God's grace is sufficient.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Snow, snow and more snow.
In this family, we LOVE snow. Since Cary and I got married, we've only seen two big snows. Once in Jackson, 12 inches, and once in Raleigh, 8 inches. When we moved to Gatlinburg in the fall, we knew we would get a lot more snow, but never expected to get so much! This has been one of the snowiest seasons Gatlinburg has seen in a long time. A couple of weeks ago, we were only supposed to get a dusting and we ended up with about five inches. We've had a couple of dustings since, and then Winter Storm Pax came through. We were forecast to get between six and ten inches. We ended up with about eight. Cary and Connor ventured out for some snow day fun.
Monday, February 10, 2014
One God + One Phone Call = A New Journey.
7. In October, Cary and I celebrated seven years of marriage.
6. After six years in seminary, Cary graduated in December with his Master's of Divinity degree.
5. Between the two of us, we've had five jobs since we've been married
4. We've moved four times in the last seven years.
3. We've been through three cars
2. We have two kids
1. We serve one God
On August 1, 2007, Cary and I moved to North Carolina to start seminary. Not knowing exactly how long we would be there or where it would lead us, we started this journey together. Now, six years later, we have finished and God has done so much with us during that time. Cary knew he wanted to go into the ministry when he finished, so we sent resumes to 13 different churches in the spring of 2013 and 16 more in the fall of that year. On December 1st, we got the first call back. We now know that this was the call we had been waiting for. We've been living with my mom and step dad for six months now. I previously blogged about this move here
Here's the story:
We went to Cary's brother's house for Thanksgiving last year. We traveled back to Gatlinburg on Sunday, Decemeber 1st and had only been home for about twenty minutes when Cary got a call. He went outside to talk and was gone about ten minutes. He came back in and told me that it was a church that had gotten his resume. It was the head of the search committee that called and they set up a phone interview with the rest of the search committee for the next Sunday night. We were really excited and prayed all week for this interview. Sunday came and Cary had the interview. The committee wanted some time to talk and pray about it and they would get back with us about moving forward from this point. They let Cary know that he was the only guy they were looking at right now. We also prayed and patiently waited for their phone call. After about a week, David, the head of the search committee, called back and said they did want to move forward and meet us and have dinner. We set the date for Friday, January 10th. It felt like forever waiting for that date to arrive. The holidays seemed to help it go by faster.
Finally, January 10th arrived. Cary and I decided to make a day "date" out of it. We needed to open a bank account here, go to Costco, and just have some time together. My mom kept the kids for us and off we went to Knoxville to enjoy being together before our big interview dinner. We ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and drove around exploring some of Knoxville. We met the search committee at Aubrey's Restaurant. We were pretty nervous when we got there, but we prayed together in the car before we went in. We got inside and found our party, and everything went great. We swapped stories, talked about our families, had lots of laughs. There was never a dull or awkward moment. We really enjoyed ourselves. After dinner they took us to the church to give us a tour and tell us a little more about the make up of the church. We then went and sat together in the pastor's office to have the more formal interview. They asked us some more in depth questions and since they knew a lot about Cary already, they wanted to know my testimony and where I grew up, etc. We ended the night on a really good note and once again, David said they would talk and pray and let us know what was next.
The waiting was the worst part. I knew God was in control and would lead us where he wanted us. We thought things were going really well and again, patiently waited for a call. By the next Wednesday, David called back and said they wanted to continue in the process with us. The search committee really liked us a lot and wanted us to meet the pastor and his wife. Pastor Bobby called Cary the next day and we set up a lunch date for Monday, January 20th at Olive Garden. Once again, my mom kept the kids for us so that we could go and meet them. Lunch went really well. Things just seemed to flow and the conversation was great. We left lunch feeling uplifted and positive. The next step was to get a background check done. David called over the weekend to let us know once they got it back, they would set up a deacon's meeting to make sure they were all on the same page. This meeting was scheduled for Wednesday night January 29. We had a really big snow storm move through on Monday night and Tuesday. We were only supposed to get about an inch, instead we got about 4-5 inches of snow. Church services and meetings for that Wednesday were called off, which meant the deacon's meeting would be put off until the next week.
We didn't have to wait that long. David decided to call all of the deacons personally, on that Tuesday night, the night we had all the snow, and then called Cary. He said he just didn't want to put it off another week. He called them all to make sure they all agreed to bring Cary before the church for a trial sermon and a vote. We were so so excited! Cary began preparing for his sermon and reached out to some other pastor's and professors for advice. David and the deacons decided to set up a meet and greet with the church for Saturday, February 8th and Cary's trial sermon would be the next morning on Sunday, February 9th. Saturday night went great. We had a wonderful turn out and met so many new people. When Sunday morning came, we were both really nervous, but we prayed together and with pastor Bobby before going into the sanctuary. Cary did so well delivering his sermon. He never missed a beat. When he finished, we left the room so the church could vote. We waited in the hall, patiently, nervously.... After about five minutes, they called us back in and it was a unanimous YES! God is so good and deserves all the glory. He worked all of this out and lead us right where He wanted us.
After so many years of hard work, sacrifice, and following the Lord's direction, Ebenezer Baptist Church is where He has lead us. Cary is the new Minister of Education and Students.
They wanted him to start right away. Today, February 10th is his first day. I cannot express in words how incredibly excited I am about this new chapter in our lives. We serve an amazing God and He is always faithful if we just follow Him.
I want to thank all of our family and friends who have prayed for us and with us and supported us over these last seven years. We would not be where we are or who we are today without your love and prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Please continue to pray for us as we start this new chapter/journey in our lives. Here are some specific things you can pray for.
1. That we would be passionate about serving this new church and loving these students.
2. That we would find a house quickly. We are currently an hour from the church,so time is of the essence.
3. That Cary and I would be patient, gracious, and forgiving over these next few months. We know they are going to be challenging. Between Cary driving an hour both ways to and from work, looking for a house and going through the buying process.
God is our rock and we will stand on Him.
6. After six years in seminary, Cary graduated in December with his Master's of Divinity degree.
5. Between the two of us, we've had five jobs since we've been married
4. We've moved four times in the last seven years.
3. We've been through three cars
2. We have two kids
1. We serve one God
On August 1, 2007, Cary and I moved to North Carolina to start seminary. Not knowing exactly how long we would be there or where it would lead us, we started this journey together. Now, six years later, we have finished and God has done so much with us during that time. Cary knew he wanted to go into the ministry when he finished, so we sent resumes to 13 different churches in the spring of 2013 and 16 more in the fall of that year. On December 1st, we got the first call back. We now know that this was the call we had been waiting for. We've been living with my mom and step dad for six months now. I previously blogged about this move here
Here's the story:
We went to Cary's brother's house for Thanksgiving last year. We traveled back to Gatlinburg on Sunday, Decemeber 1st and had only been home for about twenty minutes when Cary got a call. He went outside to talk and was gone about ten minutes. He came back in and told me that it was a church that had gotten his resume. It was the head of the search committee that called and they set up a phone interview with the rest of the search committee for the next Sunday night. We were really excited and prayed all week for this interview. Sunday came and Cary had the interview. The committee wanted some time to talk and pray about it and they would get back with us about moving forward from this point. They let Cary know that he was the only guy they were looking at right now. We also prayed and patiently waited for their phone call. After about a week, David, the head of the search committee, called back and said they did want to move forward and meet us and have dinner. We set the date for Friday, January 10th. It felt like forever waiting for that date to arrive. The holidays seemed to help it go by faster.
Finally, January 10th arrived. Cary and I decided to make a day "date" out of it. We needed to open a bank account here, go to Costco, and just have some time together. My mom kept the kids for us and off we went to Knoxville to enjoy being together before our big interview dinner. We ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and drove around exploring some of Knoxville. We met the search committee at Aubrey's Restaurant. We were pretty nervous when we got there, but we prayed together in the car before we went in. We got inside and found our party, and everything went great. We swapped stories, talked about our families, had lots of laughs. There was never a dull or awkward moment. We really enjoyed ourselves. After dinner they took us to the church to give us a tour and tell us a little more about the make up of the church. We then went and sat together in the pastor's office to have the more formal interview. They asked us some more in depth questions and since they knew a lot about Cary already, they wanted to know my testimony and where I grew up, etc. We ended the night on a really good note and once again, David said they would talk and pray and let us know what was next.
The waiting was the worst part. I knew God was in control and would lead us where he wanted us. We thought things were going really well and again, patiently waited for a call. By the next Wednesday, David called back and said they wanted to continue in the process with us. The search committee really liked us a lot and wanted us to meet the pastor and his wife. Pastor Bobby called Cary the next day and we set up a lunch date for Monday, January 20th at Olive Garden. Once again, my mom kept the kids for us so that we could go and meet them. Lunch went really well. Things just seemed to flow and the conversation was great. We left lunch feeling uplifted and positive. The next step was to get a background check done. David called over the weekend to let us know once they got it back, they would set up a deacon's meeting to make sure they were all on the same page. This meeting was scheduled for Wednesday night January 29. We had a really big snow storm move through on Monday night and Tuesday. We were only supposed to get about an inch, instead we got about 4-5 inches of snow. Church services and meetings for that Wednesday were called off, which meant the deacon's meeting would be put off until the next week.
We didn't have to wait that long. David decided to call all of the deacons personally, on that Tuesday night, the night we had all the snow, and then called Cary. He said he just didn't want to put it off another week. He called them all to make sure they all agreed to bring Cary before the church for a trial sermon and a vote. We were so so excited! Cary began preparing for his sermon and reached out to some other pastor's and professors for advice. David and the deacons decided to set up a meet and greet with the church for Saturday, February 8th and Cary's trial sermon would be the next morning on Sunday, February 9th. Saturday night went great. We had a wonderful turn out and met so many new people. When Sunday morning came, we were both really nervous, but we prayed together and with pastor Bobby before going into the sanctuary. Cary did so well delivering his sermon. He never missed a beat. When he finished, we left the room so the church could vote. We waited in the hall, patiently, nervously.... After about five minutes, they called us back in and it was a unanimous YES! God is so good and deserves all the glory. He worked all of this out and lead us right where He wanted us.
After so many years of hard work, sacrifice, and following the Lord's direction, Ebenezer Baptist Church is where He has lead us. Cary is the new Minister of Education and Students.
They wanted him to start right away. Today, February 10th is his first day. I cannot express in words how incredibly excited I am about this new chapter in our lives. We serve an amazing God and He is always faithful if we just follow Him.
I want to thank all of our family and friends who have prayed for us and with us and supported us over these last seven years. We would not be where we are or who we are today without your love and prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Please continue to pray for us as we start this new chapter/journey in our lives. Here are some specific things you can pray for.
1. That we would be passionate about serving this new church and loving these students.
2. That we would find a house quickly. We are currently an hour from the church,so time is of the essence.
3. That Cary and I would be patient, gracious, and forgiving over these next few months. We know they are going to be challenging. Between Cary driving an hour both ways to and from work, looking for a house and going through the buying process.
God is our rock and we will stand on Him.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
The Mullen Train is Moving Out. Next Stop.....
....Knoxville, TN! Well, actually Gatlinburg for now, but Knoxville eventually. I am so excited to finally be able to share this news. I've been holding it in for about six months now. Here's the story.
As you all know, Cary and I have been here in NC for seminary since 2007. It's been a long and trying six years, but God has never failed to show us his love, faithfulness, provision and guidance during this time. Cary has felt the call to ministry since high school. He just wasn't sure, at that time, what that meant or where he might end up. Since then, he has had several different ministry opportunities, including, leading worship, teaching SS, being a counselor, etc. When we got married, Cary knew he wanted to go back to school for his master's degree and after researching and praying, we felt God leading us to seminary and that's how we ended up here in NC.
I have to get on my soap box for a minute to praise my husband. He is AMAZING! When we moved here, within a month, we both had jobs at Starbucks. It was a huge blessing to find jobs that fast. Within two months, I got a promotion. By the next summer (08), Cary also got promoted at his store. This ended up being more of a blessing than we realized since I got pregnant that fall. While I was on maternity leave with Connor, Cary got promoted to Assistant Store Manager (09), and six months after that he was promoted to Store Manager (2010) at the Spring Forrest store, where he has been for the last three and half years. Not only has Cary been in school full time, during all of this, but we have also had two children. So for about four of the six years we've lived here, Cary has been a husband, father, full-time student, and working 40+ hours a week. It has not been easy, but we've grown a lot as a couple, as parents, and individually. I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am for this man. He is a wonderful father to our children, and an amazing husband to me.
Back to the story.
A little over a year ago, Cary and I were discussing our future plans and where we felt God was leading us. It was then that Cary told me he felt led to start his ministry and asked how I felt about it. I was a little apprehensive at first. After some time of thinking it through and praying over it, I knew this was the direction God was leading us. I knew this would mean a lot of changes and possibly moving out of this area. Originally, we talked about finding a church somewhere around here, or within a couple of hours so that Cary wouldn't have so far to drive back for class. As we discussed our options, we just kept feeling pulled back to TN. We've had a few rough times here and not being close to any family, other than my mom, who is still six hours away, has made it harder. We made the decision to move back to TN to be closer to family, and we chose Knoxville. Cary will have to drive back for class once a week when he starts his doctorate and six hours was kind of his limit. We have several friends that will be staying in this area for a while so he will have a place to crash just for a night, if needed.
Back in February, we contacted the guy who is in charge of the Knoxville area Southern Baptist Association, and he sent us a list of churches that are currently looking for pastors and youth pastors. Some full time and some bi-vocational. By the end of March, we had resumes printed, stuffed and addressed. I put 13 in the mail box, and the waiting began. In May, we got our first call back. It was from a bi-vocational church and the lady Cary talked to was on the search committee. She asked him a few questions and seemed very interested. She was going to pass the information along in the next meeting. Cary has talked to her a couple more times, but the last we heard was that they were still meeting and taking their time with the decision. At the beginning of June, he got emails from two other churches saying that they received his resume and would be in touch. It was at the point that we decided to take a leap of faith and just go ahead and move.
We knew that we would want to buy a house once we moved this time. Since we've been married, including this move, we've moved four times in almost seven years. That's a lot of moving! With the uncertainty of when Cary would get a job, we thought we may have to rent for a while once we got to Knoxville while we looked for a house. My mom and step-dad had recently finished flipping a house in Gatlinburg, with no intent to make it their own. After several months of thinking and praying and weighing out their financial options, they decided to move into that house! It is much bigger than the one they used to live in and with four grand babies between me and my brother, we would need more space during the holidays. Cary and I talked to them about living there until we found a job and a home of our own. They agreed! What a HUGE blessing that will be! We will have to put our things in storage for a while, but it will be totally worth it! We really have no timeline for how long we will live with them. We are thinking at least six months, if not longer.
As for a job in the meantime, Cary has decided to stay with Starbucks and step down to barista. He has already contacted the Starbucks in Pigeon Forge and talked with the manager. She has a spot waiting for him when we get there! Such a blessing! We will be able to keep our health insurance and we will still have money coming in to help with groceries, utilities, etc., while we live with my mom and step-dad.
We are sad to be leaving NC and the wonderful friends we have made over the last six years. We have been truly blessed by the lives of those around us and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. We are excited about new friends to be made and being reunited with others! We will be so much closer to family, as well.
Our new adventure will take place in five short weeks! Eek! We load up the truck on August 23rd and head out August 24th. What an amazing journey it's been here, but we are looking forward to what God has for us as we begin this new chapter. Please pray for us and with us as we make this transition, that it will be as smooth as possible.
As you all know, Cary and I have been here in NC for seminary since 2007. It's been a long and trying six years, but God has never failed to show us his love, faithfulness, provision and guidance during this time. Cary has felt the call to ministry since high school. He just wasn't sure, at that time, what that meant or where he might end up. Since then, he has had several different ministry opportunities, including, leading worship, teaching SS, being a counselor, etc. When we got married, Cary knew he wanted to go back to school for his master's degree and after researching and praying, we felt God leading us to seminary and that's how we ended up here in NC.
I have to get on my soap box for a minute to praise my husband. He is AMAZING! When we moved here, within a month, we both had jobs at Starbucks. It was a huge blessing to find jobs that fast. Within two months, I got a promotion. By the next summer (08), Cary also got promoted at his store. This ended up being more of a blessing than we realized since I got pregnant that fall. While I was on maternity leave with Connor, Cary got promoted to Assistant Store Manager (09), and six months after that he was promoted to Store Manager (2010) at the Spring Forrest store, where he has been for the last three and half years. Not only has Cary been in school full time, during all of this, but we have also had two children. So for about four of the six years we've lived here, Cary has been a husband, father, full-time student, and working 40+ hours a week. It has not been easy, but we've grown a lot as a couple, as parents, and individually. I cannot tell you enough how thankful I am for this man. He is a wonderful father to our children, and an amazing husband to me.
Back to the story.
A little over a year ago, Cary and I were discussing our future plans and where we felt God was leading us. It was then that Cary told me he felt led to start his ministry and asked how I felt about it. I was a little apprehensive at first. After some time of thinking it through and praying over it, I knew this was the direction God was leading us. I knew this would mean a lot of changes and possibly moving out of this area. Originally, we talked about finding a church somewhere around here, or within a couple of hours so that Cary wouldn't have so far to drive back for class. As we discussed our options, we just kept feeling pulled back to TN. We've had a few rough times here and not being close to any family, other than my mom, who is still six hours away, has made it harder. We made the decision to move back to TN to be closer to family, and we chose Knoxville. Cary will have to drive back for class once a week when he starts his doctorate and six hours was kind of his limit. We have several friends that will be staying in this area for a while so he will have a place to crash just for a night, if needed.
Back in February, we contacted the guy who is in charge of the Knoxville area Southern Baptist Association, and he sent us a list of churches that are currently looking for pastors and youth pastors. Some full time and some bi-vocational. By the end of March, we had resumes printed, stuffed and addressed. I put 13 in the mail box, and the waiting began. In May, we got our first call back. It was from a bi-vocational church and the lady Cary talked to was on the search committee. She asked him a few questions and seemed very interested. She was going to pass the information along in the next meeting. Cary has talked to her a couple more times, but the last we heard was that they were still meeting and taking their time with the decision. At the beginning of June, he got emails from two other churches saying that they received his resume and would be in touch. It was at the point that we decided to take a leap of faith and just go ahead and move.
We knew that we would want to buy a house once we moved this time. Since we've been married, including this move, we've moved four times in almost seven years. That's a lot of moving! With the uncertainty of when Cary would get a job, we thought we may have to rent for a while once we got to Knoxville while we looked for a house. My mom and step-dad had recently finished flipping a house in Gatlinburg, with no intent to make it their own. After several months of thinking and praying and weighing out their financial options, they decided to move into that house! It is much bigger than the one they used to live in and with four grand babies between me and my brother, we would need more space during the holidays. Cary and I talked to them about living there until we found a job and a home of our own. They agreed! What a HUGE blessing that will be! We will have to put our things in storage for a while, but it will be totally worth it! We really have no timeline for how long we will live with them. We are thinking at least six months, if not longer.
As for a job in the meantime, Cary has decided to stay with Starbucks and step down to barista. He has already contacted the Starbucks in Pigeon Forge and talked with the manager. She has a spot waiting for him when we get there! Such a blessing! We will be able to keep our health insurance and we will still have money coming in to help with groceries, utilities, etc., while we live with my mom and step-dad.
We are sad to be leaving NC and the wonderful friends we have made over the last six years. We have been truly blessed by the lives of those around us and we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. We are excited about new friends to be made and being reunited with others! We will be so much closer to family, as well.
Our new adventure will take place in five short weeks! Eek! We load up the truck on August 23rd and head out August 24th. What an amazing journey it's been here, but we are looking forward to what God has for us as we begin this new chapter. Please pray for us and with us as we make this transition, that it will be as smooth as possible.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Potty Training Central
Oh me oh my! We are finally down to only one set of diapers in this house!!!
About nine months ago, just before Chloe was born, I posted a blog about Connor finally being ready to potty train. We even went to the store and bought two packs of underwear. Well, no such luck. His interest changed before we could even get started. We were really disappointed and discouraged. We were hoping he would be trained before Chloe arrived or shortly after. Over the last nine months we have asked and encouraged and he just didn't want to. We did not want to force him, but we knew this needed to happen soon. Finally, out of desperation, I asked some local moms if they had any advice to offer. One mom posted a link to another blog that she said was a great help to her. After reading it, I felt like a weight had been lifted. It made so much sense! We discovered that part of the reason Connor did not want to potty train was because we were not excited about it. I mean, let's be honest, who is excited about constantly asking their child if they need to pee, or cleaning up when they don't make it to the potty in time. He is definitely old enough and we knew he would catch on pretty quick, but our lack of excitement was not helping. Another thing her blog mentions, is letting them pick out their own undies and constantly talking about undies. Once we decided to go forward with this, we picked a weekend that Cary could take three days off, and everyday until then we talked about undies, with over-the-top, bubbly excitement, I might add. We told him he could pick them out, we told him how his friends and family members wear undies, we wear undies, etc.
Finally this weekend came. Thursday night after dinner, we headed to Target. Connor got to pick out two packs of undies. He chose Angry Birds Star Wars, and Lego Star Wars. We also let him pick out a new movie to watch for peeing in the potty. The blog said to have some rewards set aside just for going potty. Now we were all set for the next day.
Friday
As soon as we got up, we took off the last diaper my boy would ever wear! He picked out his first pair of undies to put on. We showed him how excited we were about him wearing big boy undies and going potty and the rest of the day was spent asking him if he needed to go. It turned out much better than I expected it to. We only had three accidents, one was our fault. He was at the table eating lunch and we asked if he needed to go and he said yes and we asked again to be sure and he said no. We should have gotten him up and let him go. By that night, he was really starting to get the hang of it. We put Pull-ups on him at nap and nighttime. We put him to bed that night and told him we were so proud and he was doing such a great job. He smiled from ear to ear. After about 10 minutes, he called for me. I went up to see what he wanted and he said he had to go pee. I have read that this can be a difficult situation during potty training because children say they need to potty just to get out of bed. No my boy! He called for me three times that night to go potty and he went EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! Overall, the day was huge success!
Saturday
He completely surprised us that morning. We got him up and let him go potty and had breakfast. A little bit later, without either of us asking, he went to the bathroom and tried to get up on the toilet all by himself!! We were both amazed and so proud of him! We praised him big time and showed him how to put his stool up to the toilet so he could climb up and go. We repeatedly asked him throughout the rest of the day, but there were several times when he would just go on his own. We only had one accident that morning. By the end of the day, we was going all by himself.
Sunday
By this time, he was a pro! We still ask him occasionally, just as a reminder, but mostly, if he needs to go, he just goes. I cannot say enough how PROUD I am of him. This weekend went so much better than we had expected. Other than a few dribbles in his undies, we did not have any accidents and we haven't had any since.
We are still working on pooping in the potty, but we've got the first step down!
About nine months ago, just before Chloe was born, I posted a blog about Connor finally being ready to potty train. We even went to the store and bought two packs of underwear. Well, no such luck. His interest changed before we could even get started. We were really disappointed and discouraged. We were hoping he would be trained before Chloe arrived or shortly after. Over the last nine months we have asked and encouraged and he just didn't want to. We did not want to force him, but we knew this needed to happen soon. Finally, out of desperation, I asked some local moms if they had any advice to offer. One mom posted a link to another blog that she said was a great help to her. After reading it, I felt like a weight had been lifted. It made so much sense! We discovered that part of the reason Connor did not want to potty train was because we were not excited about it. I mean, let's be honest, who is excited about constantly asking their child if they need to pee, or cleaning up when they don't make it to the potty in time. He is definitely old enough and we knew he would catch on pretty quick, but our lack of excitement was not helping. Another thing her blog mentions, is letting them pick out their own undies and constantly talking about undies. Once we decided to go forward with this, we picked a weekend that Cary could take three days off, and everyday until then we talked about undies, with over-the-top, bubbly excitement, I might add. We told him he could pick them out, we told him how his friends and family members wear undies, we wear undies, etc.
Finally this weekend came. Thursday night after dinner, we headed to Target. Connor got to pick out two packs of undies. He chose Angry Birds Star Wars, and Lego Star Wars. We also let him pick out a new movie to watch for peeing in the potty. The blog said to have some rewards set aside just for going potty. Now we were all set for the next day.
Friday
As soon as we got up, we took off the last diaper my boy would ever wear! He picked out his first pair of undies to put on. We showed him how excited we were about him wearing big boy undies and going potty and the rest of the day was spent asking him if he needed to go. It turned out much better than I expected it to. We only had three accidents, one was our fault. He was at the table eating lunch and we asked if he needed to go and he said yes and we asked again to be sure and he said no. We should have gotten him up and let him go. By that night, he was really starting to get the hang of it. We put Pull-ups on him at nap and nighttime. We put him to bed that night and told him we were so proud and he was doing such a great job. He smiled from ear to ear. After about 10 minutes, he called for me. I went up to see what he wanted and he said he had to go pee. I have read that this can be a difficult situation during potty training because children say they need to potty just to get out of bed. No my boy! He called for me three times that night to go potty and he went EVERY. SINGLE. TIME! Overall, the day was huge success!
Saturday
He completely surprised us that morning. We got him up and let him go potty and had breakfast. A little bit later, without either of us asking, he went to the bathroom and tried to get up on the toilet all by himself!! We were both amazed and so proud of him! We praised him big time and showed him how to put his stool up to the toilet so he could climb up and go. We repeatedly asked him throughout the rest of the day, but there were several times when he would just go on his own. We only had one accident that morning. By the end of the day, we was going all by himself.
Sunday
By this time, he was a pro! We still ask him occasionally, just as a reminder, but mostly, if he needs to go, he just goes. I cannot say enough how PROUD I am of him. This weekend went so much better than we had expected. Other than a few dribbles in his undies, we did not have any accidents and we haven't had any since.
We are still working on pooping in the potty, but we've got the first step down!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Pad Thai
I don't know about you, but I love some good Thai food. Really, just about any kind of Asian food is good. My all time favorite, Pad Thai. The saltiness of the peanuts and sauce, mixed with the fresh lime and cilantro. Simply, amazing. Sadly, I cannot remember the first time I ever had Pad Thai, but I do remember the first time I had it at Pei Wei. Life changing! It was so delicious and the portion was big enough to make two meals out of it! I would eat there at least once a week if I could. Since we do not have the money for that, and eating at home is always a healthier option, I decided to try a recipe I found on Pinterest. It turned out way better than I expected and it was so simple! I have always thought of Pad Thai as this really intricate and complex dish. I guess that is why I have waited so long to try this recipe. I'm glad I finally did.
Chicken Pad Thai
1 1/2-2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-2 inch strips (cut them kind of thin)
1- 8oz box Thai kitchen brown rice noodles (these will be in the Asian isle)
4 Tbsp brown sugar
6 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
4 Tbsp lime juice (I used the bottled lime juice and it tasted fine, but fresh would work too)
1/2 tsp hot sauce
3 eggs, well beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 green onions chopped, whites and greens separated. Whites chopped thin, greens cut into 2 inch strips.
1 lime, cut into wedges
Small handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1. In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice and hot sauce. Set aside and stir occasionally to help sugar dissolve. You want to it to be dissolved before you add it to the pan.
2. Fill a large pot with water, boil and add your noodles. Set a timer for 4 minutes. If they cook too long, they will be mushy. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
3. While you wait for the water to boil, heat a wok, or large non-stick pan over medium heat and add some oil. Saute' chicken until cooked. Transfer to a plate.
4. Using the same pan, add a little more oil. Add garlic and onion whites and saute' for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
5. Add in your eggs and scramble them with the onion and garlic. Once the eggs are cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside
6. Once again, in the same pan, add your drained noodles, onion greens and sauce to the pan. Stir it around and let cook for about a minute. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
7. Add in the reserved chicken and scrambled eggs and stir to coat. Cook another minute or two, just until the eggs and chicken are heated through.
8. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro. Squeeze a lime wedge over and mix well. Enjoy!
Here is the original recipe that I followed. I changed a few things to my liking and I doubled this recipe.
http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/
Monday, June 3, 2013
Update: Mullen happenings
Well, I've managed to do it again. It's been almost nine months since my last post. I do not intend to use my blog as an "update only" on our lives, but as with everything, if I don't make it a priority, then it doesn't get done. But since it has been so long, here are some pics that capture the last several months.
For the first time, since we've lived here, sadly, we FINALLY went strawberry picking! It was so much fun. Connor had a blast. Chloe, not so much. It was pretty windy that day and she was not a fan.
September: Our sweet little girl, Chloe, was born. This was the day we took her home from the hospital.
October: Chloe ditched the paci and chose her thumb.
December: Christmas time! Here is our tree and stockings
Our gifts. All but two of the kids gifts came from Bayleaf's Toy Chest. Such a blessing!
January: We took our annual trip home to see family. This is Connor and his sweet cousin, Ryleigh.
I just really like these next few pictures.
I'm going to get this one framed.
Sibling love.
April: We went to my mom's for Easter. Here are all the eggs we dyed, which later became deviled eggs for dinner!
Since we were so close, we made a dinner date with these crazy kids. Love them and their family so so much! Lifelong friends for sure!
Me and my bestie!
May: Cary's little sister graduated from MTSU. We decided to go and surprise her for her special day. It was really great to see family and spend some time with them.
We have some close friends in Murfreesboro who just bought a house. It worked out nicely that we got to stay with them and visit with them for the weekend as well.
My other bestie. College friends for life!
Chloe also turned eight months in May.
Not only did Chloe decide to start crawling
but she also decided to start pulling up!
For the first time, since we've lived here, sadly, we FINALLY went strawberry picking! It was so much fun. Connor had a blast. Chloe, not so much. It was pretty windy that day and she was not a fan.
June: I'm only one week away from finishing my C25K. I got some nice new running shoes to keep me going!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Connor vs. Chloe
I thought it would be interesting to write down the differences between my two pregnancies so I can share it with my kids one day. I figured now would be a good time while it's still fresh in my brain.
Connor
This sweet little boy was a total surprise! When Cary and I first moved here, we had not even been married a year. Before we moved, we decided that we wanted to wait about three years to start having kids so that we could have a few years to ourselves and so Cary could get two or three years of school behind him. Well, as usual, God had other plans. In October of 2008, we went to the Outer Banks with some good friends of ours. They left their girls at home and it was just the four of us for three days. It was awesome. Little did we know it would be our last trip alone. I was approaching that time of month when we left and figured I would start while we were gone or when we got back. When nothing happened I, of course, got suspicious, and scared. After waiting a week, I finally decided to take a test. Yep, it was positive. I wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream. So I did all three. I was excited, nervous, and wondering what Cary was going to say. It was a whirlwind of emotions. I waited three days and took another test just to be sure. So we made a doctor appointment and thus the journey began.
Here are some highlights from my pregnancy with Connor
-I was four weeks when I found out.
-I was seven weeks at my first ultrasound
-I started having "all day" sickness around week six and it ended around week ten. It was right before we went to my mom's for Thanksgiving. I was so grateful that I could eat again! Whoever started calling it morning sickness really had no idea!
-Cary did not want to know the sex of the baby, but I just had to know. I am a planner and I wanted to know pink or blue.
-I didn't really have any specific cravings, other than tacos, but my sweet tooth grew into a three headed monster. Cary and I had recently changed our diet and cut out a lot of sugar. We didn't drink our tea as sweet and we really cut back on desserts and such. However, with Connor I wanted something sweet ALL THE TIME!
-My only real aversion was to milk. I could not just drink plain milk. Even the thought of it made me feel nauseated. I could drink chocolate milk and I was ok with it in my cereal, but once the cereal was gone, any left over milk went to Cary or down the drain.
-I didn't feel Connor move until about 22 or 23 weeks. I know he was moving long before that and I just wasn't sure what it was supposed to feel like.
-I found out first hand what real labor pain feels like. My water never broke, but I was seven and half centimeters dilated when I got to the hospital.Thankfully, they were still able to give me an epidural.
-Connor was due June 23, 2009 so I mostly went through the winter and spring with him. It was just starting to get really hot when I had him.
-Connor was six days early. Born June 17, 2009 and was delivered vaginally
-I didn't have any problems with his pregnancy. During my second trimester, other than having a bump, sometimes I didn't even feel like I was pregnant.
-This one is hard to admit, but I gained 43 pounds with Connor. I lost all but ten pounds of that by the time I got pregnant again.
Chloe
This pregnancy was totally planned. We decided that three years between our kids was a good gap and we figured Connor would be potty trained by that time and we wouldn't have to be buying and changing two sets of diapers. We decided we would start trying around January of 2012 and hopefully be pregnant by May or June so I would not have to go through the summer pregnant. I have many mom friends who have done it and I just refused to be one of them. Cary wanted to start trying during the summer of 2011, but I was just not ready. I wanted another child, but the thought of having two scared me. After a couple months of praying and letting God have control, which is really hard for this control freak, we started trying at the end of August 2011. I knew this could potentially mean having a summer pregnancy, but we were both ready and there was no need to put it off. We were hoping to be pregnant by November/December so that when we went to my mom's for Christmas, we could share. No such luck. Funny enough though, I was pregnant, I just didn't know it yet and my brother and his wife announced that they were pregnant!! Can you just imagine if we had both announced it? My mom would've been hysterical!! In a good way though. Again, I knew I was supposed to be starting soon and figured I would while we were gone. When we got home and still nothing, I only waited three days and I just couldn't wait any longer. I took the test and didn't even have to wait two minutes. It started changing the second I peed on it! Here we go with journey number two!
Here are some highlights from my pregnancy with Chloe
-I was six weeks when I found out.
-My 'all day" sickness started at seven weeks and ended at week 18. Much longer than with Connor.
-My first ultrasound was at week nine.
-I started having pelvic girdle pain during my first trimester. I thought it was sciatica at first, but the symptoms were not matching up completely. I just stumbled upon pelvic girdle pain by accident when reading up on sciatica. The symptoms are almost identical, except for a few. With sciatica, you get shooting pains down your legs, and numbness in one or both legs. I was not experiencing any of that. I just had a constant sharp pain on my left side in my hip and butt. Sometimes it hurt so bad that I could barely walk. Sciatica usually doesn't come up until the third trimester, although it can begin sooner. Pelvic girdle pain can start in the first trimester and go all the way until the end, which was the case with me. I did not have any issues with this with Connor, except for the couple times he sat right on my sciatic nerve and my left leg gave out.
-My second trimester was not as great this time around. Mostly because I was almost halfway through it before my nausea finally subsided. Thankfully, it was right before Easter so I could enjoy a yummy Easter dinner!
-Cary and I both wanted to find out the sex this time. Mostly because we needed to know if we would need anything. If it was another boy we were set. If it was a girl, we would need clothes. We did have some gender neutral things that we could use for Chloe, but mostly we had to get all new clothes. Thankfully, my mom is still working at a thrift shop in Gatlinburg and since she has to sort through most of the stuff that comes in and she gets a discount, she was able get us most of what we need for really cheap. They have clothes come in all the time that still have the tags on them! She brought over two big bags when they came over for Connor's birthday.
-I had some specific cravings with Chloe. One night I wanted rocky road ice cream and waffles to eat together. My three headed sweet tooth monster reared it ugly head again. I also craved tacos again. I love Mexican food anyway, but for some reason when I'm pregnant, I want it all the time.
-My only aversion was to pork. I love a good pork loin with some apples and potatoes, but my nausea set in right after we had a pork meal and just the smell of Cary eating the leftovers made me want to throw up. So needless to say, I didn't have any more pork after that. It's funny how different my aversions were. After Connor, it was a long time before I could drink plain milk again, but with Chloe I craved milk. Especially in my third trimester. We were going through about two and half gallons a week because I drank so much.
-I felt Chloe move right around 18/19 weeks. Since I knew what it felt like, it made it a lot easier to know when it was her moving and not gas or something else.
-Chloe was due September 14, 2012. so I got the summer pregnancy that I really didn't want. However, compared to some of the other summers I have gone through here not being pregnant, I was pretty lucky. We really only had about 2-3 weeks of really hot weather. June didn't really get hot until the end. I was not looking forward to July or August, but for most part they were not so bad. Granted, I was still hot 95% of the time.
-Chloe was four days early. Born September 10, 2012 and was delivered via c-section.
-This pregnancy was much harder on me than the first. Not only did I have the pelvic girdle pain, which was very painful, I was sick much longer, and I had Braxton-Hicks this time around. They started around week 28 and they got more intense as my pregnancy progressed.
-I did a lot better with my weight with Chloe. I only gained 30 pounds. It was still a little more than I wanted to gain, but it is much less than with Connor and it will be easier to loose.
Here are a few comparison pictures
My first ultrasound with Connor
My first ultrasound with Chloe
Sex reveal ultrasound with Connor
Sex reveal ultrasound with Chloe
Connor's newborn picture
Chloe's newborn picture
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