First and third graders sang Christmas carols at Dorr Elementary School.
On special assignment, FOX 17 wanted to know what these students really want for Christmas.
“The love for my family,” first grader Henry Oudbier said. His sister Charity asked for “time” for family to spend together. Their dad is serving in Bahrain in the US Navy.
“I made a special frame for my dad, because he won’t be able to get to the Christmas party this year,” Charity said. She said it leaves her feeling sad.
Little did the siblings know, a special gift was waiting outside the classroom door. Henry and Charity closed their eyes.
Their father walked in and the three had a tearful reunion. “I don’t know how to explain how happy I am right now,” Charity said.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Tim Oudbier said. “So I’m happy to be home. It’s been a good time coming.”
Classmates sent the family of six home with a Christmas carol that had just come true.
It’s been nearly nine months since the first class petty officer has been able to play with his kids and hug his wife. “It still feels like a dream that he’s actually here,” Jami Oudbier, Tim’s wife said.
The kids still find a way to let daddy know they’re thinking of him every day, even if he’s thousands of miles away.
“Some days are easy. Some days are really hard. It’s never fun to be away from your family, especially with a young family like this, but I’ve got a very strong wife that really makes it possible. It’s through activities that I can even do it,” Tim Oudbier said.
So for the next 15 days, before Oudbier is re-deployed, charity gets her gift of “time.”
“We’re just gonna be a family. Just go to the Christmas parties, go to family activities and be a family. It’s what we’ve been looking forward to,” the father said.
“Ya know, Christmas is about family and getting together with family and celebrate Christmas as like God’s gift to us his son,” Jami said.
“So to have Tim be part of that and be able to celebrate that with us is just… it would be heartbreaking if he wasn’t here,” she added.
Oudbier heads back to Bahrain on January 3.
