The U.S. has been at war for more than 11 years now. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from all over the country have been sent overseas to serve since October of 2001. Each one of them has left loved ones behind.

This week, Kids VT launches "Home Front: Diaries of a Vermont Military Family," a series exploring how one family is coping with an overseas deployment.

Tasha Lehman's husband, Matt, is a first lieutenant in the Vermont Air National Guard. He recently headed overseas, leaving Tasha and their three boys behind.

Tasha explains how she and Matt prepared for his departure in a "Use Your Words" essay in the February issue of Kids VT, which hits the streets today. She describes both the mundane details and the painful realities she faces as a military spouse.

"I got ready to take over all the chores Matt usually handles," she writes, "which include maintaining the house and the car, paying the bills, and filing our taxes, things I haven't done since I married him 14 years ago. We took care of all the legal aspects — for example, I needed power of attorney in Matt's absence. We wrote up our wills. He needed immunizations, specific uniforms, personal items to be shipped."

She says that she and the kids understood they all had a job to do, and they were ready to do it — until the day of Matt's departure. "We said tearful goodbyes and prayed that he would be safe," she writes. "Nothing can prepare you for the moment your husband walks away from you, out of the safety of your loving arms, on his way to a war-torn country."

Click here to read the rest of her poignant essay.

Tasha will be writing for us regularly about the challenges and triumphs of life on the home front until her husband returns. We're grateful, and honored, that she's sharing her family's journey with us.

When she's not blogging about military life, Tasha writes about crafting, parenting and home renovations at her own lively blog, MyHomemadeHappiness.com.