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Thousands of families will be welcoming their soldiers home before the year's end. President Obama announced Friday that all remaining U.S. troops in Iraq will be coming home for good. News 5 spoke to those who have family overseas, and they say that day can't come soon enough.

Every day Nina Spencer worries. Her nephew is on his third tour of duty in Iraq.

"You hear somebody when they tell, you know, somebody's been killed or hurt or something, [and] you're always wondering if it's your family," Spencer told News 5 Saturday.

But that worry will soon come to an end. Months of negotiations with Iraq are over, and troops will be coming home. The withdrawal will bring around 40,000 American troops back to the states just in time to spend the holidays with their families.

"My Christmas tree's gonna stay up til he does come home," said Betty Snipes. Her grandson is serving in his second deployment overseas.

News 5 spoke with local lawmakers who said they're happy families will soon be reunited, but there are still challenges overseas.

"The Iraqis now have to take the training wheels off, and now they have to run the show," U.S. Representative Phil Roe said.

U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith said there will also be difficulties here at home.

"We're working very hard to make sure we have jobs for everybody that we can, but particularly for these veterans who have put it all on the line for the United States of America," said Griffith.

But those obstacles seem as far away as their loved ones are for those who just want their soldiers back on U.S. soil.

"I won't. I won't pull out a good breath until he gets back over here," said Snipes.

"It'd be the best Christmas gift you could have," Spencer said.

More than 4,000 American military members have been killed in the war since the U.S. invaded Iraq in March of 2003. More than 32,000 soldiers have been wounded. Obama said ending the war will allow the country to focus on rebuilding a weak economy.

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