Derek finally got to board a plane to leave Bagram. On one of the flights he flew with liquid oxygen. Makes you feel safe.
Starting his very long journey home that would take almost 2 weeks.
If you have to be stuck in Germany on your way home for about a week you should probably enjoy it while you can and visit good friends, so that is exactly what Derek did.
After eating cafeteria food for almost 7 months I'm certain the German food was heaven sent. Especially for a boy who loves European food.
May 9th couldn't come fast enough for us!
While Derek was in Germany looking at cool sites like this...
We were home trying to keep busy not so patiently waiting for him.
Electric circuit boards only kept them busy for like an hour.
Eden gave a talk in primary.
And then we had an epic Cinco de Mayo party up at the Pinkston's.
Connor had a fun play date with my friend Kaycee and they had a fun photo shoot.
The kids started swim team, which was a good distraction the last days before Derek got home!
The very next day was May 9th. Frantically I prepared the house while the kids were at school. The day of arrival FINALLY was here!
I LOVE my neighbors. Our sweet neighbors the Cochet's hung yellow ribbons around our yard with flags to welcome Derek home. I hung a welcome home banner! The grass was finally growing!
The children helped to decorate signs for the airport!
These incredible friends came and helped me clean my house from top to bottom, so it would be perfect for when he got home. It was the one thing I just really wanted done so I wouldn't have to focus on it for a while once he was HOME.
Then, we left super early for the airport. By the time Derek was in Dallas we were on our way to the airport. The problem was that even though he was delayed in previous flights I didn't imagine a normal airlines flight getting delayed and that was exactly what happened. His flight just kept getting pushed back and we were way too early at the airport with 4 kids.
Thanks to Heidi, and Jamie, and Julie they kept us company and we all went to chick-fil-a for dinner and to kill time.
I cannot express my gratitude enough for all of the help our family received while Derek was away. Both Heavenly angels and earthly angels. We were so very blessed and well taken care of.
Especially at the very end when it seemed like our miracle was so close to being home and those few hours at the airport dragged on forever, our sweet family stuck with us, and helped me with the kids, and kept our spirits up.
Karate chop games to entertain, and the saddest sad face ever.
When they announced Derek's flight had landed all the kids just sat down. They watched just about everyone from the plane come down those escalators, and they didn't budge until they saw their Dad!
It was almost 10 minutes and not one of them moved. It was the sweetest thing I have seen in a long time. They were so ready to see their Dad.
And the end result was worth the wait!
They wouldn't let him away for even a second. He was home!
Everyone was smiling, it was finally our turn!
Poor Connor went to the bathroom, but missed by a lot and went all over his pants... It didn't stop him from seeing his Dad, or stop Dad from holding him wet pants and all.
The dogs went absolutely nuts when Derek got home. I'm pretty sure Odin missed him just as much as the kids did.
The day ended perfect with Dad putting his boy to bed after 7 months. Life is SO good.
And yes, I cried like a baby.
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