Cruff Family Chronicles

Hey everyone! Well, it's been forever since I've blogged. I had thought about doing it today anyway and then my former pastor's daughter posted one and it inspired me to go ahead with posting. I haven't had much to say, really. Lots of things have happened since I last blogged but sometimes, it's just hard to put into words. So by now you know we are having another Girl. Yep, that makes 3. You also know that I was super sad about it for a whole afternoon (Bri took it pretty hard too). And that is ok. Don't let anyone tell you that it's not. I have a right to mourn the things that come with having no sons. It's not just for me but mostly for my husband. Adam's aunt Colleen was a great sounding board as she also has 3 girls and assured me my feelings were validated and acceptable. Now let me tell you a bit about my husband. He is one of THE best human beings I have ever met on this entire Earth. If anyone has the LOVE and PATIENCE for 3 girls, it...

This is going to be a little bit of a random post but just bear with me. For those who don't know, I got married when I was 21 and had Bri a few months after I turned 22. Now that I'm 27 and I'm seeing little 21 and 22 year olds and wondered what the heck was I thinking!? Now just a disclaimer: I love my life and wouldn't change a single thing! But I was SO Young!! There's so much life to live!! I am the type of person that if someone tells me I can't do something, it makes me want to do it even more. So if someone had said, "Don't you want to wait until you're a little older?" I would've told them right where to stick it. Me being the feisty one and all. Now I will say, usually in a group of friends, I am the youngest with one of the oldest kids. That has its advantages! It's actually pretty cool. I always say I'll still be young and hot when my kids are out of the house so I can walk around naked! Someone told me "You...

Today was the last MOPS meeting before our summer break. I got to thinking yesterday about what it's meant to me and wanted to share. The theme this year was: Be You, Bravely. Last summer, I moved away from where I grew up, left my friends in sunny Arizona to move to Michigan. If that's not brave, what the heck is?! The summer was crazy with the move, living with my in-laws, adjusting to them being gone, Adam not having a job and getting close to running out of money, not knowing if I would find work. It was all very daunting. Moving to a new state without jobs lined up is pretty ballsy! We live in my in-laws house while they are changing lives teaching in rural Alaska, so the housing situation was at least taken care of. This is where God lead us. I am certain of it. Adam applied for a parts manager job after applying at a few places and nothing really panning out. The job description didn't say where only that it was local and for parts. Adam sent his resume in and ...

I want to be Present... Now, this is not meant to be a "woe is me" post or a "social media is a life ruiner" post. I'm just going to talk about me and my circumstances. I'm going to try to reduce my online presence. Nothing happened, no one made me upset, I'm not fighting with my husband or any of the other reasons why people "quit" FB. So last night as I was praying, in bed, way past my bedtime, I got to thinking about how I've been letting my phone be a distraction to me and in the quality time I spend with my loved ones. I want to deactivate FB but since it's such a vital part of MOPS, church and far away family, I know it's just not gonna happen. What I did do, is delete the apps off my phone and blocked the mobile site because I've deleted FB before and then just gone to the mobile site, less often but still defeating the purpose. I just have it to where only certain websites are allowed so along with FB, is MSN and Y...

A while back, I was reading an article ( I wish I had the link to attach) that was about how social media is used to show people the best sides of you. The author had a picture of her and her daughter that looked so adorable but noted there had been a fit beforehand. She had a cute picture of her and her husband before a date night but noted they had just gotten into an argument before they took it. It really got me thinking about how we can best portray our REAL selves on social media, or more specifically Facebook. It's so true that you see 95% of only the good things that happen in people's lives, we don't know the other 5%. Maybe if we did, we could help the happy percentage increase. At the same time, when anyone posts REAL statuses about being sad or mad then they're labeled a Debbie downer (believe me, I've been every kind of annoying friend you could have). It's true, though. Why do we only want to hear the good and not the bad or REAL? I guess when to...

Hey guys! I have a lot to catch up on so bear with me here! You know you've lived in Michigan for a while when it's 50 degrees and sunny out and your windows are rolled down. You know you've lived through a Michigan winter when 70 degrees in the car feels hot! Today it was a gorgeous day outside. If you have MI friends on your friends list, you probably heard all about it. I have to sort of laugh at everyone getting excited about 60 degree weather when back in AZ that's cause for some layers! Emily and Tiffany-my best good friends here! So overall, I love living in Michigan. I've made some good friends (I miss my old ones dearly too!). With my in-laws help, I can be a stay at home mom and there's lots of things to do here. Now, winter sucked don't get me wrong but it was survivable (is that a word?) I mean you expect the cold days and the snow. With that said, I did have 2 "I HATE MICHIGAN" days. The first was February 14. We were suppose...

Hey all! I always say I want to blog more and it hasn't happened. I wanted to tell a story that was a little too long for a status update so I decided what better place to tell it than my blog! I think 2 or 3 years ago when we started doing egg hunts at home (um, hello, have you seen the crowds at some egg hunts, no thanks.), I would take change from Bri's piggy bank and fill some eggs up with that and some with some form of candy. I don't like to have too much candy around because we inevitably eat most of it so that's why we've always done half and half. She's loved it. I think last year I went to the bank and got more change instead of just using hers lol. Well, she told me this year she didn't want coin eggs so we got M&Ms and jelly beans. So this year for egg decorating I bought fake eggs because it seems like a real dozen eggs go to waste and even though they're less than $2, I still feel bad about it. I do not recommend the fake eggs bec...

Hey everyone! Wow, it's been a little too long since I've been at this blogging thing. It's really because I haven't had much to say. When I do, I pray about it in my prayer journal I started. So the post is called "The fine line" because I thought of that when I posted on FB about how great prayer journaling has been for me. I am always afraid to be "that Christian" who's obnoxious in what they post. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that but having been on the other side, I want to make sure I have a balance. I want to be aware of the fine line. I remember when I wasn't a Christian and friends would post extreme religious opinions I didn't agree with and I would unfollow them (not un-friend). It didn't make me want to know God, it just annoyed me. I don't even know why I care if some of my friends do it to me. I have 3 FB friends off the top of my head who I know are atheists (and I'm sure there...

Well, hello there! Happy New Year (22 days later...) It's almost 10:30 pm here and I should be sleeping but I was just tossing and turning and thinking about how much I've missed blogging and came up with all these things to talk to you about so prepare for a long-ish post. And run-on sentences and improper grammar and sentences that start with and and lots of annnnnnnnnndddddddddddsssssssssss. Ok I'm done. I survived the holidays! Go me! My sister-in-law and her fiance came to visit from Kansas City and my in-laws from Alaska. The holidays were wonderful, stressful, great and chaotic. That's what holidays are for. AmIRight?! Christmas day, I made a casserole in the morning and Adam made his famous cheesy potatoes. I wish I had taken pictures but here's the link to the casserole. Christmas Morning Casserole We had a great Thanks-mas with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, stuffing and enjoyed each other's company. The girls were very spoiled (you...