France vacation

We spent three weeks at Entrepierres, which is a ministry retreat center for people working in French speaking countries. It was a wonderful time of relaxing and enjoying His creation.  You can check out their site at http://www.pierresvivantes.org/

There are not many places you can go in Mali and get real rest, esp with four kids. This was a low key three weeks that did allow for just that, rest. I am so grateful for the time, esp as I knew I was heading into a year that would be tough for me as I began homeschooling. 

France isn't good on our kids' ears, though. Dawson had almost constant ear infections our year there. Kenan always has them anywhere. Haven started with one in Paris and it wouldn't clear. She and Kenan were on high dose antibiotics for weeks. Haven got very used to having her ears looked at. As her shirt says, she was adorable.

They had one of the rainiest weeks in the summer while we were there so our family was in heaven! We loved the rain and the kids loved playing in it.

It was even cold enough to light a fire one day. Did I mention it was summer? So awesome! Thanks to our friend, Saskia, a former colleague from Mali, who was visiting with us for having the determination to really get it going and keep it going. 

                                    

One of my favorite parts of our time there was walking through the valley of the mountains. It was so gorgeous and the Lord spoke to my heart. I may have been singing to the top of my lungs and looked a little crazy but it was a special time. 

Haven found out how fun a swing can be on this trip. She loved it. I loved seeing GRASS!!

Brett's mom and step dad joined us for a week as well. It was great to spend time with them.

Brett had us go hiking one afternoon to get to this special place on the mountains. I've actually forgotten what we were supposed to find. Whatever it was, we didn't find it. We just climbed up and up and up. It was way more than I (his mom and step dad and our kids) were planning but it was really neat. Everyone was thrilled to look down at the towns below and see how far we had come.

We also did some rock climbing while we were there. The boys are standing at a fort in front of the area where you climb. The part of the mountain with the small vertical openings is where they climbed. They also practiced shooting arrows at enemies attacking the fort at Sisteron. (right)

We also got to visit with dear friends from our days in Charleston. Our old neighbors moved back to France a year or so after we left (Philippe is French and Shannon might as well be :). It was so fun getting to spend time with them.

Part of what makes being with the De Vivies so fun is that our kids are so close in age. Shannon had Juliette only weeks after I had D. Max was born two months before Kenan and Chloe was born a couple months after Silas. (Somehow they didn't get the memo about a fourth) :)

So thankful for all the friends and family we were able to spend time with during our time in France. 

Paris

We stopped in Paris on our way to Entrepierres, a retreat center for people who work in French speaking countries.

 Living in France years ago for language school was a hard transition as we had left all our friends and family and everything that we knew and understood. While in the moment I wasn't too keen on France, it now holds a dear place in our hearts as it marks the start of our new life where "home" is always a migrating and somewhat questionable place. We had some special times during our year there and it is fun to go back and share those memories with the kids. 

I know it may seem extravagant to some, but the tickets are fairly cheap from Mali and we stayed at a place that is a ministry to overseas workers and charges next to nothing. To have a true and restful vacation, one has to leave Mali, so that means traveling to a different country. Because of flights, Paris is often a break in the trip so it has become a special place to us that holds dear memories. We don't do much, as our highlights are getting hot chocolate or playing in a park, but it's nice.

This year the boys actually wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower. They started out with energy and excitement.

They lost is by the first level. So there was a hot chocolate break to help improve the moods.

It worked.

Poor Havie started with an ear infection that day and being the weekend it was hard to find a pharmacy open.

We did finally find one and were only able to get pills so we had to get something to help the pills go down. We bought an ice cream for her to take the meds (which worked thankfully) and the boys got to enjoy the rest of the cone. :) This struck me as funny, giving her medicine right by the Eiffel Tower, but such is life with four kids and a family that travels.

 We also went to the Arc de Triomphe. Seeing H walking around chasing birds in such a known momument brought back memories of D doing the same thing years ago at Notre Dame. Oblivious to the history that they are surrounded by and just loving the moment of chasing pigeons.

S didn't like that H was getting all the pictures so he wanted to be a part of some as well. :)

The happiest part of her day was riding on the subway once her medicine had kicked in

Thankful for the brief moments we get to have in such beautiful parts of the world.

England

We were able to go visit friends from Mali in England this past June. The Diarra family is dear to us  and we have missed them greatly in Mali. It was so nice to be with them. We crammed into their small, three bedroom home, had a blast, and never once felt like 11 people were too many for the space we had. Being with friends is refreshing to the soul and body, even with the lack of sleep we were getting. 

Brett and I took all the kids up to London for a day to see the sights. Thanks to a special going on the train tickets were only a few Euros each (Alison commented that her one ticket to London that day was more than all of us going with the special). 

Haven playing with pigeons as the older kids enjoy hot chocolate at the Tower of London

I wanted to see Buckingham Palace. That was the only thing on my list. We didn't go on any tours or anything but I wanted to SEE the palace. So we saw it. :) Somehow that was fun and everyone actually enjoyed it.

The kids got a kick out of the guards. I think that was their favorite part of the whole day (except maybe the Kentucky Fried chicken we found at lunch). :)

 I love being in places with grass and green things! It's so wonderful. I tried making my first (for my daughter) flower crown. The subject was much more beautiful than the crown she wore. :)

playing hide and seek with Daddy at a park

By far the best part of the trip was sitting with this lady. Somehow a year and a half had past since we had seen each other but it felt like two seconds when we were together. It was so wonderful to be with someone who gets you and understands your perspective and what life is like in Mali. I commented on our last day that though I had gotten little sleep and no time to myself (which is usually a big need for my introverted self) I was so happy. Being with dear friends truly is medicine for the soul. I can't wait for us to be together again!

End of school year 2014-1015

Our first year of schooling in Segou with just our boys came and went. It started and ended with cake and ice cream as any good thing should. :)

Jessi was a blessing for us. It was such a gift that she came out to Mali with us and helped us as we started out on this new journey. She loved on the boys and they loved her. They had tons of fun. She gave them a love for reading as she read to them the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. The boys really enjoyed her. They loved going to school which was so special because it was the first time they had been in school with only our family. We were so thankful that Jessi made it fun and enjoyable. It really softened the transition for them. We were so blessed to have her for the school year.

I think the days often looked more like this than the one above. :)

But like I said, they had fun and they loved Aunt Jessi!

Soccer with friends

The boys made friends in our neighbors' kids shortly after our arrival here in Segou. These boys are sweet and calm, not pushy at all. We are used to kids yelling at us, trying to touch us, and following us around so it's nice to be with more passive people. Without a doubt that's why the boys took to these kids. They are a family of 7 kids, all boys except the youngest who is a girl (with a twin brother).

Their mom is so incredibly sweet and laughs all the time. I loved going and sitting with her and we could just chat about babies (the twins are 5 months younger than Haven), the weather, or whatever. Because our lives are so drastically different, it is quite hard to find Malian women that I can connect with, especially outside of the hospital/clinic workers. For some reason, she and I really could and it was special. She is probably the best mom I have ever seen here- she doesn't let her kids wander the streets; they cannot leave the house if she goes out and no one can come in; she really watches them and is aware of what they are doing. These seem like obvious things but this is not the norm in Mali.

Unfortunately, accidents happen despite vigilance and her 2 year old fell backwards into boiling water while the kids were playing one evening. He was being treated at the hospital and doing well but apparently became septic because he quickly died. The mom couldn't handle being at their house and they moved literally the next day.

It was obviously devastating for the family. I selfishly was quite sad because their move meant the loss of friendship, for me and the boys, which has been quite slim to begin with. They "only" moved across town but it is not as easy to get the kids to go play when there is a lot more effort involved. We do go from time to time and enjoy it (at least D and I do). K and S always would quit the game earlier than D and just go inside when it was outside our door but when they are over there they have to sit around. 

Here they are playing in the field. The boys are so sweet to mine, they are patient and play gently as they are head and shoulders better than my boys. Dawson has steadily improved though.

Silas was even able to score a goal. His very first. You can tell he is a bit excited.

After playing for awhile, the kids move to shoot outs which all the kids enjoy. Ousmane and D love to do this little dance with each other before kicking, bouncing back and forth to show they are alert and ready. It's really fun to watch.

Me and my dear friend, Djenebou

Haven is into everything when we are there. Puts everything in her mouth. She is a royal mess, that girl. We distracted her one afternoon by a riding in a push cart.