Well, I don't even know where to start to describe the eventful but very memorable Christmas celebration in Clarksdale. We all met in Clarksdale the weekend before Christmas. It's the first time the entire Stovall clan has been together in a very long time! Anyway, we started the Christmas celebration off on Saturday morning with Uncle Mark cooking breakfast. In the midst of cooking, the electricity goes out and stays out for over 2 hours (with no reason at all!). Chet had to go to McDonald's to get coffee and biscuits to go along with the bacon and eggs that Mark had cooked. Once the power came back on, we were able to shower and get ready for the afternoon and evening celebrations. Once everyone got to Mimi's, we attempted to take a group picture of all of the grandkids. This is the first time that all 8 of them have been together in a very long time. Of course, everyone cooperated but my sweet Sam. He didn't want any part of that snowman outfit he had or on or the "cheesing" for the picture. Here are some samples--
Look at how cute everyone was and poor Sam was hysterically crying!
Great picture of these 7. Sam had had enough of it!
Here I am trying to get Sam to stand and smile for the camera...not successful.
After we had taken pictures, we came back in to enjoy our very yummy ravioli Christmas dinner. It's a tradition every year that mimi does an italian Christmas dinner. It was fantastic!!! Here are Kendall, Sam, and Cash eagerly awaiting their plate of food!
After we finished eating and cleaning up, we were all playing in the floor. All of the sudden, the weather got very bad and Jay started yelling, "take cover". In the meantime, the electricity had gone out and we are scooping up kids, dogs, and anything else we could find and running to the middle hallway of the house. What in the world??? Yep, you guessed it. A tornado passing through Clarksdale was responsible for all of the commotion! It was very scary for about 15 minutes. I realized that Chet and Kendall weren't there and they had gone over to Scott and Billy's--luckily, they got there just in time to take cover in the closet. We had about 14 people stuck in the hallway at Mimi's house. Needless to say, we were thankful that the house didn't get blown away and we were able to come out of the hallway rather quickly. Of course, the electricity stayed off for about 5 hours. We had to open presents in the presence of candles and lanterns. It was absolutely chaotic and wild, but it was a blessed time being with all of our family. In the midst of the present-opening, some tissue paper got caught up in a burning candle and caught on fire. Yep, we had a bonfire in the middle of the dining room table. Mimi was screaming and everyone was running around trying to figure out what to do. Luckily, it was only 1 piece of tissue paper and once it finished burning, it was "snowing" burnt paper everywhere. In the midst of the fire, I realized that Kendall had burned her hand on the hot lantern and she and Sydni were holding an ice pack on her hand. Bless it--It was wild and crazy!
Uncle Mark giving piggy back rides in the dark (post tornado)!
Sydni and Aunt Karen posing in the dark...the flash was super bright (as you can tell by Karen's big eyes)!
Papa's present from Lindsey...A monkey in a chair. She said it looked just like Papa! Buffy wasn't sure what to think about it either!
Sweet Sam posing with the monkey!
Papa and his twin!
Kendall had the camera and she was taking pictures. Me, Sam, and Papa posing in the dark. By this time, we were stir crazy!
After a few hours in the dark, we got a call that the roof had blown off the beauty shop and there was water standing in the shop. Mimi and crew headed out to check on it and needless to say, it wasn't a pretty site. It was ruined! This is not the finish to the night that we were looking for, but it was definitely a realization that we were very blessed to still have a house and to have been protected from the storm!!! It was a very scary night and one that we will never forget. There is nothing like a crazy Clarksdale kind of Christmas!
Aunt Jessica, Jon Mark, and Uncle Mark
Aunt Jessica and Uncle Mark!
On Sunday evening, we went over to Scott and Billy's to celebrate Christmas with them. We had another italian dinner which was fantastic, and we got to visit with Taylor, Carson, and Will. We had a great time with all of them, and we got some really fun presents.
Here we are getting ready to chow down!
Aunt Scott and Carson
Sam was obsessed with the balls on the tree!
Aunt Scott and Taylor!
Uncle Billy and Will!
Sam strumming the 6-string!
The 2 monkey's playing in Uncle Billy's new wagon!
So blessed to have the gift of family!
