Paying it Forward

Helping someone else when you have been getting so much help yourself, is a blessing and a huge boost to the spirit. I was down at the main train station (Gare Cornavin) in Geneva this week and had the opportunity to do just that.

A family from Australia was wielding their suitcases through the crowd and looked completely jet-lagged and confused. They were stopping people to ask directions, but no one seemed to speak English. Either that or people were in too much of a hurry. I was on my way to an appointment myself, but I had a flash from the past come into my head and heart. It was a year ago that we moved here. I had been them, so confused, tired and lost most of the time.

I had learned to say a sentence, "Ou est le/la ___?" Which is, "Where is the ___?"
A quick look at my watch helped me decide that I had time to catch the next bus, so I walked over to help them. As I approached they gave me their best French and I answered in English. The mom started to cry, right there on the spot. :(

We went to a map, so I could point out where they were going. I was able to walk them over to the tram that they should take to get them to their hotel. We discussed where they were to exit, what landmarks they would be looking for and what they would be hearing and watching for on the tram monitor, and speaker. On the way, I taught them to ask a couple of directional questions. The mom wrote them down and then repeated them several times. I gave them my cell phone number and then they were off on their tram. One year ago I was them and today I started paying it forward. Doing service, no matter how small is a gift!

Hedgehog Heaven

I am thankful for our hedge. I saw another hedgehog come out of it today! Our hedge is about seven feet tall and it completely surrounds our home and yard. It is about a 2 feet thick. So, recently the "hedge trimmers" showed up to groom our massive hedge. It was fascinating to watch the men measure and trim the top and sides. It is quite an art. It took two days to finish and clean up. The next day our gardeners came to take care of the side and back lawns and clean up anything that the "hedge trimmers" left behind. After they left, I went out into the backyard to find a hedgehog walking slowly from one portion of the yard to another. When he saw me he froze. He turned his little head to watch me. He was so cute. After about 10 minutes he walked to a shady portion of the hedge and disappeared. If that is why they call them hedgehogs, then I am glad that we have a hedge.

FREE Hearts, Hands & Feet

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Get your own

It is fair to say that I am fairly frugal when it comes to traveling. Souvenirs in a small village look authentic, but many times they have been made in China. What you see in Istanbul, as exotic souvenirage, <---(new word) can be found in London at some Kitchy store. :( About 15 years ago I started "Hands and Feet." When we travel somewhere my children always knew that I would call upon them for a "Hands or Feet" picture. Whether at our Nations Capitol in Washington DC, in the sacred grove of upper state New York or at the beach in California, I have pictures of my family's "Hands and Feet". I LOVE looking back at the pictures to see our shoe styles, my kids toes in the sand or their hands during different stages of their lives. I want to put all of these in a huge collage for our home one day. Included now is the improved "Hearts, Hands & Feet." My sister told me about the idea of looking for "Hearts" and I have made it my own. Whenever and where ever we travel, we looks for heart-shapes in nature. It costs nothing and is a great loving reminder of a day. I love when Laura has been scouting for a heart and shows it to me. I wish that I had done this when my kids were tiny. It really can keep kids happy and busy. For example, we find a heart shaped rock and put it in our pocket as a place keeper. If during the day we find another, then we compare. Majority wins and we keep the most heart-shaped piece. That way we bring only a small reminder home. Sometimes I collect the tiny heart-shaped rocks and write the name of the place where we picked it up. I have a jar of "Hearts" sitting in my living room. More often, I just take pictures of the "Hearts" that we find. Small stones in our path as we are walking up hiking trails, stones in a rock wall, a tree with a heart in it's bark or even a cloud overhead. They are all over the world. They are my secret little reminders that Heavenly Father Loves me. When Paul or one of my kids find one to point out to me...I just melt and feel more loved.

A Quick Get-Away

We had a fun get-away this last weekend to the German part of Switzerland. Our first stop was to Gruyere, which is about 1.5 hours from our home. We have visited here quite a few times and love the village and surroundings. We toured the castle once more and stopped at the chocolate factory. The weather was very cooperative and the green hills were perfect. It was easy to imagine Julie Andrews singing on any of the open fields.

Our next stop was to Interlaken. This is the Jungfrau region or top of the Alps. Last time we were there it was horribly rainy and we could not see the Jungfrau at all. This time the sun was out and the peaks looked magnificent against the sky. We visited the Ballenberg open air museum (Traditional Swiss villages and crafts) and enjoyed a hike in nature. Cows were in the hills with their bells on so spring is here and summer approaching. You can see a picture of Laura with the cows in the background.

We had a long day, but since we were fairly close to home we could end the day by sleeping in our own beds. After church on Sunday, we drove to Annecy, France, with friends. Annecy is about 40 mins away from our home. We took a picnic and ate by the lake. It was a relaxing weekend and good to be with family and friends.

May 1st and Lily of the Valley!

Today was May Day. In France and in French speaking Switzerland,(where we live) May Day is a celebration of labor and also love. It is a custom to give a sprig of Lily of the Valley, to someone you love. As I went out today, it seemed that many women and girls were carrying a small bouquet of flowers. It was so sweet to see. On the train several women got on grasping their bouquets, which gave off the most beautiful fragrance. I found out the flowers were Lily of the Valley. It is the traditional flower given out on May Day. The Lily of the Valley means the return of happiness, purity of heart, sweetness, humility, happiness and love's good fortune. The legend of the lily of the valley is that it sprang from Eve's tears when she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. In Romanian, Lily of the Valley is the meaning of the name, "Lacramioara", which was our daughter Laura's given name. By coincidence, Laura's middle name is May. May, because it is the month where we first saw a picture of our future daughter. :)

Knowing all of this, Paul surprised Laura and I by buying us Lily of the Valley and presenting it to each of us at home tonight.

We women felt very loved and special. Happy May Day All!