Updates

I took my blog off the privacy setting. It was getting to be a huge pain because I had to sign in just to be able to read any comments. If it was a pain for me, I'm sure it was a pain for my regular blog readers! I haven't been the best blogger in the world have I? Our life has been in a bit of an upheaval. I moved back with Evie to our house about a month ago, and we took the house off the market. We didn't want to sell it until we knew where we were going to be going. The interview that looked so promising for Jeff didn't end up panning out. They offered the job to someone else. Basically we live in an area with super high unemployment (which officially is 15% here, but realistically is more like 20%). People are leaving this area in droves due to no jobs. Jeff is finding out that the jobs he interviews for end up going to someone willing to take about $40,000 less than what the job really should be paying. His job he has now (that is in the town we used to live in) is going to be ending soon. The company is shutting down, so Jeff is looking again for jobs. He has 3 months to find a job. He has had some interviews, and one promising one near where his job is now. So we may still be moving. We know God has a good plan in all this!

We have tried to keep some sense of normal for Evie this summer. We have had lots and lots of playdates with other kids, we have gone to the park so many times I can't count, and we have had fun on weekends when Daddy is home. A few weeks ago, we all camped out in the backyard. We didn't get much sleep, but it was a lot of fun.







































July started blueberry season. We went to our local patch and bought 60 pounds of organic blueberries. They are so yummy! We also bought 4 blueberry bushes, so we can start our own blueberry patch. I froze 34 quart bags worth of blueberries, so that should last nicely through the winter.













My garden has been doing great. We downscaled the side yard garden, and I planted as much as I could in the backyard. Here is my huge zucchini, planted in the back. The pole beans are behind the zucchini.













Here are my pole beans and zucchini, and some of my small pepper plants that are getting bigger every day. They are purple, orange and red peppers, and I am praying they will do well, despite the slow start. I planted them from seed inside, but didn't start soon enough.













Here are my bigger green pepper plants that I got locally. They are heirloom plants, and they seem really healthy.



















I tried to cram stuff where I could in my flower beds. The poles you see are where I planted climbing cucumbers. They are finally starting to get going after having bunnies nibbling at them like crazy.
































Here is my garden in my side yard. The tomatoes are doing wonderful! I ended up having to buy the plants locally because my seedlings died. They are heirlooms, and are starting to produce some tomatoes already. I also planted potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin in this garden. By the way, April, if you read this, I just wanted to thank you for the suggestion of Baker Creek Seeds. The stuff I planted from their seeds are the healthiest plants I have ever had! So thank you!!















I hope you all are having a wonderful summer so far!