January 25, 2015 Hannah's Home From Brazil!

The best part of being home from our mission has been being able to reconnect with our good friends, our family, and to welcome home our baby girl, Sister Hannah Moore, from her mission in Joao Pessoa, Brazil!

Hannah arrived via Delta Airlines on Friday, January 23, 2015 at about 9:35 a.m.  Eric flew in from Salt Lake City earlier in the morning and was able to be at her gate waiting for her when she got here.  She got off the plane and he walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder!  She was so surprised and so happy to see him. 

We were waiting at the top of the escalator in the main terminal and started screaming when we saw her come up!  She arrived with another Sister from her mission, Sister Stolk.  Her family was waiting for her as well.  It was a very happy reunion for all of us!

Two happy and tired sister missionaries from the Brazil Joao Pessoa Mission!

It was so fun having Tyler, Jaimee, Sophie and Tucker there to meet Hannah as well.  She was glowing--and also very tan!  Welcome back to winter!  It is hard to put into words how it feels to welcome back a child that has been gone for such a long time....but after a few minutes the time melts away and it's like she was never gone. She fit right back into that space in our lives which we have been keeping open for her.  It felt so good to give her a great big hug!

Eric and Hannah were so happy to see each other again.  It has been two years for them.

Proud and happy parents with our sweet girl!

So fun to have Tyler, Jaimee and their kids here!

Back home getting settled in.  Hannah was happy to be back in her own home and to see her kitty again.  Tucker and Sophie had a blast playing with Grammy and Hampa's toys.  After eating a sandwich and unpacking a little, we headed to the stake center where Hannah was released from her mission by President Richards. 

Hannah got to choose her welcome home restaurant and she chose Texas Roadhouse.  She didn't even know that was where Eric had chosen when he returned last Spring.  There must be something about having a steak that is appealing to newly returned missionaries!  It was delicious and a lot of fun being together again.

Before Hannah arrived home on Friday, Tyler and Jaimee and their kids drove over from Utah and arrived around dinner time on Thursday evening.  Tyler's birthday (32) was on Wednesday, the 21st, so we had a little birthday dinner for him when they arrived.  Tyler's best friend, Tyler Albert, and his girlfriend, Cara, came down to join us from Ft. Collins.  It was so nice having a houseful of people!

 

Good friends playing some cards and reminiscing about days gone by.

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind.  After eating at Texas Roadhouse on Friday night, we went home and watched Disney's "Frozen!"  It was on the top of Hannah's "missed movie's to see when I get back from my mission list."  On Saturday, we went to the Flatirons Mall and re-immersed her into the retail world.  On the way home, she agreed when I said to her, "Shopping isn't quite as fun as missionary work, is it?"

After a few hours at the mall, we returned home and celebrated Hannah's return with a family favorite dinner of Chicken Divan and this beautiful cake that was made for her at our local King Soopers.  I was so grateful to Rochelle (KS Bakery) for creating this for us!  It was perfect--looked great and tasted great!

Nothing better than good food and loved ones!

Sunday was another exciting day for all of us.  We got to hear Hannah speak in church about her mission.  She spoke about the Plan of Salvation and how it related to her mission.  She told some beautiful experiences about some of the wonderful people that she taught.  Something that she said that really stood out to me is that "our religion is the only one that offers salvation to everyone who ever lived."  It is so true!  What a blessing it is to have temples where people can do proxy baptisms for people who have passed on to the other side.  Our Heavenly Father's plan is one of happiness! We were richly blessed hearing her speak.  She ended by bearing her testimony in Portuguese.  She speaks it beautifully and the Spirit was very strong.  She is a beautiful young lady and she has a wonderful testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of His church.

Hannah, Eric and I sang "Be Still My Soul" and Mike accompanied us.  It was so much fun to perform together again as a family. 

Before we came home from our mission, Hannah suggested that when she returned, we should take a picture of the four of us with our missionary tags on.  We are no longer official representatives of the Savior, or of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but we will always be missionaries in our hearts and hopefully our words and actions will always show that!  (We sadly removed our tags before going to church).

Welcome Home, Hannah!  We are so happy you are back!!