Operation: Love Reunited!

I am incredibly excited.

For one, my husband is home. Our family is together again.
For two, we're moved into our new home and we love it.
And three, I'm able to blog again.

The laptop is back at my fingertips, and I have so much to tell you. Trying to blog on an iPhone just doesn't work for me, so now I'm relieved to be back in the swing of things. These days, we stay incredibly busy - but busy in a good way - and we are having so much fun.

Now, which do I tell you about first? Our new home? Our day at Outerbanks? An update on Adalyn's growth? I think I'll start with the story of Mark's home coming.

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It was 9pm, and Adalyn was oddly not wanting to go to bed. So, Amanda and I decided to stick her in the car and drive to Norfolk and just wait.. in hopes that the car would put her to sleep, and all would be well.

And she did fall asleep. It worked like a charm, until I got her out of her car seat and into the Moby wrap. Eyes wide open.

What a little toot. For an hour, I swayed back and forth, patted her little bottom, sung to her, and freaked the heck out about my husband returning from deployment. Have you ever wanted to just throw up on the floor at the thought of seeing your husband? No? Oh.

Operation: Get Adalyn to Sleep finally worked, and she was as snug as a bug.

I, on the other hand, was a complete wreck! But 11:45 finally came. I watched Airman after Airman come out the door. I was so, so anxious, and my heart was racing. On my tippy toes, I tried to search for him and then I spotted a really tall guy walking super fast.

HIM!!

He smiled the biggest smile and came right to us. I hugged him immediately, and it was the best hug of my life.

I just stared at him and couldn't speak. I tried, and nothing came out. It was just like the movies, guys. I just couldn't do anything but stare at him.

And then we kissed. And then the tears came.

Of course, little Niblet was squashed in the middle, completely unaware that her daddy had just come home. But that didn't last long. By the time he said hello to her, a little eye popped open; of course she wanted to know what was going on!

We decided to get her out of the Moby, and Mark scooped her up. I was a smidge concerned about how she'd take things. She's a little weary of "strangers," and attached to her mama. And it was midnight. But you know what? My little toot went right to her daddy in perfect koala bear-fashion.

It was perfect. She went right to him. She was calm in his arms. She was comfortable with him. She loved him.

It was the perfect reunion. And just like that, the 6-month deployment to Qatar became nothing but a memory. We survived our first deployment, and I think we all did a darn good job.

On a side note, I took advantage of the Operation Love ReUnited program - which is where local photographers will photograph reunions for free!! It is completely awesome and we loved it. Cory Rachele Photography is responsible for these awesome photos, and we are so thankful for these wonderful memories.

So long, deployment!


[{Our reunion is actually on video, but I haven't uploaded it to the computer yet. Video footage coming soon to a blog near you!}]