Birthday and visit

We had a very busy weekend as we celebrated Mike's birthday and also had overnight guests.  All this week leading up to Saturday we were busy getting ready.  Emily and I went and did some birthday shopping and also grocery shopping.  And we  got the house ready for company.  Not that we live like slobs or anything but I do not systematically dust every week or clean mirrors (and there are a lot of those in this house) or mop the floor like mom taught us!  Mike did the big mirror in the living room and could hardly move his arm after that.

Besides doing all of that, Emily decided that we needed to decorate for Fall.   (I'll write a blog, with pictures another time.)  This was not in my schedule.  The problem with the decorating this time is that we came back from the States with a few new decorations and we live in a different house.  Things don't have a "usual" place yet.  It took longer than usual but it looks really nice and we were able to enjoy it with our company.

They arrived on the train from Paris at noon on Saturday.  I  made lasagna ahead of time.  It only had to bake in the oven for a few minutes when we got home.  A little bit of garlic bread and a salad.  Et le tour est joué!!  We had birthday pie for dessert.  We really don't eat cake much.  Mike asked for lemon meringue.  So that's what he had.  Emily put the candles on the "cake".  She found a brand new box (finally came across the birthday candles--see Emily's birthday blog in June).  I told her to put on about 10 candles and she put on all of them.  It made quite the fire.

What is it Papa?

Pictures of Emily!!

Charentaise=slippers

Lots of fire!!

Vernon Rosenau and his wife Jan are with Baptist Mid Missions.  They were missionaries in Central African Republic, in fact Vernon was born there.  He is in the home office now and is Field administrator for Europe and Africa.  They arrived in Paris on Friday, stayed overnight there and then caught a train to Rouen.  They were with us until Monday morning when they got the train again for the Southwest of France.

Vernon and Jan Rosenau

On Sunday afternoon (after going to church in the morning) we ate lunch and then the four of us drove to Etretat up on the English Channel.  It was a beautiful fall day.  By the time we got there, around 4:30, the sun was going down behind the rock formations.  Itt was beautiful.  We walked and talked.  We stopped at a sidewalk café,  had a goûter (snack), talked and walked some more and then came home.  We were going to go up to the hill where the church is,  that you'll see in the picture, but we couldn't find the right road.  We were all so tired we just came home.

See the church on the hill?

I was driving on the way home and at the last toll booth, I left our bank card.  It is all automated, you put the ticket in, then the card and push a button for a receipt.  You take the receipt, the card and you go on your way.  Yesterday afternoon we looked all over the card and can't find it.  Mike called and cancelled it and they'll issue us a new one.  I think we were VERY tired!!

We are now back into a normal schedule for the most part this week.   We did enjoy our company but I must say it is nice to be just us again.