Christmas during a deployment

I learned that if I wanted to decorate for Christmas I would need help from my girls. I also learned that keeping things simple and not worrying about getting everything out helped keep tensions down and attitudes light. By working together and overlooking some of the more adventurous tasks, we made sure our house was full of Christmas cheer!

If you don't already have some traditions you would like to keep from childhood, you can start making some with your kids (or for yourself). Making Christmas cookies and candies has become our tradition, and I made sure to include it even when daddy was away. Looking forward to rolling and cutting out the dough, decorating, and baking with mom helped to keep our minds off worrying.

Some other traditions we have are reading the Christmas story from the Bible on Christmas Eve, attending church together in our new Christmas dresses, and driving around to look at the pretty lights. Having these each year brings a sense of stability to our celebrations, even if the people or location changes.

In all of our fun, we never forgot about Daddy! We made sure to take lots of pictures of presents, events, and activities to share with him. We also made special gifts and surprises to put in his care boxes. The girls wrote letters and cards, we sent written-out prayers, cookies, gifts, and even specially made (and stuffed!) stockings for the soldiers he worked with.

Our church even got involved and helped us by donating snacks and gifts for the soldiers. This made Christmas a lot brighter for all of us, as we were able to bless not only our own soldier, but many others as well. We sent 6 boxes each Christmas to my husband, who then distributed all the goodies.

Forgetting the family and friends that were around us while daddy was deployed would have made Christmas even harder. We were blessed with the love and support of a church family, extended family, and neighbors and friends that took extra time and care to make the holidays easier on us all.

One great lesson that I learned from these past deployments is to always accept the blessings of others. They care about you enough to give time, gifts, and prayers. You are doing them a great dishonor by rejecting their help and their love. I knew that I could not do it all on my own, and the support that I received from my family and friends made all the difference.

Remember to bless them too during Christmas. Spending time with them makes for memories that everyone can share. Saying thank you in a special way will let them know that they have been a part of your "survival" plan!