Our Kilbride World: The Reunion!

It was a day that we had all been waiting for, and then it just kind of snuck up on all of us! Bryan had to fly to Washington DC with his boss for some meetings during the last week of June. From there he was going to be able to come hoe to us on July 10 or 11 once the meetings were done and the rest of the group returned to Iraq. Well, in the Army world nothing is ever set in stone, I think it's just another way that God likes to get a god laugh at us making plans. The trip to DC was cut short and Bryan was able to come home to us much earlier...July 1!!

Luckily, Rory and I had made plans to do our outdoor decorating for the 4th of July and she had said that she wanted to put up the banner that we had made for Daddy. I had tried to talk her out of it by telling her that while Daddy would be home soon it was going to be a week AFTER the 4th of July, and did she really want it up that early. Well, if you know Rory she can rationalize anything, so she said "But the sign has red white and blue on it, so I think we should put it up anyway, Daddy will love it." So I put it up, not really happy about it, because I wasn't that excited about getting questions from the neighborhood about when he was coming home, but I would take those questions over having to live with a disappointed 6 year old who can be rather moody about things. So up it went, and it was that night that Bryan called with the news of his early arrival, I swear Rory has some weird fortune teller thing going on.

So these were our decorations:

I had made a last minute phone call to our babysitter Angela, to see if she would be able to come over and stay with the kids while I made an undercover get away to pick up Bryan from the airport. Now, I know you might be wondering why the heck wouldn't I just take the kids with me? Well, here it is. As wonderful as it is to see those reunions of soldiers and their families on the news (and in person) Bryan isn't much for it. The times that he has come home as part of the Welcome Home ceremonies, we have always been the first ones out of the gym and in the car on the way home. It's just a way of leaving all that stuff that you had been with for a year and getting home to ones that you have missed for a year, it's a way to claim things back.

Anyway, Angela was able to come over with the understanding that the kids, and by kids I mean Rory, knew that I was going to go and do some errands by myself because it would be faster, and because Mommy just needed some quiet time. Well, my cover was just about blown when I came out in a nice shirt, necklace, earrings, cute black peep toe shoes and a new little purse. Rory quickly remarked, "Mommy, that's a fancy necklace and purse for just doing errands." Nice...caught by a far too observant 6 year old, either that or I just look like a slob everyday! (For the record, I believe that she's just too observant.) I quickly made up a little white lie about maybe meeting a friend and going to dinner...God forgive me.

After I ran out of the house feeling a little bad that I had just lied, off I went to pick up Bryan. I don't know why, but I was super early, so I was pacing at the gate, waiting, waiting, and waiting, until the big board finally changed Bryan's flight status to "LANDED". It was at that exact moment that my heart started racing and the butterflies where doing laps in my stomach, I had a lump in my throat and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. Blink them back, Blink them back, I said to myself, no need to make a scene before I even see him.

It was just a few short minutes later that I saw the one thing I had been waiting for for almost a year, that man to be home for good! We locked eyes and my tears released all the tears that I had been holding in for those 11 months. Well, not all of them, because if that was the case then I'm pretty sure we would still be there in that exact spot in the Kansas City Airport, akward! Anyway, it was all of my fears and stress letting go and it's amazing how one look and one hug from that person can push all of those feelings away.

Bryan collected all of the bags from the baggage carousel and off we went to start to journey home to our three favorite people!

I pulled the car in the garage, left Bryan there so I could send Angela on her way and then give the kids the surprise they had no idea that was coming!