Craving for Pizza Hut

We just got back from a visit to the Diaconesses Hospital in Paris. This is "holy ground" for us, as our first two children were born here. We went there today for my wife to sign up for a place for our third child to be born, probably in mid-February 2006. We had a little complication there last week regarding our insurance coverage from our homeland. However, this was straighted out, so my wife was able to register in about 15 minutes today.

Several years ago, the Diaconesses was ranked the #1 maternity ward in France. We have no reason to disagree, as we have been very happy with the quality of service and care there. Because of it's great reputation, places fill up quickly. One usually needs to register by the first month of the pregnancy, or second month at the latest, in order to have a place here.

One particularity of the Diaconesses is that there are Protestant nuns who live on site and go around on Sundays and sing in the maternity ward. (One of these nuns was recently baptized at our church and is around age 70). We caught one of their hallway concerts after our daughter's birth. We have sensed the calm and peace of God's presence through them during our visits here.

My first visit to it was in 1995 when my goddaughter Ambre Martinez was born there. I was a very content single at that time. Little did I expect that my children would be born here at a later time.

Anway, I had expected my wife's registration to take longer, so I put 90 minutes into the parking meter. To celebrate our being in the Diaconesses and to not waste that parking meter time, we did another one of our traditions: ordering take out from the Pizza Hut just across the street from the hospital and eating it on picnic tables in the large garden that the hospital has. We had our usual order of one Pepperoni Lovers and one Hawaiien pizza. The kids love pizza too, so we all enjoyed ourselves. We love Pizza Hut pizza, no matter in what country it is made.

This afternoon I'll be working on the paperwork for our one year residence card renewals. It takes time, but is necessary in order to stay here.