Had a good Christmas!

I was really worried about Christmas this year since Tom isn't here with us, but it actually went very good. The boys loved their presents and my parents are here so that helped. I'll admit, I wasn't very "jolly" this year, but it was better than I expected.

Dewayne got a digital video camera that he REALLY wanted... this is the reason he cut his hair a few months ago! He also got a new skateboard (well, all the parts for him to build his own skateboard!), a backpack, new skateboard shoes, some shirts, some video camera tapes and some cash & yen!

Andrew got a samaria helmet & two samaria statues that he was begging for back in the summer when he first saw them! He also got a bunch of GI Joe collectibles, some books, some clothes, 2 video games, 3 computer games and some cash & yen!

Noah made out like a little bandit! He got an art desk with paper/paint/ crayons/markers & a big dump truck from Santa. From Grandma (in Ohio) he got a Play-doh desk with a bunch of accessories for Play-doh, a bistro grill... it's like a huge play kitchen... with all sorts of food items to go with it, a Little People pirate ship & a BUNCH of wooden toys including a paddle ball that is GREAT fun!! From Grammy & Papa (visiting us from Florida) he got 2 packs of Hot Wheels cars, Rescue Heroes fire truck, Leapfrog alphabet magnets & a learning Leapfrog stuffed toy, a fireman dress-up set and a piggy bank! And from me & Daddy he got 3 puzzles, 2 books, a Little People zoo set with animals for each letter, Legos & K'Nex, Whack-a-mole game, Leapfrog "Learning to Write" electronic learning toy, a wind-up flashlight, Bob the Builder toys (3 different tractor things!) and a stuffed Bob the Builder!!

I got a leather purse and some $$ from my parents, some iPod accessories from the boys and my mother-in-law sent some $$ so I could get the amazing green tweed coat I was drooling over!! I also got a stocking filled with some great girly stuff & scrap stuff from Aimee in Alaska for the stocking swap on ScrapLove! And... by way of the US Postal Service... I got a beautiful pearl necklace from my husband! He purchased it while in Thailand & mailed it to me on his way to his deployment location. He has amazing taste in jewelry! I love my new necklace!!!

Tom hasn't received his package yet... so I won't tell what he's getting! ;) And when he returns home from this deployment, he'll get the rest of his presents. Some things just can't be mailed to him right now! Tom had a pretty good day too... he got to spend part of the day/night/whatever with KID ROCK!!! He was in the area to spend Christmas with the troops and caught a ride on the plane with Tom & the guys. Tom said he's a great guy and even sent me some pictures of him & the crew with Kid Rock. I'm glad there are good moments while he's there... just so it's not all the "work" stuff, ya know?!

(Tom w/ Kid Rock.... the whole crew with Kid Rock)

l-r: Brian, Fuj, Karl, Kid Rock, Tom, Jeremy... and Brian in front!

All in all, it was a good day. Not great... because I really missed having Tom here with us... but the kids enjoyed it so that's all that matters.