Land of the Free

I just came across this saying "Land of the Free because of the Brave" - true in so many ways. I am truly grateful for all of the brave men and women now and throughout history, in all different walks of life, in various different scenarios, who stand up for this country, for our freedoms, and for truth. I have recently been reminded that this is noble, honorable, and a sacrifice.

(Wow - we look dead)

I'm sure that it is extremely difficult when couples are apart, but it is almost unbearable to be apart from your better half and best friend. As much as I try not to, I always have a part of me that is empty. I can't imagine how you feel. I really miss being able to hug you, go out with you, and be together as a family, but I really miss just being able to really talk to you (or me talk while you sleep). I feel that I can't really complain because we have access to so many different modes of communication, we have and continue to be so blessed, we have an amazing family, we've made it through much worse -- but it is still hard. Why do I feel bad about this???

(I hate that this picture is blurry)
See, I am going to be better about posting!

4th of July - Goodbye!

What a day! I really can't tell you what day of the week it actually is. The past two weeks were completely amazing, however reality hit today, on the day of our Country's Birthday. I did venture out in the rainy weather to take the kids to watch the fireworks. I am really glad that we did because it really would not have felt like the 4th without watching fireworks. Today was very rainy and I kept debating whether we should go out or not, plus after spending the day moping at a friends the kids came home and crashed. They woke up just in time for fireworks and for the weather to clear up, so we went. This is the first year that I can remember having such a small group. Our group consisted of Tiana, Dash, me and mom. Tiana was not very happy because she is used to be surrounded by friends and family while watching (luckily the Weaver's showed up, so for those of you that know how Tiana feels about that family, you know that her attitude completely changed)! While we were waiting, there were a lot of planes passing by and Dash was trying to figure out which one his Dad was on. We talked about how important it is for us to celebrate this land that we have been so blessed to live in and about how important this land is to their daddy. I hate that Edgar was not there with us, but in many ways he really is always with us. With the kids being older, I have been able to really discuss why their dad has to be away right now and I can make many situations learning opportunities. Have I mentioned how different this deployment is than either of the others. I feel like it hurts more, is harder day to day, affects more people, is making me stretch more than I remember, is causing my love and pride for my husband and family to grow exponentially, and is all that is ever on my mind and all I ever talk about (which I really am sorry to all of you on the other end). But considering I am not living in a military town, I think that we are bringing a small portion of the military experience to those close to us, and if people want to join us for this ride it can sometimes be a really cool thing!

Grandpa's Best Projects Ever!