...freezes time.
Brian returned to the States in the early morning hours on Monday, December 20th. He left for Afghanistan May 21st, so it had been almost 7 months to the day. They returned a couple days late due to weather and other issues, but in the meantime, they enjoyed food and drink in Sicily. Now he is home before Christmas...and what a gift he is. We are so incredibly happy, and that is an understatement. :)
As soon as he heard Dad's voice, he was running
Maddy and Chris, me and Brian, Matt and Tricia
Mommy, where is he?! Any minute now, Cade...
Just a little more lip gloss
As our homecoming day approached, it all seemed surreal. When you spend that much time apart, what you view as normal life unfortunately becomes jaded. I literally got nervous about seeing my husband of 6 years! The "newness" is part of the fun though, part of the reward. I wish I could describe the feeling of seeing him for the first time. It absolutely made my heart soar. I stared at him for a good 24 hours straight, literally in complete awe. It's like I fell in love all over again. It is amazing. :)
Sticker countdown, mission complete!
The sign out front made me giddy...and so did my newly raked yard. I ROCK.
Brian's family welcomed him home, even from afar
We went to a celebratory lunch with Tricia the day before...soooo pumped!
Coloring pics for Daddy's signs
Manly signs for our Marines, complete with ribbon, bows, and bells
Caden understood and was absolutely ecstatic. One morning the week preceding his return, he threw his arms around me and squeeze me tight. "Mommy, thank you for bringing my Daddy home." It made me melt.
When we read stories at night, I'd remind him of how many more times he'd have to go to preschool before Daddy came home. Then he caught onto the game. He has developed a strange sense of humor and started teasing me that Daddy wasn't really coming home that soon. "Mommy, Daddy comes home in...THREE WEEKS." I'd say, NOOOOOOOO he certainly does not; he comes home in THREE DAYS. But he'd keep saying it. He kept increasing the time as well, which I was NOT keen on. I threatened to rename him Lohan and mail him to Switzerland if he kept it up. That just riled him up more. :)
Cole did not grasp the reality of homecoming, but he certainly knows his Dad. He showed some shyness at first, but I would attribute that to the cold weather. It was sub-30 when we picked up Brian at 4am and Cole was not particularly interested in a reunion. He just wanted to be back in the warm vehicle, cuddling with his blankets and watching Milo and Otis. Once back home, they got reacquainted. He wanted Brian to snuggle with him and they played games, tickled, and wrestled. Brian loves his little man, and that love is undoubtedly returned.
What a snuggle bug
Playing games at supper
Caden is adjusting well, but we are going to have to be careful. Brian and I teased each other at one point that first day and Caden burst into tears. I guess he thought we were mad at each other? We had to explain that Mommy and Daddy love each other and we were only kidding. Whoops.
Although it's only been 2 days, Brian had to return to work today for some briefings before he takes leave. Last night, Caden threw a huge fit resisting bed time and we weren't sure why. We finally got it out of him that he thought Brian was going back to Afghanistan. Simply heartbreaking. But who can blame him...that's what "work" was for the past 7 months. After some gentle persuasion and more reassurance this morning, he's doing just fine.
There's still so much to talk about and catch up on, but mostly we're just enjoying being together. The kids want every second of Brian's attention. Instead of bullets whizzing by his head, he's dodging pieces of waffle and matchbox cars. He's not sure which is more challenging. They have already gotten into plenty of wrestling matches and games of tag.
Airplane rides
Story time
One thing I have already asked Brian about is what he thought of the deployment overall. His response was rather mediocre. They certainly completed A LOT of missions and apprehended targets, but it wasn't what he envisioned. The politics and limitations were frustrating. But, he was very proud of his team and has been getting amazing feedback regarding their performance. He has all kinds of stories that I'm sure you will all be interested to hear. I'm curious myself, but then after I hear stories and see pictures, I realize maybe I don't really need to know all this. You know, so I can continue to sleep at night. (And man, I'm sleeping so awesome now!)
The bottom line is he IS home, and we are so thankful. He's extremely relieved to be back home too. Life feels real again, rich and wonderful. We're spending Christmas here, and just enjoying some peace and quiet. I baked a million cookies (and have ate at least half already) and we have Christmas music and movies playing 24/7. Brian is doing some shopping with Caden tomorrow (gee, wonder why) and we're going on a shopping date tomorrow night.
A toast to our first night back together
Soooo good to be kissed
After Christmas, we will fly to Iowa to celebrate New Year's and stay through January 16th. We hope we get to see you!!! I know that Brian's family is planning an open house on Saturday, January 8th. Pam will send out details soon.
Homecoming prep consumed most of my time as of late, but we kept up with our normal busy schedule of preschool, Stroller Warriors and other activities.
I ran my last race of the year, the Merry Fitness 5K, and finished 2nd overall female with a time of 22:36 (7:16 pace). We ran in freezing rain and it took me hours to warm up. I caught myself wondering why it was necessary to get in this one last race in DECEMBER?! It's too flippin' cold. None-the-less, I had not run a 5K without a stroller in a while, so I enjoyed the freedom and the competition. A 10-year-old boy beat me. That sorta made me feel old.
The drowned Santa gathers her award
Stroller Warriors
Jenn's BRILLIANT idea...wine and pie
Jenn's STUPID idea...40-degree 40-mile bike ride
After my last race, I didn't have anything planned to keep me busy until Brian came home. (Yeah, as if December holiday prep isn't enough "busy" in itself. Sheesh.) Cole and I leisurely shopped one day during preschool and stumbled across "the" shower curtain. Brian despised ours from the day I bought it, and everything about our master bath makes me cringe. The previous owners did a sloppy job painting and the entire room needed redone, ceilings and all.
So, I walked out of BB&B with a new shower curtain in hand and "the vision." Down to Target, back to BB&B, then to Lowes. Towels, rugs, accessories, hardware, 3 colors of paint...WHOA. What just happened?! This was a new kind of race...the race to finish the disasterous project before Brian returned! Two weeks isn't much time to makeover a room with 2 kids underfoot. But I worked every opportunity I had and the boys were rock stars. I was really excited to reveal the surprise to Brian. So, here's another episode of Geraghty HGTV...
Before and after
Vast improvement!
I think it turned out really well, especially the repainted vanity. The standard yellow oak contractor wood is not my fav.
Caden had his first Christmas concert this month but did not actually participate because he was a bit scared. As far as he was concerned, the cookie social afterwards was the only part that counted anyway.
Supervising
Maybe I can I Photoshop him into the back row
Supervisors get extra cookies
We visited Santa at the MARSOC Christmas party on Saturday, Dec 11th. Santa rode in on a fire truck...WOW. Caden was absolutely enthralled and followed Santa around like a puppy upon arrival. Caden asked for an airport and an airplane and whispered some other things I could not hear. Cole, on the other hand, thought Santa was some sort of criminal and did not ask for anything except a quick exit. We sat 20 seconds, shed 20 tears, and got 2 pictures. We'll take it.
Hi Santa!
Santa is pretty cool! From afar...
Caden: "Can I have an airplane? And an airport?"
Cole: "Can I have a body guard remove this bearded freak from the premisis?"
I like how our clothes all match
Thank God that torture with the bearded dude is over.
Caden, the ladies man, hangs with his preschool classmate Coco
He knows he's in trouble
Ooooo, what did Elf bring you? Letters from Santa?!
Everyone, thanks again for all the support you've shown us this year. Deployments are a test of strength in so many ways. I think we did all right, but it would not have went as well without you.
And now I guess I'll answer the burning question EVERYONE asks..."So, is he home for good? Does he have to go again?" Yes, he will. He's in the military after all, and we're in this thing called a war. :) Hopefully just 1 more or so, either at the end of 2011, or spring of 2012. But please, let's not focus on that. Let's enjoy the here and now. We can worry about the next one later.
What you CAN focus on is praying for all our deployed military and their families that are apart over the holidays. We needed your prayers this year and now you can send the prayers to someone else. If you ever want to send a box to someone, we always know someone over there...just let me know.
Thank you for all your cards and holiday wishes. The photos adorn our pantry doors and we love looking at your smiling faces. Have a very Merry Christmas. We will certainly be counting our MANY blessings.
The Anderson's are counting their blessings...including their new baby girl! Welcome Esther Hawly (Dec 4) and congrats Daryl and Bobbi!
Our little blessings!
Caden is gritting his teeth and asking for his promised sucker.
Caden's best bud and neighbor, Jackson
Go fish!
Little monkeys
