Christmas Bittersweet

Well, we're just a few days away from Christmas and there is certainly a bittersweetness about it right now. We're so thankful that Cliff is here for it, and yet at the same time, we know there is very little time left for our family after Christmas gets here. There have definitely been some emotional days the past week or so. I'm juggling Christmas shopping and deployment shopping - a very wierd combination - and we still have quite a bit left to do on the deployment side.

We are planning on visiting Zachary for just a couple of days after Christmas and so if you're wanting to say goodbye to Cliff, that would be a great time to do so. We've asked that people not visit us in January since there will be so much to do still and since we want that time together as a family. The only exception is Cliff's parents, who will definitely be supplying some needed emotional support and help too with getting things ready.We're still trying to get things fixed around the house - the guy who was supposed to help with the laundry room and painting the bonus room got sick last week and is supposed to come finish everything tomorrow. Our garage desperately needs cleaning out but I'm not sure if we'll get to it. I spent much of today wrapping Christmas presents so tomorrow I will probably turn my attention to the deployment lists, right before my sister Karen comes in and we start doing Christmas stuff with her and my mom.

I am determined to keep as positive an attitude as possible where this deployment is concerned. Cliff and I know things will be hard, but we also know where we get our source of strength from - God is in control, here and in Iraq, and we just have to keep remembering that. I am constantly reminding myself to trade my fear for faith and my helplessness for hope in Christ. Thank you for your prayers and thank you for your support. We could not be doing this without you.Sara, Cliff and Caleb

Cliff's Party

So, we took absolutely no pictures of Cliff's party last Saturday. Sorry, but I sort of subconciously decided I just wanted to enjoy being with Cliff and our friends instead of trying to record it all and I have to say, we had a wonderful time! It's been so busy the last few months that when we saw everyone on Saturday, we realized how much we'd missed being around our friends.The food was fantastic, and Fox17 came for a little while to do interviews and get some B-roll. The weather was absolutely PERFECT - 71 degrees - and a good thing too because 35 people crammed in our living room would not have been a lot of fun. The weather cooperated though and people could sit and eat outside on our deck and back patio, and as it got darker, we even lit the fire pit and a group hung around it just talking and visiting. We could not have asked for a better day. Of course we ended the day with our core group of friends as we always do with one of our parties - a game! This time we played Scene It, and the girls came so close to winning! Closer than ever before, but unfortunately, Cliff and the guys prevailed. Again.

Four weeks to go

Well, it has stayed busy around our house! Caleb had his Christmas choir program at church the first weekend in December and did a WONDERFUL job. We were so glad to have Grammy with us - it's been great having mom living here in Spring Hill now. Sara has been swamped finishing revisions for one book project and finishing up writing another one, both ghostwriting projects, but the income has been welcomed, especially with all of the extra things we're doing to get ready for the deployment.Cliff has also been very busy with work with promotions and van stops and concerts to take care of. The Toby Mac concert was here in Nashville on Dec. 9, and Caleb and I both went to help at the WAY-FM table. You should have seen Caleb helping - he was a pro! He would help people sign up for the drawings we were doing, and then he would follow up with "Would you like to buy a WAY-FM T-shirt?" He actually sold 2!

Earlier that day we had the chance to see Cliff's mom and dad. They were in town for a quick tour they were leading at Opryland Hotel and of course we headed to Opry Mills to do some shopping. They will be back up after New Year's and will hopefully stay with us for a while after Clifff leaves. We will be going down to Zachary the day after Christmas for just a couple of days so Cliff can say goodbye to friends and family.

The local Fox affiliate here in town, Fox17, came over last night and interviewed us. They have asked to follow our family's story of deployment for the next year while Cliff is gone. The interview went pretty well. They will probably start airing stories starting in February which is their sweeps month. We'll let you know; hopefully they will have links online.This weekend is Cliff's party so we are busy getting everything together for it. Food will be from Famous Dave's, Cliff's favorite, and of course we can't forget the bread pudding! We'll try and post some pictures later.Still working on fixing up our laundry room, the bonus room and a couple of other little things around the house though the list is getting shorter. We've got quite a bit of our paperwork together, just a few more things to do. Hope everyone is enjoying getting ready for Christmas! We'll write more later.

Another week begins

The weeks seem to be flying by as we get ready for Cliff's deployment. Lots going on, many more details to take care of, and we're especially trying to fit in family time as we can, sometimes at the expense of doing the things we need to do.

Last night we went to the Predators game. Cliff had to work the event with the WAY-FM van, and it was FREEZING! I tried to brave it with him and lasted oh about 15 minutes (for some reason neither Caleb or I bundled up - we were thinking hockey game, not standing outside two hours before!) before I jumped into the toasty warm van with Caleb to watch "Over the Hedge" until game time. It was a lot of fun, Caleb had a great time, and Cliff and I loved watching his reactions to the crowd and to the game itself. We had great seats.

Caleb's been sick off and on this weekend and we've been trying to keep his fever down which seems to have worked and he seemed to feel a lot better until he threw up this morning, though I don't know if it was his stomach that did it or him and Cliff wrestling on the bed. No church for us. Hopefully he'll be ok to go to choir tonight - he has a special speaking part and singing part for the Christmas program coming up!