Justin is Home!!!!

First of all, I am so grateful to God for bringing Justin home to us safely. Stinker left 9 hours before we thought he did, and of course kept it a secret, but I must say, it was one of the best surprises I have ever had to wake up and see him standing in my doorway! It seemed like it had been so long since I had seen him, even though it had only been a couple of months. I guess just knowing that this time, he was home for good made it such a relief to see him standing in that door. He has done his time serving our wonderful country, putting his life in danger, and maturing quite extensively! He grew up on me. Kind of sad to think of now, the fact that he is all grown up, married, and has a 3 year old version of himself, but I am so proud of him and what he has done.
It seems like only a few months ago that we were putting him in that taxi cab to leave us for boot camp. That was such a horribly difficult day, sending my oldest son off to Ft. LeonardWood, Missouri to become an MP. Words can't describe how proud of him I was that day, and how frightened I was at the same time. We knew that at some point during his time in the Army that he would have to go to Iraq, to fight for freedom for other people, some of who didn't want it, at least didn't want our help. He was going to have to go put himself in danger, in the middle of a WAR!! Misty and I both cried so much that day, but our tears in sending him to bootcamp were so minor compared to when we sent him to Iraq! All I can say now, is Thank You Lord for looking over him and bringing him home to us and his family!!
It was fun at our house that morning, Feb. 3rd. I had just had an injection in my lower back the day before, so, as is typical after I have one of those, I had slept in my recliner that night. When he walked in the door of course my dogs were barking but I didn't think much of that because I already knew G was up so he would take care of whatever they were carrying on about. Then I heard a voice that sounded like one of my other sons' and I could not figure out why he was here that time of the morning. WHAT WAS WRONG NOW??? Then I opened my eyes, and through my early morning fog, I looked over expecting to see Brett, and instead there stood Justin. I couldn't believe it was him until he walked over to my chair and I got up and got the best hug. Then I knew it was really him!! He had come at just the right time too.
Misty was in the shower and Ethan was still asleep. So he got to surprise both of them as well. Hearing the squeal as he went into the bathroom and surprised his wife, was just wonderful! Next came waking Ethan up. I followed him in for this, camera in hand! He stood at the foot of Ethan's bed and called his name a couple of times. Finally, he pulled on the blanket a little and Ethan first pulled it back over his head. Then Justin spoke his name again and Ethan heard him! Ethan slowly crawled out from under his covers, stood up and sleepily stumbled over as I was asking him, "who's here, who came home?" As he stumbled over to where Justin was at the foot of his bed, he answered me, "my daddy!" I'm so glad I had my camera in hand. There were also tears in my eyes. That little boy was so happy to see his daddy!!! Watching him hug his daddy and cling to him was priceless!!!
That was such a wonderful day, I could not thank God enough that Justin was home! FINALLY, all my kids were close to home once again. I thought this day would never come!! But, Praise God, it did. And it proved to be a very happy day for the whole family!!
I'll have to catch you all up on what has been going on with us since that day on another posting. Let's just say, it has been wild at times, but I wouldn't trade this time for anything in this world!!