To say that today was a big day for us is an understatement. I woke up bright and early, mostly
because I had a hard time sleeping. It felt like the most amazing Christmas Eve last night. I was filled with so much anticipation, it was hard for me to get my mind to shut off. I knew that I would be waking up and at around 11, we would be able to see Nick's plane landing and he would soon be ours again! After getting up and showering as quietly as possible. I wanted Archer to sleep as long as he could. One, because I needed the time to make myself as glamorous as possible and two, I needed him to be in as good a mood as was possible for his reunion with his daddy. I had the hardest time straightening my hair and putting on my makeup. My hands were shaky and I just couldn't stand still. Archer woke up right at 8:30 which gave me plenty of time, even with all the fidgeting and jittering I was doing. I quickly gave him breakfast and dressed him in the deployment survival shirt I made him:
We got into the car at about 10:15. We were supposed to be in the hangar at 11. The hangar is only about 5 minutes from the house since we live on base. BUT, since the anticipation was killing me, I figured it would be okay if we headed over there. I knew other families would be there eagerly awaiting their loved ones return. To me, it seemed a lot easier to wait with a group and chit chat to pass the time. Once we got to the hanger, it seemed like FOREVER and then we looked and finally saw this:
This is Nick's plane as it taxied towards us. If you could zoom in, you could see Nick through the window. He brought him and his crew safely home. To say I was proud is not even a strong enough statement. As I saw one of his fellow crew members sticking out of the top of the plane with a flag, the tears started flowing. I knew right then that the four month sacrifice Archer and I had made was worth it. I knew that Nick being gone was so much more than that. The job that he and his crew had done to help in the fight for our freedom was so important, I knew that us not having him for four months was just a small sacrifice in comparison to the sacrifice of so many. Archer and I eagerly waited for the plane to stop and to be given the go ahead to greet them as they came off the plane. Here is Archer, reuniting with his daddy-man:
I know you will hear some sniffling in the video, and that is my wonderful friend Sara-Jo. She did us the most amazing favor and caught my boys reuniting on video. I will cherish this forever, and she probably will never realize just what it meant to me for her to capture this. I am sorry this blog was a little wordy. I will leave you with a few more pictures from the day:
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