I think everyone did really good tonight. Allyson got a truckload as usual and a LeapFrog2. Taylor made off with an iPhone, Halo4, an annual XBox Gold membership, and more. Wendy got the Uggs she had been wanting and I got the Nike+ GPS watch & Black Ops 2…. Oh and I got an iPhone 5 because Wendy washed my phone 4s. Life is good, too bad I haven’t spent more time painting and have to return to work Wednesday. Gonna go lay down a coat of AlClad on the Tamiya 1:12 Ferrari 312T4 Chassis, set out Santa stuff and then snuggle with the love of my life. Be strong my Friends in harms way tonight. I’ve been forward on Christmas and I know how bad it blows, but at least we got to take out a monster ammo dump on Christmas morning as a gift. Kidding aside, the Beaman hearts and thoughts are with you.
Ok, so I got too caught up yesterday to redact or add to my post… We had a delicious dinner last night of sliced pork loin with sautéed peppers and artichoke hearts. Afterwards, Wendy and I uncorked a bottle of wine and the girls commenced to doing gifts. Allyson and Taylor were very happy to be sure…. Of course we had to play with things as they were unwrapped. Wendy has given me a beautiful Bulova watch for Christmas/Anniversary and I of course have built her the tiled buffet she asked for. Afterward we all played one of Allyson’s new board games and off to bed everyone went.
This morning Allyson Rose was slow to rise, so much so that Wendy and I were already downstairs before she made a peep. Since discovering the dollhouse that Santa brought to her overnight, she hasn’t moved to do anything but Christmas dinner. Playing with the dollhouse is all that she’s interested in. Wendy made a wonderful dinner with the ham that my parents had sent to us. We had sweet potato fluff, a veg-all, biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Now we’ll sit around watching Allyson play while awaiting the coming blizzard. While we really wish Devon were here, I think that this has been a great Christmas and Anniversary. We must also not forget that there are many Marines fighting for their lives and the lives of others in the Helmand Provence of Afghanistan for the opportunity to return home to their loved ones. Merry Christmas to all!
I think what I’ll do is edit and update this throughout the day today and just republish is again tonight before we go to bed awaiting Santa.
As many know, tomorrow isn’t just Christmas Day, it’s also Wendy and I’s anniversary. We’ve long talked about how silly it was to get married that day because of gift blur and not being able to get away together…. I think though that this year I am very much reminded why we thought it was such a good idea in the first place.
If I am stateside, I will always have that day off; sure… But Christmas is important for family and the celebration of Christ’s birth. We had a family right from the start and as the years roll on things aren’t always a rose garden. I have loved Christmas all my life and have both very good and very bad memories surrounding it. I require no gift, for the blessings and love I enjoy in Wendy and our family is all I truly need. Sure there are things that I want, but I could never have a Christmas without her.
This year is and has been particularly hard on us medically, professionally, and as a family as many of you already know. I hope that good will come from all of these things in time, but am reminded today as I am already excited to tell Wendy at midnight “Happy Anniversary, I love you now even more than ever” that she and I are stronger as one. I am excited today though things are all messed up because it’s Christmas and I get to pause and celebrate that which is most important to me. I can’t wait to start our 15th year of marriage and work to be a better husband, father, Marine, and man.
Gotta go make fudge and work on finishing Wendy’s gift……
Traffic to and from Manhattan wasn’t too bad. There were costumed characters all over today taking tips for photo ops and Santa Claus was everywhere too. Macy’s was crazy and it was far easier to take escalators than to wait on an elevator, so we took them all the way back down from the 8th floor after Allyson Rose mailed her letter to Santa.
Afterwards we headed over to Rockefeller to see the Christmas Tree….. The crowds were crazy there too, but what do you expect on a Sunday afternoon. You would have thought we’d eat street food as we generally do, but Taylor insisted on having McDonalds. The only other item of interest was that Taylor got a waiter at Planet Hollywood to walk her in and up to the display of the costumes of Bella and Edward from the Twilight movie (big deal I guess, cause she won’t stop talking about it.) Wish I got to go to the city more, but it’s back to work again tomorrow.
So even though I have a huge inspection tomorrow at work, we’re trekking into the city today because my mother-in-law is leaving town and wants to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller before heading south on Monday. In fact as I work on this draft before we go, eveyone is bustling around the house getting dressed and Allyson Rose is super excited:
Step 1 – Write your letters to Santa
Step 2 – Charge your camera battery
Step 3 – Have a place to park in the city
Step 4 – Ensure you have a plan
We didn’t pick a warm day to go (33 f), but it’s not going to get any warmer here in NYC until April next year. If it were just the adults, we’d take the train in from Garden City, but have found things are far easier with the 3 year old when we drive; besides I have a parking spot on 42nd St 1/2 block off Times Square : ) Looking forward to a great day and will post pics tonight on FB
The 1791 Thinkshop and 87 Ideas Workshop 