Never go to HoGo without a plan.

It's no secret.  I have a thing for home decor.  

I love to shop for it, change it out, rearrange it, and look at it from different angles in my house.  Because that's normal.

While my friends Ashley and Treenah were over helping me unpack, they came to the following conclusion.  I like all things white and ceramic.  Tell me something I don't know.  I also have a penchant for pillows and side tables.  They just didn't get to unpack those boxes :)

Fortunately, I also like cheap.  And, if I'm not thrifting it or pulling it from someone's curb, it's probably from Homegoods or Target.  Which brings me to my venture to all things home and good and why it was a major bust today.

Problem A.

I took this ding dong with me.  Love him dearly, but have mercy this kid keeps me on my toes!  When he wasn't singing loudly (i.e. making robot noises), he was trying to distract me by trying to touch things on the shelves. I spent a lot of time brushing his hands away from shell wreaths and yard animals.  

Problem B.

The bigger problem.  I went with no plan.  I was lost among all the home goodness, passing through aisle upon aisle of accessories questioning my motives.  Did I come for bath rugs?  Do I need a 4 foot ceramic apple?  This rooster?  A stone buddah figure?  SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually came looking for my mantle.  But, again, no plan.  I didn't even Pinterest before I went.  

Here is the mantle and built-ins in very early stages.  I'm so not satisfied.  I (read: B), needs to paint behind the TV and bookcases to lighten them up.  Probably a shade of gray.  I will also paint the cabinets white.  Depending on how both of those work out will determine whether or not I also paint the stone surrounding the fireplace.  

So, I bought nothing.  Sigh.  But, I did Pinterest when I came home.  Here's some pinspiration...

 

I'm leaning toward the reclaimed wood box full of hydrangeas.  With maybe a lantern-looking thing one end.  Maybe my vintage blue Ball jars, too? And a mirror?  Some candles?  I don't know.  Obviously, I have a lot of thinking to do.  Commitment is hard.  

Blind, bold faith.

While folding laundry the other day, I believe - for the first time that I can notably remember - I felt like God was directly speaking to me: She's coming.  Out of no where.  I don't know who she is or in what context she'll be arriving, but I feel strongly that He sent me that short message as a sense of reassurance.  

Only the day before, I learned from our adoption worker that our profile was shown to an expectant mother who chose another family.  One without kids.  Ouch.  Strangely, that sting was short-lived and after crying to my mom for a quick minute, I just felt at peace.  That baby was meant for another family, and our baby is still our baby - whoever he or she may be.  

In a fit of crazy, perhaps, I washed a load of girl clothes that I've collected over years of thrifting.  They're not even infant clothes!  She,  of course, might not be a baby girl.  Might not even be an expectant mother.  But, in any event, I got to spend a few minutes folding cute baby clothes :)

The bigger picture, though, is how He used that message to draw me closer to Him and His word.  I paged through my Bible with nothing specific to read, but let him guide me to what He needed me to hear.  

I flipped until I came to Luke 11 - Jesus teaching on prayer.  Verses 9 and 10 stood out...

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks will find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Wow.  Just wow.

Notice, however, that he doesn't say "tomorrow" or "soon."  He just reassures you that He will provide.  And, so, as I seek this morning, I pray for the she who is coming and how I can meet whatever need she may have.  I pray that I might serve her and glorify Him through it all.

Happy Sunday :)

Well, hellllllooooo, April.

So, don't ever pray to be busy.  Unless, of course, you're prepared to be really busy.  Like REALLY busy.  Like only the kind of busy that can be brought on by praying to be busy.  

Because God,  yeah,  He really does listen to and answer prayers!

This girl has been bizzzzzzzzzeeeeeee.

After praying and specifically asking God to fill my time and keep me busy back in Janurary,  He responded by making my February and March practically disappear into appointments, activities, conferences, work, home, and family goings-on.   

And, for that, I say thanks.  Though during those months I was absolutely saying, Why did I ever ASK to be this busy?!  I'm so busy I can't see straight!  I get it, God!  I'm busy!

So, what have we been up to in the past two months?  

Well, we bought a house!  We left our darling little Cape Cod and moved to a delightful neighborhood where the kiddos are plentiful, biking in the cul-de-sac is a nightly ritual, and WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE BATHROOM!  And, stop the world, there is a laundry room on the second floor.  I've never been so excited to do laundry in my life!  We've been here for two weeks and just love it :)

Hmmm, what else?  Well, my kiddo is growing like a dang weed.  Seriously, I bet he'll have grown 4 inches by the time we make it to his yearly checkup in June.  Y'all, he's going to be a KINDERGARTNER.  Kindergarten!  Ah!  

Still no baby at the Mullins' household.  We continue to pray and have faith in His plan and are still anxiously awaiting the day that we grow into a family of four.  If you know anyone who is considering adoption, please don't hesitate to put them in touch with me!  My email is babblingabby@gmail.com.  I hadn't really considered doing it before, but I've been thinking about putting our crib together in the would-be nursery.  It's an empty room right now and it looks so lonely.  Also, if you would pray for us, I would really appreciate it :)

Also, B graduated from Nash Academy in Lexington.  He's an official dog groomer.  So proud!

Hope y'all are well!  Off to catch up on my blog reader to what's going on with you!

weekend update.

 

I  mean, right?!

Obviously, it didn’t matter that I wanted to have another baby by the time I was 30.  Or that I thought that baby would come from my belly.  The Lord’s purpose.  Now that is a plan right there.  And, I can’t sit and call him and be like, Hey, God?  So, about that baby…  I wish I could :)  So, I guess that’s the best adoption update I can give you right now.  It’s not about my plan – it’s about His purpose.  And, won’t the day that His purpose is made clear for our family be a day?!

We’re just living life around these parts.  Trying hard to muddle through January.  It’s just one of those months you get through.  It’s cold and dreary.   You’re combatting the let down from all that holiday momentum.  Suddenly you’re like – oh, you mean we don’t have plans EVERY minute of every day OR a fridge stocked full of appetizers and cookies anymore?  And the loss of the glow from the Christmas tree.  And the soft sound of Christmas music floating through the house. I miss that.  Then I try to think of all things shiny and new and I get excited about spring.  Which, naturally, leads to thoughts of summer.  Ahhhhh, summer. 

Wishing my life away.  But trying hard not to.

Becks and I have spent our time indoors arts and crafting.  Totally up my ally.  Leave all that superhero stuff to his daddy because this mama loves to be at a table with all sorts of markers, glue and paper in front of her. 

  

 

I’m still trying to balance working out and eating.  I like to do both, you know.

 

Though, I’ve done a lot more eating and a lot less working in the past week.  I got the FLU.  Even after getting the flu mist – which I will never do again.  I’ve always had the shot and haven’t had the flu since 7th grade.  Henceforth, only shots for me.  Flu = 5 days of a miserableness. 

So, happy-end-of-weekend.  Have a great week!

Filling my time, not my face.

So, decidedly, I am going to either get fat and/or go broke as we wait for that fateful phone call.  All the running and working out I’m doing is completely cancelled out by the fact that I immediately come home and eat an entire can of Salt-n-Pepper Pringles.  Thank goodness there are no Girl Scout cookies in the house.  Yet. 

I also find myself wanting to shop.  Like every day.  I could tell you the placement of every chevron patterned item in Homegoods.  And, how much the boots are that I want to buy from Zappos. ($135. Plus shipping.  That’s outrageous.)  And which shelves have been recently restocked at Kroger. 

I’m not kidding when I say that He is teaching me patience.  And faith in His timing and perfect plan.  It’s hard.  It’s challenging.  But, I love Him for it anyway.  I will praise Him in this storm.

I’m committed to choosing a healthier habit, that will hopefully keep me out of the store and the Oreos.  It’s called READING.  I tend to forget how much I like it.  And that “getting lost in a good book” is a rather real and time-consuming phenomenon.  So, I’m stocking my shelves.  And, not the ones in the pantry :)

          

   I’m almost finished with Where We Belong.   My neighbor lent it to me after learning we were planning to adopt.   So many interesting coincidences in this book - from adoption, to the mention of my maiden name, to the protagonist’s love for Michigan.  It was like I was meant to read it.  How true is it to the actual experience of adoption?  I’m not real sure, but it’s a good fictional read.

Jesus Calling was recommended by a sweet friend in my Life Group after I shared that I have difficulty just picking up the Bible to read.  I just purchased it today.  There’s a short and sweet devotional for each day of the year, along with a passage from the Bible to look up on your own. 

Bloom is a memoir by the amazing and talented and inspiring and thoughtful and funny and gorgeous (and I could go on and on) Kelle Hampton.  She blogs at Enjoying the Small Things, and she makes every day living beautiful and inspiring.  She keeps it real.  This book is in my cue at the library. 

So, that’s a start, right?  And, non-caloric.  Plus, mostly free.   A win-win!

Happy Sunday night, friends!

All kinds of no plans.

There was no real game plan for weekend.  Just how I like it.  So, we had an impromptu spaghetti-dinner-sleep-over with the cousins.  They stayed up waaaaay too late for being in the under-6 crowd.  B had to walk across the hall to lay down the law once or twice.  I woke up suddenly a little after midnight, shocked to not hear little voices.  I snuck over to check on them, and PTL everyone was sound asleep on the floor.  Seeing them all snug makes me long for the day that Becks has a sibling to stay up late with :)

      

Earlier today we visited the Cincinnati mecca of all super markets: Jungle Jims. 

Jungle Jim’s is a crazy big super market mecca of everything. Like forty dollar ostrich eggs.  In case you ever need the equivalent of 36 eggs.  In one egg.  {Sidenote: that completely grosses me out.}

     

We bought Becks that coconut.  I have no idea what we’ll do with it.  He’s pretty excited about taking a hammer to it, though.  Sullee and Chels went with us, too.  Dang, she’s cute.

They have an entire mile of the store dedicated to candy.  It caused a lot of internal debate for Becks as he had to choose from a wall of a thousand Pez dispensers.  #kidproblems

  

We had a lot of fun.  I felt like a tourist.

     

The day ended with dinner at my parents house – pinto beans, cornbread, and mustard greens.  SO YUM.  There might’ve been a little flying the friendly skies via Papa Airlines, too.  Oh, to be four.

 

  

Then we came home and Becks decided he wanted to sleep on the floor again. I let him.  What’s another night on the floor?  Plus, there will be a day when he doesn’t sleep on the floor, in a spot I made, with Snoopy and the gang.  And, I’ll miss it.  So, sleep on the floor he will. 

I love having no plans weekends :)

Remembering 2012

This past year has been no less than incredible.  God worked in my life in ways that I once never thought possible, and all I can do is reflect {in awe} of His plan.  I’m happier than I’ve been in years, and can truly say I’ve felt his presence during some very dark and difficult times over the past 12 months.  I owe Him all the glory, as I don’t think I could’ve accomplished anything without Him leading the way. 

I’ve never considered myself to be very outwardly “religious.”  I’m certainly not preachy, and there’s nothing that intimidates me more than someone with questions about faith that I simply cannot answer because I don’t know.  But, I just felt it on my heart tonight to tell you that He loves you, is there for you, and he wants a relationship with you.  He wants to hold your hand and lead you through the good times and bad.  He wants to be all up in your 2013!

Just thought I would share :)

* * * * * *

And, now, for my year in pictures – in no particular order - with an explanation in words afterwards.

1.  I bought a unitard.  Remember?!  I mean, there is no better way to start 2012 than in an adult onesie.  Let’s be honest.

2.  Though I graduated in December 2011, I didn’t receive my new certificate until this summer when my pay raise could go in effect. Yay! 

3.  Brandon and I began fertility treatments.  That pick was taken by a sweet waitress at First Watch before our second IUI.  Though it wasn’t successful, it was certainly a challenging time for us as a couple and we grew stronger because of it. 

4.  We had our first “official” family pictures made!  LOVE THEM!  Those boys just make my day.

5.  B became a stay-at-home dad.  A great decision for our family.  He makes some world class enchiladas and cinnamon chip snickerdoodles, keeps up on laundry better than I ever did, and rocks the parent pick-up line at preschool.  So proud of him.

6.  My marriage became stronger, and my love for my husband grew with each passing day.  He’s such a great guy and genuinely makes me the happiest girl <3

7.  I went to Chicago and met up with my favorite online friends!  I can’t say enough about their friendship over the past year, and I’m so grateful to have finally met them in person!  Looking forward to our next gathering already :)

8.  On December 23rd, yours truly turned the big 3-0!  B worked together with my friends to throw me a surprise party two months before the big event.  So. Blessed.  I cannot even wait to see what my 30th year will hold!

9.  My pumpkin continues to be the love of my life and we’ve shared a gazillion silly moments over the past year.  He never ceases to crack me up {or test my patience!}.  He’s one of a kind and I just love him!

10.  I left the classroom, and became our school’s Title I teacher.  I LOVE MY JOB.  Moreover, I work part-time, allowing me to spend more time at home enjoying my family and life.  I can’t tell you how happy this made me, and give a whole lotta PTLs for this opportunity!

11.   We decided to discontinue fertility treatments and pursue adoption! What a blessing! I pray every day for our sweet baby and his or her mother, and can’t wait to share the news that we have a wee one in our home again.

So, there’s 2012 in sum.  What a fantastic year!  2013, here I come!