August 24 Update

I am pleased to report that we are just enjoying our vacation at home. The girls are doing their homeschool work and then anxiously await their neighborhood friends to get off the bus. Chaz is playing his games with his online gaming buddies. He and I are catching up on True Blood and movies. I am cooking up a storm in our kitchen and trying to get caught up on work and school.

We are getting our schedule laid out for the home school. The girls are loving it and so are Chaz and I. Through trail and error, we are discovering what works with each of them and what we need. One thing is for sure we are having a ton of fun with it!

Chaz keeps joking around that our vacation home needs to be fixed to suit his needs and that he wants me to get that worked out by the next time we visit. In all honesty I love how he and I can just laugh and joke about all of this. He has his obstacles, but we just attack them differently. He chases our girls around the downstairs with super speed. Wheels really speed you up! You should see him chase them down the ramp outside. Which that ramp has become the source of fun for the whole neighborhood. We have all of the kids riding up and down it multiple times a day. I am very proud that we can make all of this great and that we can be great examples for the girls.

Deryn, our oldest, has a birthday coming up next month. She was very upset to find out she won't be here with her friends. So I am working out a sleepover for her here while we're home. She is very excited to celebrate her birthday in 2 places. Just wait until you see what we are doing for her in DC! It is awesome! Our youngest is just enjoying having her friends and her toys to play with. She is the easier to please.

I spent our first week home running around (with Train and at Fort Campbell) and cleaning our house. Now I am trying to catch up on school and work. I have owned and operated my own tax preparation business for 3 years now. I am also currently a part of the AFCPE Military Spouse Fellowship Program as well. I managed to complete over 120 tax returns this tax season (even with my back and forth to TN and DC) and now I am performing 2 audits and a non-profit organization's return now. I am also trying to get one more class done before we head back. Luckily it's on federal taxation so I'll be good. I want to sit for the IRS competency exam as soon as it becomes available this Fall so I can get it over with. One day I will sit for the Enrolled Agent exam (I was going to do it this year, but my plans were changed) so I can battle with the IRS on more level ground. I truly love my job and what I do.

We are just enjoying our vacation home to TN and loving life. I am loving being in my kitchen and cooking up my crews favorite foods. I now know what I need to take back to Maryland to make it all more like home. I am just so thankful that we have such a resilient family and that we can make all of this work.