What is your favorite Christmas song?

Ever since I had kids I seem to be a bit more emotional with things like movies or music.  Okay, a lot more emotional.  Something about having kids changes a woman's heart to the point that almost everything we see or hear holds some sort of sentimental value.  I can't explain it, I just know the feeling.  Last year when I began listening to Christmas songs at the beginning of the season, I realized that they brought tears to my eyes.  They were happy tears, and the feelings which came pouring out of my heart while I listened were powerful.  I was already emotional because I was only a few short weeks away from Randall returning home early from deployment.  I was so grateful that he would be home for Christmas, which was an answer to my prayers.  Little Clay, at 10 months old, was growing so fast and all the singing about baby Jesus made me long for Clay to stay a baby forever.  I was running out of time where he would still be able to fit on my lap when I rocked him.  Furthermore, going back to baby Jesus (my favorite thing to say at Christmas time!), just the thought of a newborn baby, lying cold in a manger with not much to keep him warm, made my heart melt.  I wanted so badly to take blankets and food to him as he layed there sleeping.  After the holidays passed, I wondered if I would have the same emotions and tears for Christmas music in the years to come, or if it was just a fluke event because of the other things that were happening in my life that year.  Needless to say, now that this Christmas season is upon us, it was not just a fluke.

This year, my joyful tears are not because of emotional life events taking place in my life, but because I think each year I am realizing more and more the true meaning of Christmas.  One song, in particular, hits me right in the soft spot.  This song is "Do You Hear What I Hear?"  There are too many words to describe my emotions when I hear this song, but all of it has to do with the goodness that the tiny baby, Jesus Christ, brought to the world, to each and every one of us.  Find it on the internet or one of your Christmas CDs.  Listen to it closely, several times.  Think about the meaning of the words and apply them to what you believe.  See if it opens your heart to the meaning of the season.  Write down what you feel.  I want to know what you think. 

What is the best life-changing decision you've made?

I grew up in a simple town in Ohio, no more than 45 minutes from anywhere either of my parents had lived.  I saw both my close and extended family often and grew accustomed to frequent family gatherings.  As a little girl and teenager, I wasn't sure what the future held for me but I was almost positive I would end up settling down in the same area so that I could remain close to family.  I imagined that I would marry a guy who also lived in the area and we would live happily ever after surrounded by those we love.  Fast forward to college, where I made a decision that would change all of those ideas forever.

Perhaps it was not a mindful decision, but rather an event that happened to me that changed my mind.  I fell in love, and there was nothing I could do about it.  I really didn't have a choice.  When I first met Randall, he tried to explain to me what it meant that he was in the Marine Corps.  I didn't understand much, other than that he would eventually be deployed once or twice.  I knew hardly anything about the military, other than that my grandfather had served in WWII and my uncle had died in Vietnam.  Although I always held these two people's accomplishments and sacrifices close to my heart, there wasn't much else I thought about when it came to the military.  So when my relationship with Randall evolved to the point that I knew we had a future together, I was very naive and blind as to what I was stepping into.

Today, after several years of being a military wife, I have realized that the best decision I could have made, even if love actually made the decision for me, was becoming a part of the Marine Corps.  Yes, I have had much anger and frustration over schedules, deployments, and not understanding why things are so demanding.  But the joy, pride, and awe that comes along with it far outweigh the negatives.  I have become, and am still becoming a better person because of the adjustments I have had to make within myself to accomodate being a military wife. The Marine Corps is good to us and, best of all, I can be at peace knowing that my family and friends are safe on their own soil.  It is easy to take for granted all that the men and women of the Marine Corps do for their country, but when I remind myself of their will and determination to keep this country great, I am humbled.  It is an amazing feeling, and an honor, to be a part of the few and the proud and I am so grateful that, along the way, someone or something made me say yes.  To all the men and women out there who selflessly put your lives on the line for our security, Thank You.

HAPPY 235th BIRTHDAY MARINE CORPS!