Happy Friday!

Fridays are one of my favorite days. Yeah, like most, "TGIF" is what consumes my mind most of the day. And like most, I have some of the same reasons: the weekend is officially here and that means lots of time with Daddy! We get to play and not work... at least that's what I tell my self when I am doing laundry on a sunny Saturday... I am "playing" house with my children... only they are outside with their dad. Ugh... I am complaining and that's not why am I here. For Pete's sake, the title is "Happy Friday".

One of my favorite things about Fridays is The Happy Box. I know, it's a weird name, but once you see the pictures you'll completely understand. Let me try and explain to you what The Happy Box is. It is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. Every week we get a box of locally grown produce along with some things that come from a wholesaler... Ohio doesn't grow bananas well. :) The produce is free of harmful chemicals, it is USDA Certified Organic. On top of all those things it's fairly priced... we pay $20/week for our box to be delivered to our front door! Yes, you heard right... delivered to our front door! That means no loading the kiddos in the Suburban to haul them to the grocery store, no screaming kids at the grocery store and no stressed mama. The happiness doesn't stop there... my children get just as, if not more, excited to see the box as if we were standing in the check out line at the grocery. Which, in return, makes me happy to see my kids getting excited over REAL food!

And when we are out and happen to drive by Fulton Farm, the kids recognize their big red barn and yell "look mama, our food!" Another great thing about the program is that we can stop and see our food; see how it's growing and see the farmers that are caring for it. I had the opportunity to help hoe one Saturday. It was absolutely amazing. Weeding that day reminded me of why we have made a commitment to subscribe to the program. It is all about giving back to our community and taking care of what the Lord has blessed us with.

If you have never heard of CSA, I hope you are able to research and find a local farm to support. If you are local and aren't a subscriber of The Happy Box I hope this post and the pictures can convince you that you are truly missing out!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Yummy, squash.

Fruit!

Beans!!

Look at all the beautiful colors!

Here We Go...

So today is the day. I have no clue why but I had to wait to start the first entry on the first of the month. (and how the "other" firsts flown by) I am sure my sister would shout OCD... maybe it's a true. Anyway, that is not of importance right now. Today is the first so without further ado... Welcome to chaos in the form of my blog.

I wish or rather, hope to be committed to being a regular here. OH, and that's my argument against me have OCD... I am have such a spastic schedule and it doesn't freak me out.... not one bit Or is that from raising five children? Or maybe having ADHD.... nah. I am sure it's the five children.

So here's a little window into our life right now...

We just returned from a wonderful trip to California... our first time out there. My sister, Kate and Isaac wed. It was absolutely GORGEOUS. I went to Cali with the notion I would not like it there. To my surprise I LOVED it. The weather was great, the people were nice and the traffic wasn't as bad I had pictured... let me explain. There was so many people. They were always outside, being active, enjoying life. There were so many cars with little road rage. It was crazy. We enjoyed the city... Los Angeles. We enjoyed the mountains... Mt. Baldy. We enjoyed the desert.... Lancaster. And we enjoyed the ocean... Laguna Beach, Santa Monica Beach and my favorite Manhattan Beach, which was just quaint. We enjoyed the aquarium there and got to know some of the locals. Uncle Bill's Pancacke House is delicious and was super gracious to the kids and me (Brent was returning the rental and I was exploring the beach alone... with five kids).

Though, I do admit, I did miss the country. It was nice to see green, in form of corn fields and grass, when we returned home. So for now, Ohio will remain our home... unless, of course, God opens a door for us to relocate.

We are getting things ready to begin our school year. I am going a bit crazy. We have decided to let Johanna begin kindergarten. So I go from one to three in school this year. All in my hand of responsibility! YIKES! Crazy, I know. Once things get in order here, excitement will set in... with the kids and with me.

Which, reminds me, I should jump back over to organizing our school things. So...Stay tuned, I am sure I will be back soon.