Oh, that sounds lovely, Anna. They sent her to Kuwait, and it's supposed to be a "short" deployment...90-100 days. I just pray that things stay quiet there. She's a "Special Ops" surgeon, who is usually deployed with the Special Forces and CIA, and even though her current orders say Kuwait, she has warned me, that if need be, they can immediately change her orders and send her out with the "Special Ops/CIA" group to parts unknown. So, I'm praying for a quiet season -- where she can go there and come back from there. This deployment stuff is getting too stressful for her old mom. She's got about 4-1/2 years to go before she retires, but with Joshua 9 and Rachel only 6, she's getting tired of leaving, too. They are now getting into sports and other such fun -- scouting and clubs, and she'd like to spend more time with them before they're grown and gone. Time goes so fast, as you and I know, and she's an "older" mother -- will turn 43 in 2018 -- so doesn't want to miss out on the kids growing up.
Your Christmas sounds delightful! I'm all for quiet, but with a family my size, and all the grandchildren, quiet just doesn't seem to be "in the cards" for me right now. Since my kids all had their kids so late in life, this craziness continues. My mom turns 88 on January 7th, and amidst the confusion in her brain with Alzheimers, she does like seeing all the great-grandchildren opening presents -- and we don't know how many more years she'll have doing that, so we just move forward and party! LOL She's really confused most of the time, but when family gets together, she does still remember everyone -- so we're grateful for that.
Wish I could walk in your wonderful pastures with you. It would do my spirit well. Praying that all the constructions moves forward on schedule for you. You've been at this for a long time, and I'm sure you're tired of all the construction changes.
Be blessed, my dear friend. Think of you often!