Rounding the 2022/23 Bend
I don’t know if you’re a “choose-a-word-for-the-year” kind of person, but I have become one. I only started 2 or 3 years ago.
My word for 2022 was “ENGAGE,” which was a reminder to me to be fully engaged in whatever I’m doing. I have a personality that tends to check out a lot, and I know this is not healthy. I still slipped into auto-pilot many times, but having that word to cling to throughout the year really helped me stay focused and ENGAGED.
My word for 2023 is “DELIGHT.” I was inspired when I started reading the psalms again in my one-year Bible. This section is the inspiration :
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose DELIGHT is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law day and night.” -Psalm 1:1-2
I want to choose to delight in God’s promises, His goodness, in my husband, in our kids, in our daily tasks, in the fun and in the hard stuff even. I find that choosing to delight is so very similar to choosing joy. It’s not something to muster up, but rather a shift in perspective. Life is not always gentle to us here on earth, but we have the choice to DELIGHT in the flowers amongst the weeds.
I love being a tourist in my own town.
Here are two flowers walking through very difficult weeds of life right now. We love you guys!
Christmas gifts from California.
Tourist train with the cousins.
Look mama, I’m bigger than Mamie.
Nothing like the sea in December.
Mamie and Nils.
Papi and Mamie and their 4 grandkids. Noé (camouflaged), Daphné, Django and Nils.
New bikes for Christmas. Maiden voyage on the prom.
Tonio and his good buddy Niels. Always great to reconnect with old friends.
He loves his new bike.
The big slide.
The day before New Year’s Eve, eating dinner at a neighbor’s house.
Galette des rois with Tonton Robie.
Tonton Robie’s brother Chris came for a visit all the way from Washington, D.C.
Every Monday, Django comes home early from school to see the speech therapist in the afternoon. We always walk by this super fancy hotel that often has cool cars parked in front. Django asked if I would take his picture in front of this BMW. The closer you stood to the car, the more green you could see.
A visit from Rémi, who used to live here in Nice.
Exploring our friends’ house.
We were invited to dinner the night before Daphné’s 8th birthday, so we decided to celebrate a bit early.
Barb makes most of her clothes, which is so impressive. You can see all of her pattern reviews here.
Daphné’s acual birthday! We are so humbled to be her parents. What a gift she is to our family.
Daphné’s swim class was cancelled on Wednesday, so we dropped off Django at music and visited the library. Her friend Saféya was there too!
The kids received these hand-knitted socks from a friend of mine in Finland. Her mama made them for our kids for Christmas.
And that is all for this post. I hope you enjoyed rounding the bend with us into 2023. The next post will be all about Daphné’s birthday party.
Love Linz