Well, here it is.  The first post of this new blog.  

Yikes!  The pressure!

The layout isn't finished and I need to tweek copy, but as they say "publish or perish" so here it goes!

For those of you who might be new to our recent "journey" let me give you a little background.  

Last year in October my husband, Mr. Wonderful, received the news that he was being laid off.  

You can read all about it here  

http://awomanamanandaminivan.blogspot.com/2010/10/and-just-like-that.html.  

The next twelve months would be one of the most painful, amazing, beautiful, frightening journeys we have ever been on.  

If you are interested, there are stories about a lot of it on my old blog at

http://awomanamanandaminivan.blogspot.com, although these posts don't even scratch the surface. 

Anyway, so much has changed.  

     Mr. Wonderful has started a new job that is perfect for him.  

     

We moved to a new state, which is beautiful and different, and I love that.  

     

We have left behind an amazing faith community without whom we WOULD NOT have been able to make it through the last twelve months.  And we miss them.  

    

I am going back to work, which is actually more exciting than I thought. 

     

Daddy's Girl and Little Prince are getting used to a new school.  Little Prince is in school for the first time & loving it.   Daddy's Girl is getting there.  It is tough being a pre-pre-teen.

     

Sunshine will be going to preschool, and she is so ready to rock it!

     

We are in the process of finding community, which teaches us patience

(I thought we learned that during the whole job search thing, but oh well!).

     

With all that has transpired, I am not the same as I was when I started blogging.  Then I was a stay-at-home-mom (whoop! whoop! what a fantastic/exhausting job!), and the whole minivan thing just fit our lives.  But now, we are just learning what our new life holds and often now (as then) I just end up in the middle of one big ol' hot mess.  Sometimes of my own making, sometimes someone else's. 
But regardless, writing about it gives me perspective 

(and often provides you with laughter and reliefthat there IS someone out there botching it up way worse than you ever did.)  

So thanks for taking the time to join me. 
I hope you will stay in "the kitchen" and see what we cook up next!