ten thoughts on a wednesday |26|

WrightChristmas2017 23WrightChristmas2017 21

one.
i’m feeling so, so sweetly excited for christmas. being pregnant + having a toddler around at christmastime just makes everything so special. 

two.
candy cane joe-joes are my absolute, hands-down favourite treat in the whole wide world. both my mom and ian’s mom sent us a box this year and rationing them out to last more than a couple of days has been unsuccessful. 

three.
a 19th-century english poet wrote these lines:
// amidst the freezing sleet and snow, / the timid robin comes; / in pity drive him not away, / but scatter out your crumbs. …
all have to spare, none are too poor / when want with winter comes; / the loaf is never all your own, / then scatter out the crumbs.
soon winter falls upon your life,/ the day of reckoning comes: / against your sins, by high decree, / are weighed those scattered crumbs. //
during this beloved christmas season, it is fitting that we take delight in the lights, music, gifts, and glitter. this is all a part of why we love this time of year so much.
but let us never forget that we are disciples and followers of jesus christ, the living son of the living god. to truly honor his coming into the world, we must do as he did and reach out in compassion and mercy to our fellowmen. this we can do daily, by word and deed. let this become our christmas tradition, no matter where we are—to be a little kinder, more forgiving, less judging, more grateful, and more generous in sharing our abundance with those in need.
may the contemplation of the birth of jesus in bethlehem inspire us to be more like him. may christ’s mission and example cause our hearts to swell with divine love for god and deep compassion for our fellowmen. and may we ever scatter out our crumbs with greater generosity and unceasing love.
-dieter f uchtdorf (full talk here
i’m trying to scatter some crumbs this christmas season. they really feel like minuscule crumbs, but they are feeding some robins, and i am glad. 

four.
moses is obsessed with animals. i don’t know why but a few months ago he started doing this random sound where he smacks his lips together to communicate anything about animals. we are giving him a huge national geographic animal picture book for christmas and he’s going to freak. i love the way that he reminds me to be excited about things and to have joy. 

five.
we pretty much have no idea what we are going to name our baby. we happen to both like a lot of old testament names, but i think i have successfully convinced ian that we cannot have moses and [insert name of really well-known, depicted-with-a-long-white-beard bible prophet], at least not right in a row! we don’t want to go overboard :) (and definitely aren’t going for a theme…) luckily we have a few more months to figure this out … but i wouldn’t be surprised if our baby is nameless for the first bit of his life - we’re practically stumped! 

WrightChristmas2017 7

six.
this is pretty much my favourite picture ever ^^

seven.
there have been a few things going on in our extended family recently that have stretched our hearts and deepened our prayers and widened our perspectives. life is so precious, and family relationships are what it’s all about. 

eight.
i’m really pumped about my new years’ resolutions. i’m going to follow my sister shawni’s example and choose one word to really focus on for the year. my word for 2018 is time. i have all sorts of goals and plans to use time better - this is something i’ve been trying to somewhat master (i know i’ll never totally master it!) for so many years. i plan to go back to school in 2018 and also to begin training for a marathon and working on some other longer-term goals. so between those - and, you know, having a baby :) - i should really need a focus on using time wisely! 

nine.
we are taking a quick trip to belgium this weekend! we are excited to visit the christmas markets in brugge and in brussels. waffles and chocolate, here we come! we get home late on saturday - christmas eve eve, so i need to make sure we are grocery shopped up for all our meals and activities on the 24th and 25th before we leave!

ten.
tomorrow we are over the hump on darkness hours. i’m soooo happy about that and am longing for summer days when it stays light until 10pm! I actually love the very temperate weather in london … but the darkness is really hard. after tomorrow it’s all looking up :) 

 
WrightChristmas2017 27 WrightChristmas2017 37

happy wednesday! life is beautiful. 

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aaron is a nice name but not too "Old Testamenty". And Aaron was actually the brother of Moses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ooooh that's just tooo much, haha. (i don't really like the sound of the name aaron anyway...) we'd have to name our daughter (if we get one!) miriam ;)

      Delete
    2. I'm usually your number one defender, Charity. But please be careful with your comments on certain names. May hurt someone's feelings who liked a name enough to choose it for their child... Okay, it hurt my feelings :)

      Delete
    3. so sorry about that whitney! i'm certainly no stranger to people telling me that they don't really like the name of my child (it's been said a lot less mildly than that!), so i know it can sting a little. i should have been more thoughtful about that! i have learned that i really can't let it affect me though. we all have different preferences in foods, activities, baby names, movies, etc etc. and isn't that great? love me some diversity.

      thanks for the reminder and for reading and your comment! i bet your aaron is super, super awesome ;)

      Delete
  3. Don't worry - a name will come to you at an unexpected time and you'll love it!!
    We lived in Germany years ago, and the long, dark days were so difficult. Have you tried a SAD light? (Seasonal Affective Disorder - it's a real thing!)
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  4. Benjamin. Ben means "son" in Hebrew.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we already have a nephew benjamin! not my favourite name anyway. thanks for the suggestion, though ;)

      Delete
  5. Naming our second son is one of the hardest things we've done! We didn't fight about it, we just could not find anything that seemed to work. We love (love, love) our older son's name and I wanted something just as special, etc. I was so stressed about it, but just as anon said above, it came to us. We found ours on an "upcoming name list" literally hours before he was born, and it is such a perfect fit! The funny thing is that neither of us could find that site again afterwards. It was just meant to be. I'm sure you'll come up with something great :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am also eagerly awaiting getting over the "hump" tomorrow! On to more daylight :) My younger son's name is Gabriel, which I think works well with Moses. Both biblical but also modern/trendy sounding in a way. We call him Gabe which is a nice match for Mo :) My older son's middle name might also appeal - Solomon. If you used it as a first name, Sol, works as a cute nickname! Good luck - I love names and I'm sure you'll find something perfect. Ps. Having two little boys is SO much fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. both of these are actually on our shortlist! they're not toooo old testamenty, right?! ha, moses is just really, really old testamenty...

      Delete
    2. My youngest is Gabriel (called Gabe) too! We love this name so much I sometimes feel
      guilty our older sons names isn't as perfect. I love that it's not super popular but still used in several cultures. Gabe is modern and current while not being trendy. The great thing about biblical names is that they can never go out of style, be time stamped, etc ala Jaden/Aidan/Brayden

      Delete
    3. Exactly Jenny! Modern and current while not too trendy. I actually love it more and more every day :) And I don't think they're too old testamenty, Charity. I think both strike the perfect balance!

      Delete
  7. You don't have to shop for the 26th too! I know it is boxing day in England, and while German doens't celebrate boxing day I have to shop for the 26th too because everything will be closed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I’m guessing you will pick a combination place name, BOM name, GA/President name or school name.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think you are doing too much. A second child, a marathon and school? You have college already. It will always be there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, I'd voice this differently. Since I still doubt, it's possible to care for two kids (though apparently others have managed), I'm very interested in how you will do all of this! Any ideas are always welcome!

      Delete
    2. i'm ready for the challenge :) the marathon isn't until summer 2019, so i'll just *start* training around the end of 2018. and i'm so eager to go back to school and back into the work force part-time (i've already put it off a year for a few reasons). we'll make it work. my husband is sooo supportive - i'm grateful!

      Delete
  10. I went to grad school while pregnant and then with a baby and a 3 year old. It was great to have something besides just babies to fill my brain! Good for you Charity. We picked a name on the way to the hospital. haha. Reviewing the names from the short list we just knew.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm pregnant with baby number two, as well, and I have very similar goals for my upcoming year. The way I see it, we should never be afraid to chase our dreams and ambitions. I can't imagine a better thing to teach our young children! Even if we don't totally succeed, there's something so powerful about the trying. Good luck to you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She followed her dreams to missions, BYU Jerusalem, Wellesley, BYU, travel, various jobs, marriage and motherhood. She is in a foreign country far from family with a husband who has an impossible schedule, a travel bug, thirteen sibling couples in the family who visit from time to time, two babies, new home and callings. She also seems to be upfront about struggles. If this challenge is a healthy diversion great. Maybe an in law is living there now? Maybe it’s online courses she can do at her own pace? He is supportive to be fine with her doing it but his is not the family friendly schedule. He can only do so much. Not a insult toward him. Husbands and wives can have one spouse in a time occupying career and that puts more pressure on the other spouse to manage things. Perhaps there is a nanny possibility? She is pretty great already without needing to keep on improving herself. I also wonder the example she is setting for others reading here and the pressure they will feel to copy.

      Delete
    2. hey anonymous, i'm right here - you don't have to talk about me like i'm not :)

      just remember there's a LOT you don't know about my life :) a couple of clarifications: ian's work schedule isn't impossible and he actually enjoys quite a good work-life balance. he is usually away from the home from about 8am-7pm - which is waaaaay better than a lot of people we know working here in london (and elsewhere). there's a few crazy weeks a year but mostly it's pretty family friendly! no in-laws living here. the degree i am pursuing is in good part self-paced, but we will definitely need to work out a good childcare situation. and ian is up for the bit of extra pressure so i can go back to school - we both think this will be hugely beneficial for our family in the long run.

      thanks for the compliment! but i will never stop improving myself. i know i can challenge myself and do better than i am now (really, sometimes i'm not all that "pretty great," and i want to use my mind and body well!).

      thanks for reading!

      Delete
  12. It seems a bit hurtful to comment about getting “back into the workforce” when discussing work outside your home! Stay at home moms do some pretty incredible work, too bad pats on the back only come when women manage to juggle “real work” where they can have “important things” on their brains other than babies...instead of honoring the incredible work it requires to run a home and family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ha, i have to say this comment made me chuckle a little. you'd be really hard pressed to find someone who believes more strongly than i do that mom / homemaker work is incredible, real, important work (the MOST incredible, the realest and the MOST important!). i guess i just hoped readers would give me the benefit of the doubt that i meant work outside the home :)

      Delete
  13. All the benefit you need! I have no doubt you believe this. I didn’t comment well...I just worry about the words we use in these conversations about women, and the choices we each make, but even I struggle to say things right. I live where there is very little patience or support for those who think parenthood in general requires time and sacrifice. But I am sure my thoughts and comments on the subject could be put to much better place elsewhere. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. your thoughts and comments are always welcome here! xx

      Delete
  14. the site https://sanctanomina.net/ has some interesting baby names. it's a catholic naming site, but there's some cool names on there. just an idea!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know that you didn't ask for baby name suggestions, but it's so fun! August (Mo and Gus!!) or Oscar? I think you might have a Silas in your family, otherwise I would suggest that. (What about Cyrus?) I was going to suggest Gideon, but that might be too close to Ian. Darn it. Anyway, stay merry and take good care of yourself! Thanks for always being an example of grace, especially in this comment section. :) --Marissa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. this comment amazed me and kind of cracked me up! because every name you've mentioned, with the exception of oscar (and silas because it's already taken by my sister) is on our shortlist! well, i think ian made me take august off - i wish i could sell him a little more on it because it's my favourite (mostly because of mo and gus!!!).

      thanks for reading!

      we'll see what name he ends up with!

      Delete
  16. We ended up with 4 girls.... but we always adored Luca, Leo or Hudson..... another wonderful idea would be to integrate a special spot for your husband.... our daughter is named Madeleine (we conceived her in Paris) sometimes thinking outside the box of what you think you’ll like.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Names are definitely a personal thing. Most of my family dislike my 3 children's names. But they love my children! :) That's the important part.
    I do like the name Augustus for a boy, I feel August is more of a girl name-- but there are so many names these days that go both ways. I have a nephew named Taylor and a niece named Taylor.
    It is fun to hear name ideas. And of course, the name has to sound right and "flow" with your last name. There is a science to it all. :)
    Fun stuff.
    Good luck--It will just come to you-- It may not be until you look at that precious baby in your arms, but it will come and in that moment, it will be the perfect name!


    ReplyDelete
  18. Calvin, Atlas, Ezra.
    Yes, I keep thinking of this.
    Merry Christmas, Charity! :)
    --Marissa

    ReplyDelete
  19. A hidden benefit of having dozens of neices and nephews is you can chose more unusual names. You are forced to look through the entire book of baby names.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment