My New Buddy Noah!

Good Morning Blog Readers!
Some of you have asked about the purpose for my mission here..Well of course it was to win souls for the Kingdom..but sometimes those little souls need nuturing , watering, feeding and diaper changes. The Bradfords , my hosts recently moved here from Indianapolis with there three boys..Jack, Zander and Noah.
Most of us are blessed with older childeren and have forgotten along the way that they were once toddlers ..Or as I was blessed to have those toddlers in a time when playpens were still fashionable..What happened to playpens..Why are there no playpens????? How could we have survivied without them..I heard a few kids got hurt in them..but we all lived didn't we..I even had wood slates on mine..probably not close enough together to avoid injury..but I am here..
Anyway..my purpose in being here was an answer to Tracy's prayer to have someone help with Noah so she could get settled in there new home here in Villiennes-sur- Seine. That's where I come in..Somehow God choose me to be Noah's buddy during this transition, and what a great little buddy he is..
He's about two feet tall with a big toothy grin and faster than a speeding bullet,,One day he sat on his Tonka truck and walked me about a mile before his little legs wore out and we carried it back to home base. We do a lot of walking..I've learned the neigborhood well and can Bonjour to the passersbye without them guessing that is one of the few words I know..
Our fav place is the park..We take the stroller loaded with water, snacks and a paci( pacifier) and explore all the great wooden climbing toys.. I am a little leary of the park somedays and grateful for the rain we have had,, French parents don't seem to feel a need to find restrooms for their kids.. Any spot in the grass or street will do.. so I am very careful where I walk..I have actually witness this lack of a need for privacy or toilet paper , three times.. AUGHHH!!!
Other than that the park is filled with moms and kids and Noah runs free and happily..I am a bit sad that I can't chat with the moms..Most everyone speaks French and stays to themselves..One teenager braved the barrier and say ' Goodbye" to me in English!! I smiled..
He can fall asleep at the drop of a hat and scream loudly when he sees his mom.. HE really likes to eat..we have that in common and can wolf down PB+J faster than me..topped with some cheese, cookies and a bit of fruit for good luck!
So that's my new friend. Today we had fun exploring all his toys that finally arrived on the container.. Trains are fun.. I am learning how to be a kid again..and walking off some of those extra pounds as I explore France on foot! OOPS I hear hom calling me.. Bye till next time..
Love ,Judi

Paris Day Three Baugette 101

You all have seen baugettes at the local Sprouts or Safeway..They are a staple food here. They did turn quite amusing on Day Three. You see today was the big day that the Bradfords Container of household goods and furniture was to arrive..They deflated the air mattresses and made ready for the 20 or so helpers that were coming to unload the 40ft container.. Well as they say " don't count your chickens before they hatch" or we should say don't buy your baugettes before the company comes..Yes they needed just ONE more paper ..after sending many before to please the government officals..SO here we were with 15+ baugettes and food for the troops..

Have you ever eaten a baugette on day two,,of course not. The only thing they are good for is home building material!! But we could not bear to waste the precious bread so it was time to get creative..

Now day one we managed to have lovely ham and cheese sandwiches au baugette..Then we had wonderful egg salad au baugette..How about just plain baugette au berre ..for a snack..Then nutella and jelly on baugette for breakfast,, We were beginning to have great sympathy for the Isrealites and their manna fests,, Next we created a lovely Baugette French Toast..Now remember , I am trying to swear off carbs an lose a few pounds..but the thought of wasting a single ounce made me sad .. Dinner they hosted pizza toppings to explore our more creative side,..Mine was ham, pepper , pineapple onion and cheese.. We now tossed an baugette salad with tomato and cucumber . and my all time favorite Weinie in a baugette. The boys drilled a large hole in the middle and screwed in the hot dogs slattered in ketchup.. marveous..

The neighbors are having a wild party next door..I have concidered crashing with an armful of the long treats..Who would not appreciate such a gift..But when they broke into a loud rendition of Twinkle Twinkle en francais I had second thoughts,,They just turned up the music to deafening..I honestly think the song is about Jesus...HMMMMM interesting....

So we are hoping for more suggestions for the use of a baugette..for our cookbook.. "Baugette on a Budget" 101 meals under 5 E. E is Euro..

I hope you are all wonderful..I miss you and Love you!! Judi

Paris Day Two

Bonjour, Yes I really am in Paris, Quite an amazing feat since just a few days ago I was back at my classroom trying to clean out the moldy,blue,birthday cupcakes hiding behind the play kitchen stove..
The first thing I notice about France is that it is just like Long Island..the plants and bushes are the same, hydrangas and holly hocks, maple tress, morning glories,,maybe I expected some old rare and unusual flora to appear..next the rooms have four walls and look like ours,, Not the stone caslelike walls one would expect from picture books...It is actually quite like home..except I can't understand what people are saying and I am 9 hours time difference..
I really want to call people but it is always the middle of the night there.I am not adjusting well to not being able to send a text at will ,or feeling my pocket vibrate every 5 minutes.
My host family is wonderful.They are true servants and used to having guests..They are so happy to have a home that can house a few extra friends from time to time,, I am very grateful.
I am here to help with their three boys while they get settled..Zander and jack are in 4th and 5th grade and my buddy Noah is 18 months..I think.. Full of energy and happy to play with me..I have forgotten how to play over this year..They are reminding me,, especially after dinner when the guys beat me at Wii...Beat me by a wide margin..But I am sure I can conquer this game by the time I leave here!!
Time to watch a video with the guys.. More to come..

Love, Judi

Paris Day One

First Things first,,If you want to receive my clever updates ..you must email me back and let me know..I think I will post this on a blog..if I can figure i out!! You won't want to miss a single chapter!!Good Morning, Good Evening, Whatever..The first problem I have encountered with travel outside of Az and CA is time changes..I just came from NY where it is 3:25AM..AZ is 12:25 AM and I am sitting in Helsinki Finland where it is 10:26AM..I am a tad mixed up..BUT sitting in awe that my laptop works and is online and I am only a Facebook or E mail away.. For those interested..My cell does not work and I am going through a bit of withdrawal! OK A lot of withdrawal..You can pray about that!Well, I spent the weekend in NY with my family.. The usual array of food and frolic, shopping and sleeping..That house is so quiet, I never wake up..!! My glasses did get broken and amazingly the wonderful people at Cheap Peeps found a frame and replaced it in an hour,,before my plane left..Of course that cost me a few nights in hotels...but I hear the parks are nice in Europe..Yes Mary I ate a cannoli for lunch!SO this afternoon I flew to Helsinki,, Finland is interesting all I saw out the window was Large pine trees and green grass..I hear its light 23 hours a day here..I won't be here long enough to find out..The flight was hard to beleive.. first they handed me a newspaper and water bottle as I entered the cabin. Everyone smiled and was dressed in lovely light blue dresses.. The seats were large and comfortable with individual TVS .I LOVE THAT,,.They fed us twice..FOR FREE..gave us , juice , tea, beer wine, coffee etc to our hearts content!! I watched the movie Men of Honor..It was great,, rent it!!No bumps , no bruises..I thought I was going to be strip searched at the airport but they let me through.. Now just waiting for a flight to PARIS!! I did have a great realization of what it must be like for my non English speaking kids at school..when all the announcements are in a strange language,,This is only the beginning of this adventure..stay tuned..
An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps!
.AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}