Mike's return home

I got word last Wednesday evening that Mike would be flying home Thursday afternoon. Having earned a little salt on my apron (haha, I made that up in an e-mail to Mike the other day and I like my expression) I knew better than to tell the kids because that would ensure a delayed or cancelled flight. My silence bought us a 45 minute early landing. As we drove on base MJ quizzed me on why we were there. I had kept his homecoming a secret until then. Annabelle made a guess, "Daddy's all done and we're here to pick him up!" A smile tugged at MJ's lips as he tried not to get excited at the unconfirmed suspicion of his wise little sister. But when I told him she was right both of them were little balls of excitement. We were lead out to the hangar where the doors were wide open to the planes as they landed and were directed to park. MJ and Annabelle patiently waited as Mike's plane was the second of two to return. I had told the kids to stay behind the metal grate on the ground (you can see in the following pictures) but as Mike approached the hangar the excitement got to be too much for them and they both ran out to greet him. We're all happy to be together again. We spent about an hour going through pictures that Mike had taken of his time there. He didn't leave untouched by the disaster that struck Haiti as he became quite emotional talking about the orphaned children he saw boarding jets on their way to new countries and new homes. Once again I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have my home, my children, and my loving husband.