Big News

I'm probably the worst blogger in the world. But here's a quick update on some very big changes that have happened in our family this month:

1. First things first -
For those of you who have not heard (because I'm a terrible blogger & I never actually posted this on here)... Baby #2 will be joining us this August. Let's just say that our little 2-week rendezvous during Thanksgiving was very productive :) And... drumroll please... we found out this week that we are having a GIRL! YAY! We're pretty excited to have one of each. But we're also a little nervous since this will be a whole new kind of adventure for us. But we're looking forward to it. Now if we could just agree on a name!

2. Scott is home! To stay!
Man that was a looooooong year! I won't bore you with all the whiney details, but let me just say that it was very hard, but I feel like I've learned a lot from it & I now appreciate everything soooo much more!
Mason's reaction to Scott being home has really surprised us. From everything I've read it is pretty common for kids his age to have a very difficult time adjusting to the "new" parent. And to be honest, he was pretty hot & cold with Scott at Thanksgiving - sometimes he was excited to have him there & other times he was kind of mean to him :( So I was pretty worried about what things were going to be like when Scott came home to stay. BUT he has been WONDERFUL since Scott's been home! It's been about 3 weeks now & he honestly acts like Scott was never gone. They play together non-stop, he constantly gives him hugs & kisses, he lets Scott put him to bed, and if Scott goes anywhere Mason constantly asks about him. Aaaaahhhh... it's so nice to finally have my family back :)
And of course I have been thrilled to have him around! Being without your best friend for more than a year can get very lonely. And I really feel like year has brought us closer together. I feel so happy & blessed lately :)

3. We're on the hunt
We have been renting out our house in Springville since last January & although we have loved that house, we have decided that we're not going back. Instead we are going to take advantage of this awesome housing market & buy a 2nd bigger home that we can grow into. We've officially been house hunting for 1 week & it's been exciting, but also a little stressful. I haven't been able to sleep in a week because I am constantly thinking or dreaming about houses. I'm very antsy to get out of this apartment & back into my own house again!

Yep, lots of changes coming our way! It's going to be a very interesting/exciting/stressful year :) I can't wait!!! I feel like life is now back in session again :)

The Homecoming

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I've been SUPER busy for several reasons:
1. First there were the holidays & all the craziness that comes with them. Also, I made a few of my Christmas presents, they took a lot more time than I anticipated & that used up all my alone time during Mason's naps. (I'll post those later, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out)
2. We moved last month. Many hours have been spent packing, then unpacking everything. (More to come on that as well)
3. We've been sick A LOT this month!
4. My pictures were saved to the desktop, but I've been using the laptop at our new apartment.

But without further ado...
The Homecoming!!!
I had been anxiously awaiting this day for 7 months. It was wonderful & magical & unforgettable! Everything I had hoped it would be :)
See for yourself...
(Scott has a photographer friend from high school who met us at the airport to capture the magic of the day)

Everyone waiting for Scott

The kids waving their flags

Mason loves the flag (we talk about it a lot)

We see Scott for the 1st time


He sees us


Mason running to Daddy

Mason & Daddy

Mommy & Daddy

Sneaking a kiss :)

Together at last!

He kept grabbing us & making us hug like this all day. So cute :)

And just think, we get to do this again in one month! And this time it will be more keeps! I'm soooooo excited!!!

Some Extras:

The passer-bys at the airport were also pretty excited about our reunion. We had quite a few people stop to take pictures of us. One guy actually hung around for quite a while & even got pretty up-close & personal :) We didn't mind - I was glad our magical moment could rub off on people :)

Here are a few more pictures that I just couldn't leave out. There are a ton more, but these were some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Our very talented friend Brad designed & made this GREAT shirt for Mason - It says "R&R 2010 Afghanistan" (R&R is what they call the 2-week leave the soldiers get)

More posts to come... Eventually. Hopefully sooner than later :)