Well, I aptly named this blog "going out with a bang" because that's exactly what July has been for us. We've had a lot of fun this month, but with the the knowledge in the back of our minds that this would be Kyle's last month around before heading to Afghanistan.
We enjoyed the remainder of his block leave that lasted until July 11th and even though he went back to work then he's had short days and long weekends so we've soaked up as much family time as possible. Kyle heads off to Afghanistan sometime next week (can't give out specifics due to keeping with Army security standards) and I'm loathing the day he has to go. We're doing our best to stay positive and to focus on that each day he's gone is a day closer to him coming home. It's been very hard for him to fathom leaving me and especially the kids behind, knowing how much they'll grow and change each year. While I'm grappling with the knowledge that I'll be a single parent of 2 for the next year. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? We know how lucky we've been having Kyle home for the past 3 and half years, but this deployment is a new experience for us having kids this time around. We're both so appreciative to all our friends and family for offering support, coming to visit, and just simply keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. We're really going to need you all during this next year. I know many of will want Kyle's address and we're working on getting an accurate one asap and then I will email it out. He believes he'll have some internet and phone access overseas so he will at least be available via email sporadically at paradigmshiftbrewing@gmail.com. I will also do my best to send out updates via the blog or email on how he's doing, things he wants/needs in packages, and just general updates throughout his tour of duty. We're so proud of Kyle and what he does for our country and we KNOW that he'll be coming home to us safely in just a few short (12...ugh) months.
In more positive news, our kids are great! Greyson is ridiculously verbal and speaks in sentences all day long. He learns at least 10 new words a day and commits them to memory. He has an incredible memory overall - if we go to a place we've been before he remembers and can tell you what we did last time we were there. He's also working on counting, his ABCs, colors, and shapes. Peyton is growing like a weed. She's now 6 and half weeks old and has got to be weighing in around 11 pounds and she was 22 inches tall at her 4 week appointment. She's eating plenty, pooping a lot, and sleeping quite nicely. We had one night of sleeping all through the night (ahhhh), but most nights she goes down around 10pm, wakes up to eat around 5am, and then goes back to sleep until 9-10am. We truly can't complain. She's starting to "almost smile" and is working on holding her head up more and more each day. Can't believe how quickly 6 weeks have flown by. I'm thankful that I'll have my two munchkins to keep me plenty busy while Kyle is away - granted I may be a bit stressed, exhausted, and want to pull my hair out at times...but they sure are cute and fill my heart with love and joy even when I'm feeling blue that Kyle is away.
Go check out our July picture link on the left to see the fun we had over the 4th with my Mom and Mike in town and all the family fun we had this month. Also enjoy looking at the family portraits we had done here in Colorado Springs over leave. We used a great photographer (www.charlottegeary.com) who took gorgeous shots of our family that we will treasure always.
Sorry my blog updates have been less frequent, but time with Kyle has been our focus this month. I'm sure once he's deployed I'll be a bit more on top of things - who am I kidding? I'll be flying solo with 2 kids and completely busy...but I promise to TRY to be better. Lots of love to you all and please keep Kyle in your prayers as he serves our great nation.
~K,L,G,and P
