I will be taking the rest of the day off today but wanted to post this as today’s blog post.  So on behalf of our family, Merry Christmas to you and yours.  I am thankful for your reading of this blog, and today’s post comes with my prayers that your celebration of our Savior’s birth is filled with joy!

Have a great day today and God Bless you!

Tommy+

It’s a little after 11:00pm here.  I had the privilege to Celebrate at two Church services tonight and to deliver the sermon at one.  And we are now home.  Ben is in his pajamas, and tonight’s picture is of him leaving the cookies out for Santa.  I am not sure how to read him, but he appears to be kind of happy.

As a kid, I remember this was the hardest night ever to go to sleep on.  Sure, not sleeping kept Santa away, but I was always too excited to go to sleep.  I experimented with counting sheep, counting backwards, forcing my eyes closed, reading boring things…..yet none of it ever worked.  I can see Ben is going to be the same.

But I will admit, it is funny to watch.  I do not have any of the services tomorrow, so I can spend the entire day with him and his brother and sister….and of course my wife.  It should be a great time.  I am just glad to see this long day at its end.  Unlike him, I will not have a problem getting to sleep.  For I find that the older I get the less sheep I need.

It’s a good thing too…….

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

With all the “yes sirs” and “yes ma’ams” coming out of Scotty’s mouth lately, when my wife took tonight’s picture of me giving Scotty Communion at St. Patrick’s this morning and said “use THIS as your blog picture tonight,” all I could say was “yes ma’am.”  So here it is.

And what was even better was that I was delivering the sermon this morning there with my longtime friend Father Tony Bender, who I had assigned today as the Celebrant.  And what was cool about that was that Tony, Uncle Tony as my kids know him, was able to be a part. It made it all the better.  It was a great honor I will confess.

But more than anything, it was great to have Scotty back in Church.  He was going to try and play the music this morning, but since he had not done it in over three months, he decided to sit it out until Christmas Eve service where he will play at St. Patrick’s at 9:00 pm.  But he was home and it was great.  And everyone enjoyed seeing him.

But what was even greater was that Scotty was joined by John Crowmer, also a PFC and in the Army. John was home on leave as well.  And the other one in the picture with Tony and I is Lance Corporal David Crowmer, John’s brother who is also a US Marine.  ALL of them here for Christmas.  It was so great!

Anyway, I have done my duty.  No, it is far less strenuous than any of the men (including Uncle Tony who was in the Navy), but it will please my wife, which is important to me.But in all honesty, today was a great honor.

Welcome home boys!  Your service to our country is greatly appreciated, and your presence among us an honor!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well we are now finished in San Diego and are preparing to head home.  Scotty has graduated and we have taken him for REAL FOOD and did a tour of the USS Midway together this afternoon as the first excursion he took post-graduation.  It was an awesome day.  And tomorrow he will see his flags, his newly renovated (meaning really cleaned) room, and his beloved dog.  It will be great!

But as for us, we are all exhausted.  My back is a mess and that makes the prospect of riding on a plane for that long not too appealing.  But if I can get back I can sleep in MY bed.  That should help, and I will push through the pain to make it there.

But for tonight I just want to get to bed.  It may be only 10 pm here, but that is 1 am at home…..and my body thinks it is at HOME.  But before I signed off I wanted to share this picture of Scotty in his Dress Blues.  He will wear them Sunday and on Christmas Eve.  I just wanted you to see this new Marine!  He is coming home tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

WOW….this was one of the best days of our life!  We got to finally see and hug Scotty at his base in San Diego.  He looks different, he acts different, and he is different…..BUT he is still very much Scott.  It was a GREAT TIME!

I had posted via Twitter to Facebook, but the picture never made it through.  So here is one of all of us tonight.  Scotty is now back in barracks and we will return early in the morning to see him graduate and then take him home!  We can hardly wait.  He was not allowed to leave base today, but we had 5 hours with him.  It was awesome.

He has been promoted already to Private First Class and will return for 10 day leave and then it will be extended for 21 more days for him to work with the recruiter in Noblesville recruiting students at the high school.  And the best part is that he will be AT HOME!  Beyond that, I will let him share, but he is very excited about everything.  We have been very blessed.

But our biggest blessing today was to see him in person.  It has really lifted our spirits and has made every bit of missing him and worrying about him worthwhile.  And tomorrow should be even better!!  Keep us in your prayers, we are not used to being this happy!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh do NOT WORRY.  Sure, we are IN San Diego now after a long day, but despite sharing that publicly we are not too concerned.  Our home is SECURE.  Not only do we have alarms and a BIG DOG, but we also have a few Marines on duty there……what could be better?  And in a few days we will be bringing home our own to take leave for a short week or so before heading back to California.

But we are glad to be here, despite the busy-ness and the stress of the day.  We had a LONG flight into Las Vegas and that is where the picture is from.  Steph and I both lost ONE DOLLAR on a slot machine at the AIRPORT.  We just wanted to say that we did, and now we can.

So now we are in our hotel, and trying to adjust to the time.  It is 3 hours different from home and everyone is feeling it.  We will SEE Scotty tomorrow from 1-6 for ON BASE leave.  Friday, after his graduation at 10, he gets to leave base with us and is on total leave for 10 days.  We will hang out and eat before flying him home on Saturday.  I will be posting some pictures!!

But for now we are just glad to be here and settled in.  Going home will be the harder adjustment, but we are looking forward to that too….I more than most.  California is always a culture shock to me, and not one that always makes me all that comfortable.  I will be fine on base, but I have not really ever been too far or often off the farm as they say.   I will be happy to get home for Christmas and with all of us.

But for now I can say that I have “been to Vegas” and gambled big with my daughter….all in the airport 20 feet from our gate.  Sure it is not as glamorous as it could be, but it is big for me.  Tomorrow however will be bigger……and nothing could please me more.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, despite KNOWING that we are leaving for San Diego in the morning, we did what we usually do…..we cram way too much into the day before traveling.  And this time it was a doozy.

The picture is of my wife, who didn’t just have her hair done today, but also had a facial.  Steph and I dropped off and picked up a car at the dealer for a recall service, but we did so AFTER I got back from Fort Wayne, which is 100 miles away.  We also then went to shop and meet Amanda for dinner, no not anywhere near our house, but in Carmel…..40 miles away.  And we are exhausted, not completely packed, but in our hearts at least ready to go see Scotty for the first time as a US Marine.

Oh it will be worth it too!  We have been counting down the days.  Sure, San Diego we hear is beautiful, but that’s not why we are there.  We haven’t seen Scotty since September 24th and in two short days we will see him in person!  It is so exciting I cannot stand it!

But for now I/we will call it a night.  We are all up later than we had hoped, and are still further behind than we planned.  It is not what we were thinking, but it is the usual.  We go with what we know, and tomorrow we will take that philosophy across the country to see Scotty in CA!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight we attended St. Patrick’s annual ornament exchange, normally scheduled on a Friday night, but this time scheduled for a Monday to accommodate the Tirman family who will be out of town for some “US Marine Corps Graduation” this Friday.  AND…..it was a marvelous time!

The highlight, I mean besides all the great food and wine, is the ornament exchange itself.  We all draw numbers as we have all brought an ornament.  And when your number is called you can either pick an ornament (they are wrapped) off the table or take one that someone else has already picked.  It is FUN and FUNNY when people start taking the picked boxes and bags, yet this year was probably the least antagonistic gathering we have ever had……BUT it was a blast.

The folks at St. Patrick’s are such great people and we enjoy being with them very much.  It is always a great time.  These socials are good for us all, yet despite being social in nature, they take place among some pretty dedicated Christian people……dedicated Christians who gather once a year to enjoy a passive aggressive ornament exchange!!!

I wouldn’t miss it…..and this year, once again, I didn’t!  It was a real blessing, and thanks to Mike and Joan Prystas for hosting it this year at their home!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yeah, that’s ME in my high school senior picture….now you know why I am thankful to be married….

All and all, it has been a day of which I have just survived and I am thankful it is at its end.  I have had a rough go from start to finish, and in all honesty I cannot say why.  Perhaps the closing of the Hostess plants is finally catching up to me, I do not know.

But in all honesty, I am at a loss.  I have a headache, and am grouchy, and probably seem and look mad.  Sure, the Bears lost today, and sure I watched a lot of it, but that is far from a reason to feel this way as the Bears do this all the time and I am just feeling like this today.

But things could be worse.  The reality of my life could really be like this, and I would be stuck living with it.  I am just thankful that all this appears to be an anomaly and I look forward to feeling “normal” (a relative term here) sometime soon.

On the upside, these next two days should go quickly and San Diego and Scotty are within sight.  We are ALL looking forward to that too.  I just want to get out of this funk and enjoy it.

So it is off to bed for me!  Perhaps a good night’s sleep will help……at least it is the plan!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!


Tommy+