It definitely is hard sometimes. My husband actually still works in Afghanistan, he took a job over there.
During deployments, a year is a long time, at some point everyday life just sets in, you start thinking less and less about it. I must say, the last two weeks before they get back are actually the hardest. That's when time really slows down and you get antsy.

Kids definitely keep you very busy. I've never been through a deployment without kids. I would really recommend finding something fun and maybe meaningful to do, the less time you have to think, at least in the beginning, the better.
You can always spend all day on PC and just talk to all of us. No seriously, keeping busy is crucial in my experience. The worst time for me used to be the evenings, after the kids go to bed, when it's dark, and quiet, and I just sat around with way too much time to think. Now I enjoy this time as me-time.

Putting together care packages for your partner will keep you busy too. I used to go on baking marathons, and then send my husband lots of homemade cookies. They were always a big hit with everyone there. And getting mail, especially boxes, are a huge morale booster for our guys over there.