In 2006 my husband was deployed to Iraq, I was 36 weeks pregnant with our first child. He would be gone for 11 months,and would miss the birth. We thought he would not get to meet her until she was nearly a year old. We decided it was best for me to go home to stay with family, and he left for Iraq. She was born the same day he landed in Iraq, he did not even know I had gone into labor. He called to tell me he had gotten promoted, and was surprised to learn I was in the hospital and she had been born. 6 months later we were informed that he would not get any R&R because he would not be deployed long enough to rate it. I was heart broken, he was only short the requirement by one month. So I settled on the fact that our first child would not get to meet her daddy until she was 11 months old. One day, while at my mother's house, my mother in law called to ask what I was doing. I told her that we were just having a quite day at home, she asked if she could come and join us. So I got my daughter and I ready for company. The door bell rang,and as I was walking to the door I saw a blur of cami rush past the window.I immediately knew that it was my husband in uniform. I couldn't believe it. I opened the door and there he was. He had been given permission to take R&R and decided to surprise us. I was speechless, and he was worried that he was too dirty to hold our daughter for the first time. It was the best surprise of my life!

Bonne
Quantico, VA