Gets me everytime!

"The true Soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him."

We said goodbye to Guy on wednesday at 5:30AM. We decided to wake the kids up to go with us even though we were up at 3:30AM. It was so hard to watch how upset Maddy and Jonny were when we told them where we were going. Maddy cried the whole way to the airport. She stopped once we got out of the car but she clung to him like a second skin. Jonny just kept saying that he wanted to go with daddy on the airplane. He was so sure he was going to go with him. I guess we got lucky that Lizzie was pretty oblivious to the whole thing.

When the time actually came for him to board the plane Maddy and Jonny were hysterical. Right as he was handing the ticket person his boarding pass Jonny screamed and tried running after him. That was the hardest thing I have ever had to watch. I eventually got them to calm down enough to go home but they had such a rough time with it. They still ask about him but luckily we haven't had any more meltdowns. They got soooo excited though when he called. Hopefully he calls again so they can talk to daddy some more. We will hit 4 months on February 7th and then there will be roughly 8 months left. Lets hope that the end of this damn deployment comes quickly. I hate how the seperation is affecting the children. How do you console a child who only wants their daddy? How do you explain to a young child that their daddy will be gone for 8 more months? All they know is that daddy is at work far away. That seems to work for now.

Sorry for all the negative. R&R was wonderful, the kids really, really enjoyed having daddy home. So did I, even if it was just for 2 weeks. We didn't get to do a whole lot but the kids were content just to go for long walks with him. It is so awesome to see how attached they are to him. He is a wonderful father and an awesome husband and I thank Heavenly Father everyday that I have him in my life.