Welcome home Michael!

Elder Alisa returned from his mission in Puerto Rico in December and after a week in Hawaii he came to Utah with Mom and Dad.  We all went to welcome him home at the SLC airport and Wayne got our family boarding passes so we could pass security and pick him up at the gate.  Later, we met up with the rest of the family at the baggage area.  We all had signs and leis and Wayne added a nice, loud "CHEE-HOO!" to make his welcome home complete.  At the airport, Michael got to meet some new family members for very the first time - baby Joseph, Inoke, baby Amalani and baby Tali.  It's amazing how much our family has grown in the two years he has been gone.

We made Michael wait at the top of the escalators till we were ready
to give him a proper welcome.  It took a second to organize
everyone.

Picking up Uncle Mikey from the gate.
Malia got a lot of stares with her sandwich
 board sign. Haha

The welcoming party!
Dad, Michael, Tali, Amalani, Mom, Wayne, Joe, Joseph, Malia, Inoke and Kina

Later, we gathered at Joseph's house for some homemade BBQ ribs (soooo good!) and had a little family home evening.  The highlight for me was hearing Michael bear his testimony in English, Spanish and Papiamento. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true!  I'm grateful for the example Michael has given of service and faith for us, his older siblings, and for all his little nieces and nephews.

Alisa siblings
Michael, David, me, Tali and Joseph

Michael with all his nieces and nephews

I'm so happy Michael is home.  It's been so fun hearing about the experiences he had while serving a mission and how his testimony of Jesus Christ has grown.  I STILL can't believe he's a returned missionary - I still think of him as a little kid, but it's wonderful to see how much he has matured and learned.  It was also so fun seeing our whole family together again.  It's been a while - and everyone is growing and has their own little families now, but we are still one big family.  Welcome Home Michael!  Job well done.