There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays....

As the Holidays approach, I have spent a lot of time thinking about family....Family near and far away....Family who is no longer with us. Even family we have yet to meet. We live in Virginia, and most of our family is out of state, making it difficult to get together as often as we'd like. I have a wonderful sister-in-law who lives in Texas, my grandparents and other family members live in Ohio, and my husband's birth-mother and her family are all the way in Chicago. Add to that the various aunts, uncles, and cousins that are spread throughout the country, and you'll see that we're literally scattered all over the place!

One family member I have spent a lot of time thinking about lately is my Uncle Greg, who is a high-ranking Officer in the United States Air Force. While he is one of the many brave men and woman who serve our country every day, he is also a husband and the father of 2 great kids. Greg has spent a lot of time overseas, first in Kuwait and now in Afghanistan. He's been there for about a year now, and has been living in less than favorable conditions. In Afghanistan, there is no sewer system, so human waste literally flows down the street. In addition to the less than sanitary conditions, the attitude towards Americans is not exactly friendly. So living in Afghanistan has been like living in Hell itself for my uncle and the other courageous soldiers who serve there.

Luckily, my favorite soldier will be coming home on January 1, 2012. Waiting for him will be his awesome wife, Darlene, and their 2 teens, Angel and Buddy. Not all of our soldiers are lucky enough to be coming home so soon. Please keep our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers this Holiday season. Even send a care package to a soldier if you can. Little reminders of the good ole' US of A are much appreciated and can make the time served overseas a lot more bearable. To many of them, there really IS no place like home for the Holidays!

***Disclosure: This post was sponsored by T-Mobile. While I am being compensated for my post, all thoughts and ideas are 100% my own.***