Happy Holidays from the Fahey Hos

Christmas has arrived in the Ho house/ studio apartment/ dorm room. 

(Our skinny cheap tree with the wonderful handmade stockings behind them.) 

I can't believe this is our 3rd Christmas together, and our 5th year exchanging presents! (Not including the two years I sent Christmas packages to Matt on his mission.) 

When Matt got home from his mission in October of 2008, we started talking on the phone/ texting like crazy. We had been exchanging letters the last two years, so I guess the phone was the next step. I was still out at school here in Hawaii and Matt was home in Georgia readjusting and waiting for Winter semester to start. 

We decided that we would exchange gifts with each other. (Well maybe I asked Matt what he wanted and then I think he just felt obligated to return the love.) Anyway, that year I got Matt his carved wooden turtle since he requested a magical turtle. And Matt got me a wind pipe (like Peter Pan plays)- which was also an inside joke. 

It was a good Christmas, but we of course just remained friends regardless of how much I wanted Matt to give me a nice Christmas kiss. :) 

Christmas of 2009 I had just returned from London and Matt was home from school. We had been skyping all throughout my stay in London, and I had begun to realize that I really really cared for this goofy guy. That year we had just started kinda dating, but still not really admitting it or labeling it. 

I know I got Matt a Padington Bear keychain from London (inside joke) and a Georgia road map (because he took me out one night and we got really really really lost... like hour out of the way lost). And for the life of me, I can't imagine what he got me that year. But I am sure I liked it.... 

Update: Matt said he knows he gave me his missionary journal and note binder to use for my mission... which of course I never used in the way I was supposed too because as you know by.... 

Christmas of 2010 we were the newlyweds! We had our first little tree in the bedroom my Abuela and Papa were letting us stay in while we waited to move to Hawaii in January. We put our 'First Christmas' ornament and a Vancouver moose ornament that we got from our honeymoon, and we loved our little tree. We started our first ever Christmas Eve P.J. swap and watched The Christmas Story. That year we were pretty broke so we just did stockings, but it was a great year. Christmas morning we went down and opened our stockings with Abuela and Papa. 

Christmas 2011: The first Christmas away from our families! We got a 6 foot fake tree at Target for $20 and decked it out in all the ornaments we could find. Matt even made ornaments out of little one shot liquor bottles. We hung Christmas lights in our windows. We even sent out our first official Christmas card (the year before we sent thank you/ Christmas cards). Matt's mom made us the best stockings ever and since we weren't going home we splurged on each other. While it was really hard not being with family, it was a pretty great Christmas. 

And now Christmas 2012!!! We put that ole skinny 6 foot tree and put all our decorations, plus all the new ones from my Grandma Fahey. We hung our stockings and our lights and busted out the Justin Bieber Christmas album. This year we actually put our tree up before Thanksgiving because of our California trip, but I am happy it's beginning to look like Christmas. I have ordered our second Christmas card and I think it turned out great! (It should be arriving on your doorsteps pretty soon. Unless, you don't and then you can see it on the blog!) 

This year we are lucky enough to be able to be going home for Christmas, and I for one am so excited to see my family at Christmas time! I even bought this Gadanke journal to document this Christmas season. If you haven't guessed, I am obsessed with these journals/ scrapbooks. If you haven't checked out this site you need to do so! 

I hope your holiday season is starting out as great as ours is! Much love from the Fahey Hos!