Cold Spell, Friends

This week has felt like autumn here in Paris. Bummer for all the tourists who came expecting normal springtime in Paris weather. We've had to break out our warmer jackets and even have the space heater running right now.

I had the car inspected today, as it was due after another 2 years had passed. The mechanic there did some adjusting and regulating of the vehicle, so it should get better gas mileage. It's an older car, but generally runs well. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to use this car before we'll need to move up to something bigger to get all the kids comfortably in.

We had Mike and Judy Phillips, Jennifer, Marie, and a Swissess named Stephanie over this afternoon for dessert. They are part of the team from Immanuel Fellowship in Frisco, Colorado that has operated a prayer room in a western suburb of Paris for most of May. Mike and Judy are such great and pastoral people whom we enjoy being around. We're planning on spending a weekend with them in July while in Colorado.

Later in the afternoon I joined my wife and children in one of our local parks. They had met up with Yael (a French Jewish woman) and her daughter Leah from the Monday morning swim class, as well as Françoise (who teaches yoga) and her son Merlin (a classmate of our son) and her daughter Mirabelle. I'm very pleased at home my wife is connecting with other women in our neighborhood. There is also another American woman originally from St. Louis named Alexandra whose French husband François and son Luc are in the Tuesday swim group whom my wife is getting to spend some time with as our kids play together.

My wife and these 3 women are all not from Paris. Perhaps that is something that draws them together, as they don't have strong family ties here and need other relationships. They also are all mothers of young children, another special experience that doesn't allow for a lot of outside free time. Since they have to take the kids to the park so they can blow off steam, talking with other women who also need to do the same thing doesn't add another activity, but adds some relational and social contact to the event.

While we've been in this neighborhood for 6 years, we're getting to know more people during this most recent period of several months. I'm not sure why this is, but it does seem like having a 3rd child seemed to trigger something and perhaps enlarge our hearts not only to our larger family, but also toward the people in the world around us, particularly children and their parents.

Claire arrives tomorrow from Michigan to help for a couple of weeks. Our family will be expanded again to included another 16 year old who is best friends with Becca, who was here in March. It's great for our kids to have others involved in their lives besides us, as it broadens their social skills and imaginations.