Hi dear ones,
It's been a while since my last update. The first year of our sweet little one's life was full and quite the adventure! We're now enjoying the toddler days with her, and it's quite a joy. She's talking up a storm these days, dancing lots, enjoying stickers & books, and her favorite is coloring! Plus, she's discovered the magic of bubbles. :)
Earlier this year, we discovered that we are expecting a second child. Our family expanding and growing, which is right in line with what the Lord has been speaking to us this year. He gave me the verse in Isaiah earlier this year - 54:2, "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen the cords and strengthen your stakes."
This year, the Lord has truly expanded us. He nudged me to start a young Mom's study at my church, and it was such a blessing to me and other Mom's. We would gather weekly on Friday mornings for fellowship, prayer, and reading of a book aloud together with discussion. We shared our struggles, our fears, our joys, and our hardships and held one another in prayer. It was truly an expansion of my heart - in leadership and service, and such a blessing! My husband serves on our church's board of directors (vestry, as we call it in the Anglican church), and the Lord called him to step up and be our church's Treasurer for the year, which requires more of him.
It's good to step out of your comfort zone and do something that's unknown and a little scary. It helps us rely on the good Lord and it helps us grow - and we all need that! I also accepted a position at a wonderful non-profit in the area that's committed to helping individuals with sexual and relational brokenness and wounding. It has been such a blessing to serve there and bless others in this ministry. Another way the Lord has grown us is by nudging us to start a home group on Wednesday evenings. It's pretty small right now, but we're hopeful it will grow in the fall, and it's been a sweet time to grow in community and be supported in prayer with other believers.
On another note, I am working hard to grow my Arbonne business - tinamulkey.arbonne.com. It's been quite an adventure, and it will continue to be so. One of my joys with it is helping others become healthier versions of themselves with our 30 days to healthy living program, which helps individuals learn healthy eating habits and to remove allergenic and inflammatory foods from their diet. I will continue to press on, believing that by the end of this year, I will have a larger team to help grow and a bigger vehicle to help my family's finances.
We have some fun adventures planned for the summer. We just wrapped one of them up with a lovely trip to Williamsburg. We went down and stayed at the Historic Powhatan Resort - which I highly recommend! We had SO much space and it was beautiful with wonderful amenities. We spent some time in Colonial Williamsburg, at the pool where we stayed, and at Historic Jamestown. We definitely want to go back sometime and do some more exploring! Later this summer, we're heading back "home" to Kansas to visit our families for the 4th of July, and we're eagerly awaiting that visit. It'll be wonderful to reconnect with family - both immediate and extended and play together for a few days. Mid-July, we're headed to a Delaware beach for 4-5 days, and I am SUPER excited for a few days to relax and soak up the sun on the beach with my family. Towards the end of July, a dear college friend is coming to visit, and we're excited to explore with her and spend some quality time all together.
Finally, mid-August, my sweet little family is venturing to the St. Louis area. I have an Aunt who is a cloister nun at a convent there, so we are looking forward to visiting with her and introducing her to our sweet little girl. :) We'll stay with some of my husband's college friends that live in the area and enjoy exploring St. Louis. After that we're home until this sweet babe makes it's arrival mid-November. We have a few more months as a family of three, and we are looking forward to the Lord expanding us to a family of four! There's more growing to do in 2019 and we eagerly await it.
What type of adventures are you going to enjoy this summer and fall? How do you feel like the Lord is growing you in this season?
Until next time,
Tina Lou
