What a rollercoaster!

Well, last week Kyle took off for what we will call an all expenses paid extended beach trip.  All he lacks is the ocean view (or the ocean for that matter) and indoor plumbing (ok, there is plumbing, just not in/very close to his room).  The morning he left was a really sad morning.  We had to be at the terminal pretty early all to just sit there and wait for the inevitable.  Here is a picture of us right before he left (please excuse how horrid I look, I had been crying for almost a full day at this point...):

It was a really hard day on both of us.  Me because, well, he left for a while.  Him because it was a really long day with 2 stops for gas and food before they reached their final destination.  I really think it took almost a full day for him to get to there.  On one of the stops, some veterans greeted the squadron to say thanks for their service and to provide some encouragement.  They try to meet as many of the outgoing troops as they can, and I believe that since 2003, they have greeted over 900,000 outgoing troops.  I think that was really neat and put  much needed smiles on faces.

He is settled in now and will be leaving on his fourth flight since he got there.  While he is over there, he will be doing a masters course and some other schooling for the AF.  Please be praying for him:  for safety, and that he will be able to make good use of his time and be dilligent in his tasks; for both of us, that we will grow individually and together in the Lord, and that while we hope to make good use of the time apart, that it will go by quickly at the same time.

One bright spot that came out of this was that we were able to go to Houston and spend Christmas with our families this year!  It was such a blessing to spend that time with them!  We had a fabulous time, but time went by too quickly.  We had to come back to Charleston the day after Christmas so that Kyle could  make his flight for his "trip".  Hence the rollercoaster.  It was such an emotional high from being with family at Christmas to such a low when Kyle left.  But we are thankful for the time we had with them and would not have traded it.