It’s been a long minute, guys. Life has been crazy. I apologize for the quiet leave without letting you guys know. It wasn’t intentional. I have just been in a crazy transitional season and now that things are gradually settling, I am able to share here again.

So it’s time for me to finish this post which I started writing since June 24. June 24th!

Here are the things we will be talking about:

• 30-hour road trip
• Moving house
• Black kitchen
• Homeschooling
• Blog Design
• Never giving up
• Motherhood

So grab a cup of tea, coffee, infused water or Ovaltine like me and let’s dive in.

ROAD TRIP FROM CALIFORNIA TO MINNESOTA

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In May, we took a 30-hour road trip to Minnesota. Me, Mr. N. and four kids 8 years old and under. Yes, we are crazy people. Now that we have gone by road from California to Minnesota and back, I feel like we can go anywhere by road!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ That was quite a TRIP!

We took a lot of breaks so the kids could have bathroom breaks, so we could sometimes grab food and to soak up on some of the stunning views. Prior to our trip, I packed a huge bag of snacks, fruits and all kinds of things that fit into the mouth. So feeding was not really a problem.

Mr. N set up mini-screens for the girls so they could watch some CDs. It kept them entertained so much that they didn’t feel very bored.

After that trip, driving 2 hours feels like nothing to me I did 30 hours so 2 hours feel like nothing now (even though I didn’t do the driving – my sweet hubby drove the whole time).

Things I missed on the road trip: road trip food. In my birth country, Cameroon, a highlight of taking a road trip is stopping to eat in small towns with roadside vendors. There is roasted plum (not the American plum but an African buttery fruit), there is grilled fish grilled over charcoal – the taste is epicccc. There is suya, roasted plantains, roasted corn and all sorts of goodies for the mouth. The food makes road trips so much fun! I miss all the road trip treats in Cameroon.

Here is what I loved though about the American road trip: the views! I thoroughly enjoyed the views of nature – the rocks, the canyons, the mountains, which all remind me of the God behind it all. I could not have enough of all the stunning views of nature. Are you a nature person?

I took some videos of the trip and planned to share them on my YouTube channel. But I’ve been so reluctant because my channel is called “Precious Kitchen” and a road trip doesn’t quite tie in with cooking. Is this something you would love to see on Precious Kitchen? Or should I create another channel for things like this? Please let me know what you think.

Our reason for the road trip was to attend Mr. N’s graduation ceremony. This hubby of mine has been studying hard for his bachelor’s degree. I am so proud of him. Working full time and studying full time with a family to care for is not easy but he did it!

MOVING HOUSE

We have moved house, guys. I am excited and exhausted. Moving house is not easy. I am thankful that I started packing early enough in order not to feel overwhelmed at the end but still, it isn’t easy.

As you may know, we moved last year from Minnesota to California. This year we are moving to a new house here in Southern California. I am obsessed with our new home!

I have all sorts of ideas for decorating and sometimes instead of focusing on unpacking and arranging our stuff I am planning decor. I know as an adult that the reasonable thing to do now is to finish unpacking first then plan decor. But it’s been hard to not think of all the ways I want to make our house a home.

Perhaps my favorite thing about our new home is the huge backyard which is basically dirt at the moment. I have dreams and visions of wonderful things that could be done to it. And I’m so grateful for our home. It is a wonderful gift and I will never stop being in awe of how God continues to provide for us.

You can see bits of our new home in this video I recently posted on my YouTube channel.​​​​​​​

BLACK KITCHEN

Speaking of our new home, I have a new kitchen now. And it’s not white. It is black and I LOVE it! The finishing on the black cabinets is lovely! Even though I really really wanted a white kitchen, I am learning to embrace my black cabinets. I will probably paint them white in the future but for now, black is where it’s at!

So the next time you see a cooking video from me, it will be in a huge black kitchen. I can barely wait.

HOMESCHOOLING

This past July 4th marked 3 years of me homeschooling my kids. I started on July 4th 3 years ago. I started in July way before the school year started in September because I said if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just send my girls to school in September.

But here we are 3 years later, still going strong. I am so thankful to God for that.

And oh, The date July 4th coincided with American independence day. I didn’t plan it that way but now every time July 4th rolls by I am reminded of our homeschooling journey.

BLOG DESIGN

As you can see, the blog has a new look. I had to change the old design for technical reasons. I tried to make the new one match the old design a much as I could but there are still differences. So feel free to look around.

There’s still a search button on the right of the blog so you can search for any recipe or for recipe ideas. If you encounter any difficulties please let me know.

NEVER GIVE UP

Never give up! Even when life gets so hard, do not give up. You might go down for a while but don’t stay down there. WAKE UP and keep going. We must master the art of never ever giving up on the right path if we are to make it through life.

Successful people are not people who haven’t failed but people who have learned to rise up again and again.

So many times, I have wanted to give up on this blog but I keep coming back again and again. It is a sort of miracle to be that I get to do this. But I want you to know that what you see here is a result of never giving up. Hope this inspires you to keep going at that dream. Failures and setbacks are a part of your journey. They are necessary for your journey. They will only make you better – if you let them.

MOTHERHOOD

So, friends, this is me being a mama and basically trying every day to do the best I can to love these kiddos the Lord has entrusted in my hands.

This summer, my older girls attended kids’ camp in our church, They were so excited and learned a lot. I am so glad they were able to do this.

Yoyo is an amazing big sister.

The older girls have wonderful poses for pictures.

We went berry picking and loved it.

We’ve been enjoying great food!

And we resume homeschooling this week. The girls are so excited. I hope we make memories that last a lifetime!

Have a lovely week ahead, friends. I heart every one of you. Thank you for being here.