GOSHEN — Hundreds of local military families are preparing to give thanks for the greatest blessing of all this holiday weekend: the safe return of loved ones from Iraq.

It's been nearly 10 months since more than 3,400 Indiana National Guardsman left to begin their tour in Iraq, including hundreds from the Warsaw based 293rd Infantry Division's "Alpha Company."

Now, many of those soldiers are finally on their way home, and they're families are anxiously awaiting their return.

Ronda and Art Baer are among them.

Nine months ago, their son, Private Seth Owen helped make history just nine months after after he graduated from Goshen High School. He was one of thousands in Indiana's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who began their march to war at Fort Stewart in Georgia early last March in the largest deployment of Hoosier Guardsman since World War II.

For his family it was a bittersweet moment.

"I'm proud of him, 100 percent," said Art, wiping away a tear. "These are proud tears."

They are moments that have been echoed back home in Goshen by Art and his family every day since then.

"We're always wondering, is he OK? What's he doing? Every couple of weeks I'd ask Ronda, what do you think Seth's doing today?" said Art.

For the last few months, many of the answers have been provided on "webcam Wednesday" by Seth himself.

"There's the camera, and there he is! Every Wednesday night, the kids come home for supper, and we'll be in there talking to him. To see him... it's nice to be able to have that," Art said.

In the moments in between?

Well, Seth is still there, at least, in cardboard form!

"We took him to a haunted house on Halloween," said Bryan Baer, laughing while holding a cardboard cutout of his stepbrother. "He had a good time!"

But late Wednesday afternoon, Art, Bryan, and Ronda were the ones having a good time. They sat on the couch flipping through photos of Seth in Iraq with stepbrother Robbie Baer, and Seth's brother and sister Josh and Beth Owen.

The news had just come in: Seth would be back in Indiana in just 48 hours.

The reaction was clear.

"It's excitement! I mean, he's here!" said Art.

"We're so excited to have him back home," said Ronda.

As the clock now ticks toward a reunion nearly a year in the making, there are suddenly new conversations to have; new moments to prepare for.

"But, how do you prepare for it?" wondered Art. "Take Kleenex and get ready to wipe your eyes? Because that's what it's going to be! We'll have signs and banners, and, you know, we'll just be so grateful."

There will be, and already have been tears this time around too. But, this time, they are filled with joy, because a promise Seth made in Georgia nearly a year ago will soon be kept.

"I know I've got people back home waiting for me," he told WSBT during an exclusive interview at Fort Stewart following his unit's deployment ceremony. "That will get me through it all."

It's the best reason ever for his family to give thanks this Thanksgiving weekend, even though he won't be there for the holiday celebration.

"He'll be with us, though," said Art. "The pictures, the cutout, they'll be there tomorrow. And I don't look at that as another tough holiday. The hard part is behind us now. 48 hours? That's a lot better than 12 months! We'll have so much to be thankful for. He's home!"

Still, Seth's family knows they won't be the only ones longing for a loved one during the holiday Thursday.

"We still have a lot of soldiers over there yet. You just feel for their families, because their loved ones are still over there as well," Art said.

And even though thousands of guardsman from the 76th IBCT will begin arriving in Indianapolis on Thanksgiving morning, being home won't quite be "home" quite yet.

Each guardsman will have to undergo a newly implemented mandatory 48-hour "mental health debriefing" at Camp Atterbury in Indiana before being allowed to return home for good.

"But, what's another 48 hours? Especially when it's in Indiana, not Iraq!" Art said.

Families will be given one hour to visit with their guardsman following their return to Stout Field in Indianapolis over the next three days.

WSBT will have a crew at that homecoming in Indianapolis Thursday. Tune in to WSBT News at 5, 6 and 11 for coverage of the homecoming.