Well, it finally came! Even though the 18 months of Avery's mission went by fast, we were SO excited for her to come home! I spent the week before cleaning and making food and doing lots of other things to keep my mind off of it. She got home on Friday at 4:38 PM. Or, at least that was when she was supposed to get home... We had a big crowd of family at our house and we left our house around 4:10 for the airport and by the time we got in to where we would meet her, it was probably 4:30 or 4:35. As it turned out, her flight came in early and so instead of us waiting and cheering for her as she came through the doors, she came running up to us as we walked toward the waiting area. She had only had to wait a couple of minutes, but I'm sure it was a very lonely couple of minutes! Poor lonely Hermana! We felt so bad!
But seeing her coming running towards me and hugging her again was seriously the best feeling I have ever had! That must be what it will feel like when we are in heaven and having amazing reunions with our loved ones. So much joy, I thought my heart would burst!
She was so shocked at how tall the boys had gotten. Her reaction to Grant after she hugged him was so funny! She was shocked and appalled at his size!
So many tears!! It was all a little overwhelming for her!
We have the best, most supportive family. We are grateful.
Maren got there a few minutes after we did (again, we weren't expecting Avery to be early!).
The happiest reunion! Look how big all of our kids look!
Love our family!
Avery and all the big boys.
We went to In-N-Out after the airport so we could all get dinner, and it was so packed in there and Avery was feeling so overwhelmed, so we went to a nearby park and ate. Luckily, we were having a fairly warm streak.
We took our little family to the Stake President's office to get her released as a missionary and then went on to our house for her reunion with Pepper.
It took Pepper a second to remember Avery, but when she did, she couldn't stop attacking her with kisses.
The next day we spent the morning at home together, playing in the yard.
Later that afternoon we met the Braithwaite's and Gramma Lana at the State Capital to look around and then we headed over to the Salt Lake Library to do the same.
The next morning was Avery's talk in our ward and she did great! Dustin conducted the meeting, I gave the prayer, Grant was the youth speaker, Avery spoke, and I sang with the choir, so it felt a little like the Wiberg Show. We did a lunch at our house after (street tacos and tamales) and we had a huge crowd--mostly our amazing supportive family and a few awesome friends.
Everyone was worn out from so much love and togetherness!
Having Avery on a mission has been such a neat experience for our family. It has made us more missionary minded. It has made us appreciate the times we are together. It has made our prayers more focused. I have LOVED being able to talk to her weekly on her P-Day. It definitely made the time go by faster and be much more bearable. I feel like she has grown so much and her testimony is beautiful! We feel so blessed that she wanted to and was able to serve and teach people about Jesus Christ. And, we are loving having her back home!!
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