Oui, more rain

I've had a lot of people ask me about the use of French here. We are not in a French speaking province, that would be Quebec. I have yet to meet anyone here that speaks French as a first language. And, while a few people have told me that they went through years of French in school, they do not speak it hardly at all. There are a few French television stations, but no more than the Spanish stations in Houston. However, everything at the grocery store and the majority of public signs must be in both English and French. Which brings me to my point....


There is a much larger population of Spanish speaking folks and primary language Spanish speaking folks in Texas, yet the language is hardy accomodated for. And where it is accomodated for, it is typically protested. I acknowledge that the French speakers here, wherever they might be, are most likely here legally while many Spanish speakers,particularly those that speak Spanish as a primary language, are in Texas illegally. Yet, think of what our children have to gain if we were to embrace the Spanish language and allow it to infiltrate our children's lives. They might, *gasp*, grow up bilingual! Which, would mean more job opportunities for them and a greater understanding of the world around them. I love that Ryleigh already knows some Spanish and I love that she is going to start to learn French while she is here. My desire is that both of my children know several languages by the time they reach adulthood. So, there is method to our madness in moving abroad.

Aside from my soapbox, there has been more rain. Last weekend we got Ryleigh a new umbrella and on Sunday she and Jeramy decided to try it out with a walk around the neighborhood.

I know, I know, I know what you are thinking...Damn, that's a mighty fine garbage box we've got there. Thanks, yeah, we know. Thank you.