Dec 24, 2003 By Patty Shultz 4 min read

The Christmas tree at the Snyder home in Mount Morris is trimmed and final preparations are being made for the holiday. Two-year-old Abbigale is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.

Several thousands of miles away, her father, Sgt. Timothy Snyder, is thinking about his little girl and his wife, Amber.

While he will not have a physical presence on Christmas morning, he will be there in spirit.

“I think (the holidays) are going to be tougher for the families at home than the soldiers that are here,” said Timothy Snyder. “We have our mission to occupy our time.”

Timothy Snyder is one of 97 National Guardsmen, attached to the Waynesburg 1st Battalion, 110th Battalion, participating in a NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

On Christmas morning he will be working and counting the days until he returns home.

Amber Snyder speculates the day will bring happy and sad thoughts to mind.

“Christmastime is when I first met Tim, and a year later, at Christmas, we got engaged,” she said. “This will be the first time since we met that we will not be together at Christmas.”

Since her husband’s deployment, she has learned that Abbigale will be joined by a little brother or sister at the end of January, one month before Timothy Snyder is due to return home.

“There’s a slight chance he may make it home by then, but it’s unlikely,” she said.

After learning of the pregnancy, Amber Snyder quit her administrative assistant job with EMS Southwest and became a stay-at-home mother.

“Abby keeps me busy,” she said. “I think staying at home with her has made the time go faster.”

When asked about her father, the toddler normally responds, “He’s a soldier. He’s in Kosovo.” More recently, however, after watching a Christmas movie that featured an elf named Timmy, her response now is that “he’s a elf.”

“She really doesn’t understand what is going on, but there are times when she cries for her daddy, and that’s hard,” said Amber Snyder.

During her husband’s absence, she also has taken an active role in the unit’s Family Readiness Group, a support organization that assists families through the deployment.

“If it wasn’t for (group president) Deanna Cole, this would have been a hard road to travel,” she said.

Amber Snyder said that family members also have been a source of strength and support throughout the past year.

“If I need anything, his parents or my parents are right here,” she said. “My car is in need of repair right now, so I’m using my dad’s truck.

“They’ve been very good to us through this time.”

Timothy Snyder said that in addition to his daily duties, he has been using his civilian background as a paramedic at Allegheny General Hospital to certify his company in combat life-saving training.

While the separation from his family has been tough, Timothy Snyder said he is enjoying the experience.

“Most National Guard soldiers do not get the chance to do this sort of thing,” he said.

He joined the unit after his 1997 graduation from high school. The education benefit package tied to the enlistment helped with his education.

“I never thought I’d still be (with the National Guard) six years later,” he said.

The family frequently converses by telephone and corresponds through letters, and they look forward to being together when the deployment is completed.

“I’m very proud of what Tim is doing,” said Amber Snyder. “He loves the military.”

The Christmas tree, decorated with U.S. flags and other red, white and blue decorations, will remain until the soldiers return home.

“Just a few more weeks,” Amber Snyder said.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories about how family members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit out of Waynesburg are coping with their loved ones being deployed overseas during the holidays.