Being a Mom and Military Wife all at the same time...

I get asked all of the time how I can go through a deployment with the boys. I always smile and say the same thing, I just take it day by day! But that's not how I really get through this but if I stopped to explain to them how I really do this, then I'd be wasting my breath. It takes a lot to get through any deployment but it takes so much more to get through one with kids because you are no longer the only one that is getting hurt or misses their soldier. Kadin and Logan are so proud of their daddy but they can't understand why he is gone. No child should ever have to go a single day without their dad, let alone a full year. As a mom, the hardest thing I've ever had to do is listen to my babies cry for their daddy. I don't think I'd ever wish that kind of pain on anyone. It tears my heart to pieces to see them suffer like this. So now we come back to how I do this, whatever 'this' may be. First and most importantly is my family. They are my number one support, whether it be emotional, physical or even mental. I know I can count on them for anything, if I need a few hours away from the house by myself, I know they are there. If I need a place to cry, they are definitely there. If I don't want to be alone, like always they are there. I could never make it through this without them. The second and just as important as the first is I surround our boys with everything of their daddys. We talk to him whenever we can, we talk about him 24/7 and we have pictures of him everywhere. Their favorite thing is when I wash them with their daddys soap :) I make sure they know that Lance loves them more than anything and he's coming home as soon as he can. The third thing that helps me and the boys through this deployment is to go on through the day and life as normal as possible. The more of a routine they have everyday is better for them. So in a way, I do take it day by day but it's everything that goes on in making that day that makes the difference.