Making Christmas Wishes Come True

With one month of preparation for two

deserving combat wounded Houston veterans was on full display! Bob Voeller, a friend and manager of the Houston Hobby Airports, Southwest Airlines maintenance section was given a task. Find a few deserving, in need, combat wounded hero families and shower them with an unforgettable Christmas. After Bob shared the mission with his fellow maintenance staff, their generosity went into full effect. With the help of as many as 40 SWA staff members, the 2 families were given everything on their wish list, holiday spending money and even HEB grocery store gift cards! The best part of their incredible show of generosity? Their actions inspired other segments of Southwest Airlines employees, also from Hobby Airport to seek out (2) more combat wounded veteran families and they also, were met with a complete wish list, clothes, shoes and more! HEB (Here Everything’s Better) grocery store also gave the Coalition (8) $100 gift cards which are going as far as San Antonio & Ft. Hood.

Christmas spirt on full display here in Houston!!

Holidays Without Loved Ones

The holidays are very special to my family. While my husband was still active duty Army, there were a few years he was gone a lot. He missed 3 Thanksgivings and Christmases in a row because he was deployed to Afghanistan, and then deployed to Iraq after that. We had three small children at that time and they were used to their dad being gone often.

 We tried to celebrate the holidays either before he deployed, or after he got home. The first deployment (06-07 to Afghanistan) we didn’t think about celebrating the holidays before he left, we were just trying to deal with the emotions of him leaving. The next deployment (07-09 to Iraq) we celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all in one. This deployment he was for 15 months. When the holiday season came around again, we waited until he returned home and celebrated it late, in January.

                Since we understand the sadness of having a family member gone and not knowing if they will be home for future holiday seasons, we keep all our service members currently serving in the front of our hearts for the season, and honestly all year. Every year we find a service member that is deployed and send them things through out his deployment. We will also send their family little reminders that we are thinking and praying for them. This year we have started visiting the veterans in our local hospitals and nursing homes around Christmas with our local VFW.  Every year during the holidays we try to find a special way to make veterans and service members feel appreciated and loved. They are our heroes. 

T'is the Season

The Holiday Season is officially upon us.  Thanksgiving marked the beginning with a huge meal. Whether it’s just time with your immediate family or time with your extended family, these are especially the times to be cherished. Usually we hurry around our family’s different houses, constantly watching the clock so we aren’t late to the next get-together.  Honestly, I feel like when we do that nobody really gets to enjoy the holiday, and like I didn’t really get to spend time with those that are most important.  That’s what the holidays are about right?

Thanksgiving is also the start to all the crazy holiday shopping! Black Friday, Cyber Monday, it’s a countdown to get Christmas gifts at all the right prices! Also after Thanksgiving neighbors start putting up their Christmas trees, and decorating their homes for Christmas. Sometimes I feel like I just can’t keep up with it all. My husband and I are still in school, so we had projects, papers, presentations, and exams to complete as well as making a special Thanksgiving for our family.

We took Thanksgiving Day to just relax, enjoy our family, and just be at home. We had some family and a few friends come over.  It was a nice relaxing day, spending some quality time together. We also watched the Cowboy’s football game, their victory was just the perfect ending to such a nice relaxing day.

We also like to take a moment to give thanks for everything we have been fortunate enough to have. Especially veteran organizations like, The Coalition To Salute America’s Heroes. They give so much to so many veterans, we feel like it’s import to show her the importance of helping and giving to those less fortunate than she is. This year we gave her a shoes box to fill with small toys and gifts to send to a little girl. She’s only 3 but it’s never too early to teach her how to be thankful, and not take her things for granted. We felt like starting her young would help her understand has she grows into a young lady and an adult that it is far better to give than receive. 

Thankful - Whitney Hanarhan

Thankful is a word that in the past I would use very loosely. The first Thanksgiving after my husband Kevin stepped on an IED, I truly realized what an emotionally packed word “thankful” actually was. The true meaning of this word sunk in harder than it ever had before. Even though we were living at a hospital and my husband was severely injured, he was ALIVE! I had him home safely and he was in recovery. Our daughter was able to hug her dad and I couldn’t have been more thankful for that.

Now 5 years and another child later, I still couldn’t be more Thankful. Not only for my husband still being here with us, but for all of the amazing memories that we have been able to make since his injury. Also this year I am working in the Heroes Thanking Heroes program which allows me to support my family by working from home. Working from home allows me to still be a caregiver to my husband and to continue building incredible memories with my family. 

This Thanksgiving we were able to spend time at our family’s cabin. We were able to be outdoors which is where our family is the happiest. Watching my husband with our children is one of the greatest blessings, seeing how their eyes light up when playing with him is the best gift I could ever receive . After almost losing my husband I have learned to live my life as if everything is a miracle, and always being aware of how much I truly have. I am thankful for my new outlook on life and how happy my family is. 

I may not know with certainty what’s going to happen from year to year, month to month, or even minute to minute. However, one thing I do know for sure is that this moment is something you can’t get back. Listen closely to others, create new memories, cherish past memories, hug the people you love tight, and love unconditionally in the present because things can change in the blink of an eye.