Dirk is coming HOME!!! Yeah!!!

Our soldier is safe and sound back in America and will be landing in Salt Lake City at 0 dark hundred (5:45 am) - it is an awful time to pack up kids and babies and cameras and be at the airport but I don't care anymore - our soldiers are coming home.

I have been proudly flying this cute banner in my living room window for a year now showing that I have a soldier on active duty overseas. I will gladly take it down. I love America and I am so proud of Dirk and all that he has accomplished this last year. But it is his turn to come home to a heroes welcome. From all reports that is what they will be giving him at the National Guard Hanger at Airport two tomorrow morning. We will be there flying flags and screaming WELCOME HOME DIRK!!

I will finally find out where his base (Salerno) is located - other than 'just a few miles from the Pakastani border". I know his first stop after leaving Salerno has always been Bagram - but that is all I have known.

This is a picture I took of Dirk just before he left a year ago. That is his sweet wife to his left. You think I am excited - she is ecstatic. Its been a long lonely year for both of them.
But he is coming home - Melinda and Benjamin and Simon will be so happy to get hubby and daddy home.
Da and I are putting up flags and balloons and yellow ribbons in their front yard to say "Welcome Home". I know he will be tired because he won't get much sleep tonight waiting for flights out of Washington but he will survive.

Several of his siblings will be there to say Welcome Home and we want to take him out to breakfast before he heads back home. Hoorah Hooray - our soldier is coming home!

He's HOME!!!

Dirk arrived in Utah shortly before 4 pm today - Hurrah!! He beat everyone - Melinda and I and grandpa Nielson and Ben and Simon got at the baggage area about 4 pm . We figured it would be about 15 minutes before Dirk got down to the baggage area. HAH!!! His flight got in early and the soldiers were the first ones off the plane. Melinda was just looking at the flight schedule and had turned to me to say - his plane has landed when I looked up and here comes Dirk just a truckin!! If I had wanted to I could have gotten the first hug!!


This is the sign I made with the help of Jeff and Teresa - I thought the vinyl lettering was really nice and they added the flags!! WOW!! Special Thanks to teresascustomcreations.com!! If anyone wants some awesome vinyl or steel signs and lettering that's the place to get it!

Melinda of course got the first hugs and she sobbed her welcome to Dirk in his arms. Then she turned to the boys and Ben was somewhat shy about going to his dad, but he knew his daddy and was glad to see him. He got big loves from daddy and then was more interested in the yellow balloons tied to Simon's stroller. (as is normal!)
Simon watched everything with those big blue eyes of his and didn't mind having daddy hold him. The picture above shows Ben pointing to the balloons again!
About five minutes after the joyful welcome Shawn and Cade showed up. I guess they would have made it on time but the airport police thought Shawn was traveling too fast!! Shawn gave him the "but officer, I was just hurrying to welcome my brother who is just arriving from Afghanistan!" The officer merely said " then I will hurry and write the ticket faster!"
Here Ben is playing with the balloons and by now Grandpa Ed has made it too. He had me come earlier because he had was teaching a class and couldn't get away early enough.
This is the cute sign Da made - the back of it says DAD! Ben thought it was great fun to play with and he also liked the flags - he had one for each hand.
If Dirk is looking a little spacey its because he left Kuwait 26 hrs before landing in SLC - longggggggg flight. He said that Dallas really gave them a royal welcome. As soon as they got to the window to connect to their next flight - they were told there was an earlier flight leaving that they could come on, and they were immediately upgraded to first class seats!! He said there were lines of people waiting to shake their hands and welcome them home. Of course, his luggage didn't make the quick connection so the airlines will deliver it in the middle of the night to his home.

We are sooo glad to have Dirk home for this two week visit. He looks really good ...I think he has put on 10-20 pounds which look good on him. WELCOME HOME KID!!! I LOVE YOU!!!