Stefan Turns TWO!!

And he loved the choo choo train that his mommy made for him!!!

Almost as good...

as being there-- but not quite!! We miss the French-ites!!!

Christmas in Iowa!!!

We are all here except Tim and Ruth and the 3 kids :-) and having a great time. If you are interested, here are some more pictures.

Christmas in France

So we didn't have quite the same calibre "excitement" that all the rest of you Bixbys are experiencing in an Iowa blizzard, but we nevertheless had a WONDERFUL, quiet, simple Christmas together as a family of five! Here is a peak into some of the stay-at-home family activities we enjoyed: gingerbread house decorating, making origami, reading the family Christmas memory book together, gazing at our little baby boy, and, of course, opening stockings and eating Christmas dinner. Hope you all are having a wonderful time making your own memories together. Looking forward to hearing all about it!

Peaceful

Concert in Rockford!!

We made it to Rockford for a very special concert with a very, very special redhead violinist! Uncle Brian and Aunt Jo were with us and we all had a treat at McDonalds afterwards! Please note that this violinist is SO important that she has a special violin carrier!

With Old Friends and Family

Just a few shots from some of the fun times that we had in December. It had been years since we had been with Uncle Lynn and Aunt Margo, so that was a treat. Aunt Theresa had a special meal for the "boys" and their wives and Grandma, of course. And then Donna Ruth got an early Christmas present!

Getting dressed

Happy Anniversary, Brian and Johanna!

Congratulations on year 3!
Looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for you this year.
Praying for a move into a house, a job, and a baby to happen quickly and smoothly!
Enjoy your day!

Happy Anniversary, Dan and Brenda!!

16 years!! Wow! So sorry you aren't in the same state, but you will be soon--right? Love you both.

Bath Time

Ruth was given very specific, step-by-step instructions about how to give "le toilette du matin."

1. make sure you you test the heat of the water with a thermometer (must be at 37 degrees)

2. soap him up while still on the towel, beginning with his hair and working down.

3. rinse him off gently.

4. based on temperature (taken just before bath) determine how many layers to put on. (The little sweater is very important part of a baby's wardrobe. It normally goes on over the "bodie" and under the vest.)

5. clean out his eyes, nose and face with special products provided.

6. give him his daily dose of vitamins via a syringe.

7. comb his hair.

Voila! A beautiful little baby is ready for the day.

Zacharie back with Mommy

Saying Goodbye to Zacharie

Here is mommy saying goodbye to her 18-hour-old son. Amazing how you can bond so quickly. Though we knew it was nothing threatening, it was still quite impressive to see the special neo-natal SAMU team with all their gear.

He is doing very well and should be able to come home today.

24hrs and 30 minutes later....

...and an ocean away...
Adeline Elisabeth Cole is born!
8.9oz 20 in. long
7:41pm Wednesday, December 16.
Due to the time change, both babies will share a birthday!
God is good, how marvelous are His ways....
How blessed am I?!

Zacharie Christian Bixby

7.11 oz
1:09 Wednesday am.
height to be determined!!
He made is presence known within 20 minutes of arrival at hospital before arriving in the maternity ward and before the midwife even got her gloves on.
We are praising the Lord for such a speedy birth.
God is good!
Welcome to the world Zacharie!

Christmas Soirée

We are so grateful for all the students (37 students in all + our family) that God brought out for Friday night's soirée. It was a great time.

We have a tree!

Today we put up a tiny little tree in "our" basement! This was the tree I had bought for our honeymoon and we haven't gotten it out since. Brian was a wonderful husband and went to our storage unit and found the box for his wife! It feels like Christmas now--yay!

Thanksgiving in MN

We had a great time with Dan, Brenda, Elise, Ben, and Isabelle for Thanksgiving! Brenda put on a delicious and beautiful feast--we were spoiled. I think Elise got some more pictures, but this will give you an idea!

Thanksgiving in Rockford

Thanksgiving at the Homestead (trying again!)

Thanksgiving at the Homestead
We had a rather small but very nice Thanksgiving at the 604 homestead.We were really hoping that Uncle Mike would be able to come, but he didn't make it.There were only 12 people, but it was still a royal feast and the fellowship was great.So many memories in that house.Thanking the Lord for our heritage and the wonderful memories that Grandma and Grandpa helped create in that house. God is good.

Thanksgiving in France (yesterday)

With the Rockfordites!

No words needed :-)

Ohio Visits!

While we were in Ohio, we were able to stop by and have supper with Dale, Madeline and Jacob (the other 3 kids are at BJU). It was great to see them again and catch up on news.



The next day, we went to see Aunt Mary. She was as bright and cheery as ever. She had a mini-stroke last June but is doing very well. She is 95 years old. Looks like Grandma Bixby, huh? She reminds me of her too in some of her expressions-- especially "Well, let me see...".






From her house we went to see the Wagners (Betsy's parents) and had a great time with them. We forgot to get a picture. Then it was off to Findlay where we enjoyed staying with the Kalmbachs (part of the family on lower right) during the mission's conference. We weren't too great at getting pictures but I did remember to get one of Christy and her family for Donna (Christy taught in Germany with Donna many years ago and they go to Calvary!) And Pastor and Mrs Carroll. You kids will remember him as the pastor of Tabernacle in Wilson, NC and the man who gave you gum!! He had recently had a stroke so couldn't come to church so we went to the house to see them. In all, we had a great week in Ohio.

Birthday Cheesecake!

Besides just enjoying being in France with my family, my main birthday highlight this year was the cheesecake my sweet husband worked very hard to prepare! For those of you who have had it before, this is the Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake recipe, with "fruits rouges" (a blend of raspberries, blackberries, cassis, etc.) substituted for the strawberry purée. We had recently learned about a type of cream cheese available here called "fromage à tartiner" that seemed to work perfectly. I was a VERY happy birthday girl! ;) Two EBP students recently had birthdays as well, and so we were able (I forced myself!) to share a piece with them after Tuesday's prayer meeting. (In the picture in the middle, I am just about to blow out the candles on yet another little sweet treat that one of our students had left on our doorstep for my birthday.)

Wednesday was a holiday here (Armistice Day). I was very ready for a day off! We had talked about taking a day trip somewhere, but due to the weather and how worn-out we all were after a lot of recent activity, we decided just to take a short drive into the French countryside and then to return home for some family time and R&R. The gray day actually provided a different kind of beauty for us as we explored some country roads just outside the city near La Brede.

Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Have a wonderful day, Ruth. We love you and are glad you are part of our family :-) Wish we were there to spoil you but I am sure that your little family will do a great job!!

My B-day

I had a wonderful birthday and got spoiled rotten!!!

Florida!!!

Happy Birthday to a Very Special Girl!!!

Just as pretty and sweet as ever!! We love you and can't wait to see you at Christmas.

When you follow GPS--

There is just no telling WHERE you will end up!!!! We just couldn't leave Jo, Brian and Stefan sitting in an empty house all day for another week.

The Quilter!

While we have been running around visiting this week, Karen has been hard at work. She has started quilting in a big way, but she took the time to make me a "Quilted Sweatshirt." I love it and I know that it will gets lots of use.

Old Friends

Here are some pictures. Some of these people, you kids will remember. Others you may not, but my sisters will (if they look on here!)
From the top left in a circle-- Karen (our very gracious hostess this week), Ralph Whitehead (and me :-), Ronnie Phelps (Wanda's brother), Rana and her husband Chuck (she says hi to all of you kids !), Faith, Wanda (Grandma Morgan's best friend growing up), Grandpa Morgan (just kidding--Harry. But doesn't he look like Grandpa???) and Bill and Irene Elkins (the lawyer friend of my folks-- he is 88 and wants to practice for 2 more years until the supreme court judge for whom is the court attorney has to retire at 70! Imagine!)