ten thoughts on a wednesday |20|

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one.
i am so heartsick about the massacre in las vegas. reading the news from here across the pond has just left me dumbfounded. i still very much believe that there is far more good than bad among humanity, and i have loved hearing stories of people coming together, reaching out, resolving to add more kindness to the troubled world, and working for change. i don’t want to get too political here, but i do disagree with those that say “now is not the time for political debates.” i think now is the time, in the wake of so many innocent lives lost or forever altered, to work together to figure out how to prevent gun violence in america. i have always been pro-gun-control/anti-gun, but living abroad – in a place where gun violence is very rare – has broadened my perspective on this issue and strengthened my stance. i have hope for the future. and i am taking my sister shawni up on her challenge to serve others and spread light.

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two.
i had a really fantastic start to the day this morning. i met my friend denise (who is in town from california for a while) at the 35th floor of the walkie-talking building – also known as the sky garden – for a sunrise yoga class and delightful breakfast! i’m a total sucker for yoga in a cool setting, and this experience was just awesome. we got to the top of the building while it was still dark and the city was still sparkling, and left after the metropolis had woken up and started bustling under the cloudy, brightening sky. the yoga was just the right amount of challenging, the food was delicious, the views were amazing, and the company was stellar (denise is such a cool person). now i’m set on going to that sunrise yoga class regularly! – especially before we move further west in london. IMG_9728 IMG_9746
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three.
speaking of moving, our offer on a flat we love was accepted! ahhhhh – i’m so pumped! the arduous search is over and we know where we will make our next home. the new place surely isn’t perfect (the kitchen is soooo tiny, there’s sort of an interesting bathroom situation, and there’s quite a few odds and ends that are in need of repair…) but i think it’s perfect for our little family in our next london chapter. we will be moving sometime in the next three-four weeks and i’m both thrilled and devastated - leaving our little flat, our neighborhood, and especially our church congregation, will be really sad … but we’re so excited for the future in our new home.

four.
there are only two times of year that i get genuinely homesick for america. one is the fourth of july, and the other is october. there’s just not as much of a pumpkin-y, apple cider-y, autumn craze here, and halloween is not a very big deal here, and i just miss the cozy festive-ness of fall. i’ve got to find myself a pumpkin patch or a harvest festival somewhere near london!

five.
last week i went with my friend mairin to see the royal ballet’s alice’s adventures in wonderland. it was such a fun girls’ night, and i was seriously blown away by the whole production – the dancing was of course impeccable and moving, the music was delightful, the show was wildly entertaining (and really funny!), and the costumes and sets were outrageously creative and cool. i think it’s maybe my favourite ballet i’ve ever seen (besides the trump-all san franscisco ballet production of the nutcracker)! i absolutely loved it.

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six.
one gift that i gave to ian, back on his birthday in august, was a promise to come with moses to pick him up from work each friday so we can all walk home together (he said the main thing he wanted more of in his life was time with the two of us). whenever moses sees that we are outside ian’s office building, he gets so excited and starts saying “dada, dada” over and over as we wait for ian to come out. and then we walk the beloved streets of the city together to our little home, catching up on our days. it has been getting darker earlier, and the timing lately has lined up so that we walk home just as the city is starting to light up and shimmer.





seven.
i know i am constantly writing here about how sweet and cute and darling our little mo is. and today i just wanted to say that he has his moments of not-so-cute – haha. he’s started doing this grinding, whiney noise lately that can make me a little crazy, and has had some middle-of-the-night wake-ups over the past couple weeks – i’m thinking both are connected to the fact that he’s getting loads of teeth coming in. he’s also becoming increasingly difficult to manage in church … mostly because he’s always trying to find a way to get to his dada up on the stand (ian serves in our ward’s bishopric so sits up at the front of the congregation). last week i picked him up en route and he threw his body back in frustration, bonked his head into my face, and legitimately gave me a black eye! moses is starting to test boundaries and can sometimes be quite cheeky.
buuuut, he truly is the sweetest, cutest, most darling little boy i could possibly imagine. he’s my best little buddy and there are many times when i just cannot even stand how much i adore him and have to smother him with kisses. i am so glad to be his mom – whining and black eyes included.
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eight.
this weekend i felt so incredibly inpsired and motivated, thanks to general conference, and also some quiet time that i spent reflecting.
on saturday afternoon, i went to the national gallery, sat in front of some spectacular turner paintings, and wrote in my journal, prayed for guidance, reached out to some friends and family via email and text, and made some goals. i think it’s so important to take some time to be still and commune with god.
there were so many wonderful messages in general conference. the one tidbit that has really stuck with me is a question one of the speakers posed – “what is your personal life ministry?” i’ve been thinking about this a lot and want to study it out and then act on it over the next little while.
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^^ special conference breakfast (pumpkin pancakes!) // moses was mesmerized by the mormon tabernacle choir! ^^
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nine.
speaking of general conference, on saturday morning i got to go to my friend lauren’s house for a really, really lovely girls’ brunch while ian and moses watched the priesthood session. (that particular segment of general conference is on saturday evening, is specifically for men, and took place live when it was 1am here in england! so church members here across the pond watch it on sunday morning.) there were just four of us friends there at brunch, but we quickly got to talking and talking (while eating delicious food) and ended up chatting for hours about everything from the super serious to the super silly. it was just so good for my soul to have that type of awesome girl talk. i love human connection so much.

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every once in a while, moses spends most of the work day at the childrens’ centre at ian’s office. that place is a total wonderland to him – so many new toys and lots of other kids to play with! ian and i think it is really good for moses to have this type of experience at least occasionally – to be away from us and to develop social skills and to learn in a different environment. and it’s pretty nice for me to get lots of things done and go to appointments and run errands while little mo is there. moses even got to make his first painting at the childrens’ centre this past week! they used sliced lemons as stamps and he seemed to love, love it. they always send him home with a picture of one of his adventures during the day – i took a picture of a picture here, so it’s terrible quality, but had to share.

happy wednesday! life is beautiful!

Comments

  1. Just wanted to say that I so enjoyed this post, and I am so pleased you have found a good new appartment. Thank-you for sharing your life with others so generously.

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  2. The picture of Moses in red and pointing is the best! It's such an adult expression on his face, and he looks like he's saying "you talkin' to me?"

    I found conference both uplifting and painful. Bringing up the church's dissaproval of same sex marriage and stating again (why are they so obsessed with homosexuality over other world issues?) that it will never change was disapointing to hear. The suicide problem, anguish, and alienation among gay LDS youth and their families remains, and speeches like the one given at conference don't help. sigh

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    1. your perspective makes sense. it's such a difficult issue.

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    2. I have to agree with Anonymous. Although it is very hard to believe that it will never change. I truly think it will. Think of the generation of many of Charities nieces and nephews- their perception of homosexuality has got to be different than even Charity's. They are growing up in a world where is more accepted. They may even have classmates with homosexual parents (if they don't live in a Mormon bubble community) or classmates who will come out as homosexuals. I know that Elle and some of her friends follow a well-known gay photographer who is/was Mormon. It took until 1978 (!!!) for the Mormon church to change its stance on African American men and the priesthood. So, it will happen. May just take a bit longer to "get with the times".

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    3. hi anon #2 - thanks for sharing your perspective/thoughts. totally makes sense where you are coming from. but i have to reply and say that race and gender are NOT comparable when it comes to mormon belief around god's plan. race has zero to do with our eternal identity; gender has everything to do with it. it really bothers me when people equate the church's stance on homosexuality to its (changed) stance on race.

      thanks for reading and for commenting!

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    4. Thanks, Charity, for clarifying. You're right, I shouldn't compare as I know very little about Mormon beliefs around God's plan. I was only thinking that as homosexuality becomes more and more accepted in society over the years (which I truly believe it will), future generations of Mormon children may begin to question the church's stance and beliefs around same sex marriage families. So this may results in some kind of change or greater acceptance (if possible without changing God's plan) in the future. Also, I am not talking about gender (?) rather marriage between a man and a man and woman and woman (whose gender does not change).

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  3. Maybe we don't do much for Halloween here in Britain - but there's Bonfire Night on the 5th November to look forward too. If you have moved out from the centre of London by then I bet you can find a display to go to :)

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    1. oh i'm really into bonfire night! i celebrated every year after my mission while living back in the usa. you can search my blog for bonfire night and see some of the epic celebrations i've hosted! :) it's just not the same as autumn at home in america ;)

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  4. Love your thoughts on this Wednesday! I too was touched by the talk about finding our personal life ministry. It is something that I had been pondering and seeking inspiration on.

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  5. Halloween is catching on but the costumes are the scary ones, not like the fun ones in the US. (I think the US ones are great & so much fun)

    I bet you'd love Firework/Bonfire night on the 5th of November. Not sure if Moses is into fireworks yet tho, especially as some of the bangers can be really loud.

    I bet your Dad is pleased to see the pix of Moses in the autumn leaves, as I know your Dad loves autumn too - & especially that's it's also his birthday in the autumn.:)

    I thank Heavenly Father every day for my sight that I can see this beautiful world, especially in my favourite season of the year, autumn. It's truly heaven on earth.

    Thank you for these Wednesday posts, I always enjoy them.

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    1. P.S. I'm curious now about the bathroom situation:)

      Is the loo separate to the bath/shower? There's still quite a few houses/flats that have those.

      Years ago, they also had outside loos.:)

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    2. thanks, julie! i do indeed love bonfire night! i hosted guy fawkes day celebrations lots when i lived in the states (you can search my blog to see those posts)! we haven't made it out to a bonfire night celebration in london yet, but i'm hoping this year is our year! :)

      yes, the toilet room and shower room are separate and it's just kind of weird because the shower room is inside the second bedroom. nothing to complain about, just a bit of an adjustment :)

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  6. Let me know if you need help moving! I'm glad you found somewhere. x

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  7. Goodness, I so agree with you about the gun control issue. I was a new mom at the time of the sandy hook shooting and ever since I just feel so defeated. how can "sport" and "rights" supersede the lives of our most vulnerable?

    I think that's great for Moses (and for you!). I wish that was important to Americans. Moving across the pond sounds really tempting right now!

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  8. Have you read any of Janet Lansbury? When my son made the transition from baby to toddler, testing limits all the time, I was quite shocked! Her blog and book helped me understand him immensely! She has a podcast too. The book is called "No Bad Kids" and here is her blog: http://www.janetlansbury.com/

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  9. Church with a toddler is HARD!! Didn't your Mom tell a similar story in one of her books about one of your brothers?! Good luck with your move!

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  10. Aubree, you are absolutely right...only the situations was worse because it involved the whole audience! Thanks for remembering. LOL

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