My Guy

My Guy....Guys!

It was a long road to become a family of 3 but I won't take up too much of your time relating it all here. Just know that

our son was VERY wanted, very loved and that his Dad and I were so excited we could barely contain ourselves.

The morning Daniel arrived, we left our home in Virginia Beach early and drove to the City of Brotherly Love. We got settled in our hotel room, ate dinner and then decided we just wanted to get to the airport and walk....and walk....and walk. Miles I would guess. Around and around, back and forth. Storms would fire up and ease, blow in again and stop.

Our son arrived at 10:30 pm, on April 26th, 1990. He was escorted from Seoul, Korea to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He landed in a blinding rain storm on one of the hottest April days Philadelphia had ever seen!

But oh that smile...it just radiated. As he reached us, he grinned and bowed. Uh huh. Bowed. We melted and that was that. He was our son and we were his parents. Nothing would ever break that bond.

This picture was taken on the flight line, Naval Air Station Norfolk. Bill had been flying carrier qualifications all day. Danny had been with us just one week. Just 2 weeks after this picture was taken Daddy left for an 8 week carrier training mission. Danny and I went to visit his Grandparents in Tennessee. What fun he had! He and my parents quickly bonded and he loved swimming and playing and learning how to tie his Mommy around his finger really fast! Then things hit the skids....instead of coming home for months, Bill's ship (and the squadrons on board) were quickly deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of first, Desert Shield and then Desert Storm. It would be almost 9 months until we saw him again. As difficult as it was for Danny and for me, it was horrible for Bill. He would miss Daniel's first day of school, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas...you name it. But you know? I have always been sure that it was because of Daniel that I stayed as calm as I did...held things together. I always thought that if Bill had to be away for more than 6 months (and that was always bad enough), especially due to conflict, I would fall apart. Nope, I had a son to care for, help, make things right for. What a delight he was....he fully embraced his new found childhood and new home. He made friends easily, did well in school, adored his family. My brother came to stay with us and oh how they bonded. He and Dan are very different personalities but Dan says that he will always love and adore his Uncle because of what they went through together, and meant to one another, all those years ago. He had to endure many times away from Dad, moving to several different states, changing schools quite often....he always handled each trial with a smile and a joke. Bill's Naval Retirement, 2005. Dan received a special award for his " Service To Country" as the son of a Military Veteran.

We have hundreds of wonderful pictures in albums of Danny but few in my computer. The scanner decided to be belligerent for me today so I have included just a few here. Dan is not fond of having photos taken but he will pose on holidays or for his sister. This was from Christmas 2006, with his gift from Grace. Thanksgiving 2006

at Grandma's....

New Year's Eve 2006/07 at our favorite Asian restaurant.

This young man has been such a joy. Not perfect, sometimes a royal pain as all kids are, but he is, and will always be our joy. He is a fantastic big brother to Grace and she thinks he is top drawer!

He is finishing up college, studying Psychology, and works as a software engineer at a local company. We are so proud of him.