Saturday, May 17, 2008

REUNION!!!


Thomas' arrival was delayed from 10:40am to 2:40pm. It had been a sunny morning, but storms came and because of the rain, the ceremony was held in the gym rather than Cotrell Field. You lose some of the "atmosphere" in the gym, but it was still fantastic!! You can see Bella inching her way over to the band. That kid loves music like no other!!!



The band conductor picked Bella up and she "helped" lead the band. The reporters were all over that cute scene and she loved every minute of the attention! She was in our local papers and television!

Finally, finally........he's home. I saw him right away - third row from the left, second soldier. He said he saw us right away too, but then again, it's pretty hard to miss the Bellaboo!! I started crying when our national anthem was playing, and got frustrated when they all had to sing because I had forgotten we still had to do that. Sorry for the bumpy ride on greeting Thomas! It's hard to run, hang on to Bella, watch where you're going and film at the same time!!
He's home, he's safe. It was the answer to so many prayers from so many people for so long. Our third Iraqi deployment.........finally over with!

69 comments:

Mimi said...

I am proud to be the person who got you to post those videos. Watching Thomas hold Bella & look at you rocked.

I love you Jeannie & hope you have the best time ever having Thomas be home.

Cygnet said...

Jeannie, I'm so thrilled for you! Give Thomas a hug and a thank you from me.
Thanks for sharing his homecoming-----it brought tears to my eyes... and warmth to my heart.

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for you and Bella and Thomas ....... he's finally home! What a great day in May this is.

So glad you posted this - it was really nice to see him come home, especially seeing Thomas with Bella.

Enjoy the coming days - you've waiting a long time for this and it is finally here.

Leala said...

I got all teary seeing Thomas kiss Bella all over her face!! What an awesome day for you guys!
Congrats! :)

Anonymous said...

Jeannie, how very sweet; it brought tears to my eyes. I'm so happy for you guys! Thanks for sharing!

xo
Carol (sunnycjf)

jkeat90160 said...

Thanks for sharing your videos, Jeannie.

Welcome home, Thomas!!!!!!
Enjoy your reunion with Jeannie and the kids. You've earned every moment of happiness you can get.

Job well done!!!!!!!

joe tacoma said...

Whoohoo! I'm happy for all of you.

readytobealoser said...

Jeannie, Thank you for sharing your happy reunion. As others have said, it brought tears to my eyes. I especially enjoyed the music. It brought memories of my dad and his Navy days.

Love to you and your family.

Welcome home, Thomas. Pam

feegreat2008 said...

Welcome Home Thomas!!!
Jeannie, I'm so happy for you and your beautiful family.

What a wonderful homecoming!:)

***Millicent***

Lizzie said...

that was so touching. thank you for sharing this moment with us all, tears in my eyes. thank you to you and your family for keeping us all safe :)

Nicole @ WhenDidIBecomeMyMom.com said...

I cannot even imagine what it must have been like before getting to this day. Congratulations and Welcome Home!

Megan said...

What a great day!! So glad he made it home safe and sound! So sweet!!

Melissa Papaj Photography said...

Sounds like a great day! Thanks for all you guys sacrifice for our freedom :)

KatBouska said...

Amen to safe arrivals!!! Too many families do not get to experience that joy...I'm so glad you did!

Karen and Gerard said...

What an interesting and touching post! Love how you decorated the car! Bella is so cute too. So glad he made it home safely again--they sure made you wait long enough though with the delay and then all the hoopla. The reunion was sweet!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

I know that was sweet!

Happy SITS Day!!

Elizabeth D. said...

I can't even imagine what life as a military family must be like, thank you for sharing this with us. What a sweet, beautiful moment.

Unknown said...

Happy SITS day! I can't imagine what you go through when your husband is away.

Hear Mum Roar said...

Wow! That is just beautiful. I'll never take having my darling home with me all the time for granted.

The Mommyologist said...

Wow, these videos gave me chills. So happy that your husband is home safely and please tell him thank you from me for all he does for our country! Congrats on your SITS day!

Miranda said...

I have a cousin (well, he's the boyfriend of a cousin) being deployed in February. I'm happy that your husband is home!

Wendy said...

That's so awesome! Stopping by from SITS.

Sandy said...

This is so awesome!! I was in the crowd when my cousin came back from his second tour if Iraq and it was one of the most emotional events of my life. Watching the families was wonderful. Thank you to you and Thomas for what you do.

InspiredDreamer said...

So fantastic to be able to be there with you. Congratulations on getting your husband back, and here's to many more reuinions (even if it's just him coming home from the grocery store) :)

Have an Extraordinary Day!

allycupe said...

Totally started crying during the anthem. What a great video! Happy SITS day!

Laura said...

Glad he made it home safely. I really appreciate what he (and all the other men & women) do to keep this country safe. Bella is a cutie too.

Happy SITS Day!

Marina@EBMR said...

Coming over from SITS. Praise God Thomas is home safe...I cried....gosh we take so much for granted. God bless your Husband and all the brave people who keep this land safe. Hugs to you and your precious little sweetie

AmericanTribal said...

Wow!! This was so incredibly emotional and moving. I'm glad your husband came home safe. Thanks for serving our country so that we can all be safer! It is deeply appreciated. :)

leigh hewett said...

Happy SITS day. Thanks so much to you and your husband for serving to protect us!!!

Happy SITS day!!

Leigh

Jessica said...

Ok Im in tears now! Thank GOD for families like yours that sacrifice time away from your family, so ours will be free. We appreciate all you and other families do!

Lynette said...

Oh the tears. What a way to start a Wednesday! Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!

Valerie Pilgreen said...

Happy SITS Day!!! Army National Guard mom saying-thank you to your family and so glad your man returned safe. My son returned from Iraq just in time for Christmas last year and it is rumored they have a tour in Afghanistan coming soon.

I enjoyed sharing my coffee with you and your blog,thanks.

Lisa M said...

Happy SITS day! Thanks for sharing that with us! Thanks to you and your husband for sacrificing for our country! Glad he's home safe.

KimMalk said...

Very touching. I have tears in my eyes. God bless your man and your family.

Anti-Supermom said...

Tell your husband thank you. My BIL just got back from his second tour, my sister is getting ready for her second, it's such a blessing to have these people in our lives.

Thank you for sharing him with us :)

Happy FB day!

Kerri said...

That is beautiful! I don't think I would have made it through that last song! OH my gosh!

Thank you, Thomas, for you service to our country! God Bless You!

karen@fitnessjourney said...

Darn it, my mascara is running down my face. I can't watch a soldier return home to his family without wailing like a school girl! I'm so glad he is home safe and sound.

Congrats on your SITS day!

Kearsie said...

First, Happy SITS day!

Second, I don't even know you yet I rejoiced with you at seeing your soldier home safe and sound. What a precious memory your daughter will have.

Third, I need to go blow my nose now.

Alison said...

That is so sweet! I was happy for you! I can't imagine how joyous you and Bella felt!

Annie @ astonesthrowfrominsanity said...

How did you ever have the composure to film?? Wow! I think that I would have dropped the camera or filmed my feet. Thanks for sharing such a special moment with your hero! :)

Mel at Adventures of Mel said...

Awwww....that was really sweet. I'm so glad that he made it home safe and sound.....thank you guys so much for serving. I just don't even know how I could even thank you enough.

Sharon said...

Beautiful, Awesome, Wonderful.

A great moment!

Anonymous said...

Give the Hubs a BIG THANK you from me. And give The Bella a hug. She is too cute for words and so sweet.

Happy SITS day!

Cristina

Mandi Miller said...

Such an amazing moment! Thank you for sharing it with us!

Gay Vaughan said...

I can only say, Thank You...to your husband and to you for sharing these moments with us. Happy SITS day!! You deserve a great one.

Stefanie Zucker said...

Absolutely beautiful!! I'm so glad you picked this one to introduce us to your blog! Congrats on having your family back together and home safe!!

Happy SITS day!

Stefanie
http://pediatricsafety.net

sweetjeanette said...

Oh shoot! I kept saying,"I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry".... it didn't work! and I have goosebumps to boot!!! Wow! Thanks so much for sharing!

sweetjeanette.blogspot.com

MamaOtwins+1 said...

An amazing moment! Thank you for sharing the moment with us and thank you to your husband for fighting for us.

Happy SITS day!

Caroline said...

How beautiful.


What a patriot. I thank you and your family for your sacrifices.

***Sharon*** said...

Happy SITS day!

Thank you for sharing such a special moment with everyone! Even more so - please thank Thomas for his service! Have a happy new year...and hopefully no deployments!

gina said...

WOW- what an amazing day- thank you for sharing. And for another job well done!

jonewman said...

Thank you...Thank you for sharing your husband with the rest of us so he can protect people like me and my family. You are all so brave and amazing...I appreciate all that you and your family do to keep my family safe...Have a great SITS day!

Vickie said...

These always choke me up! I didn't realize he had three tours in Irag. Wow!!

Thank you, Thomas.

Julie {Angry Julie Monday} said...

Awesome! I love a good reunion. I always cherish the homecomings when my husband was in the Marines and deployed.

Barbara said...

Very Moving! Happy Sits

Lourie said...

Thank you to your husband, and thanks to you! Happy SITS day.

Michelle @ The Virtual Assistant said...

Tell your husband thanks for all he has done to protect and serve the great ole USA!!!

Bella is absolutely adorable!!!

Michelle @mmangen

Unknown said...

So awesome! Thank you for all the sacrafices you and your family has made for our country. Your husband is a hero and we are so proud of him! God Bless!!

Anonymous said...

Happy SITS Day!!! What a wonderful happy moment that must have been. Thanks for sharing such an intimate moment of father and daughter reuniting. Priceless. Now Im off to bed all choked up! :)

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

Oh my god are they serious with how long they make you sit there until you get to hug the hubs???? That was so awesome. I've never seen anything like that. I love when you said, "we'll get daddy as soon as this guy stops talking!" So sweet, I cried. I hope you gave him a big ol' kiss! I'm so glad he's home, and thank you for the sacrifice that all of you make to keep us all safe!

Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner?
www.MaWhats4Dinner.com

Unknown said...

Here from SITS! Thank you to your family for serving this great country of ours. We are truly indebted to the men and women of our armed forces!

Tonya said...

Wow! How awesome that you were able to video tape these special moments! Thanks for your service from one military spouse to another. :-)

Jamie said...

I started crying the moment I read the title of your post. Wow. I'm emotional! Your videos were very touching, thank you for sharing and thank you to your family for everything you've gone through and everything you do.

I'm a Navy wife and my husband is deployed right now. :-( It's an 8 month deployment and we have a little more than 3 months left. I can't wait until he is home!

Blue Cotton Memory said...

Thank you for your and your husband's service to our country! You guys are a blessing!

Melissa said...

Thanks Thomas for your service - you rock!!!! Happy SITS Day!

Jennifer said...

What a wonderful post and video! I am so happy for you all.

Kim said...

I am so glad that he made it home safe! And I want to thank your husband for all that he has done for you, me, for all of us! There is no real way to show just how appreciate we all are and should be! I hope you guys are savoring your time together!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

OMG, when she said "Where's Daddy," I lost it. What a cutie! Thank for the sacrifices your family makes for our country!

Marie said...

It must be great having him back, happy 2010!