Day 1 of 365

So we are on day 1 of a 12 month journey. Sy landed in Kuwait today and will go through the long procedure of getting registered with his company so that he can start his job. So far on this adventure he flew from Arizona to Virginia, Virginia to Georgia, Georgia to Maine, Maine to Ireland, and Ireland to Kuwait. He has one more trip which is to fly from Kuwait to Afghanistan. I probably won't know what city he is in, but that's ok. A lot of the stuff he is doing he isn't allowed to discuss. Which we probably don't want to know anyway! So, after today we will have 364 days left. The girls and I are all positive and ready for this challenge. We are looking forward to school starting so the girls can get busy, see their friends, and participate in activities. And I can't wait for my new job to start! So, wish us luck and keep the count down going with us!

The world traveler returns

So Devan finally returned this weekend. On Saturday night she came home from visiting Paris and Barcellona with her grandparents, sister and cousin. She had an amazing time and has so many stories to share! Devan had been gone for two weeks and I was so happy to see her I couldn't stand it. So as soon as she got back to her grandma's house I drove over and picked her up. The poor girl was so wiped out she passed out on the couch while showing me her pictures. This was a once in a lifetime experience for her and I'm so glad she was able to go!
Sy is on his second stop before he goes over seas. He arrived in sticky, sweaty, humid and hot Georgia on Thursday. Luckily his group was able to get registered in the next group heading to Kuwait. He will leave on Friday the 23rd and will be gone for four months when he is then eligible for his first two week visit at home. We have been using Skype to talk to him and it is an amazing invention. I love being able to see him and talk to him. The girls think it's pretty cool to see his face and their faces on the computer screen! We all miss him greatly, but we are doing what he asked and staying the course. My new course is to train for a half marathon in November. I'm super excited and hope I can get it done! I know Sy will be so proud of me and I will feel so good about myself! The girls are getting ready for school to start, some of them are excited, some not so much. But we are all looking forward to being busy again! It's going to be a good year for us all!

Almost a week

Tomorrow will be one week that Sy has been gone. It's been a smooth ride so far and the girls and I are doing fine. Sy has been writing to each of us every night and we have all learned that he is an amazing writer. His emails are inspirational and motivational to us all, just like he is. Sy is the youngest guy in his class, the average age of officer in his group is 57 years old and the average years of experience of them all is 25 years. He felt like a kindergarten kid in a high school physics class.
Sy was required to have a hearing test that showed he has some small loss in one of his ears which he of course he blamed on living with five girls. He was also required to perform in a physical exam where he had to run a course of two miles in under an hour while wearning lots of heavy gear and an extra 35 lbs added to his backpack. He did great and finished first! What an amazing guy, right?
The classes he has been attending have trained him on the benefits of his job (health, dental, vision insurance), Afghanistan culture, how to be safe while he is there, that he is under no circumstances allowed to go near an IED, and that he should treat all the soldiers with the utmost respect. The teacher informed him that the average age of soldier is only 23, so even though he may be older, they have more experience and training for their specific job. Here is what Sy had to say about what he learned from this training:
Their daily actions humble me. It is difficult to complain about simple things when these guys are doing what they are doing day in and day out. We all owe them a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to pay. After seeing several hours of power point pictures of what they go through, I was in awe...
For this, they have my absolute respect.
The only way I can sum up this past week is that I have so much respect and admiration for my husband for what he is doing for not only our family but our country as well. I love him more everyday!

The day is finally here

So, the day that we were all dreading finally came. Sy left this morning for Virginia where he will spend 8 days in computer and physical training. Then on the 16th he will fly to Fort Benning in Georgia to be assigned to an ARMY unit whom he will deploy with. Today was a very hard day for all of us! We all know this is the right thing to do for our family, but we are going to miss Sy very much! I know that he will miss us as well, even if he is super busy working 12-16hr days, 7 days a week. We look forward to his vacations where he will get to come home, actually we will treasure those days. Sy reminded us today that if we stay the course, everything will work itself out and we will come out better in the end. All six of us believe that our family is going to be one unstoppable, loving, and close knit family when this year is over. We will be better and stronger!

Weekend get-away

So this last weekend that Sy has here in Arizona for awhile, we are in the desert visiting his father and mother in law. It's pretty cool to see the mountains and the view and be relaxed and not have five million things to do. I'm kind of sad though because when we go home tomorrow, we will only have three days left to spend time together. On Monday we are having our mommy/daddy date night, on Tuesday we are having dinner with the Meyers to get our monthly sushi fix, and Wednesday night is family night. Thursday morning I will get up and take Sy to the airport. It's going to be a difficult day, but I know that I have wonderful family and friends who will be there for me to support me. We both know that this is the right decision for us, but the reality of being away from each other for this long is truly hitting home. It's a pretty heavy weight and we are carrying it quite well so far. I love my husband and my girls and that is all I need to get through this! I hope . . .