FEET FIRMING PLANTED

When I look at my banner at the top of my blog page I see many things. There are photos that are very precious to only me really, I know the city, the country, the special place that they were taken. The occasion that was present that day or maybe it was the mood of the moment. But.... as I look very close I see firming where my toes are planted. On the globe of the United States of America. Often, I question myself as we are living here in Paris France ( one of the most romantic cities for some) in the world. I wonder where and how long I will be here and where the next journey will take us.

So as I see my feet or ballet toes as you may see it are planted or pointing on top of the USA, I crave more adventure, I feel in my bones that I have so much to accomplish and more to do and explore. With all that said, I am forever grateful for this opportunity to live in France. It is so convenient to hop on a train and go to Amsterdam for the weekend. Or get on a plane, and then a ferry and then by foot climb a volcano on the Island of Santorini Greece. My heart is filled with love for the bright blue waters of sea. The more I experience and the more beauty I see in everyday, the more I want to share with my children and show them this beautiful world. Today is a Brand New Day as the lovely Joshua Radin sings, ( I am so in love with that song) and the sun is shining here in Paris France so I am going to go and explore a Brand New Day...... I know where my feet are firming planted and at some point I will take our journey back to the USA and find a Brand New Day there to explore the soil that I came from.....

THE BEAUTY IN THE JOURNEY......

It is the 1st of June, and I sit here in total bliss at our home in Le Vesinet France. Wondering how the time has flown by and why I haven't taken a moment to write. I need to write and record all of our days, they are soo filled with adventure, new experiences and everyday in France is like finding your way thru a big green maze.

Sometimes I wonder how we got here , what it's all about and then I look at the beauty of the journey..... our children.

We never let a weekend go by without going out and exploring. And as in France there are many holidays throughout the months, we take full advantage of each one to explore and see as much as possible. May was filled with that! We covered a lot of ground in May and I will post our experiences. From visiting a few gorgeous Royal Chateaux's in the Loire valley region, having our Russian friends visit us, and taking a long weekend out to La Rochelle and the incredible island of ile de re. The Atlantic coastline was just amazing. Different, historic and a wonderful experience.

It has been non-stop since we left the airport and stepped onto French soil. Unpack, pack, and pack again. Over and over it continues. I now need to get a bit settled in this weekend because the "true bliss" will be arriving in a few short 3 weeks. I cannot wait for my whole entourage of kids to come. We have a full calendar for July and it's going to be amazing. Stay tuned, big adventure lays ahead and it will be a bus of 10 people traveling together for 14 days straight. I'm so looking forward to going back to a dream that I started in 1987, and I told myself one day I would be back, and guess what? I am returning to a very special place, so dear to me.... so full of excitement. That is the beauty in the journey.

One thing I can promise you is that the sun will set tonight, and it will rise tomorrow to bring you another day of our lifes passion......

The passing of time......

Time has passed so quickly and it has been nearly half a year since I've blogged. This is not good. I crave to write and share and create a log of our life's passion for our children. Moving to Paris France nearly 9 months ago has been quite overwhelming, and being pregnant and expecting a baby in a an old country was so new to me, I just needed to find my way. I will write in a quick summary over the next several weeks our 9 months of finding ourselves, our new surroundings and how we were able to get settled in France and call it our second home.

It was a much different experience then when we first moved to England. Everything was all set up for us when we arrived to England, it was simple. I didn't have a language barrier, although the South Yorkshire accent is something you must acquire an ear for. I am happy to have moved on to Paris. Even though it was and still is a bit more difficult to find your place it is still a place so filled with life!!! Every square inch of it, there are so many places and things to do and explore. It's endless. We now live in a suburb of Paris ( about 20 minutes on the RER) called Le Vesinet. It's beautiful and very posh! We have a lot of green space for the kids to play and the surrounding little towns are just charming. Each morning within walking distance ( because that is what you do in France is walk and walk everywhere) there is a market filled with lots of fresh foods, vegetable, fruits whatever your little heart desires. It is a different way of life, and being here just reminds me of how fortunate we are to be American and live in a country such as the USA where we are very very spoiled with ease of having everything at our fingertips. My promise for the new year of 2010 is not to let 9 months pass without writing down our adventures and finds in such a wonderful world.........

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING

One life does repeat itself, as we have landed ourselves in the most romantic, historic city in the world, PARIS FRANCE. I am truly drawn to the beauty and history of this city. At the present moment we surround ourselves with new promise, a new beginning, and years of watching, learning and tasting. What do I mean by these three wonderful things that so many take for granted?

To sit at a Cafe anywhere in Paris and watch the hustle and bustle of the many tourists ( at the moment myself included) and to take in all the sights and sounds and awe of them. The expressions on their faces as they walk up the Champs Elysees and see the Arc de Triumphe is priceless. But for a minute if you don't sit back and watch and listen carefully you miss so very much. I have now spent the last 2 1/2 months living in the 8th arrondissement right off the Champs Elysees. With the BIGGEST Louis Vuitton store at my doorstep and my choice of any little bistro chair to sit down in. Each morning I am able to wake up in our little apartment with our Tilly in Tow and venture out among the chaos. To watch, learn and taste.

At this point I am able to watch and listen to the culture. To hear the language of French, which by the way sounds like the most romantic language of the world to me. I will live as a tourist and explore all the tourists historic sites that one should see and educate myself on the time and history of when these beautiful places came to be. At some point I will no longer be the tourist and then I will just wander and find all the nice little niches of each neighborhood. When company arrives, I will then live a day visiting the sites once again and be a tourist for that day. How exciting is that??

Spring time in Paris is truly a real spring. The flowers are just gorgeous!! The air is fresh and crisp and you can see all the white linen cotton pants coming out on the French women. I love to watch their fashion evolve and change.

Now since I have arrived the smell and crispness of the French pouring their wine into a clear wine glass in the middle of the day has so intrigued me. I have arrived in France just about 15 weeks pregnant or so......... AND never thought I would be having the BIGGEST wine craving ever in my life. I really do not even drink when not pregnant! I will enjoy a glass of wine, and I do love to drink a glass with dinner. BUT in America, never in the middle of the day or work day. Here in France, there is nothing like a 2 hour lunch filled with wine and good food everyday! So I crave, crave, crave this white and red wine right now and everyone is pouring, tasting and sipping all afternoon this delicious fresh wine! UGH! I promise to make up for the lost of the taste right now in the Fall time!!

For now I will post some pictures of when my older children arrived and leave you with a little taste of Paris..........

PARIS FRANCE MARCH/APRIL 2009

IT has been several months since I've blogged. There is so much to write and many changes taking place so quickly!! I am going to leave a quick post here because as soon as we get settled I am going to write about our departure from the USA and from our short posting in England. We are starting a new adventure for the next 3 years in PARIS FRANCE!! It's all a really exciting time. I need to get my thoughts together about this exciting city!

THE MAGIC BEGINS.....

THERE IS TRULY SOMETHING VERY MAGICAL WHEN WATCHING YOUR 2 YEAR OLD EYES FOR THE FIRST TIME AS THE DISNEY PARADE TAKES IT'S JOURNEY THROUGH MAIN STREET AT MAGIC KINGDOM!! The sure delight on her delicate small little face just makes my heart full!!
We were blessed to take our kids to Disney for just 1 day! Now I know most of you would say ONE DAY are you crazy! BUT.... sometimes you can get more in that one day then you can in 21 days straight!! Yes, I do know this! I've never had the opportunity to stay at Disney for a week OR two weeks, but the one day we were able to take the drive with our children and experience as much as we could was VERY MAGICAL and enlightening for us! We truly enjoyed it. AND the ride from our house was so quick WE could barely believe that we were Florida residents now and able to do this! VERY NICE INDEED with lots of perks! :)
The park was VERY accommodating for our precious little one Anna Claire. We signed into guest services and they gave her a pass ( our whole family) a pass for her disability AND this really really helped us get through long lines, and we were treated very kindly by all of the staff. It certainly helped for Anna to have a good day -- I believe she would of been truly exhausted since having her Open Heart Surgery and would not of enjoyed the few rides that she was able to go on like she did!! THANK YOU MAGIC KINGDOM AND THANK YOU DISNEY for recognizing child with special needs!! All parents with children with special needs should do this and have a great experience at Disney!!

It is still sunny and warm here in Florida. I know over the next few days we are finally going to get some showers BUT right now it's very nice!!

We are blessed and grateful and we wish everyone a Happy 2009!!

HAPPY 2009 TO ALL!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy 2009. We are in the United States of America for the holidays at our house in Florida. I am loving every minute of it so much! It is warm, sunny and very happy here. Everyday since we arrived has been this way. I am blessed and grateful to have celebrated the holidays with all my children under one roof and my parents as well. It has been great. Now it is the New Year and today Andrew has had to fly back to London to work for the month of January & February. I have stayed behind here at the house with Anna Claire until we are ready to make our move now to PARIS FRANCE!! YES, the Tall Man has accepted the job in Paris and we are waiting for them to get us all set up!! There was no reason for me to get back to England and sit there in that house for 5 weeks, I would rather be here in Sunny Florida, walking the beaches, and getting things straightened out in the house.

We are greatly looking forward to our adventure of moving to Paris France for 3 years!! I can't wait for Anna Claire to learn the language and since she is just 2 years old, these will be very important years for her and of course all of us!! I will be learning the French language as well. Since the Tall Man is the only one that will be in the house speaking French it will be quite interesting.

My blogging this spring will be about our adventures of an expat family moving to France, getting settled and finding our way around. I will be writing about my ups & downs and finding my way through a beautiful city!! I am not quite sure yet if we will take a flat apartment right in the city OR if we settled into a home in the countryside outside of Paris!!

If there is anyone out there that has some experience getting to France with their kids, being an expat I would love to hear from you. I usually spend a great deal of time on the computer, learning and gaining any knowledge that I can find.

For now, I am very blessed and grateful for our New Year of 2009, and I am so looking forward to our newest journey that we are about to embark on. Join us for some fun reading and I am sure lots of laughs.