Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Curve Ball
Today we were thrown a pretty big curve ball. We were told that there was no way Kyle would be exiting the Army until mid-February to early March and we have been planning our lives as such. Today we got the shocking news that we will be done in 17 days. We should have known better than to rely on the Army's timeline. SUPER. Guess this means we better decide like tonight what we are suppose to do with our lives from here. Come December 16th Kyle is no longer active duty. Prayers are appreciated, we are putting our trust in God.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Big Day
So a while back on facebook I wrote that it was a big day in the
Pettit house. A day that we had been waiting about a year and a half
for. I then simply wrote that we were blessed and that I would write
more about it in a blog later. Well, later has come and gone, and I
still haven't sat down and filled everyone in...I guess simply because
it isn't something that we normally talk about, it's personal (although I
kinda blew that by posting about it on facebook), and some what
embarrassing especially for Kyle. So I will attempt to do this
tactfully, providing enough information to fill you in a bit, but not
enough to embarrass Kyle.
I've heard a quote in the past that says "In war there are no unwounded soldiers." Jose Naroksy said it, I'm not exactly who he is other than a writer, but I think he is 100% right. I really don't believe that anyone can go to war and come back unscathed by it all. There are those with the obvious wounds and then those with the unseen, emotional wounds.
Kyle has been on four military deployments. We are thankful for our faith in God and the protection that He placed over Kyle while he was on those deployments. Kyle came home from each deployments, but not without damage. Some of his injuries like his ankle and back are more visible to those to look at him. You may or may not notice that Kyle has sleeping problems. But the other injuries are those that are not apparent to one just visibly looking at Kyle. Kyle hates labels and hates this diagnosis, but has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. He has seen a lot of things, things that are unimaginable to most of us. I often try to imagine what it would be like to be deployed, but really it's uncomprehendable.
Kyle has changed so much from the time I meet him to the man he is today. Some for the better, some not. I'm sure I have changed too, just ask him, but we love each other and and working through the changes in our lives. If you ask him he would not change his circumstances. He really believes that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and just leaves it at that.
Kyle has been going through a Medical Board with the Army. The day I was referring to a few weeks ago was the day we heard if the Army determined whether Kyle was fit or unfit for continuing his career in the military. They determined that Kyle was indeed unfit. They have placed him on a temporary duty retirement list. This means in August they will come back and reevaluate his conditions and change them as they see fit. In addition they give you a rating for your conditions that they feel will keep you from doing your job. So the Army rated him on his ankle and PTSD. We also received his VA rating, which rates you on any service connected disabilities. So they rate him on everything from acid reflux to his PTSD. Because they rate him on all his conditions their rating is usually higher. In Kyle's case it was considerably higher and honestly we have been blessed beyond anything we ever imagined.
It's hard to write about, because like I said it really is pretty personal, but also it's a hard thing to address, maybe hard for people to understand. And I feel like I'm saying "Hey Kyle is pretty messed up. So messed up the government will be giving him a paycheck the rest of his life. Wow, we are blessed Kyle is so messed up!" So, maybe you can understand my hesitation in writing
We still have a few months left in the military as we await orders. We are expecting to receive those for sometime in February or early March. As from here we really no have idea yet on what is in store for us. Kyle has been in contact with a company located in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland called Peak 7. It really is exactly what he has been dreaming of doing on his own. Except they are already established and need employees and volunteers. Kyle could volunteer the rest of his life if he wanted. Really, now we are just waiting to see what doors open and we are listening. We are praying, waiting, and listening. We sure don't want to miss what God has planned for us next!
A couple pictures, totally unrelated:
This is what we live and breathe at our house lately...trains. Gunnar talks about them before he goes to bed and the moment he gets up. Ryker loves the little lego men...but usually attempts to destroy Gunnar's train creations, so it can end up being very frustrating for me as the referee.
Last night we went to Fantasy Lights in Spanaway Park. We had a great time with friends!
I've heard a quote in the past that says "In war there are no unwounded soldiers." Jose Naroksy said it, I'm not exactly who he is other than a writer, but I think he is 100% right. I really don't believe that anyone can go to war and come back unscathed by it all. There are those with the obvious wounds and then those with the unseen, emotional wounds.
Kyle has been on four military deployments. We are thankful for our faith in God and the protection that He placed over Kyle while he was on those deployments. Kyle came home from each deployments, but not without damage. Some of his injuries like his ankle and back are more visible to those to look at him. You may or may not notice that Kyle has sleeping problems. But the other injuries are those that are not apparent to one just visibly looking at Kyle. Kyle hates labels and hates this diagnosis, but has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. He has seen a lot of things, things that are unimaginable to most of us. I often try to imagine what it would be like to be deployed, but really it's uncomprehendable.
Kyle has changed so much from the time I meet him to the man he is today. Some for the better, some not. I'm sure I have changed too, just ask him, but we love each other and and working through the changes in our lives. If you ask him he would not change his circumstances. He really believes that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, and just leaves it at that.
Kyle has been going through a Medical Board with the Army. The day I was referring to a few weeks ago was the day we heard if the Army determined whether Kyle was fit or unfit for continuing his career in the military. They determined that Kyle was indeed unfit. They have placed him on a temporary duty retirement list. This means in August they will come back and reevaluate his conditions and change them as they see fit. In addition they give you a rating for your conditions that they feel will keep you from doing your job. So the Army rated him on his ankle and PTSD. We also received his VA rating, which rates you on any service connected disabilities. So they rate him on everything from acid reflux to his PTSD. Because they rate him on all his conditions their rating is usually higher. In Kyle's case it was considerably higher and honestly we have been blessed beyond anything we ever imagined.
It's hard to write about, because like I said it really is pretty personal, but also it's a hard thing to address, maybe hard for people to understand. And I feel like I'm saying "Hey Kyle is pretty messed up. So messed up the government will be giving him a paycheck the rest of his life. Wow, we are blessed Kyle is so messed up!" So, maybe you can understand my hesitation in writing
We still have a few months left in the military as we await orders. We are expecting to receive those for sometime in February or early March. As from here we really no have idea yet on what is in store for us. Kyle has been in contact with a company located in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland called Peak 7. It really is exactly what he has been dreaming of doing on his own. Except they are already established and need employees and volunteers. Kyle could volunteer the rest of his life if he wanted. Really, now we are just waiting to see what doors open and we are listening. We are praying, waiting, and listening. We sure don't want to miss what God has planned for us next!
A couple pictures, totally unrelated:
This is what we live and breathe at our house lately...trains. Gunnar talks about them before he goes to bed and the moment he gets up. Ryker loves the little lego men...but usually attempts to destroy Gunnar's train creations, so it can end up being very frustrating for me as the referee.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Grandma's Visit
It was so great to see my grandma. I love my grandma so much and love our close relationship. I miss her like crazy! I do wish she could be closer, but I can't say much about moving far distances for the ones we love, my husband did move us to Germany for almost four years. I know it isn't easy for anyone.
I love that my boys have had a couple of opportunities to get to know her. She is such a special woman with a kind and loving heart. I'm sure five great-grandkids, all boys, at my mom's house was a bit overwhelming, but it really was priceless moments that we all got to spend together.
We are hoping to make a trip down to Tennessee sometime this winter to see her and Charlie...if the Army allows it. :)
I pray her trip home was uneventful and that she is getting in a lot of rest. I'm sure the trip was exhausting!
A family picture before church.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Pumpkin Carving/Game Night
We had a pumpkin carving and game night here at the house. We invited others from church to join us. I am a last minute party planner, so not many people were able to come but it worked out nicely for our not so large house.
Pumpkin carving ended up taking way longer than we had planned. It was suppose to be a contest, but really there were no prizes, saying it was a contest just made everyone more excited about it. I started out carving one of our pumpkins and we let Josh carve out the other large one we had. I wanted to carve an owl in a tree on ours. It started out nicely, but quickly went down hill. I called in the real creative one, Kyle. He was able to turn my ugly and deformed owl into a barn owl and salvage the rest of the pumpkin. It looked awesome then Gunnar grabbed hold of a branch and broke some of it off. I still thought it was cute, even if a toothpick had to assist in keeping some of it together.
I put the pumpkins out on the porch and now the squirrels have been eating them. The owl is completely gone and the rest of the pumpkins all have nice teeth marks in them. Oh well.
For games we just ended up playing Apples to Apples. We seemed to have a nice sized group for the game and we all did a lot of laughing and had a good time.
For Halloween this year we decided not to really participate. Kyle is really having strong convictions about this not being a holiday that our family participates in. This year while it was hard for me not to dress the kids up, I supported his decision. We did however had candy out of kids at our door and carve our pumpkins. Kyle and I are going to be doing a lot of reading on the origins of Halloween and how/why it's celebrated and decide from their is Halloween is something we will participate with in the future.
Carving away....
The carvers with their pumpkins.
Ryker and Gunnar adore Wesley. They get so excited when they hear he is coming over to play.
Playing Apples to Apples
I got to enjoy holding this sweet little one while we played the game.
The day after our party I came out to the dining room to see Gunnar had put all these plates on the table. He said "mom, we have birthday party, ok?" Haha...apparently he was ready for another party.
Gunnar loves the pumpkins. He gets excited every time he sees them. Ryker could care less, as you may have noticed.
Pumpkin carving ended up taking way longer than we had planned. It was suppose to be a contest, but really there were no prizes, saying it was a contest just made everyone more excited about it. I started out carving one of our pumpkins and we let Josh carve out the other large one we had. I wanted to carve an owl in a tree on ours. It started out nicely, but quickly went down hill. I called in the real creative one, Kyle. He was able to turn my ugly and deformed owl into a barn owl and salvage the rest of the pumpkin. It looked awesome then Gunnar grabbed hold of a branch and broke some of it off. I still thought it was cute, even if a toothpick had to assist in keeping some of it together.
I put the pumpkins out on the porch and now the squirrels have been eating them. The owl is completely gone and the rest of the pumpkins all have nice teeth marks in them. Oh well.
For games we just ended up playing Apples to Apples. We seemed to have a nice sized group for the game and we all did a lot of laughing and had a good time.
For Halloween this year we decided not to really participate. Kyle is really having strong convictions about this not being a holiday that our family participates in. This year while it was hard for me not to dress the kids up, I supported his decision. We did however had candy out of kids at our door and carve our pumpkins. Kyle and I are going to be doing a lot of reading on the origins of Halloween and how/why it's celebrated and decide from their is Halloween is something we will participate with in the future.
Carving away....
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