Josh's Homecoming!

Sorry this took so long to post!  We have been soaking up every minute of "togetherness," and computer time is very rare for me these days.  Josh's homecoming ceremony was at 4:30 AM, the morning of Christmas Eve.  I had to wake the boys around 2:15 AM, which made for an interesting and very early morning, but there were no complaints from me!  How could you complain when you are going to pick up your soldier who has been gone for a very long year, and who has endured more sleepless nights than you could ever even imagine?!  Josh's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and their girls came down for the ceremony as well.  I got maybe an hour of sleep that night...I was so stinking excited, nervous, anxious, all rolled into one.  It's hard to explain the emotions that are running through your body while you are at the ceremony, waiting to see your soldier and bring him home.  You are so excited to see him again, but you are also feeling a strong sense of relief and joy that he is home safely, along with an overwhelming sense of sadness for those who aren't coming home into the welcoming, loving arms of family.  It really is indescribable, and only those who have experienced a family member coming home from a war-torn country can understand.  We arrived at the ceremony around 3:00 AM and waited for about an hour and a half for the soldiers to be "revealed."  The soldiers lined up in formation behind a curtain, where we couldn't see them, and they started playing "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)" by Toby Keith.  As the song played, the curtain rose very slowly to reveal the brave men and women who sacrificed so much for us...and you just cried and cheered for them until they were released to find their families.  The entire ceremony only took about 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity waiting to finally be reunited with your soldier!  Josh found us (not sure how he could have missed us with our sparkly, light-up posters with his name on them, lol) and gave me the best hug and kiss that I had ever received in my life, then hugged everyone else who had come to welcome him home.  It was an awesome, emotional moment that I will never forget!  My awesome friend, Olivia, and her family, were nice enough to come and take pictures for me (despite it being 4:30 AM), so I got some good ones of us reuniting.  Thanks, Olivia!  Here they are:

My glittery poster, including light up stars, so Josh wouldn't miss us! :-)

The Fam

The soldiers were lining up at this point, and the curtain was about to rise.

Curtain all the way up...we were trying to find Josh, but he was in the very back...we couldn't see him, but knew he was in there somewhere!

The first hug

Together again!  So happy! :-)

Caellum and Ty were such troopers despite being woken in the middle of a deep sleep!  They were both so happy for Daddy to finally be home!

Back at home, cuddling with Daddy, about to crash!

We are so incredibly blessed to have him home.  To God goes all the glory!!!  It is definitely a time of transition, and readjustment for all of us, but we are doing very good so far.  Josh has leave soon, and we have some exciting things planned that we are really looking forward to!  I will try to keep you posted! :-)