week 26: patriotic edition

This is one of my favorite photos...
my husband's arrival home for his mid-tour leave.


Before that day, to my baby boy, "Daddy" was the guy on the computer.
I loved watching him as he realized that his dad was a real person.
They were inseparable.

Little did my kids know how hard it would be to say goodbye again--
just 15 short days later.


We are coming to the end of a 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. I have gained a ridiculous amount of love & gratitude for the men, women, & families who do this over & over again. This is our first & last deployment, and I'm genuinely surprised that we've survived the last 14 months! I don't know how I could ever do it again. I never realized the tremendous burden placed upon our military & their families.

To say thank you seems trite. I am forever changed by this experience. I've gained a great love for the Afghan people who so desperately seek freedom--I admire & pray for them. My love for this country & it's founders has increased in ways I never thought possible. My family has been strengthened & bonded through service & sacrifice...a gift we could have received in no other way.

Most of all, I see the world, my family, & my God through different eyes.
I pray that never changes.