It's finally over

I can't believe it.  As I sit here printing off things for the church, I'm making a list of the last minute things to do before we leave for our trip to Wisconsin.  It's finally happening.  We're picking up our husband and daddy.  It's not just a dream anymore and it's not something that's months or weeks away.  It's really HERE.  We made it the full year!

I'm not going to lie and say, "Oh it was SO much easier than I thought it would be."  In some respects, it truly was easier, but in others, I wasn't sure any of us would make it through unscathed.  We had our faith, our trust, and in some respects the very essence of our marriage stretched, tried and bent, but we came out with only fading scars.

My sweet brother in law took his two oldest kids and met Jeff at the airfield when he landed yesterday.  He sent me pictures from the event and I have to say, my heart smiled even as tears poured from my eyes when Kamden saw the pictures and yelled, "OH DADDAH!!!!" and started running around the room clapping and dancing.  Our biggest fear at the beginning of all of this was that he might not remember who Jeff was when he got back...and he remembers.  He remembers and he's EXCITED. 

It kills me that I wasn't able to be there in person to hold him when he walked off the plane, but my entire body heaved a sigh of relief knowing he was back here.  He was safe.  God had kept his promise to us and Jeff came home to me and wasn't harmed in any way while he was away. 

He had some near misses, but now I see them as God allowing us to see first hand that he was keeping his word to us.  We had to go through this deployment for a lot of reasons...(and here come my tears, but still with a smile on my face!)

• It's Jeff's job.  That's the answer he'd give anyone.  His job or not, I'm darn proud.
• We needed to know we could literally make it through anything as a family.  In my eyes, if we can make it through a year apart relying solely on lines of communication being open at all times to keep the bond strong, we can do anything.
• Most importantly, we had to endure this so that God could stretch us.  Many things can stretch our faith muscle, but nothing like being separated from your family, hearing of the trials, illnesses, etc. that they are going through, and knowing ALL you can do is pray.  To know that he was in a zone that was called "safe" but we found out was at times anything BUT safe, but that God had promised us before he ever stepped foot onto the desert that he would come home again and he would be a witness while he was there. 

Also...I think that this time of our lives was meant to stretch the faith of our friends and family.  So many of you and many others who will never read these words have prayed for, encouraged and supported our family.  I believe that had it not been for the prayers of people like you, we wouldn't have made it to this point.  Thank you.

As we enter into a brand new phase of our marriage and our life as a family, I can't wait to share with you all the joys, sorrows, challenges and triumphs that I know are coming our way!