The Riddle of France

When Emma was five years old, we enrolled her in a music program that taught the fundamentals in a fun, creative way.  "Fireman Fred" zoomed his truck up and down the keyboard, stopping extra long on every F key.  There were musical magnet boards to help the kids memorize the notes on the staff.  She plunked and she plinked with the rest of them and then, at the end of the year, Mrs. Cathy assigned them all a special project.  They were to write their OWN SONG and give it a title of their own choosing. Oh, the excitement! The possibilities were endless!  Emma pored over the staff paper, humming her little tunes, until she was finally ready to present her masterpiece.  She showed us the sheet music, complete with eraser marks and corrections and smudgy little fingerprints, and there across the top was the title of her song: "The Riddle of France."  I'm sure she didn't notice the perplexed expressions on her parents' faces, but she may have wondered why we raced out of the room and what those snorts and wheezes were that she was hearing from behind the bathroom door.  No kidding, we laughed over that song title for a good five years. Little did we know it was a sign of things to come.
If you had told me 15 years ago that my little baby girl would be spending three whole months across the ocean, I'd never have believed you.  In fact, I would have stuffed one of her dirty diapers in your face and told you to go away.  But here I am, writing a blog post about Emma's French Exchange adventure while she lives it up in Bordeaux.   She's being well-loved and cared for by her wonderful exchange twin (another Emma - John has dubbed her Fremma) and by her wonderful family as well.  Fremma was here for three months last fall and we tried our darnedest to show her a good time:

 Our Emma posted this on the bedroom door

 The two Emmas with sweet friend Shanika - Fremma's first campfire!

 They don't make burgers this big in France (our day in Grand Bend)

 Horseback riding ... Fremma was an expert and was happy to be in the stables again

 Homecoming!  Something about a thorn and two roses...

 For someone who had never carved a pumpkin before...

I'd say she did pretty well!

Now we anxiously await Mother's Day.  My present this year will be a jet plane bringing our little girl home to us.  And when she gets here,YOUR present will be some more pictures!