The wait is finally over! We moved into our new home a little less than a week ago today. What a whirlwind this past week has been! I feel so disorganized and crazy right now. Bit by slow little bit I am getting the home unpacked and squared away. It has proven to be a very slooow process with Gabriel underfoot. He wants into EVERYTHING! I cannot blame him really. It has got to be fun exploring this new environment that includes stairs (!). It has been a challenge keeping him away from those as he really enjoys climbing up them. I am waiting for the day when he attempts to climb the gate we have at the foot of them.

The previous owners left us a small (at least in my standards!) vegetable garden and look at what we found upon moving in.

Ariella and Logan were quite excited to see that pumpkin that is really rather large. That pumpkin is a nice little house warming gift for them.

Look what also awaited me in the garden.

I do not think I have ever seen a zucchini as large as this one! It is a monster. I have not yet had a chance to pick it but will be sure to photograph it when I do.

On a more somber note, our excitement of moving in to our new home was damped rather quickly this morning. That is because late last night my husband was driving home from work on the state highway and was hit nearly head on by a tow truck driving down the wrong side of the highway. To make matters even more upsetting it was a hit and run.  By the act of some miracle my husband walked away from this horrible accident with only minor cuts to his face and ear where the glass shattered in on him. As of the time of me typing this blog post we do not know if they have caught the tow truck driver or not. Our car is totaled and not what we want to be dealing with just days after moving into our new home. We are very shaken up by this and I keep telling everyone how grateful I am that he is okay. I believe he must have had a guardian angel in the car with him. The rescue workers really stressed how lucky he is.

I am honestly so angered by this senseless accident. A husband and father of four almost did not make it home last night and why? My older two boys were so upset by this driver. I keep stressing to them that something must not have been right with him. He must have under the influence I keep telling them. I do hope they catch him.

I apologize for the rather sad post today. This is what is on my mind right now.

{Edited to add} I felt the need to write about my husband’s accident because it is what we are really dealing with at this time. I felt to not do so was like I was pretending everything is okay in our life at this moment when in fact, it is not. This is an incredible setback for us immediately after moving. I know we will get through this too but for the moment it feels like a whole lot. I just couldn’t write about only good things when that is not what is really going on. Thank you readers for letting me write what is truly on my mind.

The garden is fading so fast these days. I have been busy gathering seeds from my flower and herb gardens to take with me to our new home. I feel a little sad when I think about leaving this garden behind but excited at the thought of starting new.

Queen Anne's Lace starting to go to seed

I am trying to be picky when it comes to what I take with me. If I could I would take the entire garden with me. Just pick it up and put it on the moving truck with the rest of the furniture!

Borage beginning to go to seed

I’ve always enjoyed gathering seeds this time of year. There is something almost magical about watching the flowers bloom and then set seed.

Bronze Fennel beginning to set seed

I love all the different sizes and textures each seed has.Take the hollyhock seed for instance.

Hollyhock setting seed

Once you separate an individual seed from the entire seed head you will see it is like a little rough disk. I imagine its rough edges enable it to stick to fur (or clothes!) ensuring the spreading of future generations. Isn’t it just amazing that one single seed can grow into such a tall and pretty flower?

Pink Hollyhock in bloom

Ariella has been out in the garden with me during many of my seed gathering sessions and I am so happy to see her delighting in this garden ritual of mine. Yesterday she was collecting marshmallow seeds from our herb garden and scattering them all about. (Which means the next tenants of this home will be finding marshmallow babies here, there, and everywhere come next spring.)

Clary Sage gone to seed

I always collect way more seed than I can possibly grow. I suppose I just can’t let them be—I have to collect them for future use and seed swapping. And if any readers are interested in swapping some seeds with me please do contact me. I love swapping seeds with fellow gardeners and thought it might be fun to try a seed swap with my readers. Come next spring I will have a brand new garden to fill up with little seedlings so a seed swap would be a lot of fun!

These days we have been so focused on our house hunting to the point where other things in our lives are being placed on the back burner. This is in turn beginning to take a tremendous toll on me.

Every spare moment we are running out to go look at more homes. We live a rather large distance away so these searches are no small feat.

Our teeny tiny one income budget is not making this house hunt easy either. The home that we put an offer on that I mentioned about fell through. The seller was asking for way more than what the house is worth and we just couldn’t do it. I was heartbroken at first as it was a nice home in a beautiful neighborhood within walking distance to the library. Perhaps it is for the best as maybe there is another home out there that is meant for us.

One thing I have learned in this house search is just how much I want a small piece of land to homestead on. A half an acre would even be fine with me right now. We have always known this is what we want but we did not realize just how strong that pull was till we began looking at homes with almost no yard.

On Friday we are to go look for the second time at a home in Washington that is sitting on a half an acre. It is a rather small home so in some respects I cannot believe we are even considering it with our family of 6 but considering it we are. Taking a second look is always good. It fits nicely into our budget and even has fruit trees growing on it already. We shall see what Friday brings.

One thing I now know for sure—I do not want to skimp on this dream if we can at all help it. The garden and land and what comes with it is just far too important to me.