It's all about family

When I look back over the last month, it's stunning to me everything that has happened. We sold our house, celebrated two family birthdays (my son's and my sister's), had Christmas, New Years, and...the best part, my brother-in-law came home from Iraq.

My sister and he have three kids, ages 2 1/2, 5 and 8. They are a military family. He's in the Army. My sister has been raising their kids on her own, off and on, since they were born, as her husband is deployed every two years to various parts of the world. At the end of December, he finally came back home after serving a year (his second tour) in Iraq. Fear, concern and worry were feelings we all became very familiar with while he was gone. The joy on his children's faces when he came back was awesome to see.

I thought I'd share some of those pictures today and say how thankful I am that he's back home safe and that my sister has her family all together again.

Signs for Papa:

Doing a good job being patient while holding the signs for Papa:

Is that him?:

Here he comes:

Group hug:

Smiles everywhere:

I think my sister is pretty happy: