Does absence really make the heart grow fonder?

This morning I said goodbye to my dear husband (with *many, many* tears). We won't see each other for two whole weeks! He is flying out to Oklahoma for more training and the kids and I will be headed to Tennessee on Thursday, we will be gone for nine days. We will miss each other by one stinking day.

So does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Do we really love our missing spouse more when they've been away for weeks? I'm not sure. When Jake is gone I can't sleep, I'm depressed and the kids are super grumpy. And I won't lie, it's nice when he gets home from work to have someone help me with the kids. He is usually the one who gets them to bed. By the end of the day I'm about to pass out already. Now I'm "on duty" from 6am to 7pm (except the baby-not a baby anymore, I need to stop calling him that...) takes over an hour to get to sleep! Tonight it took nearly two hours. And I know what you're thinking, that I should put the kids down later because they're probably not tired at 7pm. Oh no my friend, they. are. tired. No matter what time they go to bed, 7pm, 10pm, midnight, they still are up at 6am. With out fail. So I might as well put them to bed at 7 so I can have a few extra hours of rest for me. The older two kids don't take naps so they're underfoot all day. Titus only takes one nap a day and it's usually only for an hour some days I get a glorious two hours. But those days are rare.

I don't know how I'll survive 12 days without him. I miss him all day and now I'll be missing him at night too. I sound like a adolescent but we really do love each other this much. How many people do you know have been married to their high school sweetheart and still are head over heals in love with them almost 10 years later? Not many. I am so thankful for the love we have for each other.

God has blessed us abundantly. I can see how much He loves us through the little things in life. He blesses me with a husband who loves me with all my (countless!) flaws, He blesses us with beautiful children, He blesses us with family who is gracious enough to let us live with them while our house in VA sells and we look for a house here. There are more blessings I can't even list them all. I am SO blessed!

So now, Lord, put the rock under my feet so I don't drown. I need You to keep my head above water. You are my Solid Rock, all other grounds are sinking sand.

Please pray for me and the kids as we struggle through these next two weeks as a single parent household. Tennessee will be fun but I will be missing my man. And I know he will be missing us! He has as hard of a time being apart as I do.