Passports, Meds, Glitter, Translation

My husband has travelled internationally so much for business in the past three years that he was about to run out of pages in his passport for visas and entry/exit stamps. So yesterday he trundled over to Marseille (about two hours by car), to the American consulate, and they inserted pages A through X in between pages 10 and 11! Now he's set for quite a while more. I remember my dad having to do the same thing years ago. Just one more similarity between my dad and my husband (both blond Davids in the computer industry and greatly beloved husbands).

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This morning I took my last dose of antibiotics! After 13 days of seriously medicating myself, I won't miss it one bit. On the phone last night, though, my Mom asked me to do her a favor: to pretend I'm still very, very ill for another month. Having experienced pneumonia, she said that's a good way to make sure you really get rid of it. Rest a lot more than you feel you need to, for a lot longer than you think. Sounds good to me, except...well, the holiday season is coming up...but then she reminded me it's not the season to be busy and rushed, it's the season for worshipping and slowing down. Good. So if everyone just tells me exactly what they want from me for Christmas, that would help. ;-)

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I have been trying for the past few days to get Advent calendars for myself and the kids. I have only three requirements for my Advent calendar:
1. Picture centered around a Nativity theme (Jesus, not Santa, is my focus at Christmas)
2. GLITTER
3. The Christmas story inside the flaps (i.e. relevant Bible prophecies or the account of Jesus' birth from the Bible)

I thought I would find Advent calendars more easily here in Europe, since they are mostly made in Germany, it seemed to me. At least the glittery ones. But I think I am in the wrong part of Europe. The South of France doesn't seem to have Advent calendars as part of its traditions - there are only a very few choices here, and not a single one that meets the three criteria. Even at the Christian bookstore, there were a grand total of three calendars. Not one with glitter. I think farther north I'd have more luck. I remember lots of glittery Advent calendars when I lived in Geneva.

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Tonight our French babysitter called me and wanted help writing an email in English to a prospective employer in Boston, for whom she might be an au pair in January. She came over and we had a lot of laughs together translating her French thoughts into English. She spoke in English for me a bit, I showed her how I could sound like her with a French accent in English. She told me how weird English was, and I taught her a few new words. We eventually got the letter written, and off she went. She looks forward to improving her English by immersion as an au pair in the United States, just as our kids are learning French by immersion as students here. A fun exchange that demands a lot and gives back even more. I am so happy to have grown up with two languages. It's so much easier than learning it later.