Members of the Army National Guard 155th Infantry will be home for Christmas &045; before leaving for a place that’s no place like home.

The troops will be present at Camp Shelby for a USO show on Dec. 21 and a Pass-in-Review, for deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, on Dec. 22, said Sharon Goodrich, coordinator of the Family Readiness Group

Goodrich said that after the Pass-in-Review soldiers would be free to return home to spend Christmas and New Years Day with their families but had to return to Camp Shelby on Jan. 2.

She said that members of the 155th should be in Iraq by Jan. 15.

Glenda Grayson, whose husband Spc. Londell Grayson will be going to Iraq with the 155th, said she is excited to see he husband again, who has been at the U.S. Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., for several weeks.

&uot;I’m ecstatic to have him home again. We usually spend some time at Christmas at my family’s house and some time at his family’s house, but this time I think everyone will be coming over here,&uot; she said.

Grayson also said that it means a lot to her that her 10-month-old daughter, Kasaundra, would get to spend her first Christmas will her father before he left.

Myrna Washington said that what she is looking most forward to doing with her husband, Sgt. Elbert Washington, while he is home is attending church with him and spending time at home simply &uot;enjoying each other.&uot;

&uot;There will be a lot of food and a lot of loving this Christmas. I will be doing a lot of cooking. He has asked for coons and chitlingsŠall southern cooking. He won’t get that for a while,&uot; she said.

Washington said that Christmas this year would be a time for family and prayer.

&uot;We are going to see his momma in Eudora, Arkansas. He hasn’t seen her since he was activated in August. I have no doubt that he will be coming back from Iraq. We just got to keep praying.&uot;

Spc. Roger Rich received an early Christmas present from his wife Rhonda this year, a quilt made from pieces of cloth cut from her family’s old clothes.

&uot;I have already given it to him to take to Iraq. I cut pieces from my three kids’ clothes and mine. I even cut a piece from an old shirt that he used to wear while we were dating,&uot; she said.

She said that her family would be spending time with both her parents and her husband’s parents and they are especially looking forward to some special time with her husband’s grandfather.

&uot;He is a World War II veteran with a purple heart. I know that he is proud of my husband, I hope that they can spend some time together before he goes off.&uot;

Spc. Rick Prescott will be receiving a pocket size photo album, filled with pictures of his family and friends, from his mother, Patty, for Christmas.

She said that she felt it would mean a lot to her son to able to pull it out and look through the pictures of those that he loves when he is overseas.

Patty said that she feels that the best thing that she can do for her son before he leaves is to give him the traditional family Christmas that he has always known.

&uot;We have a large family so there will be a lot of people around. It will be our traditional Christmas, with just a little more emphasis on thankfulness and prayer. We are happy to have him here. We will pray for him and for those families whose loved ones are already over there and can’t be home for Christmas,&uot; she said.

Co Co Whitaker, wife of Sgt. Christopher Whitaker, said that her husband being able to come home for the holidays to spend time with she and her five children would help her deal with his deployment to Iraq, which is expected to be 18 to 24 months.

&uot;Its great, I just wish he didn’t have to leave,&uot; she said.

Whitaker said that her husband regrets having to be so far away from his family for so long, but he is very committed to the military and believes in their mission in Iraq.

&uot;He doesn’t want to leave, but he knows that he has to go over and do what he needs to do before he can come home again.&uot;

She said that she feels her husband will return home to her safety, but she can’t help but be worried.

Whitaker said that the best she can do is to try to keep a positive outlook.

&uot;You are never fully prepared. You just have to get in the right frame of mind. Right now, I can talk to him every day. Right now, I know he is safe. Over there it won’t be the same, you never can be sure that will happen,&uot; she said.