Mont-Dore and Puy de Sancy

France offers some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. I love the area that we live in because within a 15 minute drive, you can be in the mountains, really volcanoes. When we first arrived 8 weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit the small village of Mont-Dore. It is about 30 minutes from Clermont and at the base of Puy de Sancy. The idea was to walk part of the walking trail. During the winter, the area is a ski resort, but in late summer, it is a quiet area. We made a lovely picnic lunch and packed up the kids and the dog for a nice Sunday afternoon picnic and walk. Now we are not the most active family, but hey, when in France, do like the French!

Lunch was great! Preston planned and cooked a delicious Southern/French menu of fried pork chops (Southern), baguettes (French) and a light rose' wine (really French!). After lunch we walked through a few shops and the children bought candy. Then it was time for the short ride to the beginning of the walking trail at the base of the volcano. Now our first clue to the level of difficulty for the walk should have been all of the people with hiking boots, walking sticks and backpacks!

Needless to say, we didn't make it to the top, but we did climb the first part maybe 400m. It was a manageable, but steep hill. Here are some of the pictures we took. Notice how much the children enjoyed the "walk."

Just an Average Wednesday!

Today is what I hope a typical Wednesday will be like. First of all, I was able to sleep this morning! Daniele and Maya have school for half of the day on Wednesday and they are old enough to walk themselves to school. Lauren and John are out of school all day Wednesday, so they slept in a well. I woke up in time to have coffee with Preston before he went to work.

Everyone was home for lunch, including Preston. When he is in town, he works close enough to walk home for lunch. After lunch, the children have Tennis Lessons. It is a short 10 min drive from home. I was able to complete some of my French homework while they practiced.

Now it is 3pm and we are done for the day. It is very nice to have a little break in the middle of the week. Right now I am sitting by the window in my kitchen sipping tea. There is a nice breeze outside and it is perfect fall weather. It had been cold the past few weeks, but this week has been very nice.

Of course, I could wash another load of clothes or unpack another box. But for now I am enjoying a little time for myself. During this transition, there have been many ups and downs, but I am grateful for this experience. One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." This "thing" that we are doing, moving to and living in France, is not easy. But I know that Christ has strenghthen us and gives us grace and just average wednesdays!!!!