So glad he's home!

YAY! HE'S HOME! :) This was the first night that came home from LeJeune - the doggers have their "Welcome Home Daddy!" shirts on that I had made for them! He loved it! :) I love this picture - he looks so happy and a peace ... finally back where he belongs!

The last three weeks have been great having Daniel back in the states! He has been back and forth between Camp LeJeune... so we have only had the weekends together. But by Wednesday he will be home for good! We are definitely looking forward to having every evening together - and not just the weekends.

We have had a couple of great weekends! Of course, we have been to Yokoso's many times ... he had to get his Japanese fix that he was missing for 6 months. We have been taking time to enjoy the little things in life - and really putting each other first - which has been great! Last weekend - he surprised me with a hammock when I got home from work on Friday! I have really been wanting us to get a hammock for the backyard. We really enjoyed that last weekend ... napping on the hammock in the beautiful Charleston weather! Overall, the last few couple of weekends have been awesome. I know that our time together is only going to get better once we are together all the time!

Here are some pictures that we've taken since he's been home!

This was at a birthday party for our friends' twin girls! First time we'd ice skated together in a while ... we didn't last too long :)
This was on Topsail Beach near Camp LeJeune - I spent a few days up there with him the first week he was home - and we walked the beach together one afternoon! :)

This was what the house looked like! The first one was from the CRAZY snow that we got the weekend that he came home! That was Saturday morning - with almost 6 inches on the ground! The second picture is what it looked like when we got home from LeJeune... the next day!! Not a single trace of snow ... but we were both surprised with balloons from a family friend! THANK YOU MS. SHERRI! :) He loved it - and I did, too! :)

I can't believe that we are already back together and life is picking right back up where we left off! It's amazing to look back and see how much God has done for us over the past year. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT! We would have never made it without the support and encouragement that you have all given us! We are so excited to be back together - and can't wait to see where life takes us next! We love you all!

FINALLY HOME!

He's finally here! This is one of my favorite pictures ... out of tons of pictures that we got (and video) :) When the buses pulled up - I didn't know which one he was on - and then the first Marine stepped off of the front bus - and I went CRAZY! It was MY HERO! I screamed and ran to him, threw my sign and jumped on him (as you can see!) :) It was the BEST moment of our lives!

I will post more pictures and hopefully the video later! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful that my hubby is back where he belongs and can not wait to see where this journey takes us next! Thank you so much for your support and most of all for your prayers - they brought Him home! Keep him in your prayers as he adjusts to being back - and we get used to him being in LeJeune again for a little while! Words can not express the happiness that we have felt since 10:30 Sunday morning - God is SO good!

HEADING TO MY HUBBY!

Well - today is FINALLY here! After 6 months of a deployment and 6 inches of snow (ok maybe 4 or 5 ... but literally there is snow in the LowCountry!) ... I am leaving today to head to LeJeune for Daniel's homecoming! My stomach is in knots and I feel so anxious inside. I have been looking forward to this for so long now - and I can't believe that it is REALLY going to happen!

This week has been a rollercoaster! After Daniel was delayed because of the weather in Baltimore ... we had a random snow storm come through the Charleston area. I never DREAMED of looking out my window and seeing snow everywhere ... it's so beautiful! It started snowing last night somewhere around 5-6ish ... and when I woke up around 6 it had finally quit snowing! There is about 4 1/2 inches here ... and the best part of it is that when I woke up, someone had come through the neighborhood and plowed the roads AND our driveways for us! What a blessing! I am hoping and praying that when I get on the road in the next few hours to head to NC ... that there aren't any crazy drivers or closed roads that will keep me from getting there! Just pray for safety for me as I head that way this morning - I don't care if it takes me all day to get there - just as long as I get there safely!

Daniel should be on a plane either heading toward Germany or already heading toward Baltimore. I haven't heard from him to know exactly where they are - but they are definitely in route for the US! I can't believe it - and can't imagine the excitement that he is feeling! It will feel so good to finally step foot on US soil again!

Please continue to pray for Daniel's safety while he travels as we are within HOURS of him finally being here! Pray for the Lord to give us all safe travels as we make our way to NC to welcome our Marines home! I can't wait to post pictures of the homecoming .. and the SNOW! :)

Plans have changed ...

Looks like the snow has gotten the best of us! :( Daniel was supposed to be leaving tonight to finish his trip home! The plane that they were flying home on was stuck in Baltimore because of all of the snow! So ... they pushed his flight back to late Friday night (our time) ... and he will be getting to Baltimore around 7pm or so Saturday night ... then taking a bus to LeJeune! Hopefully by early Sunday morning - I will be in his arms! I really hope that they do not push this date back again - I'm hoping that the weather will hold off and he can make it home by Sunday! What a great Valentine's Day! :)

Please continue to pray for safe travels -- even though I would have LOVED to have him home on Friday -- I am thankful that his trip will be much safer this way! Thanks again for all of your prayers ... he's almost made it HOME! Just a few more days -- I can make it! :)

Made it out of Afghanistan!

Just a quick update on Dano - heard from him this afternoon and he is officially out of Afghanistan! He will be in Kyrgyzstan through Thursday morning (Wednesday night our time) and will start the rest of his journey then! He is very thankful for all of the prayers for safe travels and looking forward to stepping onto US soil for the first time in Baltimore! Please continue to pray this week that they will have a safe trip home - I'll post again when I know more! YAY it's finally here!

Heading home!

Well - Daniel has started his journey home! :) He left about 30 minutes ago from Camp Leatherneck on a bus and will be leaving Afghanistan about 2:30 am (our time). As long as everything stays on schedule - he will be in Kyrgyzstan sometime tomorrow afternoon and then leave from there Wednesday night and fly home! He was in such good spirits today when I talked to him - and very excited to start his trip home to me!

It's hard to believe that he is on his way home - I know that he has to be so excited and anxious! Things around the house are all ready and I could not be more excited for my hero to get here!

He tested out yesterday for his black belt and GOT IT! :) He said that today the officers that he has worked with were making a huge deal about him getting his black belt - because it's SUCH an accomplishment! It's hard to believe that he has accomplished that since he started all of this training - I know that he is super proud of himself! He said that one of the Majors took him around and told everyone that he was the newest black belt and had everyone shake his hand today! I told him that he has a lot to be proud of ... I could not be more proud of him, I know that much! He said he bought his belt and wore it today - and was really proud to be able to wear it and tell people that he earned it from his hard work! Definitely something else for us to celebrate when he gets home! :)

Well - I will be updating y'all this week as he gets closer and closer to the US! If all goes as planned- he will be landing in Baltimore sometime Thursday evening and heading to LeJeune on a bus for an early morning arrival on Friday! :) YAY!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support - Please pray for safe travels for the Marines as they start their journey home ... and pray that there are no weather/mechanical delays -- I'm ready to have my hubby home! :)

ONE WEEK TO GO!

I can not believe that after all of this time and all of the craziness over the last 6 months -- we are finally down to ONE MORE WEEK! This deployment has truly been a blessing and opened our eyes to everything that we take for granted! We are so blessed and so thankful for everything that we have and everyone that is in our lives ... Thank you for your prayers and support -- we know that the prayers have gotten us through! Without prayer and our strength from the Lord -- we would not have made it through this deployment as easily as we have!

This time next week -- I am going to be going NUTS! I can't even believe that ONE WEEK from tonight I will be in LeJeune ... within HOURS of seeing my hubby! I am getting last minute things ready and touched up for Dano's homecoming -- and could not be more excited for him to come home and be where he belongs again! Even though he has to stay in LeJeune through the beginning of April, having him home on the weekends will be amazing! Just having him in the same country will feel so much better!

We are both so anxious to see each other -- it's been about 4 weeks since we have seen each other on Skype -- we decided to wait it out until homecoming for the last stretch of time! We are about to burst with excitement! I know that we are both going to look so different to each other -- especially him! I know he's lost weight and toned up from MCMAP and I can't wait to see the difference in him!

Can't wait to post pictures of homecoming and share our excitement with each of you! It seems like everytime I talk to someone -- they tell me someone else that has been keeping up with this blog throughout the deployment. If you have been keeping up and praying for Daniel ... THANK YOU! We will never be able to thank you all enough for that support! Look forward to sharing our joy and excitement from homecoming with you SOON! :)