Welcome Home!

Last Friday was the day my mom had waited for for 2 years.  My baby brother was coming home from his mission.  The plan was to rush home, feed Mags and pack her up and head to my parents and then the airport while Maggie waited for our return and to meet her Uncle Brett.

Well, due to the humongous snow storm that day, Brett's plane got delayed 2.5 hours so we didn't have to rush, which was nice since the roads were snowy.

We hung out at my parents for a while waiting for Grandpa and my cousin to show up and then headed to the airport around 9 p.m.  We staked out our spot and hunkered down to wait.  And mom paced, and paced and paced.

There were 15 missionaries on the plane coming from Kansas City and 8 of them were staying in SLC which made for a very crowded airport.  Grandpa kept getting blocked by groups and we had to tell people to move. It was really special that grandpa made it. He's been dealing with heart issues and is scheduled for a pacemaker (at almost 89 years old) but the surgery was postponed so he could see his buddy/grandson come home first. He's really gone down hill the last couple months and struggles every day with his heart going out of rhythm and his blood sugars swinging 400 points. We are SO grateful he's hung in there and was able to be there.

Around 10 p.m. we finally we spotted this tall kid in a suit coming down the escalator.  Somehow my baby brother was all grown up into this man.  He'd grown about an inch (topping out at 6'5") and had gained 60 pounds.  But surprisingly, the poundage made him look more normal instead of emaciated like before.

Hugs and tears ensued.  I'm sure it was a surreal moment for him, knowing that feeling myself.  He made the rounds giving each of us a hug.  Mom couldn't get enough.  This is the moments moms live for, finally welcoming their children home from 2 years of serving The Lord.  We couldn't be more proud.

We chatted for a while and the bishop and his family even came to say hello. We piled back in our three cars and headed for home. They stopped at the stake president's home en route to the house to have him released. They finally arrived home just short of midnight. Enough time for Brett to meet Mags and us to head home, exhausted and happy. 

I was starving when we got home so we made ramen and mac and cheese and Dallin shoveled the driveway. We finally got to bed at 2:30 a.m. WAY past my bedtime and I don't plan on seeing that time on the clock again until there is a newborn demanding my time.