I missed this last week, but it definitely deserves pointing out: As Citizen Frank continues blogging his year in Iraq, his wife has an update from the home front. A tear-jerking excerpt:

Probably the single greatest thing that has made things easier since Frank has been gone is that he has been able to make brief phone calls to us almost every day. It is wonderful to be able to hear his voice and know he is ok. Also, at the age our kids are, they really need to be able to talk to Daddy as they can't read his emails.

Both kids have missed Frank greatly, but Josh, our five-year-old, in particular expresses the most sadness about Frank being gone. A couple of weeks ago, we got a package from Frank where he sent Josh birthday presents, including Arabic fishing hats and a camouflage wallet.

That night if you had walked into Josh’s room you would have discovered him sitting on his bed staring at his daddy’s wallet. If you had asked him what he was doing you would have heard him say, “I miss my daddy.” What can you do? What can you say? Ask him what his daddy is doing and he tells you. His daddy is fighting bad guys and keeping us safe.

The letter should be read in its entirety. It is not a "feel sorry for us" type of update, but I appreciate her honesty as she relates the situation they are in.