Gram = disaster relief! by Julia

Anita (aka Gram or Wayne's mom) made the drive to Indiana with us and then spent the week helping us get the house and children settled. The shirt she chose said it all!  

There were many mornings she entertained the kids while Wayne and I slept a little longer or took the time to feed the baby. This morning we found her and the girls drinking chocolate milk/coffee on the patio watching the bunnies. (It's amazing they found mugs!)

Girl time with Gram is always fun! 

Gram with all the little ones before she flew home. 

The first week in Indiana would have looked much different without her service to us all. She drove the mini-van several hours...specifically the last 2 because I couldn't keep my eyes open. We would have spent the night in a hotel if she wasn't with us. She slept in Bethany and Annabelle's room to help acclimate them and relieve any fears. She watched the kids swimming in the pool many afternoons while Wayne and I worked on unpacking. She helped the older ones unpack and settle their rooms. She moved boxes, unpacked boxes, transported kids, gave encouragement, ran errands, and was overall another set of hands and eyes. We couldn't have done it without her! We are so grateful!

County Fair by Bethany

The county fair was all 4-H students. I had a really fun time there with Gram and with my family. We had very good ice cream. I met a girl that was my age. Her name was Colette. She had a cow and one rabbit and three pigs at the fair. The girl told me a lot about animals. She let me feed the cow and brush the cow. She was very nice. She had a brother who was ten. Joseph and Cody had a fun time. I had fun petting the animals. I saw some chickens, rabbits, goats and sheep, horses and pigs, and cows.

(This is me and Annabelle and Joseph petting a cow.)

(Here is Colette and me. She is showing me how to brush him.)

(This is Cody and Joseph.)

(THis is Annabelle and Colette.)

(Caroline Rose is waving hello to the chickens.)

We saw quilts and a lot of Legos. The Legos were very impressive. It was fun looking at everything. The cakes were very pretty. Some cakes looked like they were bumblebees and some were very funny. They were decorated as diving boards, hot dogs, hamburger, corn, high heeled shoes, ice cream cones, the beach,      American flag, presents, flowers.  If I was in 4-H I would be in mini 4-H. Mini 4-H is for 5 year olds to 9 year olds. I hope I can do 4-H next year.

The kids looking at all the cakes.

High heeled shoes....that's a cake?

This is my favorite thing, gift wrapping. I like the house.

Yesterday I went walking in the woods with my family. We saw and found a lot of stuff, and we found a creek. We discovered a baseball field in our back yard complete with a backstop and that day we also met our neighbor's horses Thunder and Willy and fed them apples.  Then today we went to the Clay County fair and met a couple of friends there. We also played in our swimming pool for about half an hour and didn't have to get out because we weren't acting right.

(Joseph in the hayfield -between the woods and the house.)

(The family trekking through our woods. Everyone went except Sophia Joy. She stayed home with Gram.)

(The girls stopped to enjoy the blackberries and mulberries.)

(This is our next door neighbors - Mr. Keys and Willie.)

(Here is Thunder, the other neighbor horse.)

So sorry about not writing for three days. Two days ago there was a flash flood. Our neighbor's front yard turned into a lake and our back yard had a river in it. Man, was it scary, according to the girls, but I loved it. Bethany was so scared when ever there was a big thunder clap. I have loved playing foosball and swimming 

in the pool .

(The river through our back yard - you can see the apple orchard up the hill from it.)

(This shows the view from our back door. The little house is the pool house.)

(This is our driveway and the neighbor's yard which looks like a lake with the flooding. Turns out there was a drainage pipe that was clogged. As soon as it was cleared, the lake drained rather quickly. Picture zoomed in from our front window. )

Man oh man I am SO tired! Today and yesterday have been exhausting. We stayed up very late the night before we left and then had to get up early that morning, though it wasn't till 10:00 A.M.that we actually left. Lots went wrong on the trip and we didn't get here till 1:00 A.M. I went walking with mom and the girls and saw a deer. A really fun boy came over and played with me. We swam in our pool together and slid down the slide and jumped off the diving board. But then we came in, ate dinner but I slid and banged up my head really bad. Now it's about time for bed thus concluding the first day in the Tarrant's new house.  (written by Joseph)

Dr. Visit with Caroline Rose

Well, I broke down and took C.R. to the doctor today. Last night she was coughing non-stop from 2:30 to 6am. Nothing worked to relieve it- I tried saline mists and bulb syringe, chest rub, hot shower, cold night air, patting her back with her head down, irragating her nose, Dimetapp Cold and Allergy, LOTS of prayer and laying on of hands. Nothing......

So a doctor's visit here is incredibly different than in the States! A refreshing different! Thankfully Greer was here to go with me, as Wayne is in Paris. So our appointment was at 10:45. We wait just a few minutes in the waiting room before the doctor comes to get us. ...yes, the doctor. Then we sit at his desk as he types directly into his computer all the information he might need. NO PAPER WORK! He asks me if she has been running a fever, when I say no, he trusts me! Her temperature was not taken. After asking questions and talking a little while, we move to the examining table in the same room. He does all the standard - ears, nose, throat, lung, stomach checks. He sees that she has an inflamed traichia (or however you spell it) and that her congestion probably causing it. He went back to his desk, filled out a prescription sheet for us and a receipt. We paid him 28 Euros at his desk, thanked him and left for the pharmacy. Now how much more simple is that! There was one receptionist for the 5 doctors that practiced there. She made the appointments and answered the phone calls. And how can the prices be so cheap? Well he didn't have to pay 5 office staff people to direct people from the waiting room to the examining room, nor someone to file paperwork, nor someone to file insurance, nor someone to manage payrole, etc. So what is our problem in the States? Please don't get me wrong, socialized medicine isn't all great nor the way to live, in my opinion, but we can learn a lot about simplifing from them!

The other thing I really liked is that they don't give syrup medications to children under the age of 2! We were prescribed a suppository and a special nasal spray to use after the saline. This makes so much more sense! We are very careful to watch our children's diets as babies and toddlers, and yet we pump them full of sugary medicine whenever they are sick? How radiculous!

CORE- Our housing

Okay, so here are the promised pictures of our housing. This is CORE. If you go up the staircase on the left side, our bedroom is the first door on the right. We youc an see our window, just above the staircase. Our kitchen and den are in the building on the right. So we come down the stairs, across the yard and enter through the far door, nearest the car. By the way, that is our great big huge van in France!

Okay, I cannot figure out how to put more than one picture on here. ......