It was only two months.

But every day brings a family memory missed.

In the time the USS Russell was gone, sailing through Iraqi, African, Japanese and Korean waters, Elizabeth Bond had her fourth child, Mark Westfall's 13-month-old said "Dadda" over and over again to her mom, and Jason Lawrence's little girl turned 9.

Latasha Westfall said yesterday it had been a long wait, after kissing her husband and handing him their youngest child, who was smiling — but not speaking now — amid all the commotion. "It was a challenge," Mark Westfall agreed, as he held his 13-month-old. "Just been missing my family."

Katie Westfall, 10, stood nearby, beaming and swinging her curly ponytail back and forth.

She was the first to see her dad come in after winning a raffle to go on the ship a few hours before it came into Pearl Harbor yesterday afternoon. She and a handful of other children and spouses rode a small boat out to the Russell and boarded it, getting their husbands or wives or dads or moms all to themselves — for a little while.

The USS Russell deployed Feb. 1 with 330 sailors. It had just returned in September from a six-month tour overseas.

The quick turnaround surprised many families. They thought they would have their loved ones at home a little longer.

"It's been strengthening," Rita Lawrence said of the deployment. She held a bundle of pink roses in her hand at the dock, a gift from her husband who had run off the ship to give his wife and daughter Tianni a kiss, then sprinted back on to get his clothes and gear before heading home.

Lawrence didn't mind a little more waiting. Neither did 9-year-old Tianni, who was marveling at the massive steel gray ship that had swallowed up her father yet again.

Before the ship docked, Elizabeth Bond was rocking her newborn in her arms while keeping an eye on her three other children, ages 7, 3 and 21 months.

The baby was born five weeks ago, and the Navy allowed Lt. j.g. Dan Bond to fly over for a week and meet his new daughter. But as quickly as he'd come, he was gone — back to the ship, to e-mails and long-distance calls every night, to dreaming up what the family would do once everyone was back together again.

"Maybe we'll rent a cabin, just relax," Bond said, as she watched the Russell crawl into port, a humongous red, white and blue lei draped over its bow.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.