Crazy Life
My apologies, dear readers--I realize I haven't posted an entry in over a month! (And to be honest, it'll probably be another month or two before this happens on a regular basis.) Here are my excuses: First, one month ago I had major, but non-emergency, surgery from which I'm recovering really well.
 Second, about a week after the surgery, Daddy got new orders, and we move across the country in less than two weeks now! So, between being incapacitated and having a mile-long, PCS-related to-do list, the blog hasn't surfaced to the top of my priorities until now.

Fortunately for the entourage, that hasn't meant an end to their usual status of soaking up new knowledge and experiences like little sponges. Of course, my surgery and recovery in itself is endlessly fascinating for them, and I am as open and honest as possible about it (I'm not sharing the details here, but if any family/friends want more info, feel free to message me). They got a real kick out of watching me do things like empty the drains and change the bandages.

Between needing help post-surgery and just wanting seeing people before the move, we've had lots of visitors! Aunt K, Grandma, Aunt A, and Nana have all come to visit at some point during the past few weeks. The girls always love having the extra grown ups around to help with playing, reading, and, of course, answering their endless questions. We also had a potluck get-together with some neighbors this weekend, and the girls had a blast playing with their friends. We're hoping to get in more of that before we hit the road!

Obviously, prepping for the move itself has been an educational/emotional experience. We are all very excited about our new location and the cross-country road trip it's going to take to get there. The girls and I have spent lots of time talking about all the cool things we'll get to see on the way and things we're looking forward to once we get settled there. Particularly with Goose, I've also spent lots of time touring the house verifying that, yes, her toys are coming with us, and her books are coming with us, and the dishes are coming with us, but no, not the kitchen sink itself--we'll have a different one in our next new house, etc., etc. The big girls, particularly Bug, are a little nervous about making new friends, but fears have been alleviated with conversations about how we made our current friends, how we'll get to see some old friends in our new location, and stories about my own moving and making friends experiences as a military brat. We've also talked about the excitement of new experiences even if they're not the things we would have preferred--like celebrating Goose's birthday and Christmas in hotels.

The Three Rs
We haven't completely abandoned formal lessons, but I'm certainly being a bit more lax about them as I try to get things done leading up to the move (while simultaneously trying to "take it easy" as I continue recovering). We've kept up most faithfully with reading lessons, and both Monkey and Bug continue improving their fluency. Monkey has had the ego boost of already knowing all the new sounds as the book introduces them, and I've been impressed with how much of her lessons she can read the fast way (without sounding the words out aloud). Bug is rapidly gaining confidence in reading things other than her textbook: she spent a long time picking out individual words from a Clubhouse magazine, she sat down in the library and actually read the first several pages of a relatively unfamiliar Elephant and Piggie book (I think we checked it out once months ago), and she even volunteered to read a Bible verse out loud for their class at church!

For math, Monkey and Bug alternate between using their workbooks and using the cards I made to work on their addition. While we actually haven't done any formal lessons on it recently, they've also been sorting out telling time. In fact, since the time change, I've unplugged the orange light, and Bug has put herself in charge of letting her sisters know when it's past 7 a.m. and therefore an acceptable time to get up. Monkey and Bug have also been teaching Goose how to count up to 20. She knows up to 12 by herself, but the teens are challenging for some reason.

Hmmm. . . confession: I think I've only pulled out the composition books once for writing lessons since my surgery. So, I guess I only have two Rs to report on this go round.

Christmas dresses! We realized today might be the last time we
get to go to church before Christmas Eve, so the girls wore their
Christmas dresses to church today. They were SO excited!