideon had loved practicing because the french accent made them sound like they were singing "mouse" instead of mouth. In the final number they did some partner dancing. Gideon's partner was his friend Charlotte (who is half American) and together they had some mean heal taps! Magical is really the only way to describe the scene. Seeing our little boy up on stage in the classy Saint Mande town hall, dancing and singing in different languages with all of his friends that we have grown to love, was spectacular. It was the perfect way to celebrate how far we have come. 

Unfortunately, with that celebration came the reality that all good things come to an end and Friday was Gideon's last day at Tillion (Ecole Maternelle). It felt surreal to drop him off for the last time, park his scooter for the last time, pick him up for lunch for the last time, repeatedly force Pierce in and out of the stroller for the last time, etc. Our experience with french school has certainly not been smooth sailing, but looking back we are so grateful for all we have learned and the people we have grown to love. When I picked him up from school at the end of the day he told me about the going away party that the class had thrown and how he had gotten to pass out the American candies I had sent with him to school. Then we took a picture with his teacher and as we were walking out of the school gates we saw his friend Charlotte bawling. Her dad explained that she was sad that Gideon was going to leave and asked if we could exchange addresses to keep in touch. We did, but that did not stop the torrent of emotions freely flowing from poor sweet Charlotte. Finally she declared, "I don't want him to leave because I love him!" Gideon was unsure of how to comfort his dear emotional friend, but finally after coaxing her into taking a picture with him, she was able to accept her fate and head home. Although it was heartbreaking to see Charlotte so sad, there was also something magical about this too. Again, I couldn't help but compare this scene with a few months ago when Gideon was crying because he felt like he had no friends and no one wanted to play with him. What a remarkable transformation. That evening we all went to the ludotheque to celebrate. 

Saturday we cleaned up and I took the boys to the park while Benjin studied. Then Benjin took Gideon to the baptism of a little girl in our ward. Pierce and I then met up with them on the RER train and rode the rest of the way to our friend's house for dinner. Our friends are originally from Poland/the DR so the conversations were an interesting mix of french and Spanish. They made us an incredible spread of food and Gideon/Pierce took FULL advantage of the chip bowl laid out as an appetizer. Every time I gear up for one of these types of multi-lingual social interactions I get nervous because I just can't see how it is going to not be terribly awkward with our language/cultural limitations. But, the magic kept going because we had a lovely time! It didn't mean there weren't any awkward pauses or unfortunate mistakes (like the time I mixed up the french word pere with the spanish word perro and ended up referring to someone's dad as their dog) but the magical thing was that that didn't matter. Through their service, openness, kindness, etc, we could feel their love and left feeling overwhelmingly grateful for their friendship. 

Finally, Sunday Benjin gave a fabulous talk in church about how even seemingly insignificant lives can make a generational impact. We then came home and had a quick surprise visit from my uncle Jared. It was so fun to catch up. I will miss living in a destination city.

Just as Jared was leaving our friends the Mourier family arrived for dinner. They are such an impressive and delightful family. We are so grateful for their friendship. We had a blast chatting in french and english and having their kids practice their duolingo english with us. Once again being surrounded by good friends feels like magic. 

So, whether you are going to Disneyland or hanging out with friends and family, we hope you feel a little bit of magic this week. 

Bunches of bisous, 

La Famille Facer