Let there be LIGHTS

COEUR d’ALENE — Donald and Courtney Sohler stood at the end of their driveway just before noon Thursday and turned toward their house.

Their faces lit up at what they saw.

"I don’t want to cry, but this is amazing," Courtney said.

More than 300 feet of LED lights had been strung along the windows and eaves, stake lights shined from the lawn and a huge wreath had been hung over the Sohlers' garage.

"Thanks so much for coming out here and doing this. It really means a lot," Courtney said to beaming Senske Services crew members, who stood on the sidewalk in The Landings subdivision as they shared the moment with the Sohlers.

"You lit up my Christmas, literally and figuratively," she said.

Christmas lights aren’t usually a part of the Sohler family’s holiday routine. Donald, a decorated Army veteran, suffered devastating injuries while deployed in Iraq, which led to a medical retirement only three years into his military career. He was shot seven times by a Taliban fighter, nearly losing his left arm and leg and taking bullets to the back of a bulletproof vest. Several disks in his spine were damaged by the impact from the AK-47.

Those injuries left the Purple Heart recipient physically unable to climb a ladder and hang Christmas lights, something every dad wants to do for his kids.

"When we had our daughter, I just kind of settled on the idea that we probably wouldn’t have too many outdoor Christmas lights. Maybe I’d put some in the window, make the inside nice,” Courtney said. "It’s always nice to have the magic of Christmas for kids."

"I wouldn't be able to do it otherwise for my kids," said Donald, 30, who grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from Lake City High School.

Courtney surprised her husband with this luminary gift of love by writing to Christmas Décor and being selected for the Decorated Family program. Christmas Décor, a national holiday and event decorating company, accepts nominations for Decorated Family and coordinates teams to give military families' homes holiday makeovers.

Locally, Senske Services is the go-to Christmas Décor installation partner that helps make the holidays brighter for these families.

“It’s emotional,” said Clyde Heath, Senske branch manager for the Hayden location.

"We all came out at 8:30 this morning. The whole branch came here. We waited at the corner, drove up and he didn’t know, so it was a surprise. He knew they’d been nominated but he didn’t know they’d been chosen," Heath said. "All the guys were fighting over who got to decorate the house. They have other jobs to do but they wanted to stay and participate."

This time of year also weighs heavy on the Sohler family as they remember those who served alongside Donald but didn’t make it home to their families. The attack occurred on Dec. 27, 2007, almost two weeks after Donald's best friend, Jonathan, was killed in combat when they were out on a mission. The Sohlers named their son after Jonathan.

“Hanging Christmas lights is the least we could do for someone that’s sacrificed so much,” said Senske team member Brent Dufur.

"It’s a privilege to do something for somebody who’s done so much for us," said Dufur's coworker, Mitchel Rowatt.

The Senske crew will be putting finishing touches on the Sohler home today, installing more lights and a few other festive things to illuminate their holidays. Courtney and Donald both smiled as they talked about bringing their kids, who are 1 and 3, outside to see the lights at night.

“Christmas is hard, but this makes it a lot brighter," Courtney said. "We’ll have the nicest house on the street."