Reunited Part II

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home..."

Can I just say that this is my very favorite picture!?

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Okay, now that I've said that let's get to the details!

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I came home from Oklahoma on a Saturday to my girls both being sick. Claire had thrown up twice at my in-law's while I was gone and Brielle threw up the next morning...4 times in 2 hours. Needless to say that added to my already feeling very sad and longing SO badly to be with Marty again.

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Thankfully a couple days later we found out Marty was going to be able to come home for 6 days of leave! It was all I needed to keep me going.

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Marty flew in on Thursday afternoon and stayed until the following Wednesday afternoon (missing my big ultrasound appointment by about 2 hours...bummer).

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Me and the girls were anxious all morning watching the clock, cleaning and decorating to keep us busy waiting for when we could go pick Marty up. When the time came we couldn't run to the car fast enough.

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We got there a couple minutes early (I couldn't wait any longer!) and were parked in the "park and wait" lot. Marty thinks he's funny (okay, usually he is) and decided to text me saying that there had been engine troubles and they were stuck in Denver. I almost started crying and was halfway through a text asking how long they were going to be and should I just go home etc. when he sent another simply saying "Just kidding". What a bum.

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When we pulled up to the curb I was SO glad to see him but obviously knew that this reunion was going to be mostly about the girls. I jumped out and hugged him and suggested he ride in the back of the car with the girls. We opened the door and both girls just burst in to laughing and screaming at the sight of their daddy. He climbed in and mauled them both with as much love as you can give to kids strapped in car seats. He sat in the back and the entire way home all I heard was laughing and screaming...even from Marty.

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We stopped at home to show him the wonderful poster Brielle had made for him (sorry, no picture) and the "presents" she had gotten - his favorite soda, some M&M's and some army balloons...I let her choose everything which she loved.

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Marty had told his mom that he was going to be coming in late at night rather than when we had originally planned thanks to some complications with getting the final signature on his leave papers...there really were complications and there really was a chance he was going to have to delay his flight, so it wasn't REALLY a full on lie. So we went up to his parent's and he snuck quietly on his hands and knees across the floor next to the couch she was on and popped up at her while me and the girls hid out of her sight. He was very proud of how much he surprised her, I don't think she could have reacted any better. :)

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After surprising his mom and visiting with some of his family for a little while we went back home to do some hanging out. Marty was gracious enough to bring home all his dirty laundry to do while he was home...so considerate. :) He started unpacking and the girls were instantly curious about his AWESOME army glasses, so they tried them on.

Pretty stylish huh?

For the 24th of July we participated in the annual Ridges 24th of July water party celebration, which is always a BLAST and was made even more fun by having Marty around.

The rest of the 6 days went far too fast and was over before we knew it. There was swimming, bbq's, playing games, laughing, eating, playing, relaxing etc. It was absolutely fantastic. The girls were in heaven with daddy being home, to the point that Claire would even cry if he went to the bathroom and was out of her sight for even a moment.

Brielle may have broken his heart the morning of his departure by telling him, "You can't leave! I don't want you to be a soldier anymore, you can't live in Texas, you have to live here with us, you're our daddy!" Claire overheard that and added in, "No, not Texas daddy, you're my daddy!" That's the first time either of them had begged him to stay...even army strong isn't strong enough to handle those kind of things.

After getting back in to his uniform and a very quiet morning (me and him both get quiet when we're anxious/sad/nervous) it was off to the airport to say goodbye again. The girls both said goodbye easily and only asked a couple times on the way back home why daddy was staying at the airport. I may not have taken it quite so well...but I did compose myself before we got all the way home.

This goodbye wasn't quite as painful as the last two because I KNOW that I can move to Texas when I want. It's in my hands now. The waiting list for military housing is about 9 months and with us being there only a year, it's not worth it. So now it's up to me to find somewhere to live, whether that be a little apartment or a little house I'm not sure. I'll be working on that and we hope to be reunited within a month.

We're excited, nervous, anxious and a little scared about the path ahead of us, but ready to get going with the rest of our lives!