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Opening Kelly's gift, I wasn't sure what was more adorable, her bounciness or her nervousness. Purposely taking my time, she finally huffed out, "Dale Wilson, if you do not open that present this minute, I will open it for you!"
God, I loved this woman.
Laughing at her incredulous impatience, I quickly finished unwrapping the small box and found that it was full of red t-shirts. "Umm... thank you?" I said/asked missing the meaning.
"Unfold the shirts!" she said, with an added "ugh!" and an eye roll.
When I pulled them all out of the box, I saw that there were eight shirts. The largest shirts said "Thing Mom" and "Thing Dad," and then the rest were numbered 1 through 6, with number 5 and 6 being onesies.
"Oh, I hope your silence means you like it! Your mom told me that the Cat in the Hat was your favorite story growing up and I thought maybe this would..." And then I cut Kelly off with a kiss that I hoped would show how thoughtful I found her gift. Breaking for a second, she asked cheekily, "So you like it?"
Kissing her hard to overemphasize my pleasure I ended our kiss and began stroking her neck while saying, "You did well."
"I'm so glad!" she answered with a smile.
"Now, it's your turn."
Looking shy, Kelly accepted my small gift with a blush. However, when she opened it, her cautiousness turned to pure joy. Inside her box were two tickets to see Mamma Mia on the Saturday after New Year's tucked into a black and gold ABBA mug.
"I figured since the kids will be with their other parents that day, we could make a night of it. The city was completely booked for New Year's, but I was able to find a bed and breakfast on Long Island that will accommodate us for the evening."
Then I noticed a tear rolling down Kelly's face.
"Baby, what's wrong? Don't you like the present?"
"It's perfect," she whispered.
"Then why are you crying?" Was this pregnancy hormones?
"It's the first present I've ever received on Christmas day from a spouse that I didn't purchase myself," she said still staring at the gift before her as if it was a mythical creature.
Taking her in my arms, I held her close vowing always to be the one to purchase her gifts from me.
When we arrived at Sadler’s Ridge later that evening, I anticipated that we would see a classic Christmas scene worthy of a Hallmark movie. Instead, we drove up to see the largest blow-up Elvis lawn ornament ever.
The sucker was at least three stories high.
The best part was that when I stepped out of my car I was greeted with the song "Blue Christmas" spouting loudly from rock speakers set up along the walkway.
I was struck speechless. So speechless that I didn't even realize that Kelly had walked up behind me until she whispered, "It's crazy right?" into my ear.
"Kelly, please explain to me how your Aunt Shawn goes from being the ultimate pioneer decorator to Viva Las Vegas for Christmas?" I asked, a little scared of her response.
Instead of Kelly, the answer came from Terry, who had snuck up behind us on his way up from the barn. "Because it was Momma and Daddy's favorite song."
Smiling at her uncle with complete devotion, Kelly added, "The Christmas before Grandpa died, he suddenly became this horrible grump from his chemo's effects, and it about broke Grandma's heart."
"We were all so, desperate to bring a smile to his face, that I went online and found this eyesore from a Las Vegas Elvis store, and put it on display," Terry added.
"When Grandpa saw it, it was the first time he had laughed in months and to honor that Christmas, the family puts it on display every year."
Turning his head so that no one could see the tears that were pooling in his eyes, Terry decided to divert everyone’s attention by tickling the kids who were eagerly waiting for his attention in the van.
"Alright you hooligans, let's go see what Aunt Shawn and Granny Joan have cooked up for us this evening," Terry said to the four kids he has quickly unbuckling.
Glancing over his shoulder our way, he added, "Your parents and the Daltons are all inside. If you think your reaction was fun, your dad about had me in stitches."
Laughing at the look, my dad must have had; I suddenly wished we had gotten there earlier. Very few things shocked my father, but when they did it was hilarious.
Once inside the Sadler’s home, my original expectations for a pioneer Christmas were made real in true Shawn fashion. Besides the giant 10-foot Christmas tree that was currently centered in the family's great room, there were 6-foot trees situated in both the family room and the dining room. Not to mention that everywhere you went the walls were lined with garland and bright red ribbons.
After dinner, we all made our way to the quaint family room of the side of the kitchen, where the kids were each presented with gifts from their grandparents, and the adults hung back to take pictures. I couldn't help but love the patch-worked family I was watching before me.
Lilly was the only one out of Kevin's brood that didn't assimilate into the family as if she'd always been a part of their Christmases. At first, I thought it was because of the stress she'd been dealing with surrounding her mother's illness, but then I saw her sneaking a puppy dog look of devotion towards the eldest Sadler cousin David.
Oh no, no, no baby doll! That there is a 23-year-old man, and he is too old for you.
Wanting to get the point across without hurting her feelings, I pulled Kelly aside and whispered my suspicion into her ear.
Nodding in understanding, Kelly said, "Lilly, honey? Do you mind helping me with Mandy? I'm not supposed to carry her too far, and I need to change her for bed."