Fawver Christmas Wrap-up

This season has been filled with joy and happiness at the Fawver home. We have experienced so many celebrations...it's hard to remember where to begin!

I suppose we started the Christmas season by introducing "Twinkle" our sweet female Christmas Elf. She was not a Santa spy, but rather a really funny and sneaky friend that hid and pulled some funny pranks on us. Various stunts included hanging Bridgette's panties on the tree, drinking syrup, hiding in the freezer, leading a parade, etc. :) But, although the fun and magic of Twinkle was exciting, Bridgette continually reminded me that Twinkle was "only a toy" and "cannot move on her own." So this begged the question..."How did she do this? She can't move!" I am sure "Santa" will last a really long time in this family.......she already noticed he used the same wrapping paper we have at home. Ah well.
A couple days before Christmas we celebrated with the Marley's at their home with a delicious dinner and some gifts for the kids. Bridgette got a Baby Princess Aurora complete with crib (decorated by Mimi Nina) and Mason played with multiple balls in a basket. It was a fun evening, as always.
Christmas Eve was a particularly jam packed day...we arrived in Newport just in time to see Santa deliver Mimi Kay & Papaw Billy's presents for the kids. They were absolutely mesmerized by his appearance and the waaaay cool gift of a John Deer kids jeep. They loved it!!
After Santa's appearance, we opened the remaining gifts, both to adults and kids, and spent a lively hour stuffing our faces (a common occurrence in my family). After dinner we participated in a White Elephant gift exchange where some hilarious gifts were given. I will take credit for one: When I was in college, my Grandmother Pat entered the tech world with a cell phone. She completed this advancement with a much needed accessory--a cell phone holder---that she made herself out of a sewn wash rag. It was one of the funniest moments ever. We begged her to make us all these special holders, but alas she refused! LOL :) So...back to the gift, I wrapped a sewn wash rag with sparkly letters stating "cell phone" on front. It got lots of laughs.
Some more gifts were a talking toilet paper holder, Angry Birds lip gloss, small candles, talking mistletoe. All so fun.
After our Christmas Eve family celebration, we continued the tradition by going to FUMC Newport for candlelight service. I just love it. :) Our Bailey family was asked to participate as angels and shepherds (or so we were told....) and wound up being the entire nativity scene, complete with Unco (Weston) and Tessa being Joseph and Mary. I was sweating keeping Bridgette and Mason away from Baby Jesus (and nearly got waaaaay too hot....whew). It was a little funny but most of the congregation said it was precious. :)

The next morning, we woke up to look for Santa. Thankfully, I noticed that Santa had forgotten to stuff the stockings (LOL) and quickly did that before the kids awoke. HA. But Bridgette and Mason were incredibly happy and could hardly wait to open all their presents (but they had to, because we were waiting on Mimi Nina and PP Marshall). When they arrived the tornado carnage commenced. We had a wonderful mess with a zillion gifts, including an art easel, basketball goal, plasma cars, several stuffed animals (Hello Kitty...a current fave), trucks, legos, and more.

We had our traditional Christmas morning breakfast (monkey bread) and sang Happy Birthday Jesus! Then we played and played and played!! That afternoon, we went to Grandpa Marty's and GB's for our Bailey Christmas dinner. It was a large event with so much energy and terrific food. We were joined by both my cousins, Kimberly and Katherine and their families (including Baby Emily)! We played a ton with Unco and Aunt Tessa.

Gifts there were books, more trucks, and a Minnie cheerleading outfit. It was very fun too. I acquired a sock monkey that sang and danced during our White Elephant exchange and it may have been our best gift ever! Mason has played it nonstop and danced.
Well....since Christmas has passed, we have just played and been so happy (and a little sad that the fanfare is over). What a magical holiday and wonderful time we had celebrating the birth of our Lord. Spending time with family and those we love is the most important gifts we give.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!