Elder Robinson ~ Finally Home......

My nephew Josh has been serving an LDS mission in Sacramento California for the past 2 years. (In the same area that Mike's family lives). He returned home last week and it was so great to see him again. Darrell and Lisa were so busy the past month or so preparing for his return. They were in the middle of some remodeling in their house to surprise Josh when he came home. They also had a trip planned the following day after they picked him up from the airport. Lots of packing, cleaning, organizing, shopping etc. So the morning that his plane was coming in I decided to help them out by making some posters to decorate their home with.

We got everyone involved in signing it.....

Writing messages of love.......

And appreciation for a job WELL DONE!

His youngest sister, Whitney enjoyed tracing her hand and coloring a picture for her BIG BROTHER!

Getting help to sign her name.....

As the parents were frantically getting ready, with only a few hours to go, the girls and I began to decorate! Lots of fun!

They went throughout the neighborhood tying yellow ribbons on trees and mailboxes to welcome him home.

All done and time to go to the airport......

My cute nieces..... They love their brother so much!

Almost there!

Darrell "cheezn' it for the camera.

Hey keep your eyes on the road!

Whit was trying so hard to stay awake during the ride to the airport. Her little head was just flopping around and her eyes would roll back in her head. She would open her eyes, look at me with a dazed look on her face, smile and then her eyes would begin to ROLL! I think it is so funny when kids do this and I am probably not so nice to try to keep them awake. Well, she finally crashed! I think I must have overworked her this morning while we were decorating :) :) :)

The girls were so excited to finally see their brother again....

Quick family picture (without Josh) before the plane lands.

Whitney receiving a "spit bath" before she sees Josh

Howie had come from work and brought my mom with him

The level of excitement and anticipation was unreal......

It seemed like FOREVER before we finally go to see him.

A military unit was also coming in at the same time as Josh so the lobby was full of people with signs and balloons. Everyone's eyes were focused at the top of the escalator. I loved to sit back and listen to the squeals of delight as family members were reunited. I have a special place in my heart for the military and their family because I know first hand the fear and sometimes sadness of letting your loved one leave for duty, and then the absolute joy when you see them return safely home. I found myself extremely choked up as these military men filed down the escalator to run into the arms of their loved ones. Reminded me of reunions we have enjoyed with Shawn as well as my ex brother in law, Ralph. Very emotional times.

We had waited about 15 minutes or so (it felt like a half hour or more) for Elder Robinson (Josh) to turn the corner and head down the stairs. I was standing next to the escalator to try to capture a good shot of him as soon as he came into view. Well, this air force man was coming down and I asked if he had seen some mormon missionaries, and if they are coming soon. His response was yes he saw them but that they were "practicing some delay tactics. It will be a while! " I later found out that Josh and a few other missionaries just needed to use the bathroom and that is why they took so long!

Whitney and Chrisse couldn't wait any longer to see their brother so they started up the stairs to go drag him off the plane! GET HOME ALREADY!!!

The missionaries finally came into view at the top of the escalator. I was totally frustrated because my camera would not work properly so my pictures sucked! This is the only one which even barely worked out. I was so choked up when I saw Josh and these other missionaries that maybe it was not my camera but possibly the operator of it that was a wreck! What a wonderful thing to see these great men....Return with HONOR and to see the pride and appreciation for a job well done, in the eyes of a parent.

Lisa ran out from the crowd and wrapped arms around her son. Sorry Lisa I didn't get a shot of that moment because I couldn't see anything through my view finder. It was all blurry for some reason. Tears flowing down my face could have been the reason for that!!!! By the time I gained composure Joshua was SWARMED by his family. GIANT group HUG going on here!

I know this picture is not the greatest because I couldn't get around the girls to capture the moment with Darrell and Josh but you can kind of see the expression on my brother's face. So much emotion! He is so proud of his son Josh. Tears were just streaming down his face. He has looked forward to this moment for a long time. Darrell has really missed his son while he was gone.

Once again, not too great of a shot but you can see the sheer happiness on Amy's face as she embraces her brother for the first time.

Proud mom looking over her grown son!

Lisa had mentioned in a testimony she bore a few weeks ago how she was torn as to how she felt about his return. She longed so much to see her son again and truly looked forward to his return but, she talked about how much she would miss the blessings that they have received for having a full time missionary in the field. Heavenly Father has blessed them so much while he was away and there is a special feeling that enters your home when you have a missionary. She wasn't so sure she wanted that part of her life to end. Missionary moms are the PROUDEST people out there!!!

Except maybe....DADS!

Here's Darrell going back for seconds.

One hug is not enough when your son has been gone for two years.

Darrell could not get over how much Josh had grown. He was mentioning here, as he grabbed his arm, that they will not be doing anymore wrestling together. The two of them used to wrestle in the house ALL THE TIME! Darrell will get BEAT big time now! No competition for Josh :) :)

Darrell loves Josh so much. In fact the whole family does of course, but the bond that Darrell has with his ONLY son is amazing. I think Darrell felt abandoned in a house full of GIRLS while Josh was gone. Now they can do some MALE BONDING.

Extra hugs from little Whitney. It was fun to see these two reunite.

When Josh left she was only about one year old. He would watch her all day as his parents were at work. She would follow him around like a little shadow. It will be fun to watch as Josh settles back into home life to see the relationships with all of his sisters grow. They do so much together as a family. Lots of trips and outings to form fun family memories. In fact, in just a few hours the entire family will be loading in the car and heading back to California to watch the baptism of a person Josh taught. Then they will return and immediately go to Education Week in Provo as a family. FUN TIMES!

More hugs...... My camera SUCKS!!!

WAY BLURY AND I AM NOT EVEN CRYING!

Proud Grandparents......

It is great to have you home Elder Robinson!

"We are a happy family"

One last photo opportunity with his companions......

Time to head home......

YEAH! My big brother is HOME!

I think he had this huge grin the entire time at the airport.

Great smile.....Great kid.....Great nephew.

Josh has helped me out so much in my life. When my ex husband left me and I was alone in my house, Josh would come over so many times to help me out. If I ever needed muscles to move or lift something, it was Josh who would come to my rescue. If I ever needed an extra hand with a project I was doing, Josh was only a phone call away. I sometimes felt guilty calling on him to help me out so much. It did not matter what he was doing, he would drop everything to be there for me. He shoveled my walks, visited with me, gave me a priesthood blessings, and just showed me so much love and concern. WHAT A GUY! I knew when he got his mission call that he would make an amazing missionary not only because he had a strong testimony of the gospel but because he continually showed me kind acts of service and love. That is exactly what people need to soften their hearts and be ready to hear the message of the gospel. I missed him and I am happy he is home once again. Great work Josh!

When I asked Darrell what he wanted the sign on his house to say he mentioned that he wanted it to read FINALLY HOME instead of the traditional WELCOME HOME. He then went over to his computer and pulled up a song which he had just recently found entitled FINALLY HOME. It was BEAUTIFUL! We are all so happy to finally have him home again and look forward to getting the "low down" on his mission experiences. (As soon as they decide to COME HOME from all of their galavanting around!

WE LOVE YOU, Elder Robinson!