Wahoo!!! We Are Almost Home! (again)

Today we get to go back to our home in TN. We have been approved to leave and we will be home in time for Deryn's Girl Scout Christmas party this evening!! We are once again taking a flight provided by the awesome Veteran's Airlift Command. Do you know about this awesome organization?! If not, go to veteransairlift.org and learn more about them today. These awesome people give up their time, money and resources to fly wounded warriors and their families in private planes to wherever they need to go.

We will be in TN playing catch up for about 28 days. Our families are so excited that we are going to be home in our house in TN for the holidays. We have so much to celebrate and it will be a month long celebration.

Last Christmas it was just me and the girls, Chaz was just over half way through his tour of Afghanistan. I always followed Chaz's we stay in our house December 24 & 25 rule even when he's deployed. Luckily he got to call on Christmas Eve last year. The absolute coolest thing happened when he called. UPS showed up with a delivery. It was a gift I had ordered for the girls. I said to Chaz, "Hey Daddy your gifts for the girls just arrived." He played along and said, "No way." (We were on speaker phone.) I said yes way. So the girls got to open a present from Daddy while he was on the phone. (Yes I cried and am tearing up recalling that story now.) It is one of my favorite Christmas memories by far. I could not have planned that any better if I tried. It would have only been better if we could have skyped it, but his area he was in didn't have such luxuries!

That was my last Christmas apart from my hubby. He will never deploy again. It feels so great to type those words! The girls and I have given him up so many times over the years. He has missed  holidays, birthdays, ball games and dance recitals and so much. But God gave me the best gift of all this year. He let me keep Chaz. He put his hands on his medic and his guys and the doctors and nurses and together they all saved his life and gave our family countless more holidays, dance recitals, trips to the movies and only God knows what's next!!

We will have to return to Maryland in January. I am actually kind of excited to come back. I have meetings and events already set up upon my return. I plan to make 2012 one of the best years I have had in my short life. God showed me what I could have lost. But we won that battle and I will continue to step in faith because I know great things are in store for our family.