In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of my Christmas shopping and decorating, it occurred to me how very different the holidays must be for our troops on the other side of the world ... and their families who will be celebrating Christmas without them.
I'd like to take a break from posting my Christmas decorations and show you some of the creative and heartwarming "decorating" done by our troops in Iraq from Christmases past.
[I borrowed all of these pictures from the internet, and some of them are so touching, it makes me teary-eyed to look at them.]
He's so young and innocent looking.
The caption for this last photo stated that the "decorations"
for this tree came from a care package a soldier received ... 
As we go about our Christmas shopping, cooking, decorating, and all the fun and meaningful activities associated with the holidays ... let us remember in our thoughts and in our prayers the brave men and women who are thousands of miles away from their homes and families, protecting us so we can continue to enjoy the freedom to worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus in the way we choose.
May God bless each and every one of them and bring them safely home to their families soon.
17 comments:
Janie,
This is a very touching post! I hope that lots of our men and women over there get to see it!
Thank you for the reminder....we all have SO much to be grateful for don't we?
Have a great weekend,
Diane
Sobering reminder. Sometimes things can be so taken for granted & just not on our minds constantly. Also, I love the red & gold "scroll-y things" on your blog now, so pretty!
Good Morning, Janie! Very touching post! Thank you for bringing this to mind! ~hugs, Rhonda
Okay now you are making me cry. My son is in Iraq and my daughter in law to be in Bagdad, Thanksgiving was hard. He said they had chicken.I know Christmas will be worse. now I have to send him a stocking =) Thanks for the great post.
Thank you Janie for reminding us of the sacrifices our troops & their families are making... ;-) Bo
I used your link in my post. I hope it is okay. This post really got to me. I had to share.
Wonderful, sweet, touching post, Janie!
Thanks you so much!
I don't recall hearing much about care packages for the troops this year. I need to check into that. Sally
Janie, you are so right! We need to remember them! Beautiful post!
My nephew was there on two tours (plus Desert Storm), and my favorite cousin just returned. So my heart goes out to all of the soliders there and everywhere as well as their families. What a great thing they do for us... so that we may go shopping, to church, to visit with friends, to have dinner with family, etc. They protect our precious freedoms, and for that, I'm eternally grateful.
XO,
Sheila
What a neat post. Thank you!
Janie,
I LOVED that you posted this heart warming and neccessary post today. A best friend is home now but the conditions of the pictures he sent home weekly remains indelibly in my mind. Another friend's precious son remains.
I too am so grateful for thewe wonderful men and women who are putting their lives on the line for us each and everyday.
A very sobering and touching post.
May God bless our country and keep them all safe and sound!
Beth
Hi Janie! Your post goes to show us that holidays are not about location but more about attitude and heart!!! I've thought about the troops several times this past week and have told myself over and over how lucky I am that my daughter is just a 20 min drive and not clear across the world! Thank you for reminding us all!!! Sincerely, Jeannette; Have a great weekend!
Thought provoking pictures you have here. Colorful, enticing, but very thought provoking.
You are so good at reminding us of stuff we need to think about. My stepson just left for his tour...about 9 months we figure. It will be so sad to have him so far away at Christmas.
Janie,
Way to go with this timely post. You and I are on the same page in thinking about our troops overseas, especially at this time of year which must be particularly stressful to them and no doubt making so many very homesick. Thanks for sharing these excellent photos....and for sending a card via the Xerox project.
Jon at Mississippi Garden
Amen Janie....
GREAT post
God Bless Our Troops !!!
Kathy :)
ps pretty header love it !!
Wonderful post!!! Thank you :)
rue
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