Homecoming & Holidays

We've had a busy couple of weeks in the Heyen house. Keith came home on the USS Harry S. Truman on Monday, December 20th. I bundled up the boys and we trekked down to the pier to collect him, standing with thousands of our closest friends in frigid temps and blustery winds. Makes me really miss those good old COD fly-ins! It was worth it though; we were all glad to be together again, just in time for Christmas. I had been prepping Will on what to expect once we got to where the "big boat" was docked. However, I failed to mention (or remember?) that everyone would be dressed the same and that it would be difficult to tell his Dad from all the others. So when I finally spotted Keith and tried to point him out to Will, Will just kept looking around. I guess he was expecting Daddy in civilian clothes or a flight suit, not his SDBs. But we finally reunited and Will was thrilled; he followed Keith around the house like a shadow for the first few days. Archer even seemed to recognize his Dad and wasn't at all hesitant of him. Life is back to normal now, whatever normal is in the Navy. Navy normal, is what it should be called. We're looking forward to Keith being "home" for most of January!


Right before Keith came back, Will had his Christmas program at school. It was pretty cute, although the music teacher was becoming obviously irritated with the 3 year olds (patience, Miss Cathy). They sang 4 songs, which was just about 2 too many. By the last song, one kid was jumping up and down, several had sat down on the steps, one had completely melted down and had to be removed from the situation altogether and the rest just weren't that into it. Will did pretty well considering all the distractions. I was able to get some shaky video (while holding a squirmy baby) so I'll try to get it uploaded at some point. Unfortunately I did not get video of Miss Cathy announcing how she needs a raise for working with the 3 year olds. Aaahhh, the holidays!


We topped off all that fun with Christmas at home. Unfortunately I got the stomach flu and was out of commission for much of the holiday festivities (hence, few pics). But overall we had a nice time with Aunt Jill, Matt, and Cousin Mandy. We got a Christmas night blizzard that kept everyone housebound and without power for a bit, which was far from ideal. But apparently we were all good this year because we raked in plenty of wonderful gifts, enjoyed great food, and had plenty of face time, although some of that was in the dark. :) I hope everyone will join us again for Christmas fun next year!