Whew what a week!

Okay, first things first, although I haven't seen my mother since her operation yesterday, I did talk to her last night and she sounded tired, but well. She had just taken some pain meds and was waiting for Roger to come with dinner. I will go and see her today, but I am glad that surgery is behind us because she will soon get some mobility back, and with that will come her driving and a modicum of freedom.

Our friends Antoine and Alexa gave birth to a 6lb 15oz baby girl. We don't know the name yet, but soon. Jacques is now a big brother and Antoine and Alexa are on the cloud nine trip that is so thrilling, I envy that a little, but am happy that the birth is over and mom and daughter are doing really well. For those of you who remember Jacques birth, and the traumatic first weeks at ICU down at Children's hospital, you can only imagine the increased wonder at this birth from the parents viewpoint. They didn't have the luxury of being amazed by it all the first time around, so that makes this little girls arrival all the more special.

The first week of school is over and the kids are back in the swing of things. JJ and I are trying to remember to look in backpacks on a daily basis, check homework, have them make lunches, and basically not loosing our cool at having to repeat that same exercise every darn day. I surely don't remember it being this much of a chore for my parents when I was in school, but maybe that is just selective memory. I wonder if my older siblings had this much to do when their kids were in school, like if it's changed just since Chantal, Adrienne, Nicole and Renee were youngsters. I will have to try and remember to ask.

Luke is learning how to ride a two wheel bike. He is doing really very well and has since the first try. He goes forward in a straight line like a pro, but there is a small issue with turning and stopping. He freaks when he has to turn and stops by jumping off the bike. The other evening we were all getting ready to go on a walk. Charlotte in rollerblades, Helene and Luke on bikes and JJ and I on foot. Luke gets started and starts riding down the road. He is headed straight for the neighbors mailbox. JJ and I are looking at eachother, we are waiting for him to turn or jump off, or anything. Then we look at Luke and he runs, face first, into the mailbox. Ofcourse that knocked him off his bike. I was sure that when I arrived to turn him over there would be much blood, maybe a lost tooth or even a broken nose. It was a spectacular smash in the head and fall off the bike. Miraculously, when I picked him up he had nothing but a small scratch on his hand! Another save by a helmut I am sure.

I missed Melissa while she was in town for her aunt's surgery. DeeDee is recovering nicely and Mel is headed back up north today. I really should have called sooner, Mel got in town on Wedensday for goodness sakes, but I was just so busy. At any rate, all is well and this just means that I will have to take a trip up north to visit her...

Last I heard, Nicole was doing better and may even get to teach a little before she produced her own little bundle of joy. I am guessing that Adrienne is progressing well because we have heard nothing to the contrary. We are still getting frustrating news about Cameron and his allergies. If all the doctors are to be believed, that little boy is allergic to everything and there is no food that will not make him sick. It seems unreal to all of us that there is no medical professional who seems to feel the same sense of urgency that we do regarding the situation. The only thing that any of us want is for Cam to be able to eat and feel well and grow. It's just so amazing that no one actually seems to be able to tell Adrienne and Matt what to feed him that will not be bad for him.

Thats all for now folks.

I broke my MOM!

Ok, we all know how amazing my mother is, so you can easily imagine how spooked I was when I saw that she had fallen down a few steps at my aunts house, and was lying on her back in an obvious amount of pain. Being my mother, she didn't fall down half heartedly. She nailed her fall with an Olympic performance and managed to break her wrist. Did we get it casted on the spot? NOPE, mother broke her wrist to the point that she needs a steel plate put in there to keep it where it should be. So surgery is next Friday and I am calling on all prayers from everyone. She will have to go through some physical therapy to regain total range of motion, but I have no doubts that all will go well.

So, why the plea for prayer? Aside from the fact that we can all use prayer, my mother is currently on a 'no drive' clause which means that now she needs to depend on everyone to help her get to the grocery store, to the pharmacy, to lunch with friends, and to anywhere outside home. So pray for my parents. For my father to remember that just because he has a captive audience (mom can't leave at her own will anymore) doesn't mean that he has to abuse the situation by repeating all the stories she has already heard a million times. For my mother to develop a greater amount of selective hearing than she already has, and to have an easier time picking up the phone and calling on her great network of supporters (family and friends alike) to come and pick her up for an outing.

I will keep you all updated as news comes in. The first major hurdle ofcourse, will be the surgery.

big bisous to all.

Vacation in the islands (doesn't it sound cool?)

Oh my gosh, we are going! I made the reservations for our Caribbean vacation today. My husband, our children and my parents and I will leave Christmas morning, arrive in the afternoon in SanJuan, where we will rest our holiday heads before continuing to Guadeloupe the next day. Then we stay until January 3rd in a villa in Guadeloupe!!! I cannot believe it. I mean it ghastly expensive, but how many more trips will my little family be fortunate enough to take with both my parents, trips where we are really just going on vacation, not going to France to travel from relative to relative.
Don't get me wrong, visiting our family in France is awesome, but not like a tropical vacation in the middle of winter, and not usually very restful.
We are staying in a four bedroom villa on the beach that also has it's own pool. It's not far from the botanical garden of Deshaies. We tried to rent a villa in the garden, one that used to belong to the French comedian Coluche. The views of the ocean were breathtaking (at least in the pictures) but we went to reserve a day too late, someone had beat us to the punch.

If you want to see where we are staying look it up on nouvellesantilles.fr It's the one of the Villas Aquarelle.

I also found out the below information on the island and I am so excited that I can't believe it. We won't be skiing this year, but I don't ski anyway!

Guadeloupe is not like France, it is France - a French Overseas Departement, something like Hawaii's relationship with the US. This island has served as a French West Indies administrative centre since the 1700s. In 2003, however, St Barts - more formally St Barthelemy - and St Martin separated from Guadeloupe but retained their affiliation to France.
Guadeloupe geography suggests the wings of a butterfly. The more northern wing is the venue for Pointe-a-Pitre, main commercial centre and seaport on Grande-Terre. The southern wing, known as Basse-Terre, boasts a botanical garden, national park, and a volcano overlooking waterfalls that spray cool mists over all who come too close. Look at the map and you will find at least nine islands within the Guadeloupe archipelago. Locals call their island "The Pearl of the French West Indies."
As befits a part of France, the food and wine is mainly French, fresh and fabulous. The island's most colourful event is the annual Fete de Cuisinieres, or Festival of Women Cooks. Female chefs cater a five-hour Creole banquet of such specialities as lobster, rice and crabs, special pastries, a potent drink called ti'punch, and jambon de Noel, or Christmas ham. Ti'punch is an island rum drink with sugarcane syrup and fresh lime.
Other festivals include Carnival with streams of dancers dressed as imps and buccaneers; Bastille Day, a mid-July festival of the arts; and All Saints,' when cemeteries are lit up with candles so that the dead can see their still-living friends who stay up all night in honour of the dead.
Coffee aficionados should be sure to treat themselves to Guadeloupe's high-quality, home-grown coffee. Locals like their coffee Cuban style - black as night, sweet as love, hot as hell. Speaking of that, the north point of Grande-Terre is called La Porte d'Enfer, the Door of Hell, but more closely resembles a tropical Garden of Eden.
Basse Terre is the more rugged of Guadeloupe's butterfly wings. A popular tourist draw is the area's La Soufriere (Sulphur) Volcano, rising to 4,977 feet. All around is the Botanical Gardens and Parc National with a virgin rainforest, spectacular waterfalls, and canyon routes. This vast jungle overlooks the deep-blue waters which gave the island its Arawak name Karukera, believed to mean "island of beautiful waters."
As for the beaches, nudism has been a French reality since 1778. The idea of healthy living in the outdoors and without benefit of clothing came into full play during the 1920s. Topless is normal but most West Indians leave that sort of thing for tourists. Skinny dipping is permitted on some beaches. Some beaches are reputed to be hangouts for young men who are not bashful about propositioning female tourists.
Pointe-a-Pitre has a rather grand airport, the better to serve the military whenever the political scene gets hot. In the 1970s, violence broke out over the issue of independence. That situation has since calmed down, especially after French taxpayers more or less rebuilt the archipelago after the devastating Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
So what to do besides beachcombing, sea diving, exploring jungles, and marvelling at the castle-like formations at La Pointe de Chateaux? Among all-inclusive resorts is the Paris-based Club Med La Caravelle.
Offshore islands include Les Saintes, with one of the world's most beautiful bays.
Zouk is the French Caribbean's popular in music. You hear its double beat and hypnotic West African rhythm in buses, bistros, discos, bars - all over the place.

Back to School Prayer

My mother sent this and I thought that I would share. It's from Girls and Boys Town

Dear Student

I hope you have a good school year. Say this prayer often.

From me.

Sometimes it is very hard to be a student. Some days I don't want to go to school. It is very hard to learn. I failed in school too often in the past, and I sometimes don't trust my teachers.

Dear Lord, please help me study when I would rather watch television. Please encourage me when I want to give up. Please help me to sit down and study. Please give me a greater desire to learn and to know.

Sometimes Lord, I don't give myself credit enough. I can learn things better than I think. I know that with Your help and love, I really can succeed in school. Help me, too, to encourage my fellow students and say a work of praise to them when they do well. I know You love me, Lord. Help me to love Your truth and goodness and beauty.

Amen

School days, school days

Dear old golden rule days.

'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic'

Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick.

You were my maid in calico

I was your bashful barefoot beau,

And you wrote on my slate,

'I love you , so'

When we were a couple of kids.

August 10th - 15 more days until school!

It seems that everyone is in the 'back to school' madness. I went on the net and printed the lists needed for the classroom, but somehow I have not been motivated to get out to the store and purchase the items. Don't even get me started on clothing. I am very resistant. It's bizarre because I love to buy the kids clothes, and I do so on a regular basis, but the thought of having to go and buy them a new wardrobe because it's September 1st, just doesn't make sense to me. They will still be wearing shorts and t-shirts when school starts, so the need for a new winter jacket just doesn't seem urgent. I am certain that my kids will see it differently, they will want to go clothes shopping and shoe shopping, but I just don't feel like fighting the crowds.

The neighborhood (sub-division) picnic was Saturday and there was a mechanical bull. Luke has now decided that we need to rent one for his birthday party. Suddenly he remembers that his birthday is in about a month and so he wants everything, a gameboy, any toy that attracts his attention, and last but not least, a motorcycle... There is a cool kids motorcycle (ages 6 to 120 lbs) but he needs to know how to ride a two wheeler. The question, of course, is, do I want to encourage him to get rid of the training wheels, because then I would kind of paint myself into a corner as far as getting him his motorcycle goes, I would have no excuse. OK, that sounds real weak, like I need an excuse to say no. What I meant was, I can't motivate him to get rid of the training wheels with the carrot being the motorcycle, because then I would actually have to follow through.

The other issue that has become a hot topic in my house is the pet question. I will admit that I would be awfully excited to get a puppy and have a new member in our family. I will also admit that we really don't have all that much time on our hands as it is, and the thought of adding a puppy to our mix sounds a little insane. But, I am kind of insane, and that has always been one of our operational modes. The thing is, I know that the kids would like a dog as well, but I am hesitant because I don't know if I will really want the dog 6 weeks later, and you don't really take on the dog question for the short term. JJ knows that, as nice as a dog sounds, he doesn't want one. So we have decided to attack the issue from a different angle. We are going to dog sit for the pets in the neighborhood. I thought that we could be owners to everyone's dog and not actually have to bear the responsibility long term. Kind of like being grandparents, have all the fun and none of the long term angst... We'll see how it goes, our first assignment is this weekend.

We are not having the best of luck finding a place to stay in the Caribbean (notice I have enlarged my requests to the Caribbean, rather than just Martinique and Guadeloupe!) , but I haven't given up hope. I wrote to Sabine's mom to see if she had any better insight, but so far no answer. I never would have guessed that it would be so difficult to find a rental property in December. I mean, I realize that Christmas is the peak season in the islands, but we are in August for goodness sakes! I am going to start looking at hotels, rather than rentals and maybe I will have better luck.