The Dog Room...

This weekend was a whirlwind that included viewing fifteen homes in sixteen hours over two days with two second showings. So what is it exactly that makes a house feel like home? For me it’s the people. Can I see my people living there and being happy? And it’s the puppies, or as we call them, the girls. Does the house live well for my girls and will they be safe in all the spaces? (These are the types of things you have to consider when your dogs weigh five pounds)! We found our next home this weekend and it’s the one that checked those boxes and more. The one that made me stand in its kitchen and sob like a baby as I heard God tell me that my crew will be okay on this journey. It’s the one where I can see my son and my girls and the hubster and I making new memories as a family.  #ATLOTP825 #502 #puppyroom

The Daily Melt...

Don’t let anyone tell you that major life change isn’t stressful. Don’t look at photos on Pinterest or Facebook or Instagram and assume you’re doing something wrong or that you’re somehow lesser because you don’t look like a million bucks while toting around your perfectly organized life in a fur lined storage tote. I don’t care who you are—that’s not reality. Whether you’re moving a kid to college, downsizing, moving 600 miles away or just trying to organize your stuff enough to send a kindergartner off on the first day with the right colored pencils, change can be brutal.

My daily meltdown (and let’s hope there’s just one today!) happened at 11:15a in the middle of Hobby Lobby. There I was, comfy in my favorite holey sweatshirt with my hair up in a knot, when I burst into tears in the middle of the store.  I love to decorate for the holidays and Hobby Lobby has their fall décor out in full swish.  It would’ve been oh so easy to fill a cart for my newly renovated home. Then it hit me, hopefully it’s not going to be my home anymore. A few remaining signatures on a couple of documents are all that’s needed and then my home will belong to someone else which means for the first time fifteen years I won’t have a home. The truth is, I don’t know where I’ll be when it’s time to decorate for fall. And while that thought terrifies me because the boys and I have made a beautiful home here and I genuinely love my house and all of the memories we’ve made inside these four walls, the thought also makes me happy because I know the next family that lives at our address has an amazing journey ahead of them. I know they’ll be living in a home where every corner has been prayed over and planned and cared for and well loved. I’m hopeful that I’ll find a new house to pray over soon, and that means I’ll get to renovate anew with my eyes on the goal of making a home for the boys and I and our guests. I know it won’t happen overnight, but I refuse to believe it won’t happen.

 

After I pulled myself together and managed to grab what I went to Hobby Lobby for in the first place, I ended up in an area of the store I’ve never really frequented before. And this is what I found there waiting for me. Be still my planning heart!  I’m thanking God today for putting this little notebook in my path and giving me a ray of hope for the journey ahead.  #ATLOTP825

We're Headed Outside the Perimeter (OTP)...

I’ve been oddly quiet lately and those of you that know me well have caught on that something’s askew in Buehlerland. You aren’t wrong. While the hubster, the kiddo, and the puppies and I are fine, our world was flipped upside down last week when we found out that two thirds of us are moving to Atlanta, GA in mid August. Our other third, that bright-eyed boy that lights up my life, will be moving to Bloomington a week later.

Mayhem? You bet. Dismay? By the boatload. Gut wrenching? Pardon the graphic but a day hasn’t gone by in the last week that I haven’t tossed my cookies at least once. Fear? So overwhelming I can barely catch my breath sometimes. 

This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t even in the notebook of possibilities. But this is what I’m learning through the upheaval that’s become my life as of late... 

Love is messy and love is hard and stupid and painful but love is also absolutely worth it. 

Thank you for checking on us. And praying for us. And loving us. Please don’t stop. We know we’re only as strong as our tribe and we are oh so grateful for each and every one of you. We’re trusting that God is right in the middle of our mayhem and we believe you are his angels.