Bountiful Baskets!

I realize I haven't posted in forever. I'll catch up soon. For now, for my own record-keeping ...

I've been on and off getting Bountiful Baskets. For awhile the produce wasn't as good and I felt the value was poor. However, the last two I have gotten have been fantastic! Here's the price breakdown:

Basket received 9/21/14:
7 granny smith apples
5 plums
1 lb carrots
2 bunches kale
2 bunches celery
4 pomegranates
2 x 10.5 oz cherry tomatoes
1 head green leaf lettuce
6 oz blueberries
1 honeydew melon
4 red peppers

Priced out at Beartooth IGA for $41.16 and Walmart for $40.41. Considering I paid $19.50 including the processing fee, this is a great value! Nothing went to waste from this basket either; it was all eaten or frozen rapidly.

Basket received 10/4/14:
1 head green leaf lettuce
5 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber
3 bunches spinach
6 lemons
11 small mandarin oranges
1 canteloupe
3 heads broccoli
2 artichokes
1 package strawberries
4 orange peppers
3 bananas

Priced out at Beartooth IGA for $38.67 and Walmart for $37.76. Again, a great value. Unfortunately I only managed to eat 1/2 of the cucumber before it went bad. The rest of it was eaten or frozen.

I think the most surprising thing I learned was that produce at the Beartooth IGA is actually not a bad value! Considering that I have to drive 45 miles to reach Walmart (each way), I would be spending about $15 in gas in addition to the price of the food. I think that some dairy products and a lot of the canned / boxed food at the IGA tends to be more expensive, but I can also purchase canned/boxed food from Walmart and have it shipped for free if the purchase is over $50. That will be something to consider in the winter especially when the roads are bad.

Overall I am very pleased with the Bountiful Baskets program! Keep it going! I also purchased a 40 lb box of Honeycrisp apples for $32 and made a crisp, a bunch of applesauce, and I plan to split the remaining 20 or so apples into apple chips and frozen sliced apples for pies.  

Lazy Days

 Wyatt and I have had two days to ourselves to enjoy while our neighbor kids spend time with their mom on her days off. I always look forward to these days and seeing what fun we will have together! Yesterday while folding laundry Wyatt decided he wanted to wear his hat, a scarf, and a bib. It made for a cute ensemble :)

There has been so much on my mind lately I am having a hard time getting it to settle. I have been busy trying to engage the kids and find fun things for them to do every day. We spent a lot of time this last week going to the park and playing with play-doh, stickers, and crayons at home.

A few weeks ago we went to the local animal sanctuary to say hello to the bison, wolves, birds, and donkeys. That was a lot of fun!

I have been wanting to get out sledding or cross country skiing, but I am not sure about the logistics of taking all 3 kids out at once, especially since the two little ones may not be ready for sledding and I would have to haul all 3 in the sled for skiing. The lack of good snow and the right temperature has also held me back, although maybe I shouldn't let it. It suddenly became a lot more challenging when I added 2 children to my daily life!

As it is, we enjoy our days playing and learning, and I can see in little bits and pieces the progress we are making together in learning to share, learning new letters, and learning new words. God is good and I am so grateful for His many blessings!

Snow = busy!

The last month has absolutely FLOWN by due to a change in our daily routine ....

My neighbor got a job at the ski hill and that means I have taken over full time childcare for her two kids, B (almost 3 years old) and M (1 1/2 years old). I originally had thought it would only be part time child care ... and there have been a LOT of challenges involved ... but God's grace is covering this whole thing and He gives me the strength to make it through every day!

Our Christmas was nice and a little chaotic with Wyatt and the 2 additional children running around. My neighbor is a single mom and her job required her to work straight from mid-December through the New Year. Fortunately I got to have a few days off from watching the kids since she had a high school babysitter provide relief. 9 days in a row of 8-10 hour days was more than enough! Finally her schedule seems to be more routine with Tuesdays and Wednesdays off every week.

It will continue to be busy through the spring & snow season, and then summer will return again! I am excited what the year ahead has in store for us as a family, and I am eager to see how God will direct our lives.

Fellowship

Day 3:
I am thankful for friends and fellowship. Wyatt and I enjoyed a pizza lunch with our friends from the Benbow area today, and it was a wonderful time of hanging out, chatting, and generally relaxing. Although my closest friends live in other states and countries, I am blessed to have met people already here in Montana that have been willing to reach out and be friendly.

Glad for the mountains!

Day 2 of the thankful challenge...

I am incredibly thankful to live near the mountains and to have the opportunity and ability to go out hiking, fishing, and exploring! I always feel closest to God when I am able to go outdoors, and living in a place like Red Lodge makes that possible daily :)

Wyatt and I went out yesterday, fishing and wood gathering, and that just made my day and week a thousand times better. There is nothing like fresh mountain air! Here is a picture from earlier this year from a place only about 15 minutes away from our home. I am so blessed to be living here! And incredibly thankful :)

Daily Thanksgiving

This year I will post daily in the month of November as a way to get me to remember what I am thankful for. What a great way to celebrate a whole month of Thanksgiving!

Today, I am thankful for plentiful wood that keeps our home cozy and warm. This is the first year I have ever had a woodstove, and Josh & I have been working hard to stock up on wood for the winter. I have gone out several times with Wyatt to gather wood and I have also been busy sawing it up.

I am also thankful for a chainsaw to cut all that wood. Hand sawing would be miserable, can you imagine how long that would take to build up a winter stash? Yikes. I would be out there sawing all day, every day! Instead I spend a few hours here and there, leaving plenty of time for other endeavors, like baking and building towers :)

Judging by the looks of things, my two guys also enjoy the woodstove. Father/son bonding at its best.

This should be fun to see all the different things I find to be thankful for over the course of a month :) Hope you enjoy!

Wyatt is 1!

A full year has passed since the birth of my precious baby boy, and toddlerhood is arriving in full force. We celebrated with an after church potluck in our backyard, complete with a fish shaped carrot cake.

Although Wyatt isn't walking yet, he is crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on everything in sight. Already his personality seems to be of the more studious type. He is the experimenter and the engineer, carefully arranging his toys and sorting them "just so". His bright smile is a joy to see every day and it fills my heart with gratitude.

A year has come and gone, and it's hard to imagine what the next year will bring as Wyatt goes from babyhood to a running, talking child. Excitement and nervousness collide, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Wyatt, you light up my life with your smile, giggles, and your careful way of exploring and testing out your world. You are a wonderful gift and I am so privileged to be your mama. I love you, kiddo!