Well, friends, as some of you know, Jared left January 19th for his first KC-135 deployment. He deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgystan-14 time zones ahead of us here in Pacific time. He came home safely to us on Tuesday. Thank You, Jesus! It was a big day for the Tanners, and we are SO happy to be together again. It was a rough 2 months for me as we were apart, and I was a single parent to a 3-week-old who didn't sleep through the night yet and a 2-year-old potty training toddler (shout out to the Petersons-NOW I know why Tracy's story of going through deployment with a newborn and potty-training toddler seemed to be such a significant memory for her). God definitely designed the family with 2 parents for a reason.
I must say, though, that we had an incredible amount of help, offers of help, and support! Our small group gave Miriam a welcome party, complete with presents and food for the freezer so I didn't have to cook as much, our new friends the Halpins made a commitment to come over on Mondays and Fridays to give me a break and bring us dinner. Amber (Hum) came to visit-it was like a mini vacation! Our Blackhawk family (squadr
on) checked in on us, visited, called, and encouraged. And our wonderful neighbors checked in often to make sure we were okay, had us over, came to visit, and went to lunch with us! When Jared left Elena was in diapers and Miri was a newborn, now Elena is (almost completely) potty trained, Miriam is sleeping in her crib, and I have gained some parenting confidence! Thank you for your prayers and support. In true Air Force fashion, we already have the dates for the next deployment. New Mexico, here we come!
