Mélange

Hi friends! There are so many things that have interested me or inspired me online lately, so I thought I'd share a few favourites, plus some random thoughts and updates from me!

• How did you feel about your childbirth experience? I loved this brave question and the thoughtful article which answers it - Are We Asking Too Much of Our Birth Stories?
• Why you should stop wearing shoes in your house! I find most Canadians are shoes off people, but every once in a while a guest will stroll in with their shoes on and I kind of die a little inside!
• Do you put any faith in the Enneagram? Several well informed friends have been talking about this personality test for over a year, so finally I figured I'd take a few free tests that I could find online. I took four tests and every one said I was equal parts 1 and 3 with an 8 wing. A really beautiful resource for learning more is the Sleeping At Last podcast, where he shares interesting facts and fears and strengths of each type but then fully elaborates with a bespoke song for each type. I cried listening to the One song because I felt so completely understood! Even that Ones have trouble accepting grace and are tempted to earn God's favour. I can't wait to learn more and see how this understanding can help me better know myself and others. 

• I'm so excited that this sweet family is adopting again! Elsie gives a thorough Q + A for their second adoption that I enjoyed reading. 
• Oli and Chloe are wearing these sweaters every few days and they look so darn cute!
• This soup is out of this world. I've made it a few times recently! And in the Instantpot too - so easy. 

• My friend Matt is such a talented writer. Here he writes about Humble Roots - a book I'm planning to read this month - Spider Man, and staying grounded. You'll probably benefit from every single article on his blog. 
• What are you reading this season? I'm on book 6 of Harry Potter and it's my first time going through the series! I don't let myself watch the movies until I'm finished each book, but it's so hard! My book club read Stay With Me last month and we're due to discuss it. I found it a bit too tragic for my likes, but it was a powerful story for sure. 
• I recently got this poster for the kid's room - it lists 196 countries, by size. What a fun educational tool - and beautiful.