Lucerne... in the rain!

AMAZING to come back to this spot again... 11 years ago, Daron and I came here with Stephanie on a 3-week Globus tour to Europe, and this was one of our stops. This Lion Monument, or "Löwendenkmal", commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution; Mark Twain praised the sculpture of a mortally-wounded lion as "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world." The kids just stopped and stared at it.

Then we walked down the street to the famous Chapel Bridge - even on our rainy day, it was still so fun to walk around and see! Here's the well-known pic from the web -- the rest are ours.

Then into a nearby beautiful church - the kids especially loved lighting the candles and looking at the red marble. Kenny even knelt and prayed in a pew.  8-)

Then home to celebrate our last night with Steff and Christopher - we had chicken fried rice (on the floor, picnic-style) and good talk time.

Last week, Daron and Stephen took a long 2-hour walk up into the Jura Mountains and saw the Bonmont Abbey.

Stephen's growing up - he's such a cute boy.  We told him he's already lived a decade now, and starting on his 2nd decade. So young! And yet he wants to be grown up. And I really don't want him to grow up. Because things change! I know that has to happen, and it's good, but you just leave behind the other things. We're reading Anne of Green Gables at night before bed and Anne's starting to grow up, and Marilla notices she talks less, and is more thoughtful, and just isn't as young and silly as she was before... I just got a lump in my throat, because I LOVE how my kids are all 3 young and silly. When we all grow up we stop being silly and we think we have to be serious. I just re-read some of my old journal entries - I can't believe that Stephen's about to be 11 tomorrow and it seems like yesterday he was so tiny. He said once "Heaven is in the dirt, because my turtle died, and he's in the dirt, and he went to heaven." I mean, I can see why God loves the little children. They think and say such cute innocent things. Watching cute Callister here this week - while it doesn't make me want to have another one, it makes me nostalgic for when my 3 were that size, and just small.  I guess what's most important is to always remember my favorite saying that makes my family laugh when I recite it:

'We all start out as children ~ it's a good way to start;

But only the wisest and luckiest few hold onto a child's heart."