France

12 Days More!

16.12.13


 
(only 9 days till Christmas!!)

In 12 days I will be getting off a plane and stepping onto Burkina soil, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am!!  Sure there are moments of panic when you think "Okay, we're starting our malaria meds tomorrow and I'm gonna be in Africa in 12 days..okay that weird" but I have such a peace about finally being where I know God wants my family and I.  We have this week of school and then 6 days to re-pack our suitcases and enjoy Christmas with my Dad's Aunt and Uncle that are flying in.  It'll be a whirlwind I'm sure! 
(That would  be the reason for a lack of posts and falling behind on the photo challenge....oops!)

The weather has definitely got a lot colder over the last couple weeks.  Every morning there is frost on the sidewalks and if it's in the shade, it stays all day.  We're enjoying our fuzzy sweaters and jeans before heading to the high temperatures in Burkina.  Which actually, haven't been very high at all.  This morning it was down to 63 Fahrenheit at night!!  We were all doing a jig, that's like unheard of there!!  So we're thankful for low temps but it'll be a shock to our systems going form the 30's to the 90's.  I'm sure I'll have plenty of funny stories after the fact!  I know that you guys in the U.S. have been getting pretty chilly weather also, are you keeping warm?

Our French has greatly improved and the thought of only being able to communicate in French when we get to Burkina has really helped with practicing more!!  Mom and Dad are having final tests and wrapping up classes in the next few days so your prayers would be greatly appreciated!
I would love to be able to get your contact info before we leave. And if it's possible I really want to Skype or Facetime with you so I can see y'all before we leave reliable internet!!  Just leave a comment or an e-mail and we'll figure it out!


Prayer Requests
Transition to go smoothly as possible
Continued language learning
Traveling mercies for the next 2 weeks
Being able to say goodbye well to all our new friends at school
Everything to go smoothly when we first arrive in Burkina and that everything will be accomplished that needs to be before we drive the 8 1/2 hrs. on African roads to our new home

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support!!

Love in Christ,
Jana

Family

Château de Versailles

12.12.13

▴our grocery and boulanger (bakery) in the plaza right by our apartment
▴▾ our local RER station in Massy




▴ the gates at Versaille






▴picnic lunches while it's 40 degrees in chilly, especially on stone steps!



▴Château de Versailles



▴humungous fireplace, the log in it is more like a small tree

▴don't know who this guy is, but it sure was cool
▴King's bedroom
▴the famous Hall of Mirrors

▴The Queen's Bedroom, I'm thinking about trying to do my room in Burkina like this, it may be a bit much though....  :)

Family

joyeux anniversaire à moi!

9.12.13

Never in a quadrazillion years would I have thought that I would have my 16th birthday in Paris.  And honestly, I never would have picked it, sounds crazy right?  Well, in my 16 years of life I have learned that life is pretty crazy.  Especially when you place it in God's hands. 

Anyway, Mom and I went into town for the day and ended up at Galleries Lafeyette, where everything is so expensive you instantly want to say "I didn't touch it!" if someone even looks at you.  It was crazy to see shops like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel and Coach.  Now I am the kind of girl that normally shops at the Target clearance rack, so I didn't know what a lot of the stores were so it was also a great learning opportunity! 

Given that a man's scarf-thingy was 120 euros (see pic), I didn't buy anything.  We did enjoy looking though and found an H & M nearby, which is a lot more my speed!













After stumbling upon a marching band in front of the opera and taking some pics of the Christmas window displays we headed home for Turkish food at a nearby restaurant.  The food was amazing as always!!  So if you ever happen to be in Massy, France stop by the turkish place in Plaze de France. 




Instead of cake we got some goodies at our boulangerie (bakery).  The thing with the raspberry on top was dark chocolate with a raspberry mousse, enough said.
Finish the evening off with Despicable Me 2 and a movie with mom & dad; a pretty good 16th b-day I would say.

Family

Christmas Favorites

9.12.13

It's the little things that make a difference. 
Whether it's going to the nutcracker the week before Christmas like you have for as long as you can remember
 or
 watching the movies you do every year, but this year is the first to be away from friends and family. 

It's the little things in life that we can keep consistent (somewhat) that help life feel (semi) normal.  So here are the little things that have been helping Christmas time feel normal for me. 

I think that these things are wonderful no matter what your circumstances though I mean come on, who wouldn't enjoy watching Holiday Inn with a big cup of tea??

watch:
//Holiday Inn//Elf//The Polar Express//White Christmas

 listen:
//Third Day: Christmas Offerings//BarlowGirl: Home for Christmas//
//Jewel: A Christmas Collection//Phil Wickham: Songs for Christmas//

 drink:
//hot cocoa//tea//coffee//hot apple cider//
read:

//Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide //The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt//
//A Quiet Little Women by Louisa May Alcott//A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens//

France

December Photo-a-Day Challenge!

3.12.13

Hey Everybody!

 Hope you guys are having a fantastic December so far, I am thoroughly enjoying mine. 


I wanted to do something that would encourage me to post consistently and to kinda give people snapshots of life here.  So I'm doing a photo a day challenge!! 
So basically I'll post pics every couple days according to the days subject.  I would love to have you join me in chronicling December in photos, let me know if/where you are gonna do it (blog, pinterest, etc) if you join, so I can follow along!!  


Family

Happy Thanksgiving!

2.12.13





So, I was bad and didn't take near as many pics as I should have.  But I was busy chowing down on delicious food and playing with beautiful babies, so I think I have a good excuse!!  It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with the amazing folks that the Lord has brought into out life. 
(the first 2 pics are in our apartment so you can kinda see what it looks like.)