Grandpapa and Mémère arrive late last week and with them came warmth and cheer. Our home took on a festive spirit as paper snowflakes were hung from the ceiling, apple and sugar pies were baked, Christmas lights were stapled to the house and evenings were ended with a frenzy of fiddling. Mémère is a retired elementary school teacher and so she spent countless hours playing games, making crafts and speaking French to our children. Grandpapa helped my husband sweep the chimney and completed some home improvement projects. In our moments together I wanted to freeze time, but time would not yield and eventually it was time for them to return north. Being away from family has been the most difficult thing with our move south, oh how we miss them.