Christmas Puzzle and Kids

This was a quite Christmas. 

The Browns visited for a few days the week-end before. 

We played games and talked and ate some yummy food with the Johnson's.

Their trip a little too short! 

This is our traditional puzzle this year I missed Justine helping me... 

Emric and Amelie helped a little but I pretty much did it all by myself!

On Christmas Eve, we watched - I mean, I and Amelie watched - "It's a wonderful life"

Emric and Mike watched an old Star Wars!

We watched also a short version of 'The Nativity'

But the BEST part was getting to Skype with Justine for an hour!

She is happy and doing well and it warms our hearts!

Then after Christmas, Alexi and Heavena came. 

They brought a little cooler weather with them,

(80's and 100% humidity was too hot and weird in December!)

Provo MTC With Aunt Linda

Justine with our dear family friend Linda Bang Ludlow!

Lat time Justine saw her she was a little girl in Ohio.

She had adopted our family and loved on us and our kids when we moved from 

Salt Lake City to Ohio.

She had been Mike's 5th grade teacher in Utah years and years ago!

We had ended up in the Montgomery Ward together.

We have very found memories with her.

We love her to Bits!

Alexi and Justine would spend some one on one time with her over at her little apartment 

with her birds, and she would spoil them with fun!

Drawing, treats, reading books, popcorn with disney videos,

and especially a lot of LOVE

She was such a wonderful addition to our life!

We love her dearly...

Alexi

Here are my favorite pictures of Alexi.

I love my firstborn.

The first to teach me what it means to be a mother.

Stretching my capacities to love, care & protect another more than oneself.

Freely forgiving me for my mothering blunders and shortcomings.

I loved his long morning hugs as he woke up, it was the first thing he did: 

Hug his mommy.

I don't remember when those daily hugs stopped.

Alexi as a kid, always had a curious-fun-inquisitive-quick mind,
knew what he wanted and gave it 100%.

Now a man, dealing with a lifelong disease, he is an example of quiet courage, endurance and hope.
Oh and still has a fun quick mind! :)

New Year's Movie & Family Time

As tradition would have it, we went to see a family movie on New Years day.

At the Dinner and a movie theater.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

A Great Refreshing Beautiful Family Movie.

We LOVED it! 

I also lOVED spending this day all TOGETHER!

(we were a little squished in the 5 seater car the 6 of us! Emric was at a new year's party with freinds.)

We are so blessed to have such a beautiful Family!
I am blessed to have such a wonderful life companion...

 Sisters

Healthy Living Heritage

Good tasty food is a guilty pleasure of mine.

I love good food.

I've always been interested in healthy living, and have strived to make it my lifestyle.

It started early in my youth, having a fit active hard working father, and a mother who created wonderful tasty healthy meals from whole foods - a big portion of which were home grown and raised.
One way I knew she loved us kids was by her diligent dedication
in feeding us and making such wonderful food.
She would often ask me what I wanted to eat and a few days later,
there would be the requested dish for dinner!

We always had:

* Regular meals as a family

* A vegetable garden & fruit trees - I would often sometimes help plant, weed, 

water, pick, cut and help can our goodies.
My favorite caned good would be the cherries from our Cherry tree or the plums...

* Chickens
 I loved collecting the fresh eggs as a kid!

And lets not talk about how much I loved the oven roasted young chickens from heaven where a few of us 4 kids would fight for the golden delicious drumsticks!

* Ducks
The baby ducklings were too adorable!

* Rabbits
 So cute as babies, which I was careful not to get too attached to as they ended up in a
delicious stew on my dinner plate!

* And the occasional goat
Fresh goat cheese, which I never ate as a kid, I soooo regret it now!

Let's face it, French cooking and food is the best on the planet!

We were not "rich" as to money but "rich" as to food goodness! 

Our physical needs were always met, I never had to go to bed hungry.

I feel so blessed to have had such examples in my early years.

And blessed to have grown up in France.

Merci Maman et Papa!

I strive to pass on a little bit of this way of living to my kids.

It hasn't been without challenges.
We had dinner every night as a family and I am saddened that this tradition has been mostly lost...

SometimesI think that I have failed in so many ways...

I feel sad to think that this healthy heritage from my parents will be lost.
But there is always hope... Especially as you kids get older.

Also I've had some picky eaters - you know who you are!
Amelie has been my try-everything-eat-salad-and-fruit kid from the time she was a baby!

There are other food influences in our home that have not been cultured in quite the
same way in their upbringing. 

[Food 'snobness' intended]

I find the American way of eating not the best to say the least.

And yes, a lot of it has influenced our eating as it is often fast, instant and convenient.

I hope my Kids - you reading this? - will see some value in what I have tried to teach them and feed them. Even if it's later on in life.

My philosophy has been.

Try it. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. 

But try it again later on, then again and again. 

One day you may like it.
Partake of Mother Earth's goodness!

 I was a little picky as a child too - for french standards - and now regret not eating all the wonderful things my maman would make.

Splashtown

We all spent a day at Splash Town!

What a day that was!

The kids and uncle Jean Claude (well besides his moment of culpability towards Nat) had lots of fun!

Nat and I had fun for about 30mn, then got on a way scary water ride for her. 

(She is not comfortable in water at all, 

never been on water rides but a small one at the pool this past week )

We all told her it wasn't too scary... And we would be together.

I had been on it once and didn't remember it was so intense!

As soon as we got to the first dip, I saw right away the expression of terror on her face.

I felt every jerk and sensation as if I was her and was terrorised myself!

It was as if time was in slow motion and there was nothing I could do to make things better!

I was powerless! 

I wanted the ride to end, or better yet to never have happened!

She trusted us not to put her on such a ride.

There are no words for how I felt. 

I betrayed her, I let her down, didn't protect her...

I thought she was going to go home early and our friendship would be damaged forever!

Sometimes our actions and mistakes are not reversible... 

We are powerless and at the mercy of the other party to forgive us when 

we do not deserve forgiveness...

I felt that she was never going to forgive me.

But she did.

******

It brought back memories of when we were teens and I went over her

10 story apartment balcony banister with nothing to restrain or protect me.

I just held on tight to the banister.

I could have fallen to my death!

I thought it was funny to scare her... 

Well it was not.

I scared myself years later when I had my first child and rethought of the moment of 

stupid unsafe dare devil prank!

Please think twice before you do dangerous stuff that might hurt those you love or yourself!

******

Nat felt better after some rest in the shade, some water, some ice cream, 

a dip in the lazy river, lunch at Panera Bread and a trip to the mall.

She really had her breath knocked out of her!

*******

Now whenever I drive by Splash Town and see the giant ride where this happened 

I think of how powerless I felt, and I think of Nat and how terrified she was 

and also of her willingness to forgive...

Merci Nat!

A Long Awaited Big Brother Visit

Finally, it happened...

My big brother, Jean Claude and my BFF his wife Nat came to visit.

Yes, my brother married my best friend of my teens!

We met and became friends when we were 15 years old!

She married my brother when she was 19.

So awesome!

I got to keep her in my life!

Anyhow, this is the first time Jean Claude comes and visits me in the States!

I have to mention that I have always looked up to the guy my whole life, 

he has always been a good example to me. 

I didn't always know, or chose to forget, or see the mischief he got himself into as a kid and teen.

To me he was the perfect big brother.

Haha!

Anyway, I have fond memories of him playing board games with us younger siblings, 

granted he would always win - it is a major accomplishment if any of us beat him at a board game!

We played games like Rat Race, Risk, Monopoly, Hide and seek, cards...

 I would even play with him the "Tour de France" he would paint mini toy racing bikes, 

and would make tracks/parcourt in the sand and we would race them with a marbles.

 I would always often just play with him knowing I was going to lose, 

just to please him and spend time with him.

One of my favorite games, was playing tag when we were out at parks and lakes and there where Jungle Jim's around, we would play like little kids even thought we were in our late teens...

Other kids (and older kids), would watch us envious and want to join in!

He would make me laugh to the point that I would fall on the floor!

He still makes me laugh...

He would always want me to feel his leg muscles!

We would also have wrestle and tickle matches.

I hated being pinned down and tickled! 

...The elephant, the snakes, the ants!

When I turned 19 he couldn't pin me down anymore! :)

We would have swimming races, I didn't always lose in that competition!

I was fast! 

No wonder my kids are good swimmers!

He would also tease me like brothers do, but in a nice way...

Except when he would tell me all excitedly: 

"Vite viens voir!" - "Hurry, come and look!" 

 And I would come and he would show me his big turd in the toilet! 

Eventually, I learned that, if he was in the bathroom, that was always the big surprise!

He would try and gross me out, especially at the dinner table!

Another fond memory was the times spent in the car as he would take me 

to church youth socials and dances when I was old enough. 

We would drive as far as Paris, Nancy, Belgium...

Or to dances in little village around where we lived...

I would ask him questions, any questions, spiritual, historical, philosophical, about faith and God... 

And he would take the time to patiently answer, it meant a lot to me, 

and was part of building my testimony and beliefs.

I'm gratefull I had him as a big brother...

And that my kids can get to know him a bit better and see how fun he is.

At the Houston Temple

The Swim Team Breast Stoke Beast

 Swim Team started again at the end of April.

After school practices, Saturday morning meets.

Justine is actually working this year for the pools again.

 She has been assigned to help with our swim team!

Life has gotten a little more busy.

I don't mind, because I love swim team! 

I've been taking the kids to practices and meets for the past 15 years. 

(Minus one year, the year we moved to Texas.)

I love the benefits and what the kids get from it:

* Team spirit. 

* Keeps them busy during the summer vacation.

* Uses up energy.

Well, not so for our 10-year-old-super-energised-girl.

She can go from a 7 hour swim meet; 7:30am till 3pm, 

to playing for an hour at the pool; 5 to 6pm, 

to a ward picnic 6 to 7:30, 

( all In the texas heat)

to a rollerskating party 7:30 till 10pm!

That day just about killed Mike and I!

* Exercise.

* Endurance & hard work.

* Strength.

* Discipline.

* Learning from great coaches.

* Cheering team mates. 

* Seeing us cheer for them, in a loud way!

(not that they hear us when they are in the middle of a race)

*Self Improvement.

Always stretching one self to beat your own time.

* Healthy good old Competition.

* Family time.

This year Amelie surprised us all by being so close to the pool record in Breast stroke at 18.78 

Pool record in her age group 17.44 including the boys 9-10!

This year she beats them all!

It just happened out of the blue in the 1st meet!

So little, yet a B E A S T in breast stroke!

That girl is all muscle!

Emric is pretty good in Breast too.

Here, she is the fast one in lane 3.

Mother's Day Spur of the Moment Photo Shoot & Ramblings

After all the photos we took with my phone, I decided to bring out the big camera.
Sure, we could have thought about matching outfits, but we didn't,
and it's OK because they turned out pretty cute in black and white!

I've been using my neglected Canon Rebel with my 50mm 1.4 a little more...

I do love the photos it produces.
I think I had it on the wrong ISO like at 800...
Oups!

*****

I love photos.

Photos are awesome for capturing life as we live it and personalities.

It is such a big part of who I am.
I may not be this powerful woman with a carrier or medals or tons of achievements and worldly success.
But I have my family and I will certainly leave behind lots of photos! :)
I love life.

I love capturing life and recording it.
I love Journals.

Since the age of 14 I have kept records, in Journals and now in blog format.
I love blogging.
I blog and record and snap because unfortunately our memories don't get better with age,
like french cheese.

I love french fromage. With french crusty baguettes.

*****

This is a sample of some of my favorites
I'm uploading all of them on google+

There that does it!

To make mother's day even better, I wish Alexi would have been with us!

My thoughts were with him.
Love ya Lexi!