Paris: They go in his pockets.

It's a strange place to be in-- living in a home where you're neither family nor guest-- but I've adjusted well. Dimitri and Victor are obeying, Hugo has adopted me, and Elvire & Christophe are... still a bit intimidating, but it's all in my head.

Because the French expect the best and encouragement is not their forté, my mistakes appear magnified. A few deep breaths later, I recall I'm human. There never has been nor will there ever be a perfect au pair, and the Lord continually reveals to me that earning my worth by striving for perfection is impossible. That said, I'm thankful amidst my frustration.

"Our self-worth is too often based on what other people tell us about ourselves. The one, true authority on our self-worth is Jesus Christ, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are."
-S. Michael Houdmann

Things:
-Paris is a good reminder of how much extra spending money I don't have.
-I made a friend from London who loves to bake as well! We're saving up to take a pastry arts class at Le Cordon Bleu.
-To the stores so pretentious I have to ring a doorbell to enter... I have nothing to say to you.
-I found a fabulous pair of 7 for all Mankind jeans at a vintage shop for 5 euros. Do they fit right now? Of course not. Will they fit? TBA.
-A girl from my home church (www.fpco.org) is doing mission work in Paris with her husband. This week we are going to church together-- an answer to many prayers!
-While reading The Paris Wife, I learned Ezra Pound isn't in fact a plump, female African American poet, and I'm still trying to figure out when I formed that misconception.

"Did your dad catch the kisses you blew him out the window, Dimitri?"
"Yes. But do you know what happens if he doesn't catch them? They follow him and when they catch up to him they go in his pockets."