And he's off again.

We took Sam to the airport this morning. It was difficult to do because we love having him home (as we should). It's hard to explain, but every time Sam comes home after a long deployment it's like he wasn't gone at all. He simply falls into our routine and we all pick up where we left off. It's such a GOOD thing for us, especially for Nathaniel!

This leave was no different. From the time we picked Sam up at the airport it was like he hadn't been gone at all. It was hard for me to believe that he and Aaron had never met because the minute Sam took Aaron in his arms they hit it off and it was like they have known each other Aaron's entire life. It was great.

Nathaniel did well. Apparently he acted no differently than any kid at his age with two parents. I was worried because when Sam would discipline Nathaniel, Nathaniel would cry and say, "I want my mommy!" All of my friends assured me that their kids do the same thing and their dads are all around. Whew!

It was a good visit. I wish it wasn't a visit. I would love it if Sam were home for good instead of us having to wait until December (I hope). In fact, Nathaniel made me cry today as we got back in the van after dropping Sam off. He said, "Wait! We need Daddy!" I had to tell him again that Daddy was in Kosovo (it's easier than explaining travel to a three year old).

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the visit:

We went to the beach yesterday and Sam had fun making sand castles with Nathaniel. Here he was trying to bury Nathaniel in the sand but Nathaniel popped his feet out right as I snapped the picture. Notice how much I cover my white babies up at the beach. Nathaniel was coated with SPF 50, and so was Aaron in addition to his long sleeves and hat.

Sam and I went out to The Melting Pot for a date to celebrate our anniversary early (it's in August). The waiter brought us a free champagne toast so I took this picture of us. Oh, I love the Melting Pot, but it totally took me off of my diet. Oh well, I will start it again this weekend.

We went to the Wild Animal Park in San Diego and had a great time. Nathaniel loves the zoo so this was a real treat for him. One of his favorite animals is the giraffe and there were plenty of them there. I love this picture of the boys. Nathaniel loves having Aaron do pretty much whatever it is he is doing so he had to have a picture with brother.

This is my favorite picture by far. No words to explain. This is how it's supposed to be.

One of the main things we did while Sam was home was have Aaron dedicated at church. This is something our church does instead of baptism because we believe that baptism is something that an individual chooses as he grows in his own personal faith. Yet, we dedicate our child publicly, stating that we are going to raise him to know Jesus and will raise him according to Biblical principles. Plus, the members of our church pledge to help us in this endeavor (which is helpful since our little ones are involved in lots of different things in the church, it's nice to know that there are so many great people out there who are helping us raise our children to know the Lord).

So, that was our visit in a nutshell. Of course, so much happened and we did a ton. It was so nice. I can't wait until Sam gets home for good. It will be crazy because Sam will be getting ready to graduate and we will move again and lots will change, but it will be our own adventure that we get to experience as a family.

Family. I love that word. :)