A Hero's Welcome

He's baa-aack!

Jason came home from Afghanistan yesterday - he arrived around 9 last night at Fort Campbell. We are so happy he's home!

Jason knew, of course, that Krystal and Zoey would be there to greet him, but he didn't know that the rest of the family would be there, too.

Even though it stormed and rained buckets, we had a great time waiting for him and being there to hug him when he arrived.

We drove to Clarksville and dropped off some very important items at Krystal and Jason's new house (balloons, German chocolate cake, Krispy Kreme doughnuts), and then followed Krystal onto the base where we waited to catch a shuttle to the hangar where J's plane would land.


It got pretty windy and a little chilly, so Zoey borrowed her mama's hat to keep her little head warm while we waited for the bus.

I think it could've been snowing and we would not have cared.

In addition to our family, Krystal's mom and step-dad were also there to welcome Jason home. We all loaded the bus together and headed to the airstrip.

The emblem of Jason's unit is the spade, so Zoey just had to have one of her own to hold!

In addition to the signs, there was a live musician and refreshments while we waited in the hangar. We were there for about two hours, so we had fun socializing and people-watching.

I think those signs say it all.

I hadn't realized how huge Fort Campbell was - it's a city unto itself. There were about 300 soldiers that returned with Jason for this tour alone.

Anxiously waiting....ok, so maybe Zoey wasn't that anxious. She was, however, quite the attention-grabber as a reporter from the Leaf-Chronicle took her picture with her Gran and asked who they were welcoming. She's such a little celeb!

As we were waiting, we were given updates as to how far out the plane was...one hour, 45 minutes, 30 minutes - and then we finally got permission to go out onto the airstrip to see this! You should have heard the cheers when the plane door opened.

It was so dark and wet that it was hard to see, but my dad and Brandon managed to spot J and yell at him as he was walking past us. He was surprised! All the soldiers dropped their gear outside and then got into formation and waited for us to get back into the hangar for the welcoming ceremony.

When those huge doors slid open and they marched into the hangar to a collective cheer, there was not a dry eye, quiet mouth or idle hand in the room.
After a very brief welcome speech, we were told to "go find your soldier."

We did.

There is no place like home...

...no place at all.
I have a feeling this will be happening a lot over the next few days.

Hugs all around...

...and even more smiles. It struck me how, for about 5 or 6 minutes, none of us said anything at all. We just stood there and smiled until our faces hurt.

It's the little things that make you realize how much you love someone.

Sheer joy.

"Yo...I know you. Come here and let me eat your nose."

We love you, J...WELCOME HOME!!!