Wow, I'm not sure where to begin. Let's just say that this will definitely be a Christmas to remember. I had this bright idea that we should all have Christmas at a cabin in Gatlinburg. I imagined a less-stressful, event-filled, memorable Christmas. We even invited my Grandmother to join us from Winchester. Well, it wasn't quite what I had in mind. Our cabin was stinky, smaller than it appeared on the website, had a mouse problem, there was a chipmunk that lived somewhere in the kitchen walls and would occasionally jump on top of the stove and also somehow climb underneath the stove and make a racket, there was what I think was a small blood stain on my bedspread, and well, I could go on. HOWEVER, I think that it will also be one of the most memorable Christmas's that we will ever have. 
Our girls had so much fun playing with their cousins. I must say that I enjoyed holding a very cute baby boy and really, our objective was achieved. The girls had a blast. They made a gingerbread house together. One day we all walked around some of Gatlinburg's cute shops. My favorite was the candy store. We at lunch on top of a cheese store which was also interesting.
This is Emma throwing a penny in the fountain with Grandmother and below are both of the girls admiring a toy display in one of the windows.
Christmas Eve we first celebrated Emma's third birthday after which we siblings did our traditional gift exchange. Later, Santa (Poppy) made an appearance. The girls were entranced. We took video footage both from outside and inside the window. It was pretty cute.
The fun did not stop there, though. Christmas Eve, in the middle of the night, Emma started having really bad chest pains. We could not console her except by putting her in a warm tub. Mom, Dad, John, and I were up with her through much of the night. We almost took her to the ER, however, there was also a yucky storm going on outside and we were on the top of the mountain. Below is a picture of her and Bella in the loft looking down ready to go down the stairs Christmas morning.
In all seriousness, this was a neat Christmas, maybe a little dirtier than I imagined, but special just the same. I really enjoyed getting to see my grandmother, as well as the rest of my family, and having a reason to be reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. At one point during our stay, in a moment of frustration, I remember thinking, "This is not what I had envisioned for this Christmas with my family." Then later the thought occurred to me that Mary probably did not imagine giving birth to her son in a stable. I was sickened by a chipmunk and mice, but she gave birth to her son in much worse conditions. I don't think that I would have had my mind reflect on those things if I had been staying in a comfortable, luxurious, perfect cabin. It also didn't hurt that we were refunded a good portion of our money for our troubles! All in all, we had a special Christmas and two little girls had the time of their lives. I hope that all of your Christmas's were wonderful as well!
