Last we left you, we were just about to leave for a much needed break, which we did on April 6th. Off to France we flew, and after a few days in Paris, TCBITW decided we needed to dash over to the Champagne region, since he knows this is my drink of choice (I wonder if he had a clue of this when we married?). So, we hop on a train and off to Epernay we go. With our meeting in England pressing our time frame at this point, we were only able to spend one night there. My thought was, we head back to Paris and then take the Eurostar over to London through the Chunnel and hang out for a few days before we needed to be in Birmingham for our meeting. Well… TCBITW and his adventurous spirit decided we needed to make our way to Calais and take the ferry across the English Channel (because “I haven’t seen the White Cliffs of Dover and how COOL would THAT be??”). The last time I did that was 35 years ago, so, never one to put the kibosh on TCBITW and his grand plans, off we go to Calais, where we spend the night and take the ferry the next morning. I will say, this ferry was NOT the one of long ago, but like a cruise ship and we got smooth seas and clear skies for our crossing, hitting Dover just about the time the rain started again. From Dover, we did take the train to London, and spent one night (enjoying the show “Jersey Boys”), and then on to Birmingham where we also spent one night and a successful meeting! So, then, TCBITW decides that rather than “train” our way back to Paris, we would fly – great choice – took just 3 hours, and that includes airport time.
By this point, though, I was hitting the wall with being in a different place every night – I need, if nothing else, to nest, wherever in the world I am, and TCBITW, realizing this, found a very special little village in the Loire Valley about an hour and a half south of Paris called Amboise, where we spent three lovely days in a wonderful old manor house, turned hotel, that was build in 1107! We did nothing but relax and wonder around, except for one day when he decided we would rent a car in Tours, and took the train to do that, then a bus to the airport, where we had reserved a car. Now, you would think a bus would take you and drop you off AT the airport… well… in this case, you would be WRONG. Oh no, we were a good mile, mile and a half from the airport, so off we trek through industrial parks, luxury car dealerships, neighborhoods, and fields surrounded by barbwire… I have never WALKED to an airport before, until now! FINALLY make it to the airport for them to tell us that NO, they do not have our rental car for us and that’s that. Needless to say, a taxi was our mode of transport back to the train station!! Then it was back to Paris for RR to attend a trade show for a few days, while I nested in the apartment we rented to accommodate us and the Greenwoods, who arrived for our last week there! It was a great having an apartment… other than the weather, which was cold, windy and WET (this was the coldest, wettest winter/spring in Europe on record), the trip could not have been nicer! I love nothing more than showing friends, especially ones that have never been there before, my favorite city in the world! While our actual anniversary is on May 4th (and we were, by that point, separated from each other), this was our anniversary gift to ourselves! Reconnecting and making memories!! On our anniversary, I posted this, on Facebook, about being married to TCBITW (for those of you who have read it, sorry, but I wanted to post it here as well for those that aren’t on FB):
27 reasons why being married to Russell Rainey for the last 27 years has been such a blessing…
1. You are THE cutest boy in the world.
2. Life has been (and still is) a GREAT BIG ADVENTURE!
3. While you were an awesome dad to our young kids, you have been an even better dad to our adult kids – how blessed they are to have YOU as their dad!
4. You think I’m the most beautiful woman in the world!
5. When times got tough – you changed to become a better husband, father and man!
6. You indulge my OCD and get me to the airport insanely early!
7. You want nothing more than to see my heart soar!
8. You follow God’s will and lead our family, no matter where that takes us!
9. You are one of the most patient people I know (and this is evident, since you are still married to ME)!
10. You watch romantic movies with me ANY TIME I ask!
11. You have a much softer heart than I do – you cry on a dime J
12. You respect and depend on my opinion – ALWAYS!
13. You understand my love language – quality time!
14. You will be the best Opa EVER!
15. We have made more memories in 27 years than most people make in a lifetime!
16. We have grown up together – but you are still a great big kid at heart!
17. You sit down when you go tee tee in the middle of the night as not to cause me to fall in when I do!
18. You think my older, “fluffy” body is sexier than my younger one!
19. You let me drive when we are together because you know you drive too slow for me!
20. You are FINALLY getting some gray hair – hubba hubba!!
21. You pray with me every night when we get in bed!
22. You encourage me to follow my dreams!
23. You spend time with me in Paris simply because I love it so much!
24. You don’t buy even a stick of gum without researching it first (actually, this DRIVES ME CRAZY, but I can at least appreciate it about you and realize it’s why things work so well around our house)!
25. You are a true romantic!
26. You love me and our kids well…
27. But you love God most!
And that, my friends, just about says it all – I am proud to be his wife!!
On April 28th, RR flew back to Rwanda, while I flew to LR to spend a couple of weeks with my kids (yes, Josh flew in and was there as well), my family and close friends. I tried to stay as under the radar as possible to accomplish said goal, and it was wonderful. Brit and Kelly had their ultrasound to determine the sex (and check all systems) of Baby T, which Josh and I (with RR Skyped in) were able to sit in on!! No doubt about it… Baby T is DEFINITELY BABY BOY T!!! AND HEALTHY!! We had quite the celebration, and it was a special time for all of us!! We also spent quite a bit of time planning the baby’s nursery and just spending time together. When it all boils down – these are the things that mean the most to me/us… what we have, where we travel, what kind of house we live in, or what kind of car we drive mean nothing if you don’t have the love and support of family and friends!! Relationships are more important than ANYTHING! I am most thankful for all of you who I love and who love me!! For those of you who support us in this crazy adventure so that we can try to make a difference here in Rwanda. If I don’t say it enough, let me say it here, again - you mean the world to us!!
I just arrived back in Rwanda on Thursday night, and it was great to get back to TCBITW. Harder to leave LR this time than ever before, and I’m not sure if that was because I spent just a short time there or because I was leaving Brit, in her pregnant state, Kelly and Josh, not to mention family and the Wolfpack!! My body is still adjusting to the time change – actually, my body isn’t quite sure which time zone it is in! But, we are gearing up for the busiest summer yet!! We have so many who are coming to help the MOC and the surrounding area.
We have added two more students to our class of 2019. I am holding off on posting any of the profiles until I can do profiles of our newest students! We are done with the admissions process until next spring, when we will do it again for our next class! These students continue to work hard and amaze us with their determination. So much is happening over in the school – that’s a whole other blog!!
So… that should catch you up on our life in the last six weeks. I will get back to my regular blogs about life here in Africa next time! Till then – Sowa Sowa!!
 |
| Champagne in Champagne - Epernay, France |
 |
| Caption needed....really??? |
 |
| Pont St. Michel - Paris |
 |
| Getting Artsy in Paris.... |
