MY BROTHER IS HOME!

My brother came home from his mission yesterday! He went to the New Jersey Cherry Hill Mission. We are so proud of him. It is so amazing that these 19 year old guys dedicate 2 years of their lives to go and serve the Lord. It is such a sacrifice, but I know that his life and our lives have been greatly blessed because of his service.

Two years is a strange amount of time... it seems like forever in some ways, but not so long in others. It seems like forever in the sense that Adam had never met the two babies, Halle and Maylee; Robert was just a little guy when he left and now he is a boy through and through; Cailin has changed a ton; updates have been made to the house that he wasn't around for... But it doesn't seem so long in the sense that Adam is still Adam! :) April and I hung around the house yesterday to spend time with him (and mom and dad) and everything was just like he never left. It is so stinkin' fun to have him around again! He hasn't changed a bit (although he is wiser and more mature ;). He is still easy going and way fun to be around. I AM SO HAPPY HE IS HOME!

The Reunion:

Adam's flight was supposed to get in at 9:07 in the morning, but my mom called the morning of to say it was coming in a few minutes early- 8:57am. That meant I had to leave the house at 8 AM. I didn't think that was such a big deal, hey I go to kickboxing at 8 am. But then I realized I am always late to kickboxing... So getting to the airport was no different. I got up early to shower and get ready, but obviously not early enough. I got Maylee ready and then packed the "bag" (I should have done this the night before). After getting everything together I looked at the clock- 8:10am. Not too bad, really. I went to put Maylee in the car seat and noticed a funky smell. Yup, it was coming from Maylee. So I quickly changed her diaper (well as fast as I can when she is trying to squirm all over the changing table) and then put her in the car seat. On my way out I saw the clock said 8:15. Yikes! I put my car in gear and began to head to the airport driving just under the speed where I could get a ticket. As I was making my way out of the neighborhood I looked over at my bag and noticed it didn't look as thick as it should... NO WALLET! NOOOO! So back I went to the house, grabbed the wallet, and got in the car like a mad woman. The clock in the car read 8:22. Thank heavens we are not too far from the airport. I drove like crazy to the airport in the carpool lane making sure to slow down for all those photo radars. I parked, took the elevator (that just had to stop on every level!), and ran to the gate. I MADE IT! I had my doubts as I was driving, and it sounds like my family did as well, but I made it with plenty of time to spare ;)! It did help that Adam was one of the last ones to get off the plane. It was a killer waiting as we saw tons of other people walk out of the gate, but thrilling when we saw 2 guys in suits and ties walking towards us! I am so happy I was there to see him arrive home. Such a surreal moment.

(we went out to eat after Adam arrived!)