10 More Sleeps!

With only 10 more sleeps left until Christmas, our elfish adventures continue with some Christmas fun and another RACK assignment from Santa. 

Yesterday's letter from the jolly old dude revealed that Elfia has brought with her a special gingerbread surprise --- a gingerbread train kit. As a reminder for the real reason for Christmas, and the spirit with which we celebrate (not on the GIFTS but on Jesus, creating memories and giving back to others), yesterday's task was a perfect opportunity to create a father/daughter memory. After dinner my hubby and kiddo set out to create their gingerbread masterpiece. For over an hour they slaved away, sampled a little too much icing and bonded over their creation. It was precious to watch them enjoy this moment together...

This morning Elfia was discovered enjoying a snowy bubble bath in our guest bathroom, complete with her own rubber duckie. 

Today's letter from Saint Nicholas is a RACK assignment is a chance to practice our generosity as we head to the pet store later today and then to a local animal shelter to make a donation of kibble to the adoptable doggies waiting for homes. A good reminder that God cares about ALL of his creation and calls us to do the same. 

Sack Races, Parties, and a "Boyfriend" - Day 12 & 11

For those still confused by the order in which I write my numbers... yes, we are still counting backwards.

Day 12's "elf discovery" as actually thwarted the night before by our daughter, who had trouble falling asleep at bedtime. Thanks to a two hour nap that day (due to the nasty chest cold that has kept her home most of the week), she struggled to fall asleep at bedtime and ended up coming out to find Elfia already hard a play. (Note: we are pretty sure she knows it's us who, err... shall I say "pulls the strings" ... of her beloved elf, but she's enjoying the fun too much to really care.) So while we were disappointed not to have had the usual merriment the next morning, we were thrilled at her reaction none-the-less. Elfia, as you can see, was embroiled in a ruthless "sack race" with some resident stuffies of our home. She looks quite happy with herself to have won huh?

Day 12's letter from Santa reminded us that it was party day! Weeks of planning meant mommy and daddy had certainly NOT forgotten that fact, and we certainly weren't going to let a no-longer contagious but still coughing child keep us from having our fun. So, after ensuring that she had a good nap again on Friday, she was eager to help us get ready to celebrate the season with our friends. Work friends, church friends, etc... it was a good night to mix n' mingle!

Day 11th's elf discovery thankfully came several hours later than the usual 6:30 a.m. wake up thanks to the "party hangover" that had us all sleeping late this a.m. It also revealed that the party had been fun for Elfia too! We weren't the only ones who had enjoyed some fellowship with new and old friends... it turns out a visiting elf (a gift from one of our party attendees) had hit if off well with Elfia. They were found still livin' it up in the dining room, attempting to stack our leftover mandarin oranges! ;-)

Today's letter from Santa came with a gift: a gingerbread train! After a crazy week and a busy night, we look forward to settling in tonight to put our train together. Pics to follow. For now, we leave you with our little family, all decked out in our Christmas costumes from our "photo booth" experience at last night's party!

A Cheer-io Message - Day 13

Elfia must have been hungry when we came back from her trip to see Santa last night, because we found her eating some Cheerios in the kitchen this morning! Abbie was delighted to find that Elfia had spelled out a message to her in Cheerios and came rushing into the bedroom to tell us. 

Today's letter from Santa was another RACK assignment; this time to surprise Daddy and his co-workers at work with gingerbread donuts. Unfortunately, Santa didn't know that Abbie was gonna be sick, and that it would be Daddy's turn to stay home, so mommy took gingerbread donuts and muffins to her office instead. They were thoroughly enjoyed by all. ;-)

Day 14 - Lego Cabins and Letters for her Teacher

Day 14 in our countdown to Christmas today, and our coughing little monkey awoke to snuggle before finding Elfia. Turns out Elfia was in a snuggly mood too, as we found her snuggled up in a nice little Lego cabin by the tree. 

The letter she brought from Santa, or Saint Nicholas, as we have begun to call him, reminded us to practice generosity (thank you Kids of Integrity) so the monkey-pants got to work on a beautiful picture to give her teacher along with the gift mommy has ready for her. She put the bows Elfia had scattered all over the kitchen a few days before to good use, making flowers out of them in this rendition of a garden. 

Snow and A Shepherd-Less Nativity - Day 15

Happy Day 14! 14 Sleeps until Christmas!

Today we found Elfia snuggled up in a little house she made out of our daughter's Lego. More pics and info on today's Christmas countdown adventures later... for now, here's a recap of yesterday!

Day 15 started with the discovery of Elfia, or more precisely Elfia's butt, which was sticking out between the window blinds! Apparently Elfia loves looking at snow, cause we found her with her face smooshed up against the glass, enjoying a snowy view while we slept. 

Santa's letter came with a project: to read and then act out the Christmas story using our Little People Nativity. While we won't be winning any Academy Awards for this performance, I hope you enjoy it and that it reminds who why we celebrate!

 

Windmills n' Bows - Day 17 and 16

Day 17 with our little elf (Sunday) was a more low key kind of day, mostly due to our need to thaw-out from the parade the night before, rest from the busy Saturday, and spend some time at church. I was awakened by a sleepy head little girl who climbed into bed with me when daddy went out to walk the dog. As I cuddled up with her and drifted back to sleep, my kiddo caught a glimpse of the impish elf and screamed in delight. (So long sleep...). Apparently Elfia got caught in our "windmill" (aka ceiling fan) when flying back from the North Pole. And there she hung..

Our letter from Santa on day 17 included instructions to surprise the cousins with a Skype call. While someone our lines of communication with my little bro and his family got mixed up, we did manage a call with my brother in Texas and his little fam. It was fun, if not chaotic, to chat... and to learn that they have a new puppy!

Day 18 came much to early... Monday's tend to do that. We discovered a surprise in the kitchen though that quickly turned our grumpy Monday morning moods right side up. Elfia, it appears, has a bow-obsession. 

Today's letter from Santa revealed something our kiddo didn't know about him: his real name. We learned all about the real man behind the legend today: Saint Nicholas. 

Stay tuned for more from our mixed up little house.

Day 18 - Car Transformations and a Parade...

It's day 18 in our countdown to Christmas with our little elf, Elfia. And this morning she was harder to find than usual. As the video shows below, Elfia surprised us by transforming our cars for Christmas! Our daughter was absolutely delighted. 

Today's letter form Santa informed us that the annual Santa Claus parade for our city is tonight. We're gonna try and brave the cold (and for us, -10 and below is COLD) to take in the lights and parade, but something tells me that we're gonna bail 1/2 way through and hit up a Timmy's for some hot chocolate! 

Snowball fights & Generosity, Chain Climbing & Popcorn - Day 20 and 19

And we are out of the 20s, with 19 sleeps to Christmas!

Yesterday landed our elf in the hot seat with momma, when our daughter found Elfia embroiled a snow ball fight with a resident teddy bear. Good thing marshmallows don't melt! After a stern lecture from momma on the inappropriateness of such non-sense IN the house, Elfia was set off to bed for the day (she sleeps while we are at school/working). 

That evening we launched into our first Kids of Integrity lesson on "Generosity." As we waited for Daddy to come home so we could head out for our family evening, we discussed the idea of being generous, and the instructions we'd received from Santa that morning. Today's assignment from Santa was well-timed, as it was our 2nd RACK task: buying a toy for a child in need. So with our money in hand we trekked of to the mall (after a quick dinner first of course) and hand-picked a toy from Toys R Us. Our monkey-pants determined that this year it would be for a boy since she's picked one for a girl last year, and was delighted to hand it over to the local Christmas Bureau volunteer at the mall. As we learned in our KOI lesson, "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7), and we left the mall with grateful hearts for all we've been blessed with.

This morning we woke to find Elfia scaling the Christmas "chain" our daughter had made at school, and a letter from Santa reminding us that tonight is family movie night! Bring on the popcorn and holiday movie! Whoo hoo!

Merry Christmas y'all!

Upside Down Snowflakes... Day 21

21 days till Christmas! 

Elfia the elf was, according to my kiddo, apparently practising for the circus this morning. She was found hanging upside down from my kitchen cupboards... something my five-year-old found absolutely hilarious. 

The letter she brought back with Santa today also told us to spend some time making some snowflakes to hang from our windows. After several rather lame attempts at paper snowflakes, we gave up and went with a Pinterest craft I've been thinking of doing with my monkey. An hour later, we had four blinged-out Popsicle stick snowflakes. Much better. ;-)

Day 23 and Day 22 -- Yes, we are counting backwards...

Yesterday, Day 23 in our countdown to Christmas, we woke to a more difficult search for the mischievous Elfia. After some help from mommy and daddy, our daughter found Elfia hiding in the glasses in the dining room. A nice vantage point actually, from which she can see the living area!

The letter from Santa revealed our first RACK (Random Act of Christmas Kindness) assignment ... baking some pumpkin bread to gift to a neighbour or friend. We opted to send it to school tomorrow, as a gift to the faithful crossing guard who so cheerfully does her job. Our loaf goes with a note that reads: 

"You have been chosen to receive this small blessing 

as a Random Act of Christmas Kindness. We hope 

that you find God's love and blessing in your life this 

season and through the New Year. Merry Christmas!"

This morning our kiddo awoke and giggled in glee at finding Elfia playing "Go Fish" with our dog's favourite toy... his own dog. ;-) 

Santa's letter encouraged us to read a Christmas story or two, which we eagerly snuggled up to do this afternoon after school. We ended up enjoying a book I borrowed from work... a delightfully depiction of the birth of Jesus set to rhyme.