May the 4th be With You!

I am VERY HAPPY to announce that Chris made it home from Afghanistan on May 4th!  When he walked in we were of course celebrating May the 4th by watching a Star Was Movie (May the 4th Be With You!) and the girls all squealed and ran to their Dad when they saw him come in the door.  (Yes, I was one of those girls.)  The most amazing part of him coming home this time has been how natural it has seemed, just like he was coming home from work and had never been gone.  Our family feels complete once again, and I am loving it!

Analise's obsession with facial hair continues.  Here she is with her homemade tape mustache, showing that she has more facial hair than her dad.  This was the last time we skyped with Chris before he came home.

You would think that by the time I got to Deployment #6 I would be a pro, that I'd have it all figured out, right?  How could there possibly be more to learn?  Well, at about Deployment #3 I learned that each deployment is unique - kids are different ages, you have more kids than you did the last time, your support system is different, the amount of communication you will have with your hubby is different, etc.  And while there are a few tricks of the trade that I was able to call upon from past experience, there is always, always, more to learn.

So, new things I learned this time around?  First of all, I learned that you can plan your day all you want, but things will never, never, go as planned.  Take for instance a couple of Saturday's ago when I had a nice day planned, never suspecting that Kate would decide to play with the vacuum cleaner - vacuuming her hair, face, and eventually her Cran-apple drink on the table that would lead to a two hour clean up episode for me!  Who would ever suspect something from an angelic face like that?!?

I've also learned that having your husband come home from a deployment is like having a baby - about a month or two before he gets home I start "nesting" - wanting to sort through everything and dejunk the house.  Aly got on board and went through her whole room.  Here is her re-done closet and it looks awesome!  We finished Analise's room and started on the toy room.  More work needs to be done but we're taking it a small chunk at a time. 

Wow, do we have an extra child in this picture?  Kylie did a cut out of herself as a recent preschool project, so we decided to have "Flat Kylie" waiting at the door to welcome Dad home.  I think it added a great effect!

I've also learned that Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for.  The things I was worried about for them and the deployment seemed to be a non-issue.  Meanwhile, they were easily able to probe out my weaknesses and take advantage of them at times. ;)

 

The biggest lesson I've learned during this deployment is about the power of Gratitude.  Gratitude is Faith and Hope in action.  It is choosing to look beyond the darkness and trials in this life to see the goodness of eternity and beauty of the moment that is all around if I will just take the time to see it.  I kept a gratitude journal of sorts during this deployment and I was amazed at how it opened my eyes to the beauty of God's creations, the wonder of raising children, the selflessness of others, and the Lord's tender mercies in my life.  There were some days when all I could think of to be grateful for was that tomorrow was a new day to try again.  But even that is choosing faith - faith in the power of the atonement that allows us second chances, to pick ourselves up and try again.  I am so grateful to see the Lord's hand in my life, to know that He loves me and that He is keenly aware of me and my family - and blesses me more abundantly than I ever had supposed. 

 

 

And finally I need to say thank you to all the many friends and family that have served and loved us through this deployment.  I had an awesome support system who become indispensable when my hubby was gone.  I couldn't do it without them.  THANK YOU!!!  That being said, however, there is nothing, nothing, that can take the place of having your husband home.  Hooray for making it to the finish line of another deployment.  Now on to the start enjoying BEING TOGETHER!!!