Finally Together Again!

It was a long wait, but we are finally back together again! Joe got home last Friday from a 6 month deployment in Qatar. We were able to talk on the phone everyday while he was there and then every Thursday on his day off, do video chat on the internet. This helped relieve the distance, but was of course not the same. The kids liked talking to their daddy on the phone. Nolan especially loved it when the computer and phone would talk to him directly! His smile would be ear to ear when his daddy would talk to him!

The week before Joe got home I ran around like crazy getting last minute things done around the house. I did some deep cleaning and found some pretty scary things! I wanted to be sure the house looked nice so that Joe didn't want to leave as soon as he walked in the door! I'm just kidding. Im sure it could have been a complete disaster and he would still want to stay. I guess it was part of my process to prepare for his return. I didn't want him to think I lived like a slob! ...haha! He soon learned and even mentioned something about how he had observed that it's impossible to keep things picked up with the kids constantly making messes! Whew! Now I am off the hook when things aren't always in order! We (me and Lauren) also made welcome home signs! Nolan is much too young to help with such an already messy project! ...we put him to bed and then did the project! We made a sign out of posterboard to welcome him off the plane, and then a few others for when he got home. We also hung a large vinyl sign outside the house to welcome him when we pulled into the driveway. It was so windy though that day that the sign got blown off the house and was dangling to where he couldn't see it! Bummer! Oh well, I tried!....nothing ever works out perfectly! He kindly reached his long arms up and fixed it for me! Before, I needed a ladder to hang it. I now have my built in ladder back! It's great!

Moving back to the airport. We were running a little behind as always. I strapped the kids in the stroller and walked as fast as I could to the terminal. I didn't want to miss him coming off his plane. Im sure there is no worse feeling than coming off the plane from a long deployment to have nobody there to greet you! Luckily his plane was running about 15 min. behind. That gave us time to take a potty break and to get to the correct gate. It seemed like forever for him to get off the plane. Me and Lauren both held his sign together while Nolan chilled in the stroller. When he walked out, Lauren hesitated for about 2 seconds and then ran to him yelling, "Daddy!" It was so precious! Nolan really didn't know what to think. He wasn't feeling well that day (teething), but he warmed up quickly.

We stopped for lunch on the way home and then spent the rest of the day taking it easy and playing games together. I could not get a second alone with my husband! Lauren wanted to be right in the middle of us the whole time! Luckily for us, she likes the computer! Daddy lured her in with a movie he brought up on netflix instant play! Lauren did have her dress rehearsal for her dance recital that evening, but daddy and Nolan took naps while me and Lauren went. Joe has done a really good job getting back into the U.S. sleep routine! He gets tired about the same time everyday (2pmish), but always sticks it out so he will be tired when it's time for bed at 10.

We really have gotten along pretty well since he got home. Some minor misunderstandings, but nothing that wasn't resolved quickly. I probably caused the most tension last night when we were trying to get a family picture for our Christmas cards! Lets just say I was less than patient while trying to get the "perfect shot!" I learned there is no such thing! Joe was very tolerant with my moodiness! I did not deserve it! I love the extra hands and the companionship with him being back. The kids you can tell love having both their parents together. They are already really happy kids, but with Joe home, we are complete!