Train potty: Me

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Sabtu, 03 Juni 2017

Let Downs and Pick Me Ups

Sometimes life can be so unfair.

Last week, we had a fantastic plan. We have been looking to buy land in the beautiful Texas hill country, and as I mentioned previously, we had been searching for a long time! I happened upon a property that seemed to have potential, so I drove an hour North with the kids on Tuesday to check it out. Immediately, I fell in love with that gorgeous piece of land. It was 12 acres of near perfection, almost everything we had wanted in a land purchase! (It was a bit more expensive than we had hoped but still within reach.) Driving home on Tuesday afternoon, I was so excited for Johnny to view the property too. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to come see it until Saturday, because he works during the daytime,

but we planned it all out with the Realtor. We had our appointment set for Saturday, and we were encouraged to have our our financial papers ready to go by that time. Everything worked out financially, and on Friday morning I called our Realtor to let her know that we were ready for action on Saturday.

She called me back an hour later.

With bad news.

Someone else made an offer Friday morning, and the owner had accepted their offer.

We were a few hours too late.

At first I was sad, and then I was frustrated, and then I was melancholy. Why did this happen? We had done everything right! Things should have worked out! I felt like grieving a loss that had really only been a part of my life for 4 days,

yet it really, really hurt that our hopes were shattered so quickly.

Luckily, I have a wonderful mother. I called her in tears after I got the news, and she wisely gave me advice that ceased my tears. She reminded me that if God absolutely wanted us in that exact spot, then we would be there. If we were meant to own that 12 acres, this other offer would fall through. But if not, then God had other plans, and we needed to trust Him.

"I know Mom, but it still hurts," I responded.

To which she said, "Go pray. He is the one who can comfort your heart and give you peace about what you need to do."

Oh, how I love my momma! She listened to me, she empathized with me, and she reminded me that eventually everything would work out to our family's benefit. This property had seemed perfect, but we would find something else. I followed my mom's advice and took some time to pray. The next morning, I had another prayerful conversation in which I explained all my feelings to God about our goals, hopes, and dreams. Finally, after opening my wounded heart to Him, I felt some peace.

Saturday morning, I felt like we should drive to that small town anyways. My heart was calm, but I wanted to show Johnny that property and that town anyways. I figured that together we could decide if we really wanted to buy land in that part of Texas. Johnny agreed, so we loaded up the kids and made the hour drive North. Yea for family road trips!

And you know what? We stumbled across another beautiful piece of land, just a mile up the road from that first piece of property. This second property was a little bit smaller, only 10 acres, but it was considerably less expensive. This second property also had big beautiful trees and pastures. Additionally, it had a small creek. Exploring this second property was exciting, and Johnny and I both wondered if it was meant for us.

Maybe this was the land we needed to find?

As we talked and talked and talked over the weekend, it seemed as if this second property better suited all our goals. We wondered if this was an answer to our prayers for comfort and direction. This one felt right.

Tomorrow we are calling the Realtor to make an offer.

Hopefully it works out in our favor (and someone didn't snatch it up in the last 24 hours). "But if not," then I know that God is watching over me and my family. He will help us reach our goals, and as long as we trust Him and follow His directions, we will find that fulfillment and joy we are seeking.

Kamis, 06 April 2017

Now I lay me down to sleep

I LOVE bedroom furniture, bed linens, and all bedroom decor in general. Oh, and I love to sleep which makes the bedroom even more important.

It's fun to dream of a day when we own a home and have room for a real, grown up bed. I supposed we could get one for our stint at the in laws, but I'm not sure we'll have the room. And I'd rather not move heavy furniture up and down those stairs if we can avoid it. It would make sense to wait on a purchase like this until we are a little more settled in our own home, but until then I can scope out the possibilities, right?

1. I love this dark wooden bed from ZGallerie. It's the Chelsea bed for $799

2. Nate despises fabric-covered beds like this, but I like their soft, whimsical feel. I don't like the price tag on this Cara bed [$1500]. Again from ZGallerie.

3. West Elm has some nice options, and I like this "narrow leg upholstered bed frame" for $499.

4. And possibly my fave from Pottery Barn, the Sumatra bed for $1100. It looks a little lower than the others, which is a problem for us tall folk. We'd practically have to fall down onto this guy.

Then there are the numerous bed linens to go with the new bed. We have a really nice duvet and sham set right now from C&B that we received as a shower gift. Wouldn't it look great with one of the above beds?

But it's fun to change it up every now and then. Here is our biggest problem with linens: I love the ultra girlie, pink and floral variety and Nate likes the masculine, contemporary styles. In fact, I'm kind of surprised we agreed on our current set since it's a floral print. Maybe Nate just lets me have my way more than I think. I mean, he did agree to this shower curtain, too:

Hmmm, maybe I could pull of a girlie set next time, too. Here are a few sets I like now:

1. Bed Bath and Beyond has Jonathan Adler's Origami Duvet pictured here. I love the mix of patterns and it's a neutral color, leaving the fun for the wall color. I'm not sure they have a Queen duvet though. That would be a problem, but it's still cute.

2. BBB has this Southgate Herringbone duvet by Nautica for only $59. But of course I'd need to buy all of these fabulous pillow and shams and dust ruffle. I like the brown shades and again, would be able to accent with a fun wall color.

3. Pottery Barn always has such a great red color. And over the past few years I've steered away from red and stayed loyal to red's sister, pink. But now I find myself liking red more and more these days---it's classic and not too feminine. Here is the Multistripe duvet and sham set, duvet for $129. I love the eclectic mix of patterns here.

4. Pottery Barn has this Madison Floral duvet for $100. This goes on my "If I were a Single Girl" list.

5. Pottery Barn's Jasper Bedding ensemble includes everything for $289. This isn't a typical pick for me, since it's so masculine and blue has never been my thing. But for some reason I like this one. And I know Nate would approve.

My absolute favorites are from Anthropologie and Crate & Barrel, but how in the heck do you save a picture from a Flash site? I could not figure it out after wasting a lot of time trying. Anyone? The frilly florals on Anthropologie are to die for. And C&B never disappoints, either. Help!