Asa's Home for Christmas!

Today was an exciting day. We got up early, put on cute outfits, put on make-up, and made sure we had everything packed for the day. We left a little late, but that couldn't distract from our excitement about getting to see Asa in a few hours!

He had gotten his phone back the night before, so we had been texting all night and the next morning. Asa had to be in the gym at Fort Leonard Wood at 9:30 pm Thursday night. He got on a bus around 11:30 pm. Then they rode to the airport and sat on the bus for a total of 5 hours! By 4:30 am Friday morning her was at the airport, waiting for his flight to leave at 9:50 am. I had planned to stay up most of the night and keep him company while he traveled. But I accidentally fell asleep and missed his calls and text messages.

Marley was a great sport for the whole trip down there. She slept for about an hour and then snacked on Apple Jacks the rest of the way. We had told Asa we would meet him in the baggage claim area, but we got there early and decided to get as close as we could to where he would be coming out. So, we waited right outside of security, watching intently.

Picking Up Asa from Jillian Shaw on Vimeo.

I really wanted to run to him, but one of the main reasons I didn't was that I wanted my mom to have time to turn the camera on. Marley was a little nervous at first, but she warmed up to him really quickly. It felt so odd to have him with us, like we had been waiting for him so excitedly it was hard to believe it was happening. He was so excited, with tons of stories to tell about boot camp. We ate a wonderful lunch at Cafe Express and then Marley was a great sport for the drive home. It put a huge smile on my face to hear Asa have so many stories to laugh about and tell us how many friends he had. I am so proud of him.

We had a little party when we got back to Nacogdoches with all of the family. It was so great to see how supportive everyone was and how happy they were to see Asa. Marley hasn't wanted him out of her sight since we picked him up. Every time he leaves the room or walks away from her her, she signs "Daddy" and points to him, like she is telling him to come back and stay with her. It breaks my heart to think about him leaving again and her sad little eyes looking at him, hoping he will turn around. How will we be able to handle it?