Graduation and Uganda

stephen graduated from

high school on saturday

from the

American School of Paris.

i admit..

i get a little giddy

looking at his diploma..

that says,

Paris, France.

it was a lovely ceremony.

we had great seats.

griffy sat still for 

AN HOUR AND A HALF!

and the guest speaker

was my new friend..

the U.S. Ambassador to France.

:)

he gave a terrific speech.

his words..

"the world owes you nothing..

you owe everything to the world"

was what stuck with me the most.

ok,

when he also said..

"by the way..love your blog"..

that kind of stuck with me too.

no..he didn't say that during his speech..

but he did say it when we met again

at the reception following the graduation.

seriously??

i had no idea that out of the 104 

graduates from ASP..

31 countries were represented.

how cool is that?

following the graduation and reception

steve and i took stephen 

out to dinner to celebrate.

we had such a nice evening.

talking about his past and his future.

and stephen talking about how 

embarrassed he was watching me bawl my 

eyes out at the graduation.

14 more years buddy.

i wonder where you'll graduate from??

it was a wonderful and emotional

day.

we are so proud of you stephen.

my friend kimberly 

is hosting an auction

on her blog

right now!

many of her generous friends

have donated gorgeous things

to help raise money

to furnish a home

in africa that kim's mom

built!

kim is going to uganda next month.

i just adore what kim and her mom 

are doing.

please consider bidding on

some of these beautiful things

on kim's blog!! 

xo

The Prom in Paris

oh do these kids know 

how lucky they are?

wait..

didn't i just write about

that??

well..i guess when you're

born into this..

then i would say you're

pretty darn lucky!

the american school of paris'

prom was last night.

stephen went with a lovely girl.

some kids go with dates

and others go as a group..

i like that.

prior to the traditional prom pics

at trocadero..

we were invited to the u.s ambassador

to france's home for champagne and 

hor 'dourves.

stephen is graduating with their 

daughter on saturday.

what a treat to meet 

ambassador charles rivkin!

we talked a lot about 

our kids and graduating 

and our time here in paris.

he asked where we were from

in the states and when i told him

boston he was so sorry to hear about

the recent bombings there.

stephen and a few of his

friends inside the mansion.

the weather cleared so we 

were able to head outside in

the ambassador's garden for some 

pictures.

(and fog on my lens...big bummer)

into the hummer limo

and off to trocadero for more

pictures.

stephen has such a great 

group of friends here.

today is the last day of school!

waiting for the kids to get home

and we're headed to 

jardin d'acclimation!

tomorrow is graduation!

it will be a fun and emotional

weekend for sure.

bon weekend!

You Are So Lucky

we hear this a lot.

and yes we are.

however,

luck didn't get us here.

we didn't win some

move to paris lottery.

it was nothing less than

very hard work that

landed us here.

the day after steve

and i were married

we were driving from

our homes on cape cod

 to ft. rucker alabama

for steve to start flight school.

as soon as we arrived

he was put in "lock down"

and i couldn't see him 

for a month.

i was alone,

in a new state,

newly married.

i unpacked our boxes

and wedding gifts

and cooked and baked.

i missed him

but i didn't mind.

i was a happy, young wife

and i loved our new life.

when he returned home,

he locked him self up

and studied hard.

again

i cooked and baked

and got pregnant.

i was happy.

i would cook dinner

for all of his single friends

and i loved it.

i would bring steve dinner

in his study room.

and man do i wish i had a picture 

of that room!

steve took a big old box and 

turned it into a helicopter!

he drew all the flight controls

and buttons and switches.

and he graduated number one 

from his flight school.

which meant we got to pick where

we wanted to be stationed.

we chose germany.

fast forward 18 years later

and here we are.

when i thank steve for

working so hard for 

giving us this great life..

he thanks me too.

i've worked just as hard.

while he has been off

climbing that ladder

to get where he is today

in his career..

i've been home

raising children

and keeping a home.

many different  homes.

and i wouldn't have it

any other way.

i love our life.

we ARE lucky to call

paris our home right now..

but it was a lot hard work getting here.

p.s

i just bought Jeanne Olivers Mia Camera Bag!

I think it'll be perfect for the summer!

Go check out her gorgeous new bags!

Cruising the Seine

it's been a long week.

and it's just going to 

get busier.

steve and i went over

our calendar today..

happy to get that done.

we just booked our

october vacation!

can't believe we are already

looking ahead that far.

this past week we were all sick.

we spent a lot of time at home.

stephen was in greece

on his senior trip all week.

i didn't sleep much this past week.

but,

he's home

and had a great time.

while he was flying into paris last night..

steve and i went on a cocktail cruise

along the seine put on 

by the kids school.

we were having a great time..

until i ate something that had pine nuts in it.

i'm not going to go into

the gory details..

but basically 

the boat sped up

to get back to the dock 

to meet the ambulance 

that was waiting for me.

it was a long night.

and not just for me.

steve rode in the ambulance

with me and when i left the hospital

he went to grab a cab to take him back

to the car at the dock.

do you think he could find a cab

in this city?

he ended up walking for miles

back to the dock to get the car.

here's to a healthier week ahead!

p.s...

and please don't email me or comment about

how i need to carry an epi-pen.

i do.

i just forgot last night.

Musee Rodin

i just love the museums

in paris.

a few days ago hannah

and griff and i 

visited the 

rodin museum.

griffin wanted nothing

to do with walking around

inside the museum..

so we spent most of our

time walking around 

the gardens outside.

the thinker

the three shades

the gates of hell

there was spooky music

coming from the trees

near the gates of hell

monument to the 

burghers of calais.

hannah and griff

and 

auguste rodin

any day spent at a 

museum in paris

is a great day in my book.

yesterday

was the first sunday of the month.

which means free museum admission

in paris.

steve had not yet visited 

musee d'orsay

so we went.

now, usually

i'm cursing the stroller..

in my elevator,

on the metro

but

 a stroller gets you 

to the front of the line

at the museums.

and free admission sundays

are packed.

it was a great weekend.

will came home from

his field trip to brittany

friday night.

saturday morning 

stephen left for crete

with his senior class.

the next few weeks are crazy busy.

sports banquets

the prom

going away parties

graduation

and school ending.

looking forward to summer! 

Pickpockets in Paris

well..

i guess it was just 

a matter of time.

yesterday,

my wallet was stolen

right out of my bag

at the grocery store.

we know many

people  who have

had their homes

broken into..

computers stolen

wallets stolen

etc.

but,

until it happens to you..

you just don't understand 

the feeling of being violated.

hannah and griffin and i

went to our local grocery store

yesterday.

and like usual..

i made a stop at the ATM

first.

after we do our big shopping..

i stop at the produce market

the meat market

the boulangerie

and i need cash

for those shops.

while strolling up and down

the first few isles..

i knew

two women were following me.

i had a sense about them.

one kept getting very close to me.

i didn't know they were together.

a few minutes later

one of the women asked me

a question which made me 

turn my back from my cart.

i replied that i didn't understand 

her question..

apologized..

and kept shopping.

after putting all my groceries 

up on the belt..

i looked in my bag..

saw my wallet missing..

and knew immediately it was them.

the rest of the day was spent

walking to the

police station..

where the rude

non-english speaking man

told me that i had to walk to 

the other police station

half way across my 

arrondissement to file

my complaint.

once i got there..

of course no one spoke

english and treated me

as if i were to blame.

finally..

after filling out paper work

receiving my temporary 

carte de sejour..

i walked back to the grocery

store where i waited for the security

guard to come talk with me.

he was yelling at me in french

and i just starting crying!

he took me into 

the security room

with the cameras 

and showed me 

the women following me

and the one woman stealing

my wallet.

what a sick feeling.

no one was hurt.

and for that i'm thankful.

but..

i know now

to be much more 

protective of my

belongings..

and to trust my instinct. 

Home and Away

we've all been 

coming and going 

so much lately..

i can't keep up.

stephen flew home

late saturday night

from vienna.

he had an amazing few

days of baseball

and eating schnitzel.

paris won the silver medal!

and stephen also

made

"all tournament"

which was quite an honor.

what a great experience

for him..

to travel with his team to a 

different country..

stay with a host family

and play lots of baseball.

we're so proud of you buddy.

early sunday morning

steve and hannah flew 

in from boston.

she hadn't been home 

in over 3 weeks.

it's so good to have her back.

she's feeling better

and will try and return

to school tomorrow.

sunday night

we decided to go out 

to dinner as a family

as it was the first time

(and last time for a while)

that we'll all be together.

we went to the latin quarter

and had a great meal.

we walked along the seine

and saw the most beautiful

pink paris sky.

i kept saying to steve..

i wish i brought my camera!

and he said..

just enjoy the moment.

and i did.

but i still wish i had my camera.

very early monday morning

will left with his 5th grade class

for a field trip to brittany, france.

he'll be gone until friday night.

i miss him so much!

but i'm loving the experiences 

he's having and thankful

for the daily updates and pictures

from his teachers.

yesterday they were sailing

and walking along the beach

collecting crabs

and visiting a beautiful chateaux! 

looking forward to friday night

when we'll all be together again..

just for that one night..

as stephen flies to crete, greece 

saturday for a week! 

i am so thankful

for the opportunities

that my children are having!

and so thankful

that hannah is well and home.