Another Surprise

As some of you may have been wondering ... I pulled off another big surprise, when I took the kids with me to the airport to pick up Papa on Monday morning. Yes ... Gregg came home with Papa. Yea !!!

As we sat in the waiting lanes outside of baggage claim, Jim & Gregg kept themselves pretty well hidden behind posts until they were almost to the van (only Ben and I saw them coming ... but kept quiet about it). I finally jumped out of the driver's seat, ran towards Jim (the kids assuming I was going to give him a hug) ... but, instead, ran into the arms of the handsome young man next to Jim. When the kids realized that Papa was not alone, the van doors burst open with lots of yelling and excitement. Josiah reached him first, with Jacob close behind. Elijah and Sarah followed, eagerly waiting their turn for hugs. Ben and Hosanna were excited too, but let the younger kids enjoy the first hugs. (Yes ... Papa did get a big hug and kiss from Mama ... but, Gregg had been gone for 14 months, and Jim had only been gone 5 days. So, Jim waited patiently for his turn.)

Oh ... did you notice that I didn't mention Rachel? Yes, she was there ... peering quietly out of the van, not quite sure she was ready to jump into the arms of this new big brother. She smiled at him, but got right back into her car seat for the ride home. Gregg jumped into the passenger seat, while Jim climbed into the 1st bench between Elijah and Ben. The others piled into the remaining 3 benches for the 2 hour drive home.

About 10 minutes down the road, Gregg decided it was time to get to know his new little sisters. So, he climbed out of the front seat, made his way back to the 3rd bench, and plopped himself down between their 2 car seats. What a precious site! While he could have spent the ride home completely focused on the 2 little guys who absolutely adore him, instead, he realized the need to clearly acknowledge his place in the family with his 3 new siblings ... their big brother is home.

We've had a fun week. Ben, Josiah, and Elijah were very excited to have Gregg home for their last week of baseball games. Josh and Lindsey were glad to have him home for a drama they were performing for one of their college classes. Papa, Jeremiah, and Ben were thrilled to have him home for a paint ball war (which began just 1 hour after arriving home from the airport). So, a fun week has been had by all.

Gregg is here for 2 weeks, then back to Georgia for a week or so, before he gets to move home for good. It's GREAT to have him home.


Oh ... one thing you may have questioned: why is Sarah (at age 9) sitting in a car seat? Washington State law requires car seats or booster seats (which hers is) for children up through 8 years old. Sarah, at 9, is actually smaller than Josiah (8), so a car seat is a safer option than a standard seat belt. And ... in our BIG van, kids are more comfortable in booster seats: they can see better, and sleep better on longer trips. So, while Sarah doesn't sit in a car seat when we are running around town in our little cars, she enjoys the "boost" when riding in the van.