MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS!!!

 Well my boy, you’ve sure been on my mind lately. I miss you more than I’m comfortable admitting, I pre- miss Joey for the following two years, and I’m already sad for the day Ben, and really all three of you aren’t in our house on Christmas night. Seriously, wow, looking at that sentence about tears my guts out. But I’m 2/3rds happy tonight, and I know you’re doing the best thing you can be for right now. And I know we are blessed. We a blessed so far beyond the concepts of deserved or earned. Your mission posted pictures of you missionaries on Facebook. You look really good, you look happy.

Mom’s been on vacation since Thursday. I worked all week, but wasn’t especially busy Thursday or Friday. Friday I took a long lunch to go with mom and your brothers to the Army/Navy surplus store to get grandpa’s Christmas present. We got him two hats, a Vietnam Veteran hat and USA hat. I worry this might be his last Christmas, I hope not. Mom found some random hamburger place in a normal neighborhood with houses in Murray. It looked like, as Ben might call it, a “classic George Rivera” place because it was pretty dicey and patronized by mostly grumpy looking old men in jeans and non stylish jackets with people behind the counter that were not hired based on looks or their focus on customer satisfaction. I figured there was only two ways this would turn out Jacob. Either memorable for how bad our how good it was. Well, we lucked out Jacob because it was delicious. The burgers and fries were very much like five guys, but I may say the patties and buns were even a little fresher, and the fries were almost as good. It’s in a part of town we’re never in, but I would go back there.

Last night mom and I went to do the last of our shopping. We went to the Lego store in the mall to get your brothers gifts. It was pretty picked over so what we got them was pretty lame. I’ll let them tell you about their haul tomorrow though. It was fun to be Christmas shopping with your mom though. I realize any time I can be with your mother is incredibly rewarding for me. I’m not sure how I got someone like her to marry me, I’m just so grateful I did. If there’s any marriage advice I can give you that would be appropriate now Jacob it would be to start praying for your wife now. I don’t know when or where you’ll meet her, and its probably not anytime in the next seven months, but I do know that she is on this earth and that somehow your paths will cross. And you’ll not only want to know when and who is right, but you’re going to want God to look after her until then. Wow does this letter keep swaying to the sappy. Sorry.

I had a really great day today. We took Joey to McDonald’s for breakfast before his early work day. I got a haircut after and came home. It didn’t feel like Saturday so I went to my office to work on hobbies. I probably spent three or four hours just focusing on that completely silly task and it was pure happiness for me. It’s super rare that I don’t feel guilty for doing that for that long, but man was it fun. I’m almost done with my current build, ED-209 from the movie Robocop and when I am I’ll send pictures.

After that we went to grandmas Christmas Eve party. It was pretty nice. Uncle David got a job working in the architecture office for quick quack car wash doing architecture renderings in CAD. He seems like he’s doing well, he seems confident, it’s nice to see him that way. He works for probably the most established company in the family, well, with the exception of you, Jordan, and Max that is. Everyone misses you and Jordan. I guess your cousin Max in New Zealand has his companion go home unexpectedly too. Seems like a way too common thing these days.

Tonight we came home, had our reenactment, Argeorqui’s year is made because mom held him for a full five minutes. Then we played games till bedtime. I realized tonight what a crappy husband I am because you’re mother’s gifts suck bad. I hope she’s okay with them, but I need to be a little more thoughtful in future. It’s late now, I’m not sleeping. I just watched a video on how Larry bird would dominate today’s nba, yes he would.

It will be fun to talk to you to tomorrow. Other than church at noon we’re open, even if we’re at grandmas or aunt Patti’s. I’ll finish this with the news of Christmas Day tomorrow night.

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Well hello again Jacob. It was fun talking to you earlier. Sorry if I made you feel self conscious about you being tired. You looked good. When we talk it’s important for me to see that you’re doing well, so I probably over analyze. I offended mom today similarly because I didn’t think the sleeping bag like coat that her friend Julie gave her was flattering, wow did I get a look. But you do look healthy, and handsome, and hopefully you’ll get a little rest.

Today was pretty busy, but a good Christmas. Joey gave us a break and we didn’t start the morning madness until after seven. It’s fun that your brothers still go through the motions of Christmas morning enthusiasm that you guys have always done. Every year I marvel that we can get so many great gifts under the tree. We had enough time to have a nice morning before going to grandmas house for breakfast.

Ohh grandma’s breakfast. Jacob, that perfect woman has not lost a single step of her Christmas breakfast perfection. The breakfast casserole (there really has to be a better name for it than that, manna perhaps?) was perfect. Uncle David did the hash browns, and while he may not be very high on the list of prime rib chefs, he is an indisputable hash brown frying god. Wow, crispy deliciousness. By then I should have stopped eating, but then grandma threw down the pancakes. I gave in and it was like eating warm buttery clouds, wow, how anyone can take something as common as pancakes and create them so vastly superior to any other pancake is miraculous. We got there a bit early because of our church obligation, so we had her to ourselves for a little while, which was really nice.

We came home for a minute before church, and boy oh boy did I drop a big one (turd) after that breakfast. 

Church was surprisingly good. I must say in all sincerity that it was really good, and kept within the hour time limit. Ben did his piano part brilliantly and refrained from becoming his old shuffling feet Ben as he accepted the resulting praise afterwards from ward members. He was actually quite magnanimous. I felt extremely proud of him this morning.

We came home to change before going to aunt Patti’s afterwards, and I was given the gift of another remarkable poop. What a blessed day.

It was nice to be with aunt Patti and Artie and everyone. She had tamales, Posole, beans, ham, moms salad, and all kinds of other goodies. She made my dad’s favorite cookies, biscochitos, are those a Mexican thing? They might just be from his region. Their like sugar cookies, but crispier with a hint of anise. It was fun being with everyone, and great talking to you. Your tiny one year old cousin Evan and I bonded over his hot wheels set that he got for Christmas, that kid is really cute.

After that we stopped by to see aunt Stella and uncle temmy. They didn’t come to Patti’s because she had vertigo this morning. It’s always nice to visit with them.

We’re home now. Ben’s reading one of his new books, Joey is working on his Lego, mom’s looking at her phone and I’m finishing this letter. It quiet, peaceful, the tv is off. It’s a nearly perfect Christmas night except for you being so far away.

I’m off next week, but the schedule is filling up. I’ll keep you posted on all of our shenanigans.

We look forward to your letter, as does your grandma and your aunts Stella and Patti. Have fun tomorrow, decide to be happy, then do it, be happy and have some fun.

Love,

Pops