The French Adventure: Some Christmas festivities

The candy piles for the gingerbread houses- they are SO into Smurfs here!

Henry's bed with his favorite Christmas quilt! He LOVES having a special blanket for Christmas!

This year's ornament - a traveler with a French flag!

Henry's tree from Greenville in his room- the lights work fine as long as we use a transformer in the outlet.

Here we are at the Christmas market by the cathedral for lunch.

Gant eating oysters

Henry eating churros

Santa lost his pants?

Look who we ran into on the street! Only in Clermont- Ferrand, where Bibendum is a celebrity!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire!

The boys about to get on the Ferris wheel

It is HIGH up there!

Henry giving me a silly smile - I think he was tired of me taking pictures and wanted to be a smarty pants! This is his new Asterix key chain- he is a comic book hero here.

And lastly a trip to a glass blowing place in a nearby town, Riom, for Christmas ornaments. They are beautiful and only 8 Euros!

It was hard to decide between all of those beautiful designs, but I liked the simple ones- the glass itself is gorgeous on it's own!

Since arriving in June, we probably have felt the most like foreignors NOW with the holidays approaching. None of the same traditions, smells, sounds, music, language or traditions surrounds us. It is very strange and definitely creates moments of nostalgia as we miss all we know so well and find familiar. Yet we cling to the abundance of time together and the opportunity to search our hearts for what Christmas really means to our family. God is being gracious to give us this unique Christmas unlike any we have ever known to seek Him above all else.

" I don't want a Christmas you can buy, I don't want a Christmas you can make. What I want is a Christmas you can hold, a Christmas that holds me, remakes me, and revives me."

- Ann Voskamp,The Greatest Gift

Here is our Christmas card this year via Facebook....

Love and miss you all!!