September 2013

A busy month filled with new beginnings, new friends and new accomplishments. The boys are well adjusted and happy and I don't think they realize what they just went through. I knew it would be so, I knew it would take a few months for them to speak French, make friends, get adjusted to a new school schedule, different teaching methods etc... but I still panicked a little when the struggles came. I expected the boys would need 2 or 3 months minimum to pick up the language, and yet I panicked when they couldn't speak after 2 weeks. I knew William would have issues with separation at school but I still had to hold back my tears when it happened. It took about a month for them to feel comfortable at school, memorize their friends names and start saying sentences in French. When you think of it, it's amazingly fast, I'm so proud of them, but in the thick of it, it just felt like we'd never get through it. All I can say is Thank God for answering my countless prayers for them, and thank my parents, friends and family members who have made life so fun for the boys. 

Tuesday Sept 3rd: 1st day of class for Josh. He was very enthusiastic

Posing at school, near the play area, still enthusiastic

1st minutes of class: playing with dinosaurs. Anxiety picking in.

Wednesday Sept 4th 2013: First day of class for William, very enthusiastic, until the drop off.

Sept 4th

The boys go to school 4 days a week, 3 hours in the morning, 3 hours in the afternoon with a 2hr break for lunch. William is in Petite Section (1st year of preschool), Josh in Grande Section (Kindergarten). 

We walk to school when the weather is nice (about a quarter mile). The boys love to look for snails. We adopted 4 of them and kept them for about 3-4 weeks. We released them when the boys stopped taking care of them, Josh was sad, he was pretty attached to his pet snails, but he understood they were not happy in a box. 

One of our first week-ends here, we attended a picnic organized by the stake near Villefranche. We reconnected with a lot of old friends and met a few new friends.

Josh playing with an old friend (they knew each other as babies : ))

Ring around the roses 

Climbing trees with a new friend (American boy living in Lyon)

And racing of course

And at home:

Rainbow flip flops by William

froggy shoes by Josh

A week-end with their cousin Aurea

playing with the marble game Gramma Jarman gave them a while back

it took 2 adults 2 hours to build it but it was worth it!

Eating a fruit tart in Domene

Playing on the square in Domene

Horses we walk by on the way to school

and my favorite aisle at the grocery store!