Merry Christmas

spent Christmas afternoon / evening at Pierre and Nancy's with Sebastien, Rob and Cricri

 tree & gifts

 the puzzle

 me & my man

traditional French Christmas meal : oysters, salmon, foie gras, lamb, green beans, potatoes, bread

 father & son

 father & sons

the petrignani rock launch

 husband & brother-in-law

 pierre, nancy, cricri and rob holding the bench down

seb's wrapping is ALWAYS creative - "Jinz (my nickname), come back !"


i'll let you read this one for yourself - ha !


baby is still in the oven... according to the calender, i have 10 days until the due date - we shall see - praying for a january baby, but obviously a healthy baby and a safe delivery are of utmost importance no matter when le petit comes - glad to have tonio by my side in this adventure

thankful for family near and far - each Christmas gets harder and harder, but thankfully, this earth isn't home... i'm homesick for heaven

Love Linz

Christmas Eve & Morn

Joyeux Noël from Nice, France !

I got to sing with Tonio at our Christmas Eve service... I miss singing and leading worship.  Baby will soon be here, then I can breathe normally again - ha !

Christmas morning cinnamon rolls - a lot of prep, but so worth it.

Thankful for God sending His Son Jesus as a baby to live on earth, to die, to rise again... for me... for you... for each person on this planet - so we have access to the gift of eternal life.  Our mission : to simply accept it.

Merry CHRISTmas !

Love Linz

38 weeks

Hey guys, Tonio and I are happy to announce that I'm entering my 38th week of pregnancy.  After the bed rest and being a bit nervous to have a premature baby, it looks like our little one likes being in the oven. (photo credit : my handsome)

He or she has not stopped moving.  If their activity in the womb is an indicator of future events, we've got a shaker and a mover on our hands.

Wearing stripes is always fun, and I LOVE pregnancy shirts - they make me feel quasi normal.  Thanks mom for these prego shorts and this top !

Today at church, I got the typical, "I was never THAT HUGE."  Like water off a duck's back, let it roll, and God grant me patience and love.

I'm so proud of each kilogram that I've gained, 17 kg (37.5 lbs.)... all for you baby, but it will be nice for my hips and back to lose it.

So, the due date is the 4th of January, 2015.  Of course this is just a rough estimate.  Another woman at church today said that she never made it past 34 weeks for all three of her kids...  I'm so thankful we are each fearfully and wonderfully made, unique, perfect designs of our Creator (just read Psalm 139 yesterday in my One Year Bible).  God has given me so much peace that our little gift will come in HIS perfect time.  Believe me, this peace is an answer to prayer... it's been up and down, dang hormones and homesickness.

Tonio and I are thankful that God has blessed us with this child.  Our prayer is that we raise him or her in the knowledge of Christ to be a disciple for Him.  And Lord willing, we hope this is just a big brother or sister to others ;).

Love Linz 

our saturday

come with us...

my aqua gym class for pregnant ladies was cancelled yesterday, so i just came today to move my body... it feels soooooo good to be in the water !  a friend of ours works here, so he took this picture

 then, since i was a block from the sea, i had to come enjoy it for a bit

Nice is always beautiful... apparently we're having the warmest winter since the 1900s, if i understood correctly

 tonio and his creative crafting with wood

instead of having 5 speakers, he combined them on one piece of wood - i love that i have a hands-on-can-make-or-fix-anything husband :)

 and i got all the cut outs !  (he added the hooks for me)

wood is inspiring to me, so i browsed pinterest for some ideas and made ornaments with tonio's scraps

 a few of the sites that gave me something to copy inspired me  fox, letters, nativity

 add some string and hooks

 voilà

 new ornaments for the tree

 miracle

Christmas plaid


Have you been feeling crafty or bakey this Christmas?
Love Linz

noël chez nous

Christmas at our place

walking the tree home from the local tree vendors by the public library - i love that man

 organizing the ornaments

 all done

a new stocking has been added this year, bébé P // our entry way

Christmas card garland -i know so many more are on their way, and i'm so excited! {don't worry, i have other places for more cards... phew!}

 my Winter Dream Tea box collection =)  a different box each year

 nutcracker in the corner with our nativity scene

stick a bow or put a hat on it and call it decorated =)  i love that picture from our wedding day

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the home.  Joyeux Noël !!!

Love Linz

Christmas Music

Last year around this time, I blogged about some Christmas tunes.

Well, I'm still listening to ALL of those, and I've added a few more albums.

See last year's list HERE!

And for this year (in alphabetical order)... 

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Diana Krall Christmas Songs.

She is such a classic jazz singer with a soothing voice and great style.

:: LISTEN NOW :: to 3 songs  :: BUY :: 

Hillsong We Have a Savior.

I really enjoy the different Christmas medleys.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Lincoln Brewster Joy to the World.

This is a good one to clean the house to, upbeat and fun.

:: BUY ::

Matthew West The Heart of Christmas

I really enjoy the lyrics of Day After Christmas... so true.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY :: 

The Nutcracker.

I've seen this ballet several times, and the music is still just as magical.

:: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY ::

Phil Wickham Songs for Christmas.

I've always enjoyed his worship albums, and I can't believe I only just found out he had a Christmas album... better 4 years late than never =)

 :: LISTEN NOW ::  :: BUY :: 

Plus One Christmas.

This CD actually goes way back to university.  My sister and I used to listen to it all the time together.  Classic Christian boy band material, don't expect anything more.  For me, it's nostalgic.

 

:: BUY ::
Toby Mac Christmas in Diversecity.

Definitely not your traditional Christmas album, but really fun to listen to.  Just skip track 12, Santa's Comin' Baka'round - I found it annoying.

Happy Listening.

And don't forget last year's list HERE.

Love Linz

36 & 37 weeks

Here are some cozy pregnant picture updates... Note the hippo slippers, Minnie Mouse hat, pink sweats and Ugg boots.

Had my "last" appointment with the midwife last week, and she was very thankful that I obeyed my 3-weeks of bed rest.  Now, I've been given permission to birth this child whenever he or she is ready.  For those of you who like details : the baby's head is engaged and the cervix is open one finger.  Each night, Tonio asks our little person if he or she is looking for the exit.  Then he says to find the little tunnel underneath - ha !

If I haven't had the baby by December 26th, I go back to see the midwife for a last check-up before the end of the term.  My hospital bags are packed.  My coach (Tonio) is ready for game-time.  And I personally couldn't feel more un-ready... But really is there any new mom ready for the radical changes, the overwhelming emotions, the incredible joys, responsibilities and blessings?  I should ask the same for new dads.  It affects them just as much.  All that said, we are beyond excited.

So, homesick me asks blog-reader you to pray for us in this intense season.  I'm thankful to have such an amazing partner in crime.  Tonio is such a support in everything.  Also, I'm thankful my mom will be here mid-January (12th), yay !  And more than anything, I thank Jesus for keeping me and baby healthy these 9 months - it's been a bumpy but refining time. 

Love Linz