Inspiring

I know I've briefly mentioned this story on my blog before, and I am so excited to tell you about today.

Let me start at the beginning though.  I'll never forget this day of the deployment.  As I've mentioned it had been a rough deployment.  I was a co-leader for the FRG with another woman that had become a friend.  We were pretty used to receiving the bad calls at this point.  This particular morning I woke up and immediately checked out the news headlines (as I normally did, just to have a little heads up of what to expect for the day).  I saw a headline of Soldiers killed in Southern Afghanistan, and I instantly had a bad feeling for the day.  I started my morning the normal way though:  turned on the Disney channel for the kids, fixed some coffee for myself, and prepared breakfast for everyone.  7:38 a.m. my phone rang.  I recognized the number and knew bad news was coming.

We were blessed that day that none of our Soldiers had died, however, we weren't in the clear.  I answered the phone to speak with Rear Detachment.  I had never once thought about the scenario that was about to unfold.  They told me the unit had a VSI (very serious injury).  He hesitated just a second before telling me it was my co-leader's husband that had been injured.  Tears immediately welled in my eyes.  He told me that her husband had lost both of his legs among other injuries.  I could barely think or speak.  I was crying and stumbling for words.  My cell phone began to ring.  It was my co-leader calling. I told the Rear D that I had to go and would call later if I needed to.

What do you say to someone whose world is crumbling?  I remember her saying, "I don't know what to do..."  I got her address and headed over.  I do not wish the feelings of that day on anyone.  It felt so helpless to watch our friend and know that we could not help her.  We waited with her for news on her husband.  I am sure those first few days were some of the longest of her life.  It was a day I will never forget.  That was the first time that I stood next to someone in such pain and didn't know what to do or say.

In a way, that day was a lucky day.  Her husband survived.  He is an amazing fighter.  He has surprised everyone with his quick progress.  His perseverance and resilience are inspiring.  His wife is equally amazing.  She has shown unwavering support not only for her husband but for the families of every Wounded Warrior they meet on their journey to recovery.  These two are quite the inspiring pair.  I am privileged to know them.

So you are probably wondering what this has to do with today, right?

Today, we were able to welcome this family home for the first time since his injury.  This is a brief visit, but one that we are all so thankful for.  These Wounded Warriors often miss the homecoming ceremonies with their unit.  Today we were able to welcome this Soldier and his family home with a true hero's welcome.  I cannot think of anyone more deserving.

The Patriot Guard Riders were there.  

Ready to welcome home our friends.  

Welcome Home Verra Family!

The Patriot Guard Riders escorted the family to where they were staying.  

Today is a happy day!

4th of July Recap

Did everyone have a wonderful 4th of July?  Ours was pretty low key.  We did absolutely nothing for the entire day.  The kids played in the kiddie pool, and we just sat around.

In the evening, we went to post to watch Pat's friends fire the "big guns".  We were there about 2 hours, which was the perfect amount of time with the boys.  It was quite fun.

We saw the parachutists fly in.

The boys liked watching the 50 gun salute.  I thought it was super loud (granted we were pretty close to it), but thankfully the boys laughed with each boom.

The hubby and the boys before the celebration.  

We left before the concert because it was supposed to be a work day for the hubby today.  Apparently at the concert, they announced that today was a day off.  We could have stayed at the concert it seems, but I think the kids had enough fun without it.  Now I get to enjoy another day with the family.  

I'm linking this part of the post up to Real Momma, Real Style.  

I pulled out my navy blue jersey dress from Old Navy.  I bought it about 2 years ago off season for about $7, and I've only worn it once before.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize until after I put it on, that it kind of shrunk when I washed it.  It was a little too short and a bit low cut for my tastes, but I wore it anyway.  My shoes are from Bass.  The flower I made months ago when I was testing out the tutorial over on Little Miss Momma. 

Sean is in Carter's and Ryan's shirt is Carter's and shorts are OshKosh.  All purchased on super sales a long time ago.

Have a great Tuesday!  

Nice to Meet You.

I'm linking up to the 2nd Annual Commenting Challenge over at Jenna's.  It's a great way to meet new bloggers and get into the habit of leaving some comments to people.  We all love comments, right?

Since there will be some new people stopping by, I want to tell you a bit about me.  You can read the basics in my About link above.  Here are some randoms that I may not have mentioned there.

1.  I'm really shy in real life, but a bit more outgoing in the blog world.

2.  I never liked coffee until this past year.  My husband was away for a long time, and I was raising two kids alone.  It's funny how my tastes changed out of necessity for caffeine.  My favorite is German Chocolate Cake coffee kcup.  My hubby is home, and I still drink it.

3.  The only time I enjoy doing laundry is when it's sunny enough to hang it on the clothes line.

4.  I've accidentally fallen into the bad habit of sleeping in my youngest son's bed when he wakes up at night.  The kids and I are going to be visiting my family for a few weeks coming up, and we will probably be sharing a bed so I see no reason of breaking the habit just yet.

5.  My favorite thing to do in summer is eat dinner outside on the deck.

6.  I'm currently finding myself with a desire to do home improvements, but since we will be selling this home in about a year I don't want to spend any more money on it.

7.  I watch too much TV.  My current favorites include:  Covert Affairs, Franklin & Bash, and Real Housewives of Anywhere.

8.  I am really close with my family even though I live so far away from them.

9.  I really want to start running.  I hate running, but I want to like it.  I'm going to really start working on it in August when I return from my trip.  Running a 5k is on my To Do list.

10.  I'm a planner.  I like to have a plan for the future.  I'm okay with it changing, as long as I have a plan to start with I'm happy.

11.  I wish I could find a craft I'm really good at.  I can barely work the sewing machine, and I lack in the creative ideas department.

12.  I blog stalk lots of blogs, and I usually use people's blog rolls to find new ones.  I hope to meet some new ones from this challenge.  I want to add more blog friends to my blog roll.

That's a bit about me.  I look forward to stopping by your blogs.  I'd love to read your comments and have you follow along with me.

Happy 4th of July!