orbits.

Freddy and I are both working remotely (although Freddy will quit in time for school to start), so much of this past week was spent working. But! Mixed in with work were some wonderful moments of getting settled in and enjoying our life in Paris: meals shared with friends, exploring our neighborhood, trying new foods, experiencing the flea market, etc, etc. A number of people have commented to me that Freddy and I and Paris just make sense, and to be honest, we feel really at home here (with the exception of not being able to speak the language well).

The senior missionaries in our ward invited us to attend FHE and institute with the YSA's, so we went to institute this past Thursday night. During the lesson, Freddy commented and summarized this quote:

"The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well." 

-Neal A. Maxwell 

We spent several months deciding where Freddy should attend grad school. There were three fantastic options: London School of Economics, Sciences Po, and Johns Hopkins. But, despite logic (LSE is much more recognized and Freddy received a scholarship to Johns Hopkins), we kept feeling a pull towards Sciences Po and Paris. It took some time for us *cough* Freddy *cough* to commit to it, but once we did, we couldn't deny that it was the right thing for us; that, for whatever reason, God needed us here. 

Now here we are. And God continues to confirm to us in little ways that He is aware of us and that we're exactly where we're supposed to be. For example, a few days ago we went to the post office to send off some important immigration forms and we were completely lost in trying to navigate how things worked. In two separate instances there, individuals stepped forward and offered to help and translate for us, making it possible to send off our documents. It was a small thing, but in those moments we knew that God was aware of our needs and was sending us help through lovely, compassionate Parisians.

All of this is to say that God has personalized plans for each of us. And no, I would not have expected in my wildest imaginations that I would live in Paris. But now that we're here, I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Other moments from this past week:

• We got to teach a lesson with the sister missionaries! It was my first time being on the flip side (being the member present rather than the missionary) and man, was it energizing. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST'S CHURCH HAS BEEN RESTORED TO THE EARTH?! We have the greatest message of all time!
• Listening to Man's Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl—probably will share some thoughts on it in the future!
• Getting caught in the rain
• Watching Julie & Julia and admittedly developing an obsession with Julia Child and finally finding some motivation to learn how to cook 
• Getting involved in our ward
• Trying different ice cream flavors from the frozen food supermarket, Picard (it's cheap and ridiculously good... my favorite so far is probably lime sorbet but we have many more flavors left to try)

And other moments as illustrated by lots and lots of photographs:

I had to make an intro video of myself for my job (I work for an online school called My Tech High) and this was an outtake of me trying to get my camera focused properly... 

In case you didn't know, Freddy loves to cook. For this meal, it was duck breast with white carrot purée, rocket salad, and purple carrots on the side. Mm, mm. I'm spoiled.

Taken on one of our walks around our neighborhood. 

This makes me exceedingly happy. Paris is rekindling my love for street/documentary photography and I'm totally okay with it.

I'm really loving having decent lighting in our studio so that I can photograph Freddy's creations! This one was just for a snack: potatoes roasted in duck fat with smoked salmon and crème fraîche.  

The next several photos were taken at Le Marché aux Puces de Vanves, aka a flea market. We didn't buy anything, but we had a fun time checking out the goods. 

Freddy's a good sport about taking selfies with me... Most of the time.

Lots of vintage photographs were being sold at the flea market, including a wallet with multiple family photos in it (not pictured). It made me a little sad—those photos belong with their families, you know?

Food is a big part of our relationship... We've been on a quest to try soufflé since the last time we were in Europe and we found a place here in Paris that is known for their soufflés! Happy days.

Cheese soufflé. Very fluffy. To be honest, it tasted like a cheese omelette to me.

The restaurant also happened to sell beef tartare, a bucket list food item for Freddy. In case you don't know what tartare is, it's raw meat. Yes, we willingly ate raw beef.

Chocolate soufflé! This one hit the spot.

And yet another of Freddy's creations. Chicken (with crispy skin), carrot purée, and roasted tomatoes (I told Freddy it was the best experience I've ever had with tomatoes and I wasn't lying—so juicy and sweet).

Phone photos:

Fromage is quickly becoming one of my favorite French words. (Fromage = cheese.)

Unintentionally dramatic selfie. I was mostly going for the window light.

Lunch with friends! I was taking a photo of the can (my first time trying Orangina) and happened to capture Freddy in a great moment.

We stumbled upon an adorable toy shop while out running errands. L'Oiseau de Paradis.

Exploring the toy shop.

Best part of the toy shop: the little music boxes! Here Freddy was playing "La Mer," aka "somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me..."

We were parched and so we popped into Starbucks for an iced chocolate (the only thing we ever get at Starbucks). This happened to be the same one we came to last year in Paris so it was nostalgic and what not.

I make it a point to take selfies in all the cool mirrors we come across. No shame.

Rainy day wandering down Rue Mouffetard.

At the flea market!

Please note the very French man in the background, the only reason I took this photo.

Slide film being sold at the flea market. 

At the soufflé restaurant!

What happens when I try to take a nice Sunday selfie on our way to church.

Our view on the way to church (we have yet to figure out what the building is)

This church is on our street!

Enjoying some mindfulness time at the park on our street

I've long had a love for drawing, so I'm going to push myself to practice and share an illustration or two each week. I hand drew this and then digitized it and painted it in Adobe Illustrator:

Drawn from this photo:

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois! (I had to Google Translate that so don't think I'm cool and stuff)