So it had only been 4 months since we'd seen the grandparents (and that was long for us), but it had been 25+ years since my in-laws hosted their first French exchange students, and about that long that their French fan club was ready to reciprocate! Here's the short version for you ;)
They answered an ad in their church bullitin for a French student to stay a month in the summer. Turns out that a couple of host families didn't show up at the airport, so they happily took in the teacher and her son! (Along with their own 5 children, mind you, but that is the way they roll) :) Turns out they were fast friends and hosted students for about 20 years! One of all of our favorites was Laure, who stayed with them for an entire year (Danny and I were dating at the time.. insert cute "awwww"). She became part of the family and was first on our list to call when we first visited Europe as a married couple in our twenties. She and Marie were great hosts, but the truth is that we were just the sideshow.. what they really wanted was for my in-laws to come!! So fast forward to Fall of 2011 when they found out we were kidnapping the grandkids and moving to Europe for a few years and we had some very excited French friends on our hands!! Espscially Laure, who hadn't seen them in 20 years!
You have met Laure on this blog, as it was she and her husband that graciously invited us to spend Christmas with them in Paris. She and one of her sons were able to come to Brussels to spend some time with my in-laws on the day they arrived. It was a sweet reunion that we hope to repeat when they return!
We then headed to Bavay to have a traditional French dinner with Marie, who also was thrilled that her buddies were finally at HER home!! She's a part of our family as well, and we have had the priveledge of seeing her a couple of times. She has traveled the world over and then some, so I always marvel at her home and all the furnishings that tell the stories. So here's the rest of all last week's sweet reunions in pictures.
Enjoy!
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