Home Again Home Again

Hello everyone!
We are now back home in Florida, and we just had a wonderful morning getting back to the routine of schooling, taking the dog for a walk, riding bikes, and weeding. Our yard only seems to grow weeds, but at least they're green! :) I need to buy some weed and feed, and I need to mow, I think. It still seems weird mowing the lawn in February. Well, I won't be doing that next February, Lord willing, since we'll be up in North Carolina. We hope to be settled there by the beginning of hurricane season. I don't really want to stock up on canned goods again, although we still have several cans of pork and beans; they proved to be a bad choice for the kids. :) I guess I need to sell our generator - the one we just bought for last season. We really should settle down one of these days! My dad said we're moving more now that we're out of the military, which is true. :) Maybe this will be the last one before we get to our land in Tennessee, but somehow I doubt it. I really will miss the friends we've made here and the Florida sunshine, but I won't miss hurricane season. We also look forward to joining a more like-minded church in North Carolina.

I hear from Daniel most every day, and he's doing well. We can't talk about much over the phone, which makes for one-sided conversations, but it's wonderful to hear his voice. He recorded a videotape and two audio tapes for the kids before he left, and they've just about worn it out already. They can already quote the library books he recorded onto the tape. :)

Jackson's getting back to normal after being so fussy on the trip. I don't know if it was having four teeth coming in at the same time, not having some "down time," being sick, or just plain irritability, but he was not the most fun person on the trip. He was a happy little man today, though, and it was a pleasure seeing his personality again. I have to wean the girls off of marshmallow cereal - thanks, Mom! :) -but otherwise they settled right back into the routine.

We celebrated Shiloh's 7th birthday and Abigail's 3rd birthday in Tennessee, which was a wild party. We had 17 people there, and my aunt and uncle were so kind as to travel up from South Carolina at the last minute to attend. They only found out about the party that morning (we couldn't decide what day to have it) and they jumped in their van to make it. It was wonderful. Shiloh was a little unsure about having that many people, being naturally shy and quiet, but Uncle Duncan made it all right. He's like having another kid there, except I think he's louder. He's older than I am. My mom was stuck at the table with Shiloh, Cora, my niece Dyani, and Duncan, and she said she felt like she was at the kids' table.

OH! And one more thing...I got to meet our adorable NEW niece Micah Marie, whose cheeks are truly kissable. She was doing the cutest cooing, and it was wonderful to meet her. Her big brother Caleb seems like he's a year older than Jackson instead of just three months. He is speaking very well, running all over the place, and he's HUGE. I think he wears 3T or 4T clothes. Wow. He did really well with four loud cousins, and Cora took to Micah, bouncing her like a pro. She's going to be a wonderful mommy to six boys, which is her plan for her family.

I'll post again soon now that I'm home.
Love,
Casey
Okay, I meant to post more photos, but it won't let me for some reason, so I'm going to post this message and then try again on another message.