By Lee Ann Sides Garrett
For the Salisbury Post
Sophia Malloy says she doesn’t need baby dolls for Christmas this year. She has a new baby sister.
Sophia’s mom, Wendy, watches closely as Sophia cuddles 2-week-old Brandi on the couch.
“Sophie and Rebecca have little mommy instincts coming out,” Wendy says. “They’re so gentle.”
Rebecca is Sophie’s older sister, one of five children for the Malloys ó Rebecca, 11, Connor ,9, Barney, 8, Sophia, 5 and Brandi, 2 weeks. Both Patrick and Wendy Malloy say they came from large families and wanted a big family of their own.
“After the third one, I thought we were going to stop,” Patrick says laughing. Barney was No. 3. “He was a little hard to handle.”
However trying raising five children can be, the Malloys say they are happy and thankful. And they have lots to be thankful for.
This Thanksgiving, Patrick is at home. Two years ago, he was deployed in Iraq while Wendy was at home with four children on Thanksgiving Day. She’s grateful to have him home.
“The kids were the hardest part,” Wendy says. “They had a hard time while he was gone.”
Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Patrick met Wendy at Myrtle Beach while he was stationed at Fort Bragg. Wendy is from Mocksville. They married and moved to Salisbury so she could join the nursing staff at the Hefner V.A. Medical Center.
Patrick, 36, serves in the Army Reserves as a medic with the 3297th Hospital Unit out of Charlotte.
While in Iraq, Patrick says he trained medics for the Iraqi army, graduating more than 500 soldiers from medic school.
He also helped set up a burn/trauma unit for Iraqi children. Watching children suffer was the hardest thing for Patrick.
“Seeing second- and third-degree burns on kids,” Patrick says shaking his head. “That stuff sticks with you especially when you have kids.”
He listened to children scream all day because they had no anesthetic, he says. He thought about his own kids.
Patrick says he’s also thankful to be alive. The building where he stayed in Iraq was blown up about two weeks after he left for home.
While he was deployed, his employer, Freightliner, kept Wendy and the kids on the company’s insurance, and some of the employees came out and fixed their roof.
Wendy says she’s grateful for all the help, for all the love and support she received during such a trying time.
But, she says there’s more to celebrate. They moved out of an 1,100-square-foot home into a bigger one ó 2,000 square feet, plus a basement.
Wendy’s family will all be together this Thanksgiving, 19 people. That doesn’t happen very often, she says.
“This is the first time we have room for family,” says Wendy.
They’ll follow the family tradition of playing football together and, going around the dinner table, telling what they’re thankful for.
They are also celebrating Wendy’s recent 35th birthday, spending time with Wendy’s youngest brother, Zach, before he is deployed to Iraq on Dec. 1, and enjoying new baby Brandie, who was 3 weeks early because of complications.
“I had high blood pressure and was sick for six months,” Wendy says. “It’s a blessing that she’s OK.”
The Malloys say their hearts go out to anyone who is missing family members over the holidays.
“It’s tough,” Wendy says.
Wendy stays at home with the children, three of whom attend Sacred Heart School, while Patrick works as a supervisor for RDH Tire in Cleveland (he was among hundreds laid off at Freightliner). Sophia attends preschool.
“Money gets a little tight sometimes,” says Patrick. “But things are good. I’m thankful for what we have”
Rebecca says she’s thankful for family and friends.
“I’m glad my dad’s here,” she says.
Connor says he’s thankful for “my father, my mother and my new baby sister.” Barney says, “the same thing.”
“Family is the biggest thing,” Patrick says. “I’m grateful to have a good job to support my family, that I’m still in the military, that I’m alive, for every day.”