8!

Matea turned 8 last weekend. Hard to believe

She had two friends over for her party - which was a good french lesson for me as I get little girls correcting my grammer on more informal vocabulary.  First we went skating 

  

Then came back to our place for individual pizzas and cake

It was a great day to celebrate another year with a great girl.

Below are some pictures of Matea over the past year.  

She has learned to ski - and has taken to it incredibly well. It is a real joy to spend the day with her in the beauty of the mountains, watching her learn something new.

Last spring when Susan's parents were here - we got to go to Disneyland Paris  - which was as much fun for a little girl as you would imagine.

She loves southern France (as we all do) and runs around exploring, finding new things, and loves going to the sea shore.

She absolutely adores her new sister. She is a great help, loves to take care of her, and does anything she can to be a good big sister.

 

Matea is a great hiker - and amazingly fast runner - and loves playing outside.

She has picked up French freakishly well - and now has gone from correcting my pronunciation - to merely trying to stifle her laughter.

The thing that we absolutely delight in her however is her gentle spirit and her concern for others. Living here has really brought out her tendency to be aware of others who are left out, and makes an effort to make them feel included. 

Her concern for others lead her - completely on her own- to ask if she could set up a fundraising campaign with Charity:water in lieu of birthday presents.

Please check it out at  http://mycharitywater.org/matea and give what you can to help those who don't have clean drinking water.