Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
New Addition... for December Anyway.
We welcomed a Family Elf into our home on the 1st day of December. His name is Beaker and he will be here staying with us till December 24th when Santa takes him back home.
Let me back up a bit. I came across this fun family tradition last year, Elf on the Shelf. It's a cute book and idea... but had a horrible looking little elf. He was expensive and didn't think all the stuff in the book fit our family well. I loved the main idea and wanted to start it here for the girls. But, I ran out of time to get it started last year when I couldn't find an Elf. I needed a cute and friendly little Elf that could be kept for years. With luck my cute cousin Kay had made this adorable Elf in school when she was in Jr. High. I came across her Elf at my cousin home coming last year a couple weeks before Christmas. So...I kidnapped her Elf for the year to make a pattern from him. I measure and then cut out fabric and felt for our little guy. Then, my Mommy painstakingly sewed his little bits together. I'm so lucky she has some mad craft and sewing skills. He turned out PERFECT!
The one on the Right is my cousin Kay's Elf and on the Left is Beaker.
So, I set the scene. I decided that I wanted the whole "magic" of Christmas to be a big part of our Family Elf. The main idea is that this Elf comes to visit your family for the month of December and he or she reports back to Santa every night if the kids are being naughty or nice. But... did you know Elves are very mischievous? Well, We are learning the hard way. They get bored easy and tend to get into things.
A letter arrived from Santa Clause magically in the night. It was under a little Christmas tree that Grandma Launi had put up just days before. It was sitting under the tree with a bell tide to the bottom branch (See Polar Express!) The girls had watched Grandma Launi turn out the lights on the tree the night before when we were all going to bed. Well, in the morning the lights were all on and there was the letter waiting for them to find it.
It was PERFECT! Jorja found the bell first and Olivia read the letter to her. This is what the letter said:
Mr. S. Claus
Santa’s Workshop
North Pole
Season Greetings Nielsen Family,
I have a special treat for you this year. I have decided that you are qualified to adopt a Family Elf. This is a big responsibility on your part. Your Elf will arrive magically during the night on December 1st. You have been assigned an Elf by the name of Beaker Floppy-Feet. His job is to watch over Olivia and Jorja to see if you are being naughty or nice. Beaker will magically report back here to the North Pole every night while you sweet girls are sleeping. He will return each morning to continue his important duty as Family Elf. Beaker Floppy-Feet will be a member of your family until Christmas Eve when I come to visit you. I will pick Beaker up and escort him home to the North Pole after we finish delivering presents. Please make sure Beaker is left by the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve for me to find him.
You should know a few things about Elves. Elves are magic and only come alive when you are sleeping. Elves tend to get bored easily and will find things to keep themselves busy. Please don’t be upset if Beaker gets into some mischief. He has the best of intentions. If you need to give me a message, feel free to give it to Beaker and he will deliver it to me when he reports back each night. I will do my best to answer you promptly.
I hope you enjoy having Beaker Floppy-Feet Elf in your home this year and know that you will treat each other well. If all goes well, I am sure Beaker will be back to see you next year.
Remember to be good girls and stay on the nice list!
Sincerely,
Santa
Our Elf arrived during the night on December 1st... in the same place the letter was. Magically the letter disappeared.
Every day our Elf Beaker is in a different place. He has to be after coming back from visiting Santa. So far it's been a GREAT thing. We have only had Beaker Floppy-Feet for a few days and already the girls can't wait to find him. Day number two Jorja found him onto of the grandfather clock. Olivia left a note for Beaker to take to Santa for her. Santa was very prompt in getting back to her and answering all her questions... all through Beaker. Day three Olivia found him with Santa's reply in a stocking on the mantle. Tonight Beaker is crashed in the big room after driving Jorja's car.
It's been fun to have the Magic in our house and I look forward to seeing how this all plays out in the future. It's going to be a very fun tradition for our family. I will keep you all updated on our Beaker Adventures! If I can, I'll scan Olivia's letter to Santa and post it. It was SO SWEET, almost made me cry. Yeah for Christmas family traditions and the magic of young children!
Oh, FYI. I found this silly website that converts your name into an Elf name. I put in Jorja and Olivia's name and Beaker Floppy-Feet came up. That's how I picked his name. Check it out @ http://www.jokesunlimited.com/christmas_elf_name.php
(sorry, when I try to link it, nothing happens.)
Let me back up a bit. I came across this fun family tradition last year, Elf on the Shelf. It's a cute book and idea... but had a horrible looking little elf. He was expensive and didn't think all the stuff in the book fit our family well. I loved the main idea and wanted to start it here for the girls. But, I ran out of time to get it started last year when I couldn't find an Elf. I needed a cute and friendly little Elf that could be kept for years. With luck my cute cousin Kay had made this adorable Elf in school when she was in Jr. High. I came across her Elf at my cousin home coming last year a couple weeks before Christmas. So...I kidnapped her Elf for the year to make a pattern from him. I measure and then cut out fabric and felt for our little guy. Then, my Mommy painstakingly sewed his little bits together. I'm so lucky she has some mad craft and sewing skills. He turned out PERFECT!
The one on the Right is my cousin Kay's Elf and on the Left is Beaker.
So, I set the scene. I decided that I wanted the whole "magic" of Christmas to be a big part of our Family Elf. The main idea is that this Elf comes to visit your family for the month of December and he or she reports back to Santa every night if the kids are being naughty or nice. But... did you know Elves are very mischievous? Well, We are learning the hard way. They get bored easy and tend to get into things.
A letter arrived from Santa Clause magically in the night. It was under a little Christmas tree that Grandma Launi had put up just days before. It was sitting under the tree with a bell tide to the bottom branch (See Polar Express!) The girls had watched Grandma Launi turn out the lights on the tree the night before when we were all going to bed. Well, in the morning the lights were all on and there was the letter waiting for them to find it.
It was PERFECT! Jorja found the bell first and Olivia read the letter to her. This is what the letter said:
Mr. S. Claus
Santa’s Workshop
North Pole
Season Greetings Nielsen Family,
I have a special treat for you this year. I have decided that you are qualified to adopt a Family Elf. This is a big responsibility on your part. Your Elf will arrive magically during the night on December 1st. You have been assigned an Elf by the name of Beaker Floppy-Feet. His job is to watch over Olivia and Jorja to see if you are being naughty or nice. Beaker will magically report back here to the North Pole every night while you sweet girls are sleeping. He will return each morning to continue his important duty as Family Elf. Beaker Floppy-Feet will be a member of your family until Christmas Eve when I come to visit you. I will pick Beaker up and escort him home to the North Pole after we finish delivering presents. Please make sure Beaker is left by the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve for me to find him.
You should know a few things about Elves. Elves are magic and only come alive when you are sleeping. Elves tend to get bored easily and will find things to keep themselves busy. Please don’t be upset if Beaker gets into some mischief. He has the best of intentions. If you need to give me a message, feel free to give it to Beaker and he will deliver it to me when he reports back each night. I will do my best to answer you promptly.
I hope you enjoy having Beaker Floppy-Feet Elf in your home this year and know that you will treat each other well. If all goes well, I am sure Beaker will be back to see you next year.
Remember to be good girls and stay on the nice list!
Sincerely,
Santa
Our Elf arrived during the night on December 1st... in the same place the letter was. Magically the letter disappeared.
Every day our Elf Beaker is in a different place. He has to be after coming back from visiting Santa. So far it's been a GREAT thing. We have only had Beaker Floppy-Feet for a few days and already the girls can't wait to find him. Day number two Jorja found him onto of the grandfather clock. Olivia left a note for Beaker to take to Santa for her. Santa was very prompt in getting back to her and answering all her questions... all through Beaker. Day three Olivia found him with Santa's reply in a stocking on the mantle. Tonight Beaker is crashed in the big room after driving Jorja's car.
It's been fun to have the Magic in our house and I look forward to seeing how this all plays out in the future. It's going to be a very fun tradition for our family. I will keep you all updated on our Beaker Adventures! If I can, I'll scan Olivia's letter to Santa and post it. It was SO SWEET, almost made me cry. Yeah for Christmas family traditions and the magic of young children!
Oh, FYI. I found this silly website that converts your name into an Elf name. I put in Jorja and Olivia's name and Beaker Floppy-Feet came up. That's how I picked his name. Check it out @ http://www.jokesunlimited.com/christmas_elf_name.php
(sorry, when I try to link it, nothing happens.)
Jorja Porja's Birthday
My baby turned THREE! Goodness time flies by so fast! I was not mentally ready for her Birthday to happen. But, it came and I had to deal with it.
Jorja requested a Winnie-the-Pooh bear cake this year. Which means we had a very Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday party.
Grandma Launi did an amazing job decorating her cake. Couldn't have done such a nice job without her!
We were able to hold the party on her Birthday this year and it turned out so wonderful. All her favorite people were there and we had a great time eating, opening presents and being together. Of course she got SPOILED rotten. She LOVED all the attention and I'm so glad she enjoyed her day. Thanks to all the Family who came out to support and shower her with love. She is very lucky to have you all.
Jorja playing with the new kitchen Grandma Ginger grave her. One word: Spoiled!
I drew and colored all the posters to hang up as decorations. Aunt Brandy provided the amazing balloons to compliment them. Left over flower decorations were used from Ginger Mom's 60th Birhtday party. We had all our Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals out and The Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh playing in the background. It all looks so cute!
Though, the big roll of paper on the floor to color on with Jorja's new crayons was the biggest hit!
Happy Birthday Jorja Baby... I love and adore you. Thanks for always making Mommy smile!
Thanksgiving and Pie Night
We had a pretty darn good Thanksgiving this year. I am so grateful for the amazing people in my life who made it so. I have the best family!
Thanksgiving always starts with Pie Night with the girls. We made 41 pies this year. They looked so lovely and we only had one big mishap. Some of the pies got Salt instead of Sugar on the top crust! YUCK! Sooo... my fault and I'm never going to hear the end of that one. Pretty darn funny though.
Pie night had a great surprise, I got to catch up with a dear friend Alisha. She is my ex-step cousin. She is stinking adorable and I'm so glad she made it over to help and hang out with us. It had been way too long since we saw each
other. Though, pie night wasn't the same without Vicki who stayed home with her poor sick daughter. But, we seemed to get our groove on and cranked out those pies. The new ones this year were Lemon Sour Cream and Blueberry. They were hits and I look forward to making them again next year! Thanks ladies for a great night. Love and adore you all!
(It's so pretty... but it's salty watch out!)
I didn't get to even have a piece of pie until Saturday. I ended up working while Josh and the kids went to dinner number two at Ginger Mom's house with the family.
Though, Dinner number one at Grandma Taylor's house was AMAZING as always. Love those peeps so much. It's always good to get together and see everyone!
Thanks everyone for making the holiday so memorable. I am so Thankful for all of the amazing people in my life!
Thanksgiving always starts with Pie Night with the girls. We made 41 pies this year. They looked so lovely and we only had one big mishap. Some of the pies got Salt instead of Sugar on the top crust! YUCK! Sooo... my fault and I'm never going to hear the end of that one. Pretty darn funny though.
Pie night had a great surprise, I got to catch up with a dear friend Alisha. She is my ex-step cousin. She is stinking adorable and I'm so glad she made it over to help and hang out with us. It had been way too long since we saw each
other. Though, pie night wasn't the same without Vicki who stayed home with her poor sick daughter. But, we seemed to get our groove on and cranked out those pies. The new ones this year were Lemon Sour Cream and Blueberry. They were hits and I look forward to making them again next year! Thanks ladies for a great night. Love and adore you all!
(It's so pretty... but it's salty watch out!)
I didn't get to even have a piece of pie until Saturday. I ended up working while Josh and the kids went to dinner number two at Ginger Mom's house with the family.
Though, Dinner number one at Grandma Taylor's house was AMAZING as always. Love those peeps so much. It's always good to get together and see everyone!
Thanks everyone for making the holiday so memorable. I am so Thankful for all of the amazing people in my life!
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