I disappeared for awhile last week, didn't I? Just feeling bogged down with the usual--getting close to the big move, Dan working long and late, homeschool review, "working" the farmers' market, and other things that would make a real downer of a blog post.

We did not move in this weekend. It was a break your back trying to move in this weekend, or have a smoother move in a little later. We opted for later. I'm so ready for this to be over. It is really wearing on me lately. It's been a rough few days, for some reason. Without getting into the details I've had two people say different things to me in the last few days that really hurt my feelings and offended me. One about my parenting, the other about my struggle with missing Dan while he's working at night. So this morning while my kids play outside and Elizabeth naps, I'm escaping to the comfort of my blogging friends, and then I'll probably call my sister and wah-wah to her about my woes. And then, I"ll shake it off and move on.

But, BUT on a happy positive note...we've officially adopted our first new member of the Thomas Run four-legged community. "Rosie" was one of the first batch of kittens we found born here on the farm this spring. Emma and I loved her from the start. But then, her mother moved her kittens away and we didn't know where she was. Several weeks later, we discovered that she had moved them to some brush across the road. We watched and waited and hoped there would be some way to catch this wild little kitten and give her a good home.

A few days ago, Emma came running inside to tell me that the mother cat had moved the kittens back into the milking barn but they were still wild and impossible to catch. But the night I walked up to the barn to look at them, Rosie just happened to scurry into a tube that was blocked on the other end and we scooped her up. She came home hissing and spitting and growling--scared and fending for her life. But after some good food, the comfort of our tiny little bathroom and Emma spending a whole day sitting on the bathroom floor cooing and calming her, she has gone from feral to friend.

Emma has this knack with the kittens and cats around here. It is almost magical to watch. She is patient and quiet and calm...For five! hours on Friday, she sat on the bathroom floor making potholders, thinking of names for her kitten and making a fast friend.

Yesterday Rosie fell asleep on my neck while I read and napped. I woke up to her licking my cheek, chewing on my earrings, and purring at deafening levels. Welcome to the family little Rosie.

This afternoon we're headed over to the house to put down some rugs and move around some furniture. And then we'll have our own little party on the back porch, I think.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Happy Monday, friends. Thanks for listening.