Oh So Long ... Again!

My blogging days may be coming to an end. I seem to run out of energy or time pretty early these days ... then I feel guilty! Ughh.

Our life has taken us back to Alexandria, Virginia and I started work full time at the end of September. I left Wyoming back on Labor Day and drove across the country by myself leaving Max with mom and dad Tippets. The drive was not bad ... the start of 4 weeks of setting our life back up. I listened to books on CD and the time really went quickly. I stopped in Ohio for a day and a half to visit with Scott, Angela and the kids. I had fun helping Angela with Scentsy then later that night we all went to watch Makenah in the marching band at her high school football game.

Once I arrived in the Virginia, my priority was to find us a place to live. I wanted to come back to Kingstowne since I would be close to the metro and I still have friends in this area who could help me with Max if necessary. I found us a great little apartment and then a few days later, I found a great school for Max to go to. The school opens up at 6:30 am and closes at 6:30 pm. They feed him breakfast, snack, lunch and an afternoon snack. He is learning Spanish, making new friends and enjoying his new routine. Once I secured our new apartment, next came the moving and storage units. Thanks to three wonderful men from Winchester, we were able to load a 17' U-haul truck COMPLETELY full and get it all moved to the 3rd floor. I was grateful that none of us passed out or had a heart attack that day but, I'm SURE we all lost 10 lbs that day! Multiple trips back and forth to Winchester and finally our apartment was starting to feel like home. (Note: we still have 4 storage units!) Three walls painted, pictures hung, curtains up and food in the cupboards ... all ready for Max & G&G Tippets to fly out!

I was soo excited to have family come! They arrived at Dulles airport around 12 midnight which made for a very short night. My alarm goes off around 5:15 am and I'm on the metro by 7 am. Early and long days .... makes bedtime an early welcome!

Mark continues his work in Afghanistan and has both good & bad days. His co-workers are getting ready to turn-over once again. His first commander from a year ago is coming back by the end of the month and will be there with him until next summer. Mark is excited to have him coming back and really enjoyed working with him. In the mean while, we are still trying hard to find him a full time job here in the states. Hopefully, we can find him something soon ... even if it means coming home early.

Mom and dad Tippets went on a cruise to New England and enjoyed some wonderful fall foliage. After their cruise they came back to Virginia and we celebrated dad's 73rd birthday. We had a wonderful pumpkin pie from Costco and enjoyed it ALL weekend. They are now back in Utah and of course we are missing them.

Life is running at a fast pace. Max is 4 1/2 years old and learning SOO much. He has an incredible memory and wants to know so much information. Every night he asks me to tell him a story about Heavenly Father, Jesus & the Holy Ghost. Then recently he will ask me to tell him about when Jesus died on the cross. He is so curious and learns so well. I am so proud of him and I'm so glad he is here with me. I'm sure I could not be getting through these days without him. We miss Mark terribly and count the months until he is home again.