Brianna is doing well. Her voice for the most part sounds really positive. As you all know Bri turned 21 this October and I can hardly believe that she is already that old. I still feel like I haven't even made it that far so it makes it all the harder to believe. Although she wasn't here to celebrate I did some for her with a fun little strawberry cake. It was a pretty tough day to celebrate without her. Bri tried to call me on her birthday but I was teaching and just missed the call. When you miss a call you beat yourself up about it, I felt so guilty.
Bri has been pretty bummed lately. One of her good friends was transferred elsewhere in Afghanistan so she has been missing him a ton, however she still has some of her other close friends with her which makes it a little easier. Bri has been pretty busy over there and has had little time to chat with us, so please continue to keep her in your prayers!
As for me- I have been teaching/subbing like crazy. I have had a job every day that there is school. So it keeps me pretty busy. My school has also been a great support system for me. My cooperating teacher, Jo Anna had her students write letters to Bri's troop and is excited to send christmas letters to them as well. A parent of a former student of mine from student teaching approached me and wanted to get involved in supporting and encouraging Bri's troop as well. She got two teachers involved in writing letters and getting supplies for the troop. It didn't stop there. Other teachers got word of the idea and have also started to do the same. Many of the teachers remember when "Specialist Lauer" was here visiting me before deployment. The students can still recall doing push ups with her, her uniform, and hearing stories of how big her truck was. It is very exciting to see how the students and teachers have come together to support her and her troop. Some of their letters are very heartfelt and others are drop dead hilarious! So thank you to the teachers and students who have supported us in this crazy adventure of deployment. I also showed some of the pictures of Bri in Afghanistan and the students are completely wowed. There were also some skydiving pictures in there and students think that we are the coolest people ever for jumping out of a plane. I got a ton of questions about that... :)
Again thank you so much for your support. There are no words that can express our gratitude for all your thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement and hugs. They are truly a blessing especially at this time while we get closer to celebrating the holidays without her. You feel like you have lost someone even though they are here. The emotional rollercoaster is a tough one to ride and without you it would be lonely and hard to swallow all the more.
Please keep our family in your prayers especially over the next few weeks. There are some things that we have been hit with unexpectedly and will need all the prayers possible. I will be able to explain at a later date. Thank you for stopping by!
With great thanks and gratitude and of course love,
Meghan and Brianna Lauer
