Christmas Letter 2016
Dear Friends and Family
Let’s start with an apology. Last year’s Christmas letter was basically a series of lies. I told you that Heidi was expecting in 2016, then Lily made her arrival on December 29th (she beat the tax deadline, and it is probably the last time she will save me money). I also told you I was moving to Bahrain and that Heidi would move back to Dallas. Well a few weeks before I was supposed to leave we were informed the command needed me and I was able to stay until I get out of the Navy. Boom, Miracles! A prayer was answered in a way that we never expected. To understand how unlikely this is understand the Navy had already completed a top secret clearance, which is an expensive, lengthy, and at times painful experience (thanks if you answered weird questions about me too!), and I already had completed the overseas move paperwork. We were literally days away from moving truck coming. Crazy.
Now that I am able to see Lily grow up I feel like my life is complete. I could lie and say it’s because I have a child now who creates a reason for me to get up every day or that I love to see her learning new things every day or that I have a reason to make the future better, but the real reason is that I can now officially have a dad bod and make dad jokes. I mean the other stuff is cool too, but I can say the stupidest puns and just blame it on being Dad! This is life changing. Clearly she is my daughter because she gets to things when she is ready for it. Lily is growing strong, but she is still small and is taking her precious time with milestones.
With a new lease on life and because of the major life change we had to make some decisions. Specifically where do we live? So we bought a house in Pensacola and sold our house in San Diego. In effect we cut our last tie to California, which was sad, though I think the state still has other ideas until we pay taxes next year. Shout out to all our friends from San Diego! We also expected that we would be moving back to Texas in July after I finish my active duty service. However recently we have felt led to stay in Pensacola for a least a few more years.
So why stay? Well this year I finished my MBA from the University of Florida and after it was done, I finally had time to read again. I was reading a book about transitioning from the military to the civilian world and I realized quickly that I would make a terrible employee (did you know you are supposed to respect your boss and not have an attitude that they should be appreciative of you only?). I would be such a terrible employee that I need to work for myself.
Over the last two years Real Estate has gone from a hobby to a career. This year we were blessed to sponsor the purchase of an office building and an apartment complex. I am now fully committed to continuing to sponsor more purchases, and intend to make it a full time career in commercial real estate.
What did Heidi do this year? Well besides taking a step back at work she has become full time super mommy (she claims average). A job she handles pretty well. People often ask how my sleep is and how hard it is now that we have Lily. Honestly, Heidi is such a stud that I just reply, you should get a wife like mine, no sweat.
Well that wraps it up for us. From our family to yours have a blessed Holiday Season. Oh and come visit sometime soon! It’s beautiful here.
Sincerely,
Jeremy, Heidi and Lily
