Memorial Day and more

Our memorial day was not spent doing the typical BBQ or picnic, instead we had a lazy morning and then went to spend the afternoon with some friends. Gunnar was spoiled as always and had Sina who is 7 to pull him around in this boat, read to him, and show him endless amounts of attention.

On Tuesday we had to take Kyle back to Landstuhl Hospital, this time to Neurospine. As we were walking in, there was a bus load of seriously wounded soldiers being unloaded and taken into the hospital. It was so heart wrenching and I had never seen so many machines and tubes in my life. I understand that these soldiers have to be heavily sedated for the long trip from Iraq or Afghanistan to Germany, but that aside seeing so many young faces behind it all was a humbling experience.
I thank God everyday for keeping Kyle safe in his 2 year long deployments to Iraq and 15 month deployment to Afghanistan. I am so grateful that in his second deployment to Afghanistan that he was gone a  month before ONLY breaking his leg/ankle. While it isn't good that his leg was badly broken, it did take him out of harms way. The group of guys he was with are still there, and definitely need our prayers, they are not in a good place at all. While it is very hard to Kyle to be back home, and he never feels like he has done enough and that he should be back with his guys, he has so much to be proud of, and I am so proud of him and the sacrifices he has made.
We are so sheltered from the happenings in a war zone. Kyle can tell me about them, and I can see pictures, and even get a chance to smell him after not having access to a shower in over a month, but it still seems like this pretend land that these service members are going off into for a year at a time. Can you imagine getting bullets shot at you everyday? It is not something I can come close to comprehending.
Kyle being put in WTU (Warrior Transition Unit, with all wounded warriors) has been an eye opening experience. He works with amputees, brain injured soldiers and others who have had VERY serious injuries occur while fighting for MY (and your) freedom. Then seeing these soldiers fresh off the planes from fighting and being injured opened my eyes even a little wider. I often think that people forget in the hustle-bustle of our busy lives what is being done so that we can enjoy all the luxuries of life. This doesn't even begin to touch upon those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and those families who will never get to see their loved one again. Just remember that what we have isn't free. It costs the United States a great deal.
My Hero...

On a less serious note, Gunnar got his first haircut yesterday. He had this strip down the middle of long hair. It was pushing about 3 inches. He also had some little curls in the back that get a little out of control. So yesterday we got out the scissors and gave him a little trim. He wouldn't sit still until he had the gameboy...thank goodness the batteries waited until I was done to die.

Before...

During...

After...

I also cut Kyle's hair. It isn't as bad as I thought it would look, but I doubt he asks me to cut it again anytime soon. :) No pictures of it, I don't really want to claim it. I told him if anyone asks who cut it to say "one of his buddies." I count as a buddy don't I? Haha, no one who sees Kyle is allowed to examine his hair to closely. Also having me do anything past 11pm is not really a bright idea, I am surprised there were no tears, I was getting really frustrated with his hair (and the extremely loud clippers that woke Gunnar up). 
Here are just two random pictures from this week. The first is on our way home from Landstuhl yesterday. Gunnar didn't want to eat when we had dinner but of course got very hungry and cranky on the way home. He had ate all his food that I packed on the way there, and the only thing we had to offer him was chocolate. Please know we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic moving at about 45kmh for 70 kilometers. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Then this is just a picture of Gunnar and me. I don't remember when we took it, maybe Sunday.