April 28th 2015 will go down in history as one of the very best days of my life. My Kris delivered our third precious niece, Caroline Alison, and it was the day my Nick came home for good. Six and a half long weeks after he "blew out" unexpectedly, he was home. He flew into Fort Bragg, North Carolina the night before and spent 10 uncomfortable hours stuffed into a 15 passenger van with a number of other soldiers and their many bags to get home by morning. I knew better than to tell the kids in case something went wrong, but also hoped to provide them with a great surprise when they finished with school. I had just enough time to run to the store to pick up some of Nick's favorite treats after depositing all the kids at school, before we walked through the door. I don't think we've ever had such a seamless reunion. I set the timer on my camera to capture the moment he opened the door, because the elation that comes with a homecoming is intoxicating, I wish it could be bottled. We made it to Emmy's "Spring Sing" and surprised her in the hallway just before her big entrance. She was dumbfounded. As were her three little siblings when Daddy was there for pick-up...
