USMC Christmas

I've been busy making my Christmas gifts the past few weeks and it got me thinking about this Christmas and how different it's going to be. When you have a husband who is deployed during the holidays, everything seems to shift into something that's almost surreal. He's really NOT going to be here to help decorate the tree? To help pick out presents for our girls? To help wrap them? To watch as we let them rip into them Christmas morning? NO. I am doing the shopping alone, I will be wrapping alone and I will be watching their eyes sparkle as they see what's under all that paper...alone. I miss my husband. The girls miss their father. We want him home.

The good thing about this Christmas? I am blessed to have an amazing family and the girls and I will be traveling to see everyone! While I wish the love of my life was by my side, this is the second best thing. To be surrounded by those who love me, who (to some degree) understand how I will be feeling this holiday season, and who will do their best to make it a special and wonderful occasion for the girls and I.

And finally...I've had some trouble while putting Blain's Christmas package together! I mean, what do you send your husband when he is off 'fighting bad guys' (as Madison puts it)? You can't send him that new video game he wants...or even anything that won't fit under his bed! You have to remember that he has to bring it all back with him eventually...so what is out there for my Marine? I think I have finally figuered it out! While I'm not going to gush about the creative and awesome things I'm going to send him (in the off chance that he actually decides to check this blog) let me just say that I am a super cool wife and he will hopefully love all the little things I've found for him!

So...you know you want to pray for us...RIGHT? Well, I have the perfect prayer request! Please pray that the girls and I will be able to enjoy the holidays without being thrown into a pit of depression. And even more important than that...pray that Blain will find comfort in knowing that we are safe and happy. Pray that he is not brought down with despair while spending the holidays apart from...EVERYONE. I can't imagine what's it's going to be like for him to wake up on December 25th and know that he can't spend Christmas with his children...but rather, be sent off to work once again. Pray for him...please please please...pray for Blain.