Fall Visit from Mizi and SheShe

As we are enjoying a visit from Papa and Grammie Nanninga, I thought I would share some photos from the trip Ryan's Mom and Aunt Sheila (or Mizi and SheShe as Vera calls them) made out here to France this past fall.

Their trip involved lots of play time with Vera here in Vichy, but also trips to Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Paris. Below are some photo highlights from their trip.

Play time included painting a pumpkin...

And herself.

A nice walk and view close by home.

Feeding the ducks and nutria in the park is our favorite activity on warm days.

And on cold days we drink coffee.

The nearby small village of Charroux, with its Roman influence, makes for a nice afternoon troll on small cobblestone streets.

 Vera had to gear up for a rainy day in Lyon with some hot coffee.

I guess the coffee wasn't too strong...

The view of from Lyon Cathedral is spectacular, even in the rain.

Hiking up the Volcanoes in Clermont-Ferrand gave us some breathe-taking views.

Finally, some pictures from Paris at the end of their trip.

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted on the blog.. In the coming weeks, we are hoping to get some pictures up and tell the birth story of our newest addition to the family: Deacon Walter.

Charroux

Today Ryan had the day off so we decided to meander around a small village close by called Charroux.

Once a fortified medieval village, it is now famous for its mustard that is used by several great chefs and exported around the world. We were able to purchase some of the mustards. If you like spicy mustard, these three will definitely clear out the sinuses.

We also picked up some delectable smelling candles. I can't handle the yummy goodness of this Myrtille (blueberry) candle. 

Days are so much better when he's around. She can't get enough of her Dad. Her face on the last one says it all. 

Someday we will look back on these pictures together and we can remind her that these cobblestone streets and vine covered walls were once her playground.

25 weeks have gone by with this little boy inside me. Each week I have to pray for a little more patience as they seem to go by slowly. I feel like this boy bump should fully grown by now, but in reality, I'm actually ahead of the game in comparison with Vera's pregnancy. I'm feeling great and I hardly feel pregnant, except for the little flutters and kicks going on behind my belly button. They are the sweet reminders to me of God's grace and handiwork. It's amazing and quite comforting to me that God already knows and is sovereign over his little life even before he is born. He knows him by name, and we don't even have a name picked out. :/ ...any suggestions? 

Doing It All Over Again

We get to do this all over again. 

We get to live in France for another year. We get to watch and play another basketball season.

 We get to bring home another precious souvenir. 

But this time around it will be a different.

Different city. Different basketball team. Different doctors. 

Two kids instead of one. A baby BOY instead of a baby girl. 

Here' how we found out. 

I wanted pancakes. It's what I miss most overseas (even though I know I can make it myself, it just isn't the same). So it was blueberries vs. strawberries as a topping. We were home with Ryan's family and we gave our secret note to Ryan's younger brother and he topped the yummy pancakes his mom made. He was able to capture our reactions on camera while we closed our eyes and waited for the surprise. 

And it was blueberries. We figured it out beforehand because Vera is obsessed with strawberries and didn't reach for the blueberries while our eyes were closed. 

We couldn't be more thrilled and thankful for another sweet gift from the Lord! 

For those of you who want to know, this weekend I'll be halfway pregnant. Though my belly doesn't show it, I'll be 20 weeks. Somedays I forget I'm pregnant. My symptoms are minimal. My tummy is growing slowly. And my 1.5 yr old keeps me preoccupied. 

For the others that want to know, we are now living in Vichy, France. A small city located in the middle of France. We are living high in the sky on the 17th floor of a 20 story building. We've been here two weeks and already love the city.