Women's Lib

There is a quote from the movie The Rookie that goes something like this:
“I’m a Texas woman. I don’t need a man…”

I suppose a sort of independence and you-can-do-whatever-the boys-can-do attitude is taught to Texas women from birth. My little girl plays with cars and boats as much as she plays with dolls. Here, women governors are not abnormal, and a girl can have a Harley if she wants one. But, deep down, there are those times when all of the self-reliance and feminism just conveniently disappear, and we can be “damsels” for the moment.

It was (still is) over 100 degrees today. I was on a busy highway. Claire and I had just left a birthday party. (Happy Birthday, Tessa!) Our tire exploded! Praise God, we did not lose control of the car; we simply pulled over to the shoulder while I was thinking, “I think we have a flat tire.”

I couldn’t get the hubcap off. The part of the jack that gives you leverage and makes things easier was missing. The tire was smoking. The road was busy.

Self-Determination flew away as my knight pulled up in the big white air conditioner repair van.

“You need help?”
My thoughts: “No, I can do it.”
My response: “yes.”

It made me feel a little better that the big, strong air-conditioner repairman had to stand (and jump a little) on the tire iron to get the bolts to budge. I probably could not have moved them.

"I Love You" in French

If you haven't heard, it looks as if we are going back to France!

I'm sure I will be writing a lot on the subject between now and the end of December, but I wanted to share a short little story.

We are trying to teach Claire some basic French words and phrases. Yes, she is only two, but she can handle it! She is quite the talker--probably because she practices all the time. She even talks in her sleep!

We were practicing, and I asked her, "Claire, do you know how to say, 'I love you' in French?"
She answered, "Yes!"
"You do? Can you say, 'I love you' in French?"
The response--"I lav you in Fench!"

This continued with "Hello in Fench", "Goodbye in Fench", etc., etc.!

I think it really started to hit me that we are going to be starting over again when Claire started saying, "I go Fance!" She even said, "I go Fance now." I guess the transistion time isn't easy even if you're two!

Please continue to pray for us!

Here is a picture of us from my family reunion last weekend.