If it's not one thing, it's your 107 year old home

It's been a whirlwind here. We got our new bed and our new sofa picked out (first time ever we've bought a NEW sofa). We've decided to move in upstairs to what used to be the sewing/guest room. There are a lot of reasons for this and all in all it's going to be a good move. That said, the people before us were in love with baby blue. They painted the bathroom that color (we painted it gray), they painted the foundation that color (we're going to paint it gray) and they painted the ginormous awesome bedroom upstairs in it. I've spent 15 hours over the course of 3 days priming over it and painting it a real pretty brown. It sort of looks like I'm painting with chocolate ice cream, then it dries a bit darker. It's really just lovely. There's so much light and room up there that the dark color really works. We should be picking up our bed this weekend. I'm ever so ready for a memory-foam-topped mattress. I think my body will collapse in relief into it when I'm finally done painting! I might tackle the hallway too while I'm feeling energetic about my house.

We've decided against insulating our completely un-insulated 107 year old house. There are a lot of reasons, but basically it comes down to ROI (return on investment). We wouldn't get even *close* to a decent ROI. So with not needing to spend money on that we were able to get a nicer bed and a good warranty on the fabric on the new sofa (6 year old boys are messy, mmkay? so are 29 year old mamas...).

Nathan turns 6 in a month. I'm really not ready. I miss having a baby around this house. I thought taking some time off from worrying about infertility and adoption and which path to choose would make me feel better. But I've been stressing about it so long, that my brain feels empty without that melancholy struggle. Weird, huh? The utter ridiculousness of this winter doesn't do much to quell the bluey-blues. I'm very ready for spring. Ready for sitting out on my deck with an iced tea and a good book. Ready for fresh air and lilacs wafting through my yard. Ready for pink charm daffodils and seed-starting indoors. Ready for bare feet and skirts with a sweater. Ready for windows and doors flung open all day and night to let in a breeze. Ready for hanging my laundry out on the line.

The 40 Days For Life campaign has kicked up once again. 40 days of praying, peacefully in front of abortion clinics. Every year I pray along with these people (they do a campaign in the spring and the fall) and every year I'm amazed at the number of lives saved and changed by this campaign. God truly does work in mysterious ways. A number of weeks ago, one of the 40 DFL coordinators was on Focus on the Family with a woman who used to work at an abortion clinic. I was haunted by a lot of what she said. Very haunted. But that's a rant for another day. I do hope you'll join me in lifting up a prayer for all the mamas out there thinking of aborting their babies, all the workers at clinics who don't realize what they're taking part in, for the mamas out there who've already sent babies to Heaven by chance OR choice, and for those precious babies themselves, that their lives might be spared so they can fullfill God's destiny for them.

I hope God blesses you this weekend and that you find an opportunity to be a blessing, as well.

"It is a poverty that a "child must die", So that you may live as you wish...
- Mother Teresa