Nice equals 'NICE'! What a lovely mini-break in the south of France with Mom, Aunt Char, and Aunt Karen! I got to spend 4 days popping around the cobblestone streets, mountainsides, and rocky beaches of the French Rivera earlier in the week. : )

What a gift to get to see the Mediterranean in all its majesty and to get to see my fam on this side of the Atlantic. I also saw a couple of celebs on my plane on the way home to Londontown. Roger Moore, a.k.a. James Bond, and Randy Jackson, of American Idol fame, were both on my flight. Pretty cool! I tried to get some pictures on my phone, but I am afraid my trying to be inconspicuous sort of hindered my photography. I will see if I can post some pics of them so you can see.

The school year is coming to an end here at ASL. All my girls are in the midst of finals and are looking forward to graduation next Friday. I must say that I am looking forward to it, as well. I have had a great time especially this semester here coaching softball and getting to spend fantastic, meaningful time with my new friends high school friends. I am also ready to get to come to the States to see you all.

The weather in Londontown is delightful! In the winter months here, as some of you know, the weather is extremely dark and dreary. On the flip side, the summer brings much daylight, soothing breezes, and smiling faces! The sun rises about 4:30 a.m. and sets near 10:00 p.m. I love it! I am pleased to get to spend the whole of June here to enjoy this amazing city!

The summer months bring time for to relax a bit and time to think about and plan for the upcoming fall. I went to my first small group from church this week, and I loved it! I met a couple of people that I instantly clicked with and look forward to hanging out with more in the future. Over the past month, I have also started volunteering at church with the 4-6 year olds! Oh, my goodness. I cannot put into words how cute these kiddos are with their English accents. I had a little girl correct my grammar the other morning. She was colouring a sheet with Jesus and the man with leprosy on it. I asked her which one was Jesus and which one was the leper. She replied, "You should have asked who are these men?" Oh my! A few seconds later, she was wrapping me in "loo roll" (a.k.a. toilet paper) to demonstrate being a leper. So fun! Such a dose of joy on Sunday mornings for me! The Lord is definitely blessing my pursuit of community, and I thankful!

Oh, one more thing...I saw PAUL MCCARTNEY outside my Starbucks! Yes! I was sitting inside having coffee with one of my senior girls...I looked out the window...and said (a bit too loud) "Hello, PAUL MCCARTNEY!" I was dumbfounded. He has just recently released a new album and was there with a friend to pose in front of the poster advertising it on the Starbucks' window. He stood directly in front of me to pose. I had not the sense of mind to find my phone in my bag to try to snap a photo of him. I mentioned that I exclaimed a bit louder than I intended? Well, at least 3 people around me said, "He's in here all the time. He just lives up the street", nonchalantly. "Well, I have heard that, but I had yet to see him," I replied. Pretty cool.

Back by popular demand...

Word/phrase of the week: "Brilliant!" In place of "great" or "excellent" or basically any other term of emphatic excitement, it seems to be more often than not, "brilliant."