Sunday, November 27, 2016

Pre-Roy Christmas 2016

How can so much happen in one year? How can it fly by so fast but be full of 5 years’ worth of changes? It all began with me planting my bottom in my recliner every day and watching one Netflix movie after the other as I moan that I never want to be pregnant again. Then our year truly began on March 7th. I put my order in for a red-headed, brown-eyed little girl and that is exactly what I got. God is too good to me. As if laboring for hours wasn’t exciting enough, Roy got a call that he was going to be deployed for 9 months beginning April 1st. My stunned reaction had to be delayed since I was about ready to push a 9 pounder out of my body. Samantha and Theresa were there to witness the birth of baby #10, Juliana Maria Christy.

As per tradition, we partied all year of Roy’s deployment – signing the kids up for everything, incubating, hatching, and raising 100 ducks and chickens, getting myself a job and dragging Samantha and Max in with me, buying a motorcycle, losing 40 pounds (yay me!), taking over Roy’s truck, his bed, closet and garage, took up the hobby of drinking alcohol, popcorn for Thanksgiving, swiping the debit card 30 times a week, and buying more stuff we didn’t need. Ceiling collapsing, cars breaking down, ducks pooping everywhere, chickens roaming the house, naked babies, messy house, stopped up toilets, etc.   It has been a whirlwind of a year.

Roy is scheduled to come back in January to put a stop to the madness with 40 days off to fix everything we broke, lay down the law, take the wine out of my hands, and try to corral the chickens back into the coop. In no time, he will miss his quiet home in Kuwait.  But I know there is nowhere else he would rather be than right here with his family.

Roy made sure his presence remained in this house while he was gone. He ordered all the junk food that I refuse to buy for the kids and had it shipped to the house. Theresa always had Dad on her mind and heart with each box of macaroni noodles she poured into her boiling water. He bought all of the kids’ Christmas presents online and had them shipped to his mom’s house so I didn’t have to do anything but make cookies all season. He called mechanics and computer people for me so they wouldn’t have to deal with my tears. He was here whether we saw him or not. Sounds like a great analogy for the hand God has in our lives.

We know the time is near when I start ignoring the warning lights on the dashboard and Roy gets transferred to the 90-man bay so his replacements can take over his home.

Stay tuned for Christmas letter #2 – Post-Roy Christmas 2016 and see all the changes that took place while he was deployed. It has been an interesting year to say the least.