Many of you have asked us about our life here in France.  Is it baguettes, bicycles and berets all the time?  

Well it’s true the boys and I ride our bikes to school everyday and we do live around the corner from a charming French bakery, but most of our time is spent in the classroom or in our apartment studying French.  Here is the view from our apartment, not too shabby.  

A Typical Day

So what is a typical day like for us here?  The boys are in a French public school - Zeke is Pre-k and Liam is in 1st grade.  The French equivalents here are called "MG" for Zeke, and "CP" for Liam. They have school from 8am-4:30pm.  But in France they take a long lunch break, and the parents pick their children up from school and take them home for lunch.  Liam is diligent with his homework every night, and can already read and write simple French sentences and both boys’ French pronunciation is incredible!  They are enjoying learning French and have amazing attitudes.  

For Julie and myself, we start the school day with a group devotional which is usually led by one of the students in French.  There are students that have been here for almost a year, so they started, but now our classes are beginning to do the devotional in French.  In fact, Julie recently spoke (in French) to the entire student body, which you can read about and hopefully listen to soon.  

We have class from 9-4 with the aforementioned long lunch break.  After school, we have dinner together as a family.  And then we have time to play with the boys and study.  We usually have a few homework assignments to work on.  Julie and I both meet with a language partner once a week as well.  

We have gotten involved in a local church here, which most of the language students attend. Julie does a great job helping in the children's area, similar to what she did at our home church, James River Church, in Springfield.  

Out and About

It seems like there are always activities in Albertville to get involved in.  There is a "curling club" which meets in the old Olympic Stadium which has been fun and a good way to practice language and learn a new hobby.  These guys aren't too competitive and just like to have a good time.  I've had a lot of fun trying to learn how to "lance" the stone and "balayer" (read bala-yay) or "sweep" the ice to help get the stone to curve.  I haven't spent TOO much time falling on the ice...

We are fairly settled into the routine of life in France... living in community, making new friends, and learning as much French as possible so we can effectively work and minister in Africa.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support!