Tuesday November 20, I got a call from Drew telling me I could pick him up from the airport that evening at 8:55pm. I knew that he was coming home, but really didn't have any idea when it would be. I was absolutely shocked and could hardly think straight all day.
Because of the complications with the pregnancy, some really great people pulled some strings and made this possible. The rest of his unit will be home shortly. It has been such a long, hard year but the minute that I saw my soldier walk out of that airport terminal... everything seemed okay, and every worry that I had disappeared.
I was curious how Max would respond to Daddy Drew being home. I knew he would either be shy and stand-off-ish, or he would be beyond excited and not let him out of his sight. I am happy to say that he wasn't shy at all. He didn't even wait for him to come to us, Max ran straight to him as soon as he saw him. He jumped into his arms and didn't want to let go of him.
I was so emotional that I didn't even have words. All I could do was stare at him, and kiss him, and breathe a giant sigh of relief that this was all over. It was the greatest feeling in the world to be able to hold both him and Max in my arms, and to have us all together as a family.
Max was super excited about the signs that we made. Too bad he is hiding behind his.
Waiting, waiting, waiting for him to walk out of the terminal. I was so afraid that I was going to miss him, that I sent him a text and told him he couldn't come out yet. I may have forgotten to text him back and tell him it was okay to come out though, so we waited for what seemed like forever.
He's HOME!!!
Max had to hug him first, and then he made sure he lead Dad right to Mom.
Hugging both of my boys
After he said hello to me and Max, he told me he had one more person he needed to say hello to...I lost it! I never thought that he would see me pregnant or feel our child move/kick.
Brian even managed to get the time off work to be there!
Alex was able to make it too.
My family was there
and both sides of his family.
And then we couldn't let go of each other :)
Here's the awesome sign we made for Uncle Brian to hold.
Max wanted to help with dad's bags, and get the heck out of there! He wanted to take dad home, and boy did he have a mouthful of stories to tell him on the way.
Drew was so shocked to see the baby belly and to feel him move, that he didn't want to take his hands off of it.
We would like to thank those of you who have been there to support us through this journey. It's times like these that you find out who really is there for you, no matter what. My family, especially my mom, have been amazing. I have some of the best friends Rachel, Gina, and Shannon who have been there for me, no matter what time it is. My fellow army wives who have kept me going when I thought that I couldn't. They have become some of my dearest friends throughout this deployment, and I am so greatful for all of those friendships that I have made. And sweet little Max, who has kept me busy and happy and laughing no matter what. He has shown his mommy so much love and taken such good care of me.
But most importantly, I would like to thank my husband. He was so far away, and yet he always knew what I needed from him, sometimes even before I did. He is a strong man, a loving husband, an honorable soldier, and the best father to our children that I could ever hope for. If we can make it though our first year of marriage being 7,200 miles apart, I have no doubt that we can make it through anything life has to throw at us. I love you baby!
No comments:
Post a Comment