paris | Good to be Home

showering, dressing, putting on make up

giving my darling little girl a bath

frying bacon for breakfast

cleaning, vacuuming, doing dishes

reading books

spending time with special teenagers

Dear husband gone most of the week, standing in his place caring for house and family

tying on an apron, baking a cake

making a big, healthy tossed salad

13 well-behaved, good children home with me today

hair up in a ponytail, sneakers on

sunshine

watching them walk off together for a hike in the woods

chatting with two loving friends at the door

getting a son ready for a sleep over

singing hymns of praise to Jesus with my teenage daughter

hugs, kisses, smiles, laughter, teasing, listening

…….but all with a sense of deep sadness, and thinking to myself……

“there is a place in hell for self-proclaimed ‘religious’ people who destroy, kill, fill with fear, and/or harm precious innocent people who belong to the very God they say they serve”

“of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worse” CS Lewis

(music for listening!)

Hello, dear friends! It’s about 55 degrees here with sunshine….I should be outside, but after a busy weekend and busy morning I am perfectly content to be in comfy clothes (baggy sweater, yoga pants, socks), inside my cozy living room, with curled up sleeping cats on the couch with me. It’s quiet! Sarah is napping.

I had a nice chat with my brother Dave this afternoon. He and his wife Maria recently returned from two weeks in Paris. He had promised to share pictures with me and he’s already sent me over one hundred digital photos….I looked at them all several times….feeling sort of, envious, but mostly heart-happy to have world travelers in the family. Can a mom of seven be a world traveler at this point? No. But I can live vicariously through Dave and Maria. They had such a good time, I love the photos, and Dave said I could share them here with you. Enjoy!

*****

Notre Dame Cathedral

The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid

He said the Mona Lisa is still attracting people like a rock star. They got up to it, took a couple quick pictures and then continued on…….

so fun

Catacombs of Paris, very sad place indeed.

the majestic Versailles::

Marie Antoinette’s bedroom:

my personal favorite picture of Dave:

and favorite picture of Maria:

The Sarcophagus of Napoleon Bonaparte::

Rodin Museum; The Thinker Statue

The Thinker statue

more wonderful art

onion soup! Dave said he had it (his favorite) about 6 times…..delicious, outside by the street, with a bottle of wine in an ice bucket and his beautiful wife, how can life get better in a moment like this?