Jarom's Mission Homecoming

The day finally arrived when Jarom came home from Malaga Spain where he served a faithful mission for 2 years.  I was thankful that he was able to go out and serve so diligently and do the work of the Lord.  I think one of the best feelings is when you know you are doing something that He would be doing if He were here on earth.  What a spiritually satisfying accomplishment.

Many times Jarom's emails that he would write once a week were just what I needed to hear to get me out of my spiritual ruts and back on track.  He was always so tender and genuine with his feelings and sharing the experiences he was having while on his mission.  I'm truly blessed to have a brother who was courageous enough to sacrifice 2 years and serve such a noble mission.  It was so amazing to see the transformation in Jarom from when he first left to the last letter he wrote to us before he boarded the plane.  I've always told him and Jocelyn that they are my angels, and Heavenly Father knew that I needed them by my side to get the rest of the family back.

His plane flew into Tucson Az on December 6, 2012.  A couple weeks before Jeff and Annabelle had been fighting off a vicious stomach bug that was going around, that unfortunately included a lot of throwing up.  With my luck I was the last one to catch it and when I did it hit hard.  I woke up the morning of his homecoming feeling so sick to my stomach.  The original plan was to head all the way to Sierra Vista and drop Annabelle off and have someone babysit her, then we would go to the airport with the rest of the fam without her because he had a late flight.

The whole day I kept debating on what to do and knew that Satan was playing a hand in me not feeling well.  I knew that regardless of how I was feeling that I had to be at the airport for Jarom, I knew that he needed me there.  I was one of his main supports while he was out on his mission, one that believed in the work he was doing and fully believed in it with my own testimony.

We changed our plans and just decided to take Annabelle to the airport with us and surprise Jarom with her being there.  We had told him earlier through email that she wouldn't make it because it was too late, so he wasn't expecting to see her until the next morning.  Jeff thought that it would be best if I stayed home and got my rest for as long as I could before we made the long car ride. We were going to drive straight to Tucson with a pit stop in Mesa for Annabelle to take a break.  The car ride went better than I thought, although Jeff had to stop a lot for me to go to the bathroom.  My stomach had just been in knots and ached so badly.  I just kept telling myself to tough it out and it would all be worth it, I  just couldn't miss such a sweet and long awaited reunion with my little bro.

I gave assignments out to Tara and Joc to make welcome home posters for Jarom, and they actually did!  I wanted to do something fun for him when he saw us at the airport for the first time. So, I came up with these ridiculous t-shirts where all of us are making silly faces.  I knew my family would not be on board to wear matching t-shirts unless it was something immature and funny. This is what I came up with: 

My favorite has to be Peter in his shark helmet.  I got everyone's approval and they all showed up with them on.  Even my Mom and Dad were wearing them! 

It was a true "Shaver style" way to celebrate him coming home to us! 

AnnaB was in good spirits considering how late we kept her up. 

We thought it was appropriate to let her wear her pj's! 

Amber even flew down for the occasion too, it was so great having everyone there minus Paul.

Jarom's reaction to us bringing Annabelle was priceless!  He was so shocked and very happy!  

My Mom couldn't be happier in this moment!  What a special thing for a mother to 

have her son return home with honor.

It was all I could do to get myself dressed that day and to put on a tad bit of make up on….I felt and looked so gross, but that didn't matter.  Seeing Jarom's after mission glow was all worth it!

Jarom couldn't wait to reunite with the dogs!

To no surprise Annabelle loved sitting on the little bench my mom has by the front door.

Catching up on time with Uncle Jarom, they bonded instantly! 

We ordered an extra shirt for Jarom to wear too.

AnnaB helping Grammy with the dishes.

  

My Mom wanted the house to be all decked out in her beautiful Christmas decorations before Jarom came home, it's seriously like a Winter Wonderland.

Anytime Amber is in town I make her bake a pineapple upside cake, it's one of my favs 

and tasted even better with a side of a Qwirkle!

Jeff and I were the only ones that were able to stay for the whole weekend and attend Jarom's homecoming talk on Sunday.  I'm so glad that we did.  He did so well on his talk and shared a powerful testimony in the end of his experiences and what the gospel meant to him. 

Last time he would get to wear his Elder Shaver name tag. 

It took me awhile to put together, but I had compiled all of Jarom's emails that he had written to us while he was out and put it in a book for him.  I knew it would be something that he would always cherish.  Dad helped me out to get it printed and bound at Staples and it turned out really nice.  I knew it would be something that you could always reflect back on for a spiritual boost.  Good reminder that you can do hard things too.

Thank you Jarom for living up to all that I knew you could be.  You gave it your all and to this day I can see the blessings still coming into your life from having served a full mission.  I'm appreciative for the gospel bond that we share and that we can go to the temple together.  I'm thankful for your example and endless reminders to say my prayers, read my scriptures and to attend the temple often.  I'm lucky to have a righteous little brother like you. I LOVE YOU ELDER SHAVER!