…And I have some explaining to do! I have been absent from blogging and social media in general for over a year now. It was heartbreaking to have to leave blogging, and Idaho, behind.

The Rexburg Idaho Mormon temple glows in the evening sunset beneath the Grand Teton mountains.

After passing through one of the most challenging times in my life, I am now back in my home state of New Mexico. It’s not without it’s charms, but I won’t lie- I miss Idaho a lot. Like, really a lot.

A welcome home sunset when we crossed the state border into Shiprock, NM.

Last July my husband Camron graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Range, Ecology, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. Yaaaay!!! Happy times for sure. The achievement of three and a half years of mega-stress and feeling like I was raising my kids alone. I prayed every night that God would make it all worth it in the end. We applied and applied and waited and waited for the job offers to start rolling in!

Sadly the only thing Camron could find was a temporary summer job working at a wind farm near Idaho Falls. When that ended, we were out of work for two months before leaving ID and moving in with my parents in NM. And through it all, I had to struggle with MAJOR morning sickness.

Yep.

Surprise! She happened :0)

Major curve ball for sure!! Ha ha ha! I was done having kids, and honestly looking forward to both my boys being in school all day and no kids at home. But I wouldn’t trade little Miriam for the world. She is such a sweet and happy baby. And we love her so much! She’s my little “Idaho souvenir”. :0)

My husband Camron did find employment down here as a high school science teacher. However, the pay is low (that’s a whole other subject, don’t get me started…) so I picked up a part time job to make ends meet (and move us out of my parents house). Wow, what a learning experience that has been for me! I haven’t worked outside the home for many years. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. So many things were being neglected at home and I missed spending evenings and bedtime with my children. I just couldn’t do it all. With the summer upon us and Camron free to pick up a second job, I quit mine last week. I now have enormous respect for moms with small kids who work outside home~ how they do it; I’ll never know!

So I am now seizing the opportunity to throw my best efforts into blogging again. Oh how I have missed cooking!!!! When I was pregnant I couldn’t hardly stand to smell food, and after Miriam was born I was too exhausted to cook food that wasn’t canned or frozen! But now that my new baby is sleeping well through the night, and I have a new kitchen to break in, I am working on some amazing recipes to share with you! So sharpen your chef’s knife and get ready to dive into some fab food with me this summer! Stay tuned…