Remembering...

Yesterday was Fathers Day and it was a special one for us for two reasons: Steve was home to spend it with us, and my father spent it on a plane on his way to come and see us. Both reasons made it an exciting day for our family.

Being part of a military family is hard everyday, but especially hard around holidays. Often, loved ones are far away and we have to spend our holiday time without them.

Just last night, Steve commented about how he didn't remember any of our other kids being as difficult to get to go to sleep at 3 years old as Delilah is. Tory, our 15 year old, and I both laughed and reminded him he wasn't around when any of other kids were three. Or when they started Kindergarten. Or for the first birthday of three of our four kids. He was deployed for each of them.

For a long time, I worried that our kids wouldn't remember Daddy or Pop Pop or Grammy and Mick after being apart from them for so long. Months or even more than a year would go by without them seeing us, yet somehow our kids remember them. And for this I am thankful. I couldn't have picked a better daddy for myself or for my kids. So on this Father's Day, I am so thankful to have both of the Daddies in my life here with me... :)

Want to see how much life changes during a year-long deployment (that stretched in 14 months)...

Leaving for Afghanistan

In the beginning, we had no idea we would need to add almost 60 days to our original total

 Visiting with Daddy

Daddy's empty parking space

Nighttime with Daddy

Jackson talking to Daddy before his first day of school

Delilah's first birthday

Our Christmas card photo

Christmas Day

Video that Steve made for the kids of himself reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas"--a holiday tradition of ours.  It literally arrived at 6:30 at night on Christmas Eve.  I cried when the mailman brought it...

The video...

Bribing her with ice cream on R&R just so she'd let him hold her

And her remembering....

 Our family waiting for Steve's plane to land...

Steve's boss was holding Delilah when she saw him march in with his soldiers.  I LOVE this picture...

Together again...

Look how much they changed while he was gone...

Please click to vote for my blog for top Mommy blogs! Thanks!