Here . . . and gone again

With all the excitement of the new baby, and just being busy, I never posted anything about Seth coming home for R&R. He arrived home on Monday, September 29th and was flying to Hood, of course, but he had a short layover in Dallas, so Kevin and I went out to meet him. I offered to buy him some lunch and where did he say he wanted to go? McDonalds . . . with a big grin on his face. I knew he'd been in the sandbox for nearly 4 months, but come on now . . . . . ugh! It was a short visit because he only had a couple hours between flights, but it was sooooo good to see his face. He was really anxious to see Katie . . . and to get to meet his brand-new baby boy face to face.

We went down to Hood the next weekend. Seth had requested Thanksgiving dinner while he was home, since he was going to miss the real one, and Katie went all out. She borrowed a turkey fryer from a friend to fry the turkey and boy, was it good. And we had all the fixin's too . . . giblet gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes (I've never cared for them before, but Katie's were really good), deviled eggs (the boys love 'em), rolls, and chocolate pie and pumpkin pie for dessert. Mmmmm!!! We stuffed ourselves . . . . . :)

Katie, Seth, and Sawyer came to Dallas the next Tuesday to catch up with the rest of the family and friends. We had a burger bash on Saturday and invited everybody. It was fun and the food was good. And everyone who hadn't had a chance to meet Sawyer yet got the chance . . . and of course, they got to see Seth and Katie, too.

They headed back to Hood that Sunday afternoon and spent the next week just doing things together as a family. They had some great pictures taken, too. Is he not just the most beautiful baby you've ever seen??? Okay, I admit it, I'm a bit prejudiced . . . . . :)

They took some family pictures, too. This one isn't my favorite, but it's a good one. I have yet to get my favorite from her . . . maybe when she comes in next month . . . . . :)

Then, these two are just too wonderful for words . . . . . :)

Last Saturday, however, his R&R came to an end. Katie and Sawyer said goodbye to Seth at the airport in Killeen, and it was really hard for Katie. She told me that Seth held Sawyer at the airport and kissed him and told him that he was going to miss him. She cried on the way home, and I cried when I saw this picture.

Seth had another layover in Dallas, so we went out and spent a little time with him while he waited for his plane . . . along with all the other troops awaiting a return to the sandbox. We ate at McDonalds again . . . ugh. I was going to give him a pocket angel, but he pulled out his wallet and showed me that he still had the pocket angel and St. George medallion I gave him the last time he was deployed. That made me smile. I gave him one last hug as he prepared to board and watched him until he was out of sight. It will be a very, very long time before we see him again . . . and where he's going, they only have internet on one shared computer, so we may not hear from him much either. That will be especially hard for Katie . . . she wants so much for him to be able to see his son as he grows . . . . . *sigh.*

Lord, I commend Seth into your care and safekeeping . . .