Catch Up Post (December 2014 - May 2015)

Okay, so A LOT has happened since my last entry (September 2014)…

December 22, 2014 - Ava turned SIX and we turned in the keys to our house in Fort Lee, VA. On the 23rd we hit the road for GA where the kids and I would spend a few weeks while Richard did some training in Kentucky. Ava was such a champ spending her birthday "homeless" and I love that she didn't think anything of it or take it as some form of persecution.

End of January 2015 - We hit the road to drive from Georgia to Arizona. We stopped to visit "Mom Avery" in Alabama, then powered on through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and finally Arizona. We broke the trip up over a few days. We drove the Expedition and pulled the Fusion on a trailer behind us. Again, the kids were absolutely amazing. So flexible and easy-going with the HOURS of sitting in carseats, gas station stops, and hotel stays (the fun (for them) part).

January 29, 2015 - We signed for our house on the evening of 1/28/15 and slept on air mattresses. Then all of our stuff arrived from out of storage on the 29th. Richard was sick as a dog all day, literally throwing up and lying down between loads being brought in that he checked off the packing list. The weather was beautiful so we were able to have the kids play outside and pretty much stay out of the way. The girls were so excited to see their room coming together and to get to help with things.

February 2015 - Richard took command of his recruiting company. Here we go again with another two year command. He is excited yet has quite a learning curve ahead of him as well a good bit of travel and time away from home (probably weekly).
We found a church home. It has a great children's program, including Awana. It has small "journey groups" for closer connection and life sharing with fellow believers in similar stages of life. The pastor(s) are awesome and we feel very welcome and ready to jump in serving here.
I also happened across a homeschool group on base. The kids and I had walked down the street to hang out at the neighborhood center playground and there were a bunch of school age kids playing. I thought "well either school is out today or we have found a homeschool group already!" And it was the latter. It is a relatively casual group that meets for a weekly PE class followed by park time, optional Spanish weekly for reading aged kids, monthly art class, and monthly science experiment/dissection.

March 7, 2015 - Sweet little Rae turned 4! I can't believe our little love is four years old. She is such a delight and was super pumped about the pretend hairstyling kit she picked out with her birthday money.

April 2015 - Richard turned 31 and life is just ticking along. We are coming down the home stretch of Ava's first homeschool year and she is learning and growing so much. I feel like we are close to a breakthrough in the reading department.

May 2015 - We celebrate our 9 year anniversary.