Where Have I Been All This Time?

Goodness!  I kind of checked out there for a while, didn't I?  Let me apologize for that.

I think I was trying too hard...trying to meet everyone else's expectations and my own thoughts of what I and my blog should be.  And as a result I lost the true me.  In a way, I lost my voice.  But since then I've learned a few things, and am excited to be back in the blogging world.

Let's catch up, shall we?  Josh has taken a new position in his company which keeps him away from home even MORE than before.  And I greatly dislike it.  He greatly dislikes it.  The kids greatly dislike it.  But it is a job during these tough times so we keep plugging along.

Cassandra just finished up school two months ahead of when she would have in a "normal" school.  Thank you, Alpha Omega Academy online school!  And she finished up as a straight A student. I am beyond proud of her.  Now she is ready to move on to her next life adventure...moving to New Jersey.  She met a nice Christian boy through her school, and their connection led to her spending a week with him and his family in December.  Don't worry...it was a closely supervised visit, and she and the boy have very strong convictions about dating behavior before marriage.  So all of this has led up to Cassandra going to New Jersey in a few weeks, and now that she is 18 and considered an adult, she and the boy are planning to get married soon afterwards.  How do I feel about all this?  Well, some days I feel as though it will all be okay, and some days I feel as though I need to tell her there is no way on earth I am letting her leave.  Ultimately, though, I have to recognize that she is an adult now, and that my job now is to support and guide.

The other kids are doing fine...growing like weeds as kids do.

I took up crocheting, and recently took it from a hobby to a business!  I opened up a shop on Etsy called Grand Escape Crochet.  Check it out!  www.grandescapecrochet.etsy.com.

Well, I think that's about all I have time to write for now.  Hopefully I'll be back into full blogging mode soon!

Finders Keeper Friday, Sept. 7, 2012

Another Friday, another thing that I love, love, love.  This time I am going to introduce you to Bountiful Baskets.  Bountiful Baskets is a nationwide food co-op that provides foods to you that are either locally grown or grown by small, independent farmers.  I cannot tell you how much I love this program.
For a weekly contribution of a mere $15.00 plus a $1.50 handling fee (hey, they have to pay for that gas to get the produce to you somehow!), you get quite a bit of produce!  This coming Saturday will be our third week contributing to the co-op and receiving a produce basket.  The word "basket" doesn't really do the amount of food you get justice.  It is more like two boxes of food.  And by boxes, I mean two diaper case size boxes.  For example, last week we received the following:

1 bag of peaches
1 bag of nectarines
1 three pound bag of onions
several more onions
7 red potatoes
3 heads of broccoli
5 tomatoes
1 bunch of bananas
1 pineapple
2 cantaloupes
1 celery

I know for a fact that I could not go to the grocery store or even the farmer's market and buy this much produce for a lower price than what I contributed to the Bountiful Basket co-op.
Another beauty of this co-op is that it is all volunteer run.  So if you are really interested and want one in your area, you can easily start a pick up site.  In fact, even though we have a pick up site in our area, I would prefer to have one closer to home.  So when Nicole is just a little bit older, I am strongly considering starting one in our little town.  I might even help my sister start a pick up site in her town, as they don't even have one yet!  Hard to believe, considering how wonderful this program is.
If you would like information, be sure to visit their website at www.bountifulbaskets.org.  I guarantee you that you will love this program as much as I do!

Disclaimer:  I did not receive any compensation for the above post.  It is solely my own opinion, and Bountiful Baskets doesn't even know I exist.  Well, they do, but they don't know my blog exists.  Again, just for the record.

Finders Keepers Fridays

Ah, Finders Keepers Fridays.  The day when I get to gush about something I found and loved!  Do you dislike wearing makeup as much as I do?  Or do you absolutely love wearing it?  Me, not so much.  At one point I did enjoy it.  But now, with a preschooler and an infant, it has become more of a chore to wear makeup than a pleasure.  But I also dislike looking so...un-put-together.  Is that even a word?  But I found the perfect answer.  It's called Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer.

Summer Colds

Gah!  Summer colds hit our house last week, and like unwanted house guests, they just aren't taking the hint and leaving.  Josh came down with it first, and insisted that it must be allergies because he didn't feel sick.  Then two days later, both he and Eloise were snotty and feeling miserable.  The next day Nicole started being snotty and cranky.  And then on Sunday morning I woke up with the terrible sinus/facial pressure that they all had.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  Needless to say, my Proverbs 31 Challenge is all off schedule now, but I keep telling myself that is okay.  What I need to focus on is getting my family healthy again, since Eloise and Nicole's poor little noses just won't stop running!
Thankfully, Charles was at his mother's house for the week, and Cassandra has not caught it yet.  I am hoping that with all the disinfectant wipes I've been using on just about every possible surface, she won't catch it too.
So, other than that, things have been going pretty smoothly this week.  The kids have been great, Charles arrived last night for his week with us, and even the housework is getting caught up.  What a blessing!

Changing It Up

I think I am having an identity crisis with my blog appearance too.  I love, love, love the pink stripes, but I just feel like I could do more with it.  (Just like my own physical appearance!)  So don't be surprised or worried if you see the look of this blog change a few times over the next few weeks or months.  Just like trying on clothes, I need to try on some new blog designs!