Ashley Sistrunk wasn’t looking forward to spending another Christmas without her husband, Brandon, who is currently deployed in Iraq as a sergeant in the Air Force. So she found a way for him to be there in spirit.
Ashley and the kids are in Colorado Springs, US, and when Ashley heard Brandon wouldn’t make it home for Christmas, she got extra creative with the family Christmas card.
With some help from the military, a friend, and clever Photoshopping, Ashley made this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNnoX_fAQ7G/
“I hate wanting to wish away a holiday,” she wrote on Instagram, “But with Brandon gone and the kids begging to have him home on Christmas, it just won’t be the same.”
“Having a piece of your heart across the world, fighting for you country, it’s just a whole other level of emotions,” she said.
“We tell the kids, ‘Yes, other kids have their daddy home right now.’ But their daddy is out being a superhero, keeping our country safe, and that’s important. That’s an important job.”
“The kids adore him. He will do anything for them. So I miss him actually being able to come home at the end of the day and they yell, ‘Daddy!'”
Luckily, Brandon is set to come home early next year, and the family will be reunited.