On a une voiture!

We have a car!!

Praise God for this good gift : )  We are very thankful that we were able to purchase a car to use (and then re-sell) during our time here.  Would you believe it's a FORD??

G looking for the "surprise" Daddy brought home.
"Where is it?"

Yep, Ford Fiesta.  Actually manufactured in Germany, so not really considered an American car here.  It's a diesel, manual, 5-seater with surprisingly roomy hatch-back trunk --- a great fit for our growing family!

God provided in a neat way.  The car became available soon after our arrival.  It's previous owner (another TEAM-France family) moved out of country and were unable to take the car with them.  So, we consider it an added blessing to "know" the previous owner!

So...what have we done in our new wheels?

Shopping -- yep, buying groceries and other household necessities are chores that follow you wherever you go.  Having the car has allowed us to take these trips as a family -- so G's managed to get a few extra treats into the shopping carts -- and to visit some new stores.

Exploring -- now that's probably more what you were hoping for...

le mont Blanc
a beautiful sight on one of our evening drives

Sunday we went to a nearby town for "Journee Du Cheval" = Day of the Horse

Basically, an all-day horse show which focused on jumping for the couple hours we were there.  G and her friends enjoyed watching.

Road trip!
3 in a row in our backseat : )
Excited and hoping to see a "purple" horse

Watching the show

Grand Finale

They also enjoyed "petting" the "ponies"...

"He's so cute"

Woah!  No, kissing my nose...

Yesterday, we visited Abbaye de Tamie.

Abbaye de Tamie

The abbey, also known as Notre-Dame de Tamie, was originally founded in 1132 and housed monks until the 1790s.  The abbey and monastic life were resumed in the early 1860s with new buildings constructed at that time.

In front of the Abbey

We were there during vespers.  G did a great job being very quiet while we looked inside the building pictured above (behind us).

Enjoying the scenery surrounding the abbey
elevation approx. 900 m

And we are planning lots more adventures, so stay tuned...

À bientôt!

DD&G

Baptism & Conflans

Today we were blessed to join another TEAM couple at a (hur(h plant in a nearby town for their very first baptism!!

The trip entailed both a bus and a train ride, which made G very excited...

Boarding the bus for the 1st leg of the journey

Waiting for the train...
there it is!

G preferred the train

The congreg@tation is in its 3rd year, and God has been blessing this body of believers.  Initially they met once a month then increased to twice a month but starting today they will be meeting every other week.  Another blessing (and matter of prayer) is that they are in the process of buying (then renovating) a building where they will be able to meet every week!!

This vibrant group celebrated new life today as one of their own came testified as to God's working in his life.

Praying after tesitmony

After the service, we all went to a nearby lake for the baptism.

The lake...
have we mentioned that it's beautiful here?

Despite the cool September rain, there was still a crowd gathered in support and celebration of this special time.

Waiting for the baptism

Then we all shared a picnic-style lunch -- indoors due to the weather but still fun.  Although all of this transpired in French, we were able to understand a large portion of it.  Everyday our comprehension gets a little better...

G burning off some energy...
thankfully she stayed dry!

Another fun highlight from this week was a visit to Conflans, the historic medieval city that sits atop a rocky hill overlooking Albertville.  We can see the Château from our apartment windows...

Château at Conflans

Outside the city gate with some of our new friends (fellow students)

Public gardens at Conflans
Great views of Albertville AND grapevines ripe for the picking

View of Albertville from Conflans

Everyday we marvel once again at the beauty of this region!  What a blessing to call it "home" for a while : )

Well, we made it through our first full-week of classes...whew!  What better way to celebrate than with Friday pizza?

G enjoyed "decorating" the pizza

Yum...

Thanks for the prayers, emails, comments, etc.  Please keep them coming -- we love hearing from you!

Blessings in the week ahead,

DDG & K5

Premier Jour...

The past week has been filled with LOTs of firsts!!

Gracie had her first day of preschool (Ecole Maternelle), well actually her whole first week.

We started the day out right with a special breakfast...

Home-made scone and a "boiled" egg

Ready to go...

The school is just over 1 KM from our apartment.  Several families in our language school (CCEF) have children starting at the same school (preschool and elementary share a building), so we had a large "parade" of sorts.

Groupe Scolaire du Val Des Roses
entrance to the school

For the preschool, parents accompany the kids inside and drop them off at their classes.  Every child has a coat hook and cubby outside the class door where you leave their things -- including shoes -- each child has a pair of "slippers" that they wear in the class.  We forgot to take a picture of G's -- as you might guess she picked out a pair with a pink pony (well sort of a cartoon depiction of a cross between a pony and a giraffe).

A few of the CCEF kiddos

Gracie is the only English speaker in her class, so she is truly being immersed into French.  Overall she is adjusting well.  Although she did come home saying "I can't hear my teacher's voice" -- her way of explaining that she doesn't understand what's being said : )

Waiting to enter her classroom

She went straight for the puzzles!
See ya Mom...

We also had our first day of class at CCEF.  Dianna is in the beginner class -- a VERY good thing given she lacks any background in French -- while Dean is in the level 2 class.  Despite being in different classes, our schedules are basically identical, and CCEF makes our class times coordinate with the public school.  So it all works rather smoothly.

What does a typical day look like?

8:30 AM   Walk G to school
8:50 AM   G's school opens, we drop her off in her class
9:05 AM   CCEF starts with devotions -- most days all classes are combined
9:30 - 11:45 AM   CCEF classes
11:45 AM  Race back to G's school
12:00 PM  School releases kids (all kids leave for lunch)

   LUNCH -- so far this has been back at our apartment on campus but we may try to picnic near her school while the weather is nice

1:20 PM   Walk G to school
1:35 PM   G's school opens, we drop her off in her class (for rest time)
1:50-4:30 PM   CCEF classes resume
4:30 PM   Race back to G's school
4:445 PM  End of G's school day

LOTs of back and forth -- in fact 8.8 KM worth : )  Thankfully, we found a nice stroller in the "hand-me-downs" stored in the basement on campus -- G happily rides along!  And we are enjoying the exercise as well as the views...

Walk home after her 1st day...yes, she is licking a flower!

Oh, and schools are only in session Mon-Tues-Thurs-Friday, there are no classes on Wed for any of us.  Kind of neat system -- gives us a mid-week break to study : )

Other firsts this week:

Dianna's first visit with the sage-femme (midwife) -- all is well with baby!  A follow-up visit with an Ob-Gyn as well as a sono appt have been arranged...so more firsts are coming soon.  Dianna also had her first lab visit (labs here are separate, free-standing establishments as opposed to being in the same office as the medical provider) -- blood was successfully drawn, and she will return Monday to retrieve the results.

Family bus ride!  We are learning the best ways to get-around...

G waiting to board...kids under 4 yrs ride free : )

Parks...we enjoy each new one we discover!

Park near G's school

Park across from church building

Playing after last Sunday's service

Oh, and lots of yummy bread and cheese firsts : )  But we'll have to save that for a separate food post sometime soon...

Our first bakery visit...

Breakfast at the park near CCEF

Please pray for us as we enter into our studies!  Also pray for wisdom as we consider purchasing a car to use during our time here!

Merci beaucoup!
DDG+K5

Just another pretty view (NOT our house...)

Bienvenue!!

Bonjour!!

Splendid scenery surrounds us here in Albertville, France -- absolutely splendid!!  The views from our 3rd floor apartment are spectacular, quite a refreshing change which we are happy to soak in over the next 10 months.  We look forward to watching the landscape change with the seasons.

Our travel was smooth.  Thanks for praying!

Gracie starting out the trip by watching a video on
"Fee," her stuffed ipod holder.

Family plane shot...early in the journey

We arrived Thursday evening and were greeted by a few other students who were truly a blessing -- they happily carried all our trunks up 3 flights of stairs, made sure we had basic essentials in place (food, internet code, etc), and warmly welcomed us to our new community.

Dean and G with all our bags navigating Geneva airport

Gracie slept her way through our arrival and on into the next morning.

On Friday though, she was thrilled to learn that there are MANY new friends living here on campus with us -- a few who are just her age, too!  The sandbox and scooters are her current favorites.  As is wearing her PINK boots -- great pick Aunt Michaele (even though we've had NO rain, these boots are already well broken in)!

The last few days have been a hodge podge of activity: unpacking, exploring, stocking our kitchen and getting other odds and ends.  Many families have vehicles and have been kind enough to let us tag-along on grocery store runs and even an IKEA trip!

Another highlight for Gracie was touring her new school -- one of the local French preschools.  Her first day is Tuesday, and she is ready!

School director giving all the new
 "non-French" parents and kids a quick tour

Today we attended a church service nearby, mumbled our way through some French hymns, and tried to follow the sermon (at least reading the corresponding passages).  The congregation is small but their love for our Lord was vibrant and alive.

Tomorrow is our last day before scheduled school activities begin, so we hope to spend it exploring more of Albertville!

Street just outside the CEF (our language school) campus

Lovin' the PINK boots!!

Merci, Au revoir --
DDG + K5

Are we THERE yet?

Well departure day is here at last!!

Sorry for the lack of updates these past 4 weeks.  Much has happened since completing Phase 4 training at TEAM and making our way eastward for our last month in the US.  And since this post is being written enroute to Atlanta airport there will be no pictures : (  Perhaps we will be able to post some highlights of our pre-departure weeks once we arrive in France -- although by then you'll be more interested in seeing pics of the Alps!

True to our usual M.O. -- we have packed the last month full.

• TEAM Phase 4 -- with special visit from dear friends heading to SE Asia
• TN visit with Dean's sis and bro-in-law
• Nona & Boppy visit complete with celebration of our 8th wedding Anniversary
• Time with Granddaddy & family
• Journey to Healing conference -- time of spiritual renewal and prayer
• VA trip to:

•  meet Eliana the newest member of "JAME" (nickname for Dean's bro's growing family...previously "JAM")
• visit the Ledfords -- our flower girls have grown UP
• visit the Chas -- ministry partners we met at the Crescent Project

• SC family and friend time at Nanny's, Nana & Papa's lake house, Nona's, Uncle Darol's lake house (a special time for Dean with some prayer warrior men)
• Skype dates -- unfortunately we were unable to complete them all (Sorry Uncle Johnny!!)

• PACKING!!!  Thankful to have our 9 checked bags + carry-ons packed to the max : )

WHEW!!!  So if you wondered what we've been up to, there are the "Cliff Notes."

And now we are nearing Atlanta where we will say our final farewells and let the adventure of our first term truly begin...

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your faithful prayers, generous support and consistent encouragement!!  We are blessed that we do not do this alone -- we go out as an extension of family -- our family, your family, GOD's Family!

For HIS glory!

Bon voyage...
DDG + K5

Circle of Life

This past month has truly been a time of celebrating the circle of life.

On July 28th our new niece, Eliana Mae, made her birthday debut!  We were so glad to meet her and visit with her proud parents and big sis, Anabel, as well as Nona during our Virginia trip, August 12-17th.

On August 4th our dear Granddaddy went to be with Jesus.  We were blessed to spend his final week at his bedside along with Dianna's family.  A bittersweet time to let him go -- but clearly time given his long fight with multiple health issues.  Please continue to pray for us all, especially Nanny, his sweetheart for 66+ years!

And our sweet little baby has entered into his 3rd trimester -- rolling, kicking, tumbling all the while!

We are reminded of the Lord's gift of life to us and the sweet blessing of sharing life with others.

Celebrating through tears,
DD&G