Last Post from North Carolina!

They'll be taking our computer tomorrow, so I figured I better update my blog before our trip home. Yep, the day is almost here. Our movers come tomorrow and pack us up, then they come back on Wednesday to move us out. We'll load our trailer on Thursday, and then start driving on Friday. Did I mention that we'll be doing all of this in the middle of a "noreaster" or some crazy winter storm that's supposed to cause lots of rain and wind the next three days...Perfect. Nothing could rain on our parade though! We can't wait to be home again, although leaving Camp Lejeune has been a little more difficult than we planned. We really have made some great memories and met some wonderful people, and that makes it hard to say goodbye. I had coffee with two of my dearest friends this morning, Jen & Amanda, and it's hard to imagine Starbucks without them!

Ryan wanted to make sure I mentioned that Jack is looking VERY forward to being a Texas dog again, and Harley is excited because she's never been a Texan but has heard lots of great stories. They both can't wait to see all their friends and family!

It'll be awhile before I blog again, so don't get on my case! (You know who you are!!) I'll keep you posted as our journey home continues. Until then, Adios North Carolina...Hola Tejas!

No Time to Blog!

I've been bad...I know. I haven't updated since we sold our house. I guess that's been what's kept me so busy lately because I swear it feels like yesterday that I posted that blog! Goodness. Life around here is officially nuts. There are so many crazy details involved with checking out of the Marine Corps and moving halfway across the country. I'm still teaching piano up until next Tuesday, and praise the Lord I had my last high school concert last night! What a relief. We also made a trip to Texas for Molly's shower, Kendall's shower, and HSU homecoming. It was so great to see everyone, and it made us even more excited to hurry up and move home.

Last weekend, we drove up to Virginia basically to have some closure to this whole Marine Corps experience. Quantico, Virginia is where it all began when Ryan went to Officer Candidates School in 2001. It's crazy to think that we were just dating then! We never could have imagined all that we would go through over the next 5 and a half years...good and bad. After we walked around Ryan's "old stompin' grounds" as he calls it, we drove up to Annapolis to see my friend Joanna. It was so good to see her, and as always she blew me away. Her husband, John, and Ryan were in Infantry Officers Course together. He was killed in Iraq in April 2004. She is one of the most optimistic and inspirational people I know. She has taken what was the lowest point in her life and developed a passion for helping other widows and family members in her situation with an organization called TAPS...Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. It's incredible to see how far she's come in 2 years. After Joanna's, we drove out to Robin & Will's new house in Manassas, VA. I got to go to Robin's baby shower, which was lots of fun. The Gazes' have been friends and "family" to us since we first moved away from Texas, so we didn't say goodbye to them...just "see ya later". Even though we'll be a few states apart now, they're stuck with us for life whether they like it or not! ha ha Before we headed home on Sunday, we knew we had one more stop to make. Unfortunately we know several people buried at Arlington Cemetery, so we went to pay our respects. It is so humbling to even set foot on that place. I can't stomach the fact that gravestone upon gravestone were names we know...my friends' husbands, Marines Ryan served with, Marines who taught him, and Marines he led. All I could do was thank God that I was standing there with my husband who is home SAFE and healthy. I will never take that for granted as long as I live.

So...here we are 5 days before our movers come, and we have offically packed 3 boxes. Yep--that's it. I guess I still can't believe that in one week, we will be sitting in an empty house. Our furniture will be loaded and on its way to Houston, and we'll be following shortly thereafter with the last of our things. We'll technically be "homeless" for 2 weeks because we can't move into our apartment until December 8th. It'll be fun seeing family and enjoying some "us" time though. We are supposed to close on our house on Monday, the 20th, but things don't always work according to plan, so I'm praying daily for patience, sanity, and as little stress as possible. Hope you enjoyed the update...I'm going to go pack now. :-)