Photos of France :)

So, as I downloaded the pictures from my camera to the computer, I was a little embarrassed as I only took 40... I spent a lot of the week with my mom and good friend from high school, Sara. Therefore, we had 3 cameras... and I was the slacker who knew all 3 of us didn't need to take the same picture 3 times and could just share. So I guess they'll be sharing with me :).

My mom and I - guess where we're at :).

This picture was at the Dorsee (sp?) museum. It's Peter and John hurrying back from Christ's empty tomb. I really liked it.

We ate at a cafe named 'Benjamin', and I took a picture of Sara because it's my vote for the name of baby boy number 2. Sara came 5 1/2 months pregnant and did fantastic!

This is a picture of the Louvre. There were those statues all around it (which in the next picture you'll see how big it was). I'm guessing the statues were 10-12 feet tall? It was a amazing.

Another picture of the Louvre.

There's a few shots from my meager 40 :). I'm sure my mom and Sara have some great ones!

Back in the USA

Well it's so good to be home! After all the travel, I don't know that I want to leave the country for awhile :). But we had a great time and a few adventures. Aaron is currently in New Orleans with about 30 students doing Hurricane Katrina Relief, and we'll see each other Saturday after 2 weeks apart (I came home on the 19th and Aaron left on Saturday the 17th). We've been calling back and forth, but it will be fun to hear the full story of all that's been happening this week. I've come back home to IL for a couple days until he gets home. And now back to France...

We went to Toulouse for 5 days where our region has a partnership with the campuses there. It is a beautiful city! The architecture is just lovely everywhere you look. We spent Monday trying to stay awake and walking around the city and meeting the team there. On Tuesday we met with the team and went on campus in the afternoon to talk to students. Many are pretty willing to talk and just share ideas. In the evening we went to the home of one of the American staff families there and were able to serve them. On Wednesday we had a Bible study in the morning and prayed around the city in the afternoon. That evening we did a craft night outreach for the French women. We Americans brought materials to make cards and bracelettes, and then one of the women shared her testimony. The French women loved it! They don't do crafts like we do here, and I think they enjoyed the opportunity to socialize in a fun way. On Thursday we met with all the staff in Toulouse and went back to campus in the afternoon. That night, a few of us were able to go back to the family and serve them a little more. The "grand finale" came for me that night. I caught the 24 hour stomach bug from the 2 little girls I babysat on Tuesday night. I was out of commission all day Friday. On Saturday morning we flew to Paris and spent the rest of the day and all day Sunday there. Then we flew home on Monday - a LONG day. Paris was AMAZING. I never had a huge desire to go the France or Paris, but it was just so beautiful. There's art and sculpture and gorgeous architecture everywhere you look. In Paris we took a bus tour around the city to see some of the highlights. We got out to walk around the Eiffel Tower (incidentally, it's brown - I didn't expect it to be a color :). On Sunday we went to the museum with Monet, Manet, VanGogh, Renior... (we didn't go to the Louvre because we didn't have much time and it's huge!) It was great to see such beautiful work up close. We went to Saint Chapel and Notre Dame in the afternoon. There is so much more that I would have loved to see. So that's our trip in a nutshell. I really did love it. I don't have a camera cord with me, and so I'll post pictures very soon.

Oh, I almost forgot in all the excitement, Aaron put an offer on a house while I was in France, and it was accepted last Friday! So now we're in the process of buying the house. So we should be moving in the next month. Anyway, so good to be home and much love to you all!

Happy Trails

Happy trails to me actually. :) ... Aaron has the car loaded, and I'm leaving for the Twin Cities so I can depart for France in the morning! I will come back with pictures and tales to tell I am sure. So untill then, have a fantastic week, and I'll have an update when I return!

March already!

Well February went quickly! Sorry it's been 2 weeks since my last post. As the rest of you know, life just gets busy and gets away from you before you know it! We've been busy the past few weeks with work, dodging snow drifts, and catching the germs going around and then recovering, and we've also begun to look for a house. That especially takes pockets of free time. There's a few we're interested in, but we still have landed on anything definite yet. We're hoping to look at a few more this week, but then I leave for France next Sunday; so it'll be put on hold for a little bit. But ultimately, in looking for a house it seems we'll be in Eau Claire for a few more years which we're grateful for. We really like it here. So until the Lord directs otherwise, we'll plant ourselves here for now.

Ministry has been going well this semester as well. Aaron spoke at our weekly meeting Thurs. night, and he did such a good job. I was so proud of him. We've been having 20-ish students each week at AIA, and we're thrilled to see that happening. After the first 4-6 weeks of the semester are over, we meet with students we work with to go over curriculum that covers foundational elements of our relationship with Christ. It's 4 studies that we do one-on-one - usually for an hour a week for the four weeks. This is one of Aaron's and my favorite things. We really enjoy the personal time with the students to dig into the material and answer any questions they may have. So that's a little of what's happening lately. We hope you all are doing well. Thanks for checking in with the Joneses :)