DAY 6-Sabbath Day
We attended church early in the morning.While at church, I experienced the best part of being in a foreign land--the experience was truly eye opening. Everything was in French (of course), so I couldn't understand without a translator. In sacrament meeting, three talks were given. All of which were centered on the power of prayer. Each talk touched me! I felt the spirit so strong. One talk really touched my spirit.

The Sister giving the talk shared a story about the simplicity of prayer, and the power of God's answers. She told of an experience where her little boy's bike had been stolen, and how her little boy had no doubt that if he prayed, God would help him. The mother giving the talk explained how she tried to prepare her son for an understanding of how God answers prayers. That night she had a dream in which she was chasing a boy with her son's bike. The following day--her dream was realized. A few weeks later this same little boy received a new bike as a gift from his father. Not too long after receiving this new bike--it was stolen. Again, this little boy had the faith in God to have his prayers answered. Again, this mother tried to explain how prayers are not always answered in the way we would like them to be answered. Again, she was a tool to her Heavenly Father in answering her son's prayer and retrieving the second lost bike. Heavenly Father had blessed this little boy by answering his prayers. This little boy had the faith in God to be answered. It caused me to evaluate how meaningful my prayers are...do I pray with all sincerity of heart? Do I pray with complete trust and faith?

My eyes and heart were opened as I listened to talks given in French, but understanding in English via translation. The simple truths of the Gospel were preached from a foreign land. My spirit was touched as I listened to these Gospel truths in another tongue, and although I have always known that the Gospel is a part of a world wide church, seeing it with my eyes, and feeling it with my heart touched the inner core of my soul. I felt the spirit testify of these truths. My eyes were opened to my brothers and sisters in foreign lands, and although I couldn't understand them without help, I loved them!

WALKING THE GARDENS OF VERSAILLES

We walked the gardens of the Palace of Versailles Sunday afternoon after church. It was absolutely amazing! It provided for a nice Sunday afternoon walk. (We toured the palace on the day we toured Paris...we just saved the gardens for a Sunday walk.)

SUNDAY DRIVE=ARC De TRIUMPH

The Arc DE Triumph is a monument in France to honor those who fought in the Napoleonic Wars (info. found on Wikipedia).
Mike and I convinced Jill to jump out of the car on the Champs De Elysee's (famous shopping street in Paris), run into the middle of the street, and take a picture (in my defense, I thought there was some sort of middle lane). Jill was not excited....let's just say it got a bit scary when both lights were green, and we were in the middle of the road...traffic coming both ways!!! (The French do not seem to have much caution while driving either.)

LONDON
Day 4 & 5
On Friday morning Jill and I woke up at an abnormal hour, so that we could catch our train to London from Paris. We traveled on a high speed train called the Eurostar. As we boarded the train, both Jill and I were excited to watch the train enter the English Channel. We were both exhausted from so little sleep, and yet we stayed awake anticipating the trains entry of the English Channel. It wasn't until we had passed through the English Channel that we had realized that the event had come and gone. It was almost comical that the event was so non eventful. The trip on the Eurostar was smooth and quick. The Eurostar can go 200 mph, so we arrived in London after only 2 1/2 hours of traveling. As we were leaving the train, Jill made a profound statement by saying, "what we need to do now, is find where we are"...and so, our adventures in London began...

Here is a picture of me standing in front of a few trains (like the Eurostar). Most of the time we traveled by train in both London, and in Paris.

Kensington Palace & Gardens
We started our tour of London by taking a bus tour, which stopped at several key sights in London. Our first stop was Kensington Palace. Kensington Palace has been a royal residence for over 300 years. The palace was home to Diana, Princess of Wales.
This picture shows the backside of Kensington Palace. It never occurred to us to walk around the palace, because the view from the back was so breathtaking. The gardens and surrounding areas were simply amazing! It wasn't until we had left the palace that we realized we had missed seeing the front of the palace entirely. Too funny!

While we were viewing the Kensington Gardens, it started raining. As a joke I used my London map for an umbrella.

...and then shared with Jill. Who knew map's had more than one use?

HYDE PARK
Hyde Park was huge! It took us quite a while to walk through all of Hyde Park along with the Kensington Gardens, but every step was worth it. It was so peaceful and beautiful! It was one of my favorite sights in London.

This is a picture of Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park.
It is an area where public speaking is allowed. President Hinckley served a mission in Great Britain, and spoke at Speakers' Corner in London's Hyde Park.

After we toured Hyde Park, we continued our full bus tour around London. We had a live tour guide, which made it much more entertaining...however, no matter how entertaining it was...I couldn't keep my eyes open. Every once in a while during the tour, I would wake up suddenly, and to my horror, the tour guide was always staring at me. After a few times of this, his persistent stare kept me awake (even though I was extremely tired). Soon it became a form of entertainment to see whether or not he was still staring. He stared at me the entire tour. I wondered if it was because I offended him by falling asleep, so as I was leaving, I apologized for having jet lag, and sleeping in part of his tour. I also thanked him for an informative tour...

This habit of falling asleep seemed to happen every time we got on any form of public transportation! We were on many different modes of transportation in a few short days (trains, planes, bus's, taxi's and cars). It seemed that I was able to fall asleep in any position, and on any form of transportation. As soon as we arrived at our destination, I was ready and going, but while we were sitting...I was quite often sleeping.

Our last stop on our city bus tour was at the Apollo Victoria Theater where we had tickets to...

WICKED
A highlight of London was going to see the play Wicked! I am still singing the songs, and I am planning to see it whenever it comes nearer to home!

BUCKINGHAM PALACE
The residence of the British Monarchy.
We were only able to see the outside of Buckingham Palace. (Tours of Buckingham Palace are only in July and August.) Even the outside was impressive, and well worth the stop. We also missed the changing of the guard, because they only do the changing of the guard every other day in the Winter and we were on the off day.

On our way to Westminster Abbey, we took a moment to enjoy the beauty of a London street during Fall.

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

Westminster Abbey is located next to the Houses of Parliament. Some of the oldest parts date back to the year 1050. The Abbey has the most glorious medieval architecture found in London. Most of the Royal marriages are held at the Abbey. It truly was a beautiful building.

BIG BEN & House of Parliament

~House of Parliament on left, Big Ben Tower on right~

The famous Big Ben clock tower is 320 feet high. It is the largest four faced chiming clock in the world. The clock tower is named after the largest bell, weighing over 13 tons. Each clock face is over 23 feet wide. The famous bell was named after a man named Sir Benjamin Hall (a politician at the time) who was 4' 10'' tall, and shaped like a bell.

The House of Parliament is building adjacent to the clock tower. The House of Parliament seats two houses of Parliament: the House of Lords, and The House of Commons.

LONDON'S EYE

The London Eye was amazing! It is a Ferris Wheel on the River Thames opened in 2000. It is 443 feet high. Each capsule holds about 25 people, and each revolution takes 30 minutes. The eye can fit 800 people.
We started our experience by watching a 4D movie with special glasses. We then entered a capsule, and enjoyed an amazing view of London!

~View of London from the London Eye~

~View of London from the London Eye~

~View of London from the London Eye~
Along with showing the sights from the London Eye, this picture is also a perfect shot of the river cruises, which are on the Thames River. After enjoying the sights on the London Eye, we enjoyed a Thames river cruise. Included in the cruise was a live tour guide who described the sights of London with a touch of humor. The cruise took us to the London Tower, and the Tower Bridge. Both in Paris and in London, the river cruises were well worth it!

TOWER OF LONDON

~Armory in the Tower on Display~

~Guards were stationed throughout the grounds. They marched back and forth on occasion, and then entered their cubicles giving off the aire of importance.~

The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror to protect and control the city of London. At one time the Tower of London was Her Majesty's Royal Palace. The tower has been used as a fortress, a palace, and a prison. It is now the home of the crown jewels.

We toured many of the towers within the Tower of London. We toured the towers where two princes were murdered, where prisoners were held, and where the crown jewels are now kept. There were many winding staircases and tight places within the Tower of London. At times I felt a bit claustrophobic with the narrow walls and narrow winding staircases. The Tower of London depicts the history of London from battles won, to battles lost. From kings ruling nobly to kings murdering for the throne. The Tower of London is rich with London's history!

Tower Bridge & London Bridge
~Tower Bridge~
The Tower Bridge was built out of necessity due to an increase in commercialism. A traditional bridge could not be built because it would have blocked access to the London Bridge. Therefore, this bridge was designed where two towers were built on piers. The central span was then split into two equal bascules, which could then be raised to allow traffic to pass. While we were on the river cruise, our guide said that people have been known to request the lifting of the bridge, which is perfectly acceptable. In fact, one man requested the lifting, and went under the Tower Bridge with a small boat (simply for fun).

~London Bridge~
This bridge in the distance is the source of the famous song, "London Bridges Falling Down".

St. Paul's Cathedral

~St. Paul's Cathedral~

St. Paul's Cathedral has the second largest dome in the world after St. Peter's Cathedral. ~

Everything in London seems so official. While we were visiting, a new leader had just been elected. There was a huge celebration! Major streets were closed to make room for a parade. We saw processions like this one on a couple of occasions. It was all extremely official and quaint!

PARIS...Day 3

For our second day (my third day...including travel), we had a few goals...visit everything of importance, and visit it all in one day. WHEW...it was a tall order to fill, but we were bound and determined to succeed! We mapped out our day, and we began with....

The Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was breathtakingly beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. Everything in the palace was of the finest. There was gold trimming throughout the palace (on the inside as well as the outside), which added to its grandeur. Every room was designed with amazing detail...statues, trimmings, engravings, magnificient paintings.

There were fireplaces in almost every room. The fireplaces were 12 ft. long, and 7 ft. tall...they were huge!

The hall of mirrors is 340-feet long. It was lit by 3,000 candles. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in the hall of mirrors (between the Allies and Germany), which ended World War I. It was a majestic room.

The Louvre Here I am standing outside of the Louvre...the Louvre is the largest museum in France.

When Jill and I first arrived, we began our search for the Mona Lisa. We circled the museum for quite a long time. During our search for the Mona Lisa, Jill and I found ourselves in a wing of the museum with tile flooring. This portion of the museum was deathly quiet...except....for the noise of squeaky shoes. No matter how I walked--my shoes squeaked. I walked on my toes...squeak. I walked on the sides of my soles...squeak. I walked on my heels...squeak. Silence. Squeak. Silence. Squeak. I tried desperately to quiet my squeaky shoes, but the connection of rubber and tile created a harmony all of my own. It was too funny (my stomach hurt from laughing so hard), and yet my face burned from embarrassment. Too funny! Between squeaky shoes, and long corridors the discovery of the Mona Lisa was bliss.
After we had enjoyed the Mr. Da Vinci's work for a time, and toured the other artifacts in the museum, we decided we should continue our tour of Paris; however, we were faced with one small problem. Our problem--we couldn't find an exit. We explored several different corridors, in the hopes of finding an exit, to find ourselves right back where we had started. We circled the Louvre looking for an exit for what seemed like forever. We experienced firsthand the immensity of the museum! When we finally found the exit, I wanted to shout--Hallelujah!

~Entrance to The Louvre~

~Smaller Pyramid by the Entrance~

~The Inverted Pyramid Inside the Louvre~

~Mona Lisa~

The Notre Dame Cathedral
The Cathedral was truly a beautiful building with amazing architecture. The stained glass windows were awe inspiring. It was a beautiful house of worship. While Jill and I were within the cathedral, two men began fighting. When the fighting finally ceased, the man who started the fight was escorted out of the cathedral. Both Jill and I were a bit shaken by this experience. I am still saddened at the disrespect, which was shown in a place of worship.

~Stained-Glass Windows Within Notre Dame~

The Eiffel Tower

We went all the way to the top of the Eiffel tower! It was absolutely amazing! The view was breathtaking. Everything was surreal! It was truly a highlight for me!

~View from the Eiffel Tower~

~Eiffel Tower~

When we were done, we saw the light show on the Eiffel tower. It was awesome!! The Eiffel tower lit up in several different colors.

SEINE RIVER CRUISE
After the Eiffel tower, we went on the Seine River Cruise. We wore headsets, and listened to major insights on Paris. It was so neat! Definitely a highlight!

PARIS...Day 1 & 2 Merged
My first day in Paris merged with my departure day from Idaho. I left Idaho at noon on Tuesday and arrived in Paris at 9:30 am on Wednesday (1:30 am Idaho time). While flying I met an amazing lady. We talked for hours, and I was truly touched by her kindness. It was like meeting a long lost sister on an airplane. After our plane landed, Julie (my new friend) stayed by my side while I searched for Jill, which seemed like a long time. Getting around Paris (with signs in a foreign language) is a difficult task. Jill and her father-in-law circled the airport a couple of times while they tried to make sense of the signs entering the airport. Through it all, Julie stayed by me--I was truly grateful for her friendship! I know our meeting each other was not a "chance" meeting. She was definitely an answer to my prayers.

~Julie and Me~

DISNEYLAND
As soon as we left the airport, Jill and I went to Disneyland Paris for the day! I love Disneyland! I love the rides, the magic, the fun...I just love Disneyland! We had so much fun riding all of the "major" roller coasters. Our favorite ride was "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", which we rode four times. We had so much fun being young and feeling the magic of Disneyland! It was a great way to start our trip in Paris.

~Jill and I at the Disneyland Castle~

~Castle Lighted~

Bryan, Hailey, Amber and Jacob here!

Carrie went to Europe for a week and left dad in charge while she was gone. For some unknown reason, people (particularly, the paramedics and neighbors worried about the girl’s hair) have been calling the house and stopping by to check on us. Well, just to put everyone at ease, the insurance agent said our policy covers all the damage and the lady from Health and Human Services was surprisingly understanding about what goes on when your wife leaves the country.

Anyway, with Mom coming home tomorrow, we thought we would update everyone on what we have done over the last week.

Before Carrie left, she wrote out detail day-by-day instructions of what we should be doing. She included times, addresses, and phone numbers (though she forgot to include Emergency Services). This was a helpful guide that we disregarded most of the time. The problem was that most of the stuff she put on the schedule was boring or hard. For example, each day had a menu. Some of the things were hard to make. I could never figure out the Minute Rice and the frozen lasagna would not fit in the microwave so we basically abandoned the menu. Really, the only things I can make anyway are Eggo Waffles, Mac and Cheese, and Chocolate Milk. Unfortunately, the kids got tired of burnt waffles and Mac and Cheese that “doesn’t taste like it does when Mom makes it”, so we decided on Plan B.

Carrie also left a list homework and chores for the kids to do everyday (there were chores for me too, but I assumed they were optional). The kids did not seem to like doing chores and homework though, and they only wanted to play and watch movies. Well, being the responsible parent I am, made sure they did not get away with doing nothing. We just compromised some.

Instead of piano practice, we agreed on music video games!

The kids always wanted to watch movies and we agreed that was fine, as long as it was a movie Dad liked.

Before she left, Carrie tried to give me the basics of how to do little girl hair, but there was a football game on at the time. Besides, I have some hair still, so I was pretty sure I could figure it out. Despite what you might think, I did not have any neighbors come over and help, though I did get about 400 offers. It seemed like no one believed I could do it, but I think it went well. In fact, just to document my success, I took these photos of the kids before they left for school. (DISCLAIMER: Not all days were as successful as these! Results may not have been typical!)

As you can see, everything was under control. For some reason, no one was calling to offer help with getting Jacob ready each day. Not to worry though, this was right up my alley. For instance, here is Jacob on Saturday. You will never guess what we did all day on a fall Saturday with no Mom in the house to distract us. I love college football. We really have to buy this kid some Texas gear though! It is alright though. He knows the Fight Song.



This was not the end of the fun though. Here are a few glimpses inside the Miller Home when Mom is on a different continent.

A typical day in the life of Jacob. It is hard to be Jacob when Mom is gone and Dad is trying to do some work.








Dad Serves Breakfast!












We found time to play a little hide-and-seek. Amber is a little wrinkly because I forgot to throw in a dryer sheet.
Jacob plays with
Cars Part 1















Jacob plays with Cars Part 2












Jacob plays baseball
Part 1












Jacob plays baseball Part 2

Well, I think you can see that we had a pretty successful week with Mom gone, especially after the officer agreed not to press charges!

We hope you had a awesome time Mom! We love you!

Bryan, Hailey, Amber, Jacob