He's Home!

Back in February, I was an emotional basket case for this reason...

SAN MATEO: Grieving Woman Joins National Guard, Prepares For...

Not that the woman's dad passed away but because my brother-in-law was deploying, too. We were expecting him to be gone a year. It stunk for many reasons but one of them being my niece was 10 months when he left and he'd miss a ton of changes.

When my sister surprised us with the news that he'd be home before his February date, we were all thrilled. When I got an e-mail the other day with the breakdown of events for his homecoming yesterday, I was even more excited. On my way to the Armory yesterday, the news had a brief clip about the soldiers coming home.  That's when the tears started flowing.  They were happy/grateful/relieved/proud tears and they've continued on into today.

As I turned onto the street of the Armory, I saw several neighbors standing in their front yards, trying to figure out what the commotion was all about.  It was the cheering and excitement of family members, welcoming the soldiers home.  I made it JUST.IN.TIME!

My sister was standing patiently, holding her sign she had made, when all of a sudden, her husband appeared behind her.  Everyone else could see him, except her.  The second she turned around and saw him, the tears started flowing again...for everyone.

We all ended up inside the Armory where the soldiers were welcomed home again.  I don't know who he was, but a gentleman, speaking to the families and friends, said, "We can do it for you, but we can't do it without you."  It brings tears to my eyes as I type it.

I was reading in Helaman 12 yesterday and it spoke about how people tend to believe and rely on God only when bad things happen.  I couldn't help but believe, rely, and thank Heavenly Father for the sweet homecoming.  My heart has been extremely full!

My sister deserves a medal.  When LaVor was gone for 2 weeks to Saudi Arabia, I had 10x more respect for her, being a single mom and having your husband halfway across the world, at war.  She's done an amazing job being all she can be (Army connection...ah ah ah) as a wife and mother.  I'm grateful he's home for her and for their daughter.

Christmas miracles do exist.