Christmas Shopping

I look out my window and just about every apartment across the road is decorated for Christmas. Most of them were decorated the day after Halloween. I think the rush to get decorated was due to the deployment that is coming up for most of the families living here in Schweinfurt. (Kyle is part of a unit based out of Italy and he isn't leaving as he just returned from a 14 month deployment in July. But, the Brigade that is stationed here is getting ready to go back to Iraq after being home for a little over a year) Some husbands have already left and others are leaving in the next couple weeks. So most families are having an early Thanksgiving and Christmas. Working with the kids of these parents is very interesting, for some of my kids this is their dad's third or fourth deployment. It is so hard on them, I can't imagine saying goodbye to my dad for a year or more.
Well, all their Christmas decorations got me thinking I should probably start shopping. Today I finally finished getting gifts for Kyle. We are really bad at suprises and we want to get the other one what they want, so usually Birthday's and Christmas leave little suspense. This year we decided to make a list of at least 10 things that the other person could pick and choose from. This way, we couldn't be sure of what the other one got us, so at least there is a little suprise. I made my list and gave Kyle 13 ideas. However, the other day I opened his list and found 1 item on his list. I was pretty peeved because I took a lot of time and thought into coming up with 10 things that I thought I might like for Christmas and Kyle only had 1. I think he only had one due to wanting guns and I kept telling him I couldn't get him a gun. We are not allowed to have Guns here in Germany, he had to leave his at back in the states, so why he wants more to store at my parents is strange to me. Anyways, he did give me a few more ideas over the phone due to my pestering and luckily I saw his original list with guns and more before he deleted it and left one item, so I was able to remember a few things he had said he wanted. Most of the things I got him he will know about or could easily guess. But...I am very proud of myself because I thought of something we were going to buy a long time ago, that he really wanted, but thought it was a little to spendy. So, Kyle will have at least one suprise on Christmas! I am really hoping I don't spill the beans to him between now and then, it is so hard to keep a secret from him, but I know I can do it!
Now, he is going to have to be creative. He thought he would have internet access to order my gifts while he was at school. But, he has no way to use the internet, so I am going to be very interested to see what is under the tree for me on Christmas morning, it really is going to be a suprise.
On a different not, this is a big bummer, but just our luck...his school is not allowing visitors until further notice. Apparently someone was abusing the system. I am still hoping I can at least go enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner in the chow hall with him!