On the 1st Day of Christmas...

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partidge in a pear tree."

So it's the first of December and we've just spotted snow right at the top of the Pyrenees in the distance from our backyard. I can't belive I'm really going to have a white Christmas! It has been snowing much in the Alpes, but hopefully this will change in the next 3 weeks because we want lots of snow for when we go skiing! Fingers crossed.

So December means I'm officially into my 4th month here in France. It's quite cold. Things are getting busy preparing for Christmas. On Sunday we put up the Christmas decorations. I liked the family warm feeling of setting up the tree and putting on the decorations. And when I say warm, normally I would mean literally, but in this case, definitely not. It was a bit strange doing this routine in Slippers and a Jumper, but still nice all the same.

Christmas means lots of fun and food but also means family, so putting up the tree was a little saddening, however eating my first chocolate from my advent calendar did remind mean that when all of those little flaps are open, I will have less than a month till I am back at home again with the people I love the most.

In saying that, I also know it will be very hard to leave here because I have grown to love this family too. Monique is so motherly and loving. And although she will never take the place of my own mother, whom I love dearly (LOVE YOU MUM!), she does a pretty good job as a temporary replacement and I know this because she even does embarrassing things sometimes and I cringe along with the girls like any child does with their parents. She loves to show me things and take me places and we both share a keen interest in dancing, so we always look to each other when good music starts playing. Didier has become a very close friend, but in a fatherly way. We can spend hours just talking and I am totally comfortable telling him my thoughts and feelings (as best I can in French!) and he is patient when I can't quite get my words out. I feel very attatched to him espcially when he talks about me like I really am his 3rd daughter, and when he gives me advice and encouragement. Sometimes I just wanna give him a huge hug for no reason!

So at the moment I am missing me family, and my friends and am a little disappointed to think I want be spending Christmas and New Year and all the Summer holidays with them. But there are lots of exciting things ahead and the time is flying by so quickly now I know I need to cram in as much as possible before I'm on that plane once again! Won't be long now...