shout it from the mountain tops.

Craig is home!

I was squealing

 After almost two very long months and several weeks of no communication (painful painful several weeks) he has come back from his first deployment. and I could not be more thrilled! I was more nervous when he was getting off the boat than I was on our wedding day! He finally got home last night in time for dinner and it was nothing short of heaven. It was warm enough that we got to play with Nimitz in the backyard and enjoy wine and homemade pasta. You don't understand how much you miss hearing someone's voice and big bear hugs until they come back. And all those wonderful little quirks that make them yours (Craig has a booty shake while he eats ice cream. it. is. adorable.) He laughed that I had only eaten junk food and had a freezer full of ice cream while I was in Washington. He had to go to work this morning; I tried really hard to let him sleep but I may have been too excited and ended up staying awake most of the night (fine, all night)because I couldn't believe that he was home and I was afraid if I fell asleep he wouldn't be there when I woke up. Nothing was better than the feeling when I went to anxiously check my email  out of habit to realize that I could pick up the phone and call him! I am crazy in love with this boy and I am amazingly happy at this very moment.

right after he walked into our unpacked and CLEAN
house for the first time

I hold a new appreciation for the many families (including my own, but my wonderful grandparents and mother made my dad being gone so much easier for us growing up) that I know that have done deployments for an entire military career. I admire their strength and courage so much more now and I have done a fraction of what they have done. My mom once evacuated twin infants and a toddler with legs in casts out of Saudi Arabia at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm and Mommas One and Two did it with 2 and 3 kids respectively. Thank you to all my family and friends who came to visit me and called to see how I was doing while he was gone. You are the reason Craig knew that I would be ok and incredibly loved while he was gone, and you know what.... he was right!

P.S. Nimitz looked like we had given him steak for dinner when Craig walked through the front door. and next thing I know those two were on the ground wrestling. Nimitz only gained about 20 lbs since Craig last saw him. Nimitz was less than thrilled when he realized it meant that he was kicked out of the bed