Welcome Home, Dawson and MORE!

All the crew who were there to welcome Dawson home.

This week has been cray cray (in a good way) at the Pedersen home.  I hope you'll indulge me as I share a  little bit of that with you.

1.  Our son, Dawson, came home after finishing his 2 year LDS mission to Sydney, Australia on Tuesday.  For those of you who don't know much about how this works, I'll give you a little explanation.  Most LDS boys, at the age of 18, go out somewhere in the world to give full-time service and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do this 24/7 (okay, they do sleep...lol) for 2 full years. While gone, they get to email their families once a week, and get to call or skype with their families on Mother's Day and Christmas.  It is a huge sacrifice for the boys and their families, but it is also one of the most awesome blessings our family has ever received. Dawson is our third boy to serve. Our first son, Easton, served in Houston, TX (Spanish speaking). Our second son, Tannon, served in Malaga, Spain (obviously Spanish speaking).  Dawson was called to Sydney, Australia. He was also assigned to serve in the Spanish language but got very little chance to use it.  He did, however, serve much of his mission among the Tongan people in Australia and came home fluent in Tongan.  As we have watched our boys serve, we have realized that although it is hard to say goodbye and turn your son over to the Lord for 2 years, the blessings far outweigh the sacrifice.  The people they become in this 2 years of service is absolutely amazing.  Let me clarify: they were already awesome people, but they came home changed in a way that would be hard to do in any other way.  Anyway, I'm rambling. I guess I'm just saying how happy I am our boys served, and how HAPPY I am that I am done sending missionaries!  *wink*

That first hug.  Heaven!

The first hug at the airport is the BEST!  I can't even begin to tell you how it feels to see your son for the first time in 2 years and have him wrap his big arms around you and sqeeze!

2.  My hubby, Dan the Man, celebrated his birthday yesterday (Wednesday).  Although celebrating by having Dawson home was the best birthday gift ever, he has experienced a REALLY hard last 5 weeks. He injured his back and has been flat down for 5 weeks.  It has been horrific.  He has been through MRI's, several series of injections in different areas of his spinal joints and back, 3 different doctors, and so much more. He has been in constant pain and hasn't been able to walk more than 20-200 feet (depending on the day) for that whole time.  There is one very specific position he can sit in and one he can lay in with minimal pain. Walking, standing, or any other sitting or laying positions are impossible.  We honestly didn't even know if he would be able to go to the airport on Tuesday to welcome Dawson home. We had a family fast and have been praying for him and we had our own little Pedersen miracle.  He was able to go to the airport on Tuesday and welcome Dawson home.  He couldn't have imagined a better birthday gift!  He still has a very long way to go to be fully functional again, but we are getting there. Thank heavens!

Dan (and Tannon) waiting at the airport for Dawson's return. We had to bring a funny, portable chair for Dan but we somehow made it work!

3.  Our daughter, Kori is expecting her 4th baby any day.  We are so grateful he didn't decide to make his debut on Tuesday when we had Dawson coming home.  Any day is fine now.  I'll be sure to announce it when he arrives!