The Powers that Be . . .: Traveling at the speed of life!

Things are getting crazy around here. Well, things are always a little crazy but I'm not sure what we'd do if they weren't! Lord willing we will close on the sale of our Tennessee home on July 12! PTL! I'm excited to only have one mortgage payment for the first time in seven years but I'm sad to see the house go too. That house provided alot of great memories for us, including our wedding and bringing home our first child. I hope the new homeowners will appreciate it as much as we did. In the meantime, we have to move out of our current rental by August 31 so we've been frantically searching for a new home to buy. I feel bad for our realtor because I'm sure he's thinking "come on, just make a decision already!" We are looking for a house with acreage but it's hard to find a decent house with enough acreage. I understand that not every property is going to have everything we want but we want something that has a decent amount of land with a decent house all within our budget. Hopefully we will find it soon!
Along with all of that I decided that Joplin was the perfect place to start a local chapter for Weston A Price Foundation. I wanted to find like minded people and share my passion for traditional food/real food/homesteading/life and becoming a chapter leader is the perfect way to do so. It's a slow process but I'm meeting more people everyday who share my passion and want to make a difference. I've set up an information booth at a the local farmers market and that has been a great way to introduce people to the foundation. I'm taking things slow but as more people get involved in the chapter I plan on having regular meetings, cooking classes, potlucks and other events. Taking care of my family is still my number one priority so I don't want to go overboard and bite off more than I can chew. My children are growing so fast these days, before I realize it they'll be in college and I'll have more time on my hands than I know what to do with!
Speaking of growing up, my precious Jeremiah celebrated his first birthday one month ago. He is truly a joy of a child and brings us all so much happiness. He has a really sensitive spirit and ambitious "boy-ness" that combine to make a dare-devil sweetheart. He started walking around eleven months old and hasn't stopped since. He also seeks out places to climb into and under, see picture below.

climbing into a kitchen cabinet

He is so ambitious when it comes to getting into tight spaces and definitely has a low fear factor! Just two nights ago I woke up to find him crying hysterically because he had crawled out of his crib and landed on the floor. I didn't even think that was possible for him to do but at less than thirteen months he did just that. I never had to worry about Samantha doing anything like that but I can tell this little man is going to keep me on my toes!

Coconut flour birthday cake - he didn't like it!

Swim time! He loves the bath tub but wasn't so sure about the pool!

Presents!

Nani, Samantha and Avery

Father and Son!

My parents, along with Andree, Avery, Abigail and Tammy, traveled up from Tulsa to spend the day celebrating Jeremiah. I can not express how wonderful it is to have my family close enough to do things like this. I took the opportunity to try a gluten free birthday cake! I didn't think it would go over well with the adults but I was hoping the kids would like it, especially Jeremiah. The recipe I used included coconut flour and vanilla icing made with coconut butter and palm shortening (smash cake recipe). I thought it was tasteful but I'm pretty sure nobody else did, evidence by the lack of cake eaten. Jeremiah didn't even try to taste it, let alone smash it. He just sat there looking at it like a foreign object. Acquiring a taste for gluten free foods can take awhile and I will not be deterred. Both Samantha and Jeremiah are gluten intolerant so I will continue to try new recipes.
The kids had plenty of other things to distract them from horrible birthday cake. Nani and Poppa brought some toys for them to play with and although it was hot we did go outside for a little fun in the sun. Samantha loves to be around people and she always has such a fun time with everyone. She really enjoyed swimming in the pool and has asked multiple times when we are going to be doing it again. Watching her and Jeremiah interact is definitely the highlight of my days. She is really blossoming into a big sister/leader role with him. She can be rough sometimes but usually she just tries to help him and then tell him what to do! Its especially fun to watch them chase each other around the house or play hide and seek together. Jeremiah learns fast what to do and he has a very vocal opinion about the things he doesn't like. When he doesn't like something he can yell very loudly or just gets up and starts screaming and running at the same time, sometimes throwing himself to the floor in disgust. (I can't imagine where he gets that from)!
I can only imagine what things will be like once the kids are older and Jeremiah is bigger than Samantha! In the mean time, I'll continue to play referee and pray nobody gets seriously injured!