Summer Fun: Bella's 4th Birthday and A Month in Paris with Family (and amazing pictures by Whitney Buckner)

Once again, I must apologize for the lack of posting! 

 (And sorry in advance for so many pictures - it was so hard to narrow them down!)

We have had a great summer as a family, full of some amazing adventures, for which we are so thankful!  

First, we had an amazing Rainbow Birthday for Bella!  

Bella loves painting, coloring and drawing, and she likes every color! 

Gluten-free rainbow cake!

I know I"m biased, but can you get more cute and beautiful at once???

Janelle and Bella's fun activities together for a couple months was creating Rainbow everything!  Our home was a rainbow home by June 15

We learned that there is something awesome about having a theme for a party that helps you think on what is True, Noble, Right, Pure, Lovely, Admirable (Phil 4:8).  God's gift of Rainbows did that for us!

Beautiful big Sister!

Janelle is so amazing at this stuff and has so much fun doing it!  It isn't for show at all...just for beauty and for blessing Bella!  And yes, that is rainbow kettlecorn! 

[Most of the amazing photos from here on out were graciously and skillfully taken by our super-talented sister-in-law, Whitney Buckner]

So there is a program through a Catholic church in France that offers small bursaries to encourage students studying theology in Scotland to go learn French in Paris for a month...River, what do you think about that?

"Yaaaaah!!! Let's do it Dad!"  

How about if Uncle Sage and Aunt Whitney come to Paris too so Sage can study French with Forrest and so we can all spend time together exploring and enjoying Paris?

"Goooooooaaaaaalllll!!!"

How about if Whitney and Sage come back to Scotland with us for a couple weeks after Paris?

"This is getting better!"

OK, last one, what if Oma and GPa (Janelle's parents) come to Paris for a couple weeks as well?

"That's it.  This is too exciting! I'm starting to crawl to Paris right now."

We lived right in the heart of Paris, about a block from this amazing garden - Jardin Luxembourg.

It was a rare treat in Paris to get to walk on the grass!

First adventure...find a grocery store and get some food...in French!! At least we had some great helpers!

A few crazy hours later, we were successful!  The nice lady behind us at the checkout said, "You know, next time you might just want to order online and have them delivered."  :-) 

Our Flat - such a blessing!  Apparently having a patio in downtown Paris is unheard of...so Thankful!

We tried to soak in the amazing culture in Paris.  Here are a few of our favorite places!

Tour Eiffel!

Sage and Esther counted all the steps, up AND down.  Esther called out the 20s and Sage recorded them.  Grand total - 1333!

The Louvre - Somehow I have finally begun to really appreciate amazing art, and there is no better place than Paris for enjoying amazing art!  Our favorites were seeing the amazing Monet paintings at Musee de l'Orangerie and Musee d'Orsay...they were truly incredible! (Van Gogh was awesome as well!)

The girls' favorite painting at the Louvre - Napoleon's coronation - HUGE and complete with beautiful dresses (a key component!) 

Notre Dame

Arc de Triumph - incredible structure built to celebrate Napoleon's victories.  My personal victory was reading a quote in French from Charles de Gaulle that is on a plaque there about the Nazi invasion in 1941.  I guess I did learn some French!

Versailles with Tom and Corine and Sage and Whitney!  Highlight for the girls - having their own audio guides!  Who knew that would be so fun?

No 4th of July, but we'll take the 2nd best - the 14th of July - Bastille Day!

Late night fireworks over the Eiffel Tower from Jeff and Amy Youngstrom's hotel room.  (Oh yeah,  four more of our favorite people in the world [Jeff, Amy, Ann, and Chloe] happened to be in Paris while we were there)

I carried her, sleeping all the way to the Subway, on one train,  transfer to another train, and then a five minute walk home - never stirred!  

Early realization for me - "We are going to be in Paris in July - that means we will get to see the Tour de France come into town!"

Front row viewing with Tom and Corine!

And with Sage and Whitney!

How did we get around? 

Our feet will tell you we did lots of this!

Pink tutus on our friendly subway!  Although I made many a wrong turn, it was a great way to get around. 

One of River's current favorite activities!

Luxembourg Gardens - Janelle (and often Whitney) went there every morning while Sage and I were in our French class from 9-12.  Then it was family adventure time!

Laughing so hard I was crying!  Esther is getting to be such a little lady!  It was time for us to leave.  Amy asked us what our plans were.  Our little people-loving Esther looks at me with a smile and says, "Going home is not an option." We laughed for a long time...then we went home.  

Play in the rain?

That's better!

Snails - Esther's favorite French food!

We loved our time with Aunt Whitney and Uncle Sage! Crafts with Whitney were a huge highlight for the girls, and laughing with Sage was a highlight for all!

And after our year in Pasadena, we are officially a Disneyland Family!  Inexpensive EuroDisney passes and subway passes made for frequent visits to the amazing world of Disney!

Special day all together!

Push-ups and yoga for the boys.  Best part of this picture - River joining us for push-ups!!!

Chloe!

Extra special treat - time with the Youngstroms!

We had such a great 6 weeks with Sage and Whitney...what a gift that we got to spend that time with them!

Back in Scotland - climbing Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK!

View near the top!

Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of the Heavenly Lights who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

As you can see, we have so much to be thankful for...

• A break from the studies
• Awesome family time
• Family coming to us even though we couldn't go back to the States
• I learned the basics of French, so I can get around in a French-speaking place and pronounce words.  I feel I have the necessary tools to learn enough French to engage with the French literature for my PhD and future studies.  
• God's provision for River when he pulled a pot of boiling water down on himself...great French health care, God's protection and healing on River.  He is all healed up now and the scars are fading!
• Going back to Scotland feeling like we were going 'home' - such a sweet gift!  We are in our same flat for at least another year; so thankful not to be moving again.

I am back to the study rhythm now, ready to submit my first chapter of my PhD for review.  The work has been fun and overwhelming all at the same time.  Some days I wonder how this project will ever get done and whether I will be saying anything worthwhile.  Other days I recognize the amazing gift of this season of study and embrace the task more easily.

One little observation from Calvin:  We can really know God is a loving Father toward us because he has revealed that to us in Christ.  If we ever start to question what God's attitude toward us is, just look to Jesus, God-in-the-flesh who came to earth to live and die and rise in our place and on our behalf!  He will remind us of God's fatherly love for us!

The Father God loves you.

Peace in Christ,

The Buckner Family