Linda Darby, 30, has three children: Brandan, 7; Brooke, 5; and Bradley, 4. Her husband of 10 years, 1st Lt. David Darby, was ordered to go to Iraq in June with the 278th Army National Guard based in Morristown. Three days before he found out he was leaving, he and Linda learned they were expecting their fourth child, Baylea Sierra, who is due New Year's Day.

"They needed more officers and asked him to go. He cut the cord (umbilical) on all the babies, but he won't on this one," Linda said, pausing for breath as she had a minor contraction. "It will be hard, but I'm glad I'll have my Mom there."

David Darby served in the Army for three years and was discharged before he and Linda married, but he continued serving in the U.S. Army National Guard. He was employed with Beaver Engineering in Nashville before his deployment.

After spending time training in the U.S., David was home for a week in late October and then left for more training in Kuwait before going to Iraq. He is not scheduled to return home until February 2006, when the baby girl will be more than 1-year-old.

"I know there are lots of single moms and people who are alone," Linda Darby said, "but when you love someone who is in a dangerous place, it's harder. Weekends are the hardest and birthdays and anniversaries."

She said her husband's absence is toughest for her oldest son, who always played baseball with his dad. "When I see other kids playing with their dads, it makes me think of my dad," Brandan said.

His mother said he cries when he hears songs about soldiers, like "Letters from Home." "When I heard 'Travelin' Soldier' I cried, and Mom came and rocked me and held me," Brandan said.

Linda Darby said Brooke misses her dad tickling her, and Bradley misses "piggyback" rides from his Dad.

David Darby is now stationed at Camp Bernstein near Tuz Khurmatu, a city of 90,000, in northeast Iraq. He sleeps in a tent with 60 other soldiers. They don't even have a chow hall. She said she and her children pray for their father so often that prayer is on their list of chores.

"They pray for daddy at breakfast, lunch and dinner and before bed," Linda Darby said. "More than anything, I am thankful for God's protection and cannot imagine not having that to rely on."

Laurie Delk, TN