I Picked This Flower For You Mommy!

Great Time In France

We had a great lunch with friends in France. Two of the boys came two years ago to Portland, and this summer-their brothers, plus another will join us this summer. The house is a traditional (french) Basque style home-often times the shutters are painted red or green. Lovely!!!

Poco a Poco

I thought i'd put in a picture of where Gerald and I spend our mornings. We are meeting with a great spanish tutor. Every day we get spanish, plus a history lesson (in spanish.) I am eating it up!!!

Okay, Now You Can Have Dessert.

Que Guapo!

Gerald in his "office." This guy is one hard working man. My favorite is the phone calls that he gets (upwards of 8 a day.) "OH! Si, Si, Si, Si....uh....repeate por favor. Mas despacio, por favor. Uno mas vez, por favor." He is enjoying these phone calls from parents with questions for sending their kids to the U.S. this summer because it is improving his spanish. Or...scaring the parents??? Buen Trabajo Gerald!!!

PROGRESS

Jenni now answers our home phone when it rings!

Surf Art

Surfing is like art. Painters look at creation around them and are inspired to replicate it with their own style and adaptations. Think of any famous painting and most will be a twist on what has already been: The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Starry Night, ect. These painters have taken what already exists and tweaked it, personalized it. Surfing is just the same. Waves come to land after traveling thousands of miles then bend, pitch, curl, and break on the shore. Surfers add to the waves by joining them and drawing their own lines, and personalizing them. Each wave is like a clean canvas waiting for an artist to make it their own.

Why do we enjoy recreating, personalizing, and expressing ourselves in art or in surfing? I think part of the answer lies in our image. We are made in the image of the Creator. The One who expresses Himself daily as new babies are born, as flower bloom, as water and wind change a beach. We are being like our Father when we express ourselves in any creativity. -G

The German Queen Is Dead

This morning I heard singing coming from Jillian's room. Singing from Jillian is certainly nothing new. But-opera style is. As I popped my head in, she told me that the German queen had died and the people were coming in procession to her funeral. I asked her (quite soberly) if she minded if I took some pictures of this occasion. She was happy to oblige me.

The last picture will be the final resting place for "The German Queen."

Good News

God's timing is perfect. We are finding that when we have bits of discouragement or moments of doubt He is brings to us good news, a timely word, or some taste of extraordinary beauty in creation. This morning was no exception. Feeling a bit impatient as we wait for our visas, and wondering what to do about our house next month....we find out that our house has been rented out. This is a gigantic relief for us! Last night-we gave this concern to the Lord, and this morning He answered! We are grateful for our incredible property management Gordon Properties in Portland for their speedy turnaround! Phew!!

Jillian

For some reason, I think there has been more things posted by Miriam and Simon lately. But we do have one more precious child!!! I will be sure in the future to put more pictures of her up. Jillian is thriving here in the Basque Country. She is growing in her spanish, she is loving her friends, and she is dreaming of "high school" and all things "teenager." She is coming out of her shell at school and amazing some of her teachers at her "bubbliness." She told me today she thought she might need to "tone it down a bit." We are really proud of her and thankful that she has adjusted here so easily.

More Cute Somethings

Miriam came to me in deep distress:
"Mommy, I didn't get to go to your wedding. Can you get married again?"

Cooking With Simon

Tonight Simon came to me with an idea for making dessert. He was so excited and had it all planned out that I couldn't refuse. He asked for a bowl, butter cookies, Nutella, a banana, and some chocolate chips. I loaded the stuff on the table and he went to work. He did recruit a more than willing assistant-promising her she could be just like the little rat in "Ratatouille."

He labored over it like it was a work of art. And we all enjoyed this delicious treat after dinner. Before he went to sleep he asked me if I had ever tried putting maple syrup in the pancake batter. No I haven't. But I have a feeling the next time we make pancakes we are going to try something a little new.

Future Musings

Simon and I were having a deep conversation last night while we were preparing dinner. He was trying to figure out what he should be when he grows up. I suggested he do something that he was passionate about and loved to do. Something that would motivate him every morning to get out of bed. For instance, he loves science or math, so an archaeologist, or math teacher. Or-he could be an author because he is always making up these great stories.
Miriam was in the middle of it all-like usual, listening. When she could get a word in she told us what she wanted to be when she grew up:
"I want to be a pauper, so I can marry a prince!"

Multi-Linguists

The other night we were with friends for a fellowship gathering. The man is from Sweden, the woman is from the States. During the two hours or so that we were all together, I heard their little girl (about 7 or 8) speaking swedish, english, spanish, and euskara. She wove in and out of the languages with whom she needed to speak and (from what I could tell) mastered it all beautifully.
Daily I am in awe of languages. I never really gave it much thought in the States. English is what we hear all day. I am so thankful that my children are getting this gift-to learn other languages. Jillian says she can't wait to get spanish down so then she can start learning french (hmmm...I wonder who has been planting that little seed?? :) ) What a valuable tool it is to learn another language, not only do you really have a deeper understanding of your own language, but then you get to communicate with a whole group of other people speaking their language.
If I were to guess the next three important languages to learn for the entire world, I would guess it would be arabic, spanish, and chinese. If anyone is interested in learning another language-check out Rosetta Stone, or better yet...make friends with a person from another country and begin "language swap" or "intercambio." Just some thoughts! :)

Notes To Self:

-When purchasing an item, take the item after it has been rung up, then give money.
-Toilet paper is overrated.
-Say "talk to me" when you answer the phone.

Hello? Goodbye?

When we first arrived here, we noticed people passing eachother in the streets (apparently people who knew eachother) and instead of saying "hola" or "kaixo" (hello) they would say "agur" (goodbye) and continue on their way.
I thought this was interesting because when we pass people we know (in the States) we say "hello" and then continue on our way.
Now when I pass people that I know I instantly blurt out "hola" or "kaixo" at the same time they are saying "agur" to me.
I am trying to get used to saying goodbye to people when I first see them. I don't know if my mind will ever adjust . The funny thing is, it actually makes more sense to say "goodbye" to someone that you pass, because you are not stopping to talk or hanging. Just passing by.

A Big Gift

Our WONDERFUL friends-Marshall and Emily (who are living here and teaching english) gave Gerald and I a night away. They went from being a carefree newlyweds-to instant parents of 3 for 24 hours! I am happy to report that they did survive, and they gave us a memorable, much needed, breakaway. We went to the second "happiest place on earth"...France!!! Just a short 20 minute drive from where we live, Gerald and I had a great time catching up with sleep and mindless meanderings. We were blessed to have 65 degree weather in Feburary. It has been unseasonably warm and dry here (Thank you God!!) We enjoyed sitting for about two hours at an outdoor cafe just staring. All around us were french speakers, so our minds didn't have to focus on spanish and spanish learning. It was so nice.

The picture is of us and Marshall and Emily during the Donostia reunion at a Sideria.

Paella

Gerald and I went walking about the town of Biarritz when we passed a huge container filled with yummy little treasures. The smell was what hooked me. It may be that this was the best food item that I have ever smelled in my life. Paella is a traditional food here in this region. It is a blend of rice, saffron, chicken, and the "fruits of the sea." I became instantly ravenous! We watched as the cook carefully added water and stirred. It wouldn't be ready for another hour. So we really worked up our appetite and came back an hour later. We were not disappointed!!!

School Celebration-Multi-Culturalism

The childrens school (in lieu of Carnaval) held a fiesta to celebrate other cultures. It was funny for me to realize our family is one of the "other cultures." Simon and Jillians grades were dressed according to Arabic fashion. And Miriam's class was from China. In many ways-it is so refreshing that "political correctness" doesn't seem to exist here. On the other hand, I was bewildered to see Miriam's face had actually been painted yellow when we went to watch the children's special dances!

This is Miriam and her wonderful teacher-Miren.

House For Rent

Our house in Portland is now being vacated by the current renters. If you are in the Portland area and know of anyone wanting to rent a great 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a central location-let us know! :)

Entertainment From Our Window

A few weeks ago we had Tamborrada. We had a 24 hour band playing outside our window. Lots of drums. Lots of people (really it was quite exciting!) This last week we had Carnaval. Just when we thought the bands had ended we heard the drumming beckoning us to our window. Here is a picture of the tail end of the band, and of Gerald and the girls enjoying the show.

Sick...again

Once again...Simon is sick. We were anticipating a lot of sickness this year as we are exposed to more new germs and viruses and changes. The girls and I have been blessed to have been virtually sickness free since moving here. But poor Simon-I think now he has missed close to a month of school (all in all.) On the other hand, I have been enjoying getting a little extra time in with my son. We are working our way through "Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis, learning about the State Capitals, discussing the upcoming presidential elections in the U.S., and trying to satisfy Simon's unquenchable desire to know all about World War One. I am learning all kinds of history at the same time he is! We found a great website: firstworldwar.com and I can't seem to spend enough time that satisfies his curiosity on this subject. We also discovered the world of podcasts. We can download all kinds of great fairytales and cool stuff-great imagination building and entertains for hours!

Dumpster Diving...Spain Style

My husband loves to find a good deal. Even better, he loves things that are free. His sisters have been known to tease and marvel at Gerald's "connections" or his witty ways to get a bargain. Here in the Basque Country...he is still at the "top of his game." The other day he came into the house and told me he found something next to the dumpster and wanted me to come see it.
My first response was "no way, no thank you...que asko! I don't want to see it, take it back, please." But, I could tell by the look on his face that he found something good and he knew I would like it. Well, he was right, and once again...he found something good! The girls now have a solid wood, beautiful "chabby chic" style bedside stand. We are so excited about it. Definently not "made in China."
I think I will start to hang out near the dumpsters more often.

Interview

What is your favorite thing to say in spanish?
Simon: Que Asko!!! (how gross)
Jillian: Como te llamas? (whats your name?)
Jenni: Que Rico! (this is so amazing, delicious, rich, incredible, you will be missing out if you don't try it!)
Gerald: Vale, claro, por supuesto (okay, of course, of course)
Miriam: Uno (one)