Merry Christmas!

We're thoroughly enjoying a wonderful visit with Kelly here in California. She arrived last weekend, and Scott's girlfriend Anne was able to come down from Healdsburg, so we had our Crittenden family Christmas a few days early. Then Kelly headed off to spend time with her dad, mom, and grandparents, and will return here for a couple more days before heading "home" to North Carolina next weekend.

Dave's phone access has improved some, and he was able to call Kelly TWICE on Christmas day. What a blessing!

The battalion's new chow hall opened in time to serve Christmas dinner. In addition to better food, the guys also now have heat in their sleeping rooms, so living conditions are really improving at the new location.

And best of all . . . we're almost to the point where can begin to count the time til Dave's return in weeks instead of months.

They've Moved

After almost two weeks with no communication, Dave was finally able to call Kelly and let her know the entire battalion (around 900 Marines & Sailors) had moved. He was one of the last few to transition to the new location, which is more remote than before. We're grateful the move was accomplished without incident.

The food and new living conditions are not as good as the previous location, but the commander says they'll be getting a dining facility soon, hopefully in time for Christmas dinner.

Dave's mailing address did not change, but his email address did. If you want the new email address or a list of what he'd love to receive in care packages, please email me. Most of all, Dave would appreciate letters and cards from folks back home.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We can't wait to have our Doc stateside again!

We can hardly wait to see Kelly! She arrives in California Saturday evening, and will be in the area for almost 2 weeks. (It will take her that long to get around to hugging all of us who love her!!)

Promotion Time!

Deployments are always hard on everyone involved, but one blessing this time around is that Dave has had reasonable telephone access. He's able to call Kelly fairly often, and occasionally we get to talk to him. Two weeks ago he called to tell us he's received a promotion to Petty Officer Second Class. What a joy it was to hear his voice! We're really proud of Dave and happy for him. He worked so hard for this, and scored extremely high on the written advancement exam.

Unfortunately, stress levels are really high. Please pray for Dave and all his guys, that they're able to stay focused on their task and come home safely. They're more than half-way through this deployment now. Just a few more months . . .



Above, Dave during one of his night shifts.


In early November, I was blessed to spend several days with Kelly in North Carolina. It's always a special treat to be with Kelly, and after raising two sons, it's so fun to have girl time! The two pictures below are at home with the cats and at the riverfront park in Wilmington.





We're so excited that Kelly gets to come home to California for the holidays. She'll be here for almost two weeks, making the rounds between parents, grandparents, cousins, friends, and us, of course! Yea!!