The Time Has Come...

It has finally arrived, Sam and Ginger's last day with us for 2013. They are on the reindeer ready to ride off into the sunset tonight. Lili has added some goodies to their little stockings so they should have plenty of sugar to get them on their way.

Nothing Says Sorry Like Starbursts...

After being mischievous the other night (writing on faces), Sam and Ginger thought they should try to make up with the girls by giving them some sweets.

To be funny, they cut out the elf head on the box and peaked through the hole themselves.

Supplies:
Starburst candy in boxes - these were available at Wal-mart with a bunch of other movie sized candy boxes for 98¢
Scissors for cutting the elf face off of the box for your elf to look through.

The Writing Is On The Wall...

...well, maybe not the wall...hee hee!

The Christmas Story...

Sam and Ginger are taking the time to read the Christmas Story (Luke 2). They want to make sure that we don't forget the real reason for Christmas. It's all about God's love for us and the amazing gift of a Savior that came to us as a little baby born in a manger. So with all the hustle and bustle of the season, with all the fun of Elves and magic of Santa, please be sure to keep Christ in Christmas this year and share Him with those you meet...that's a true gift that everyone needs.

The Christmas story is the story of God's becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us. The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loves us and has provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Strike A Pose...

Sam is helping Ginger with her Christmas card photo.

Supplies:
Funky wrapping paper (I happened to have it already)
Feathers - did you know that you can buy this by length like ribbon? Very cost effective!

For those of you with Photoshop or a photo editing program, here's a template that you can plop your photos into...just click on it and then right click to download/save to your computer.

Christmas is in the bag...

...oh wait, no, I mean the elves...the elves are in the bag.

Sam and Ginger decided that they wanted to be a Christmas gift.

Up On The Cabinet-Tops...

Up on the cabinet-tops little Elves pause, to get a better view of what everyone does.

Sam and Ginger should be able to see everything that goes on from up there. Hope Sam can make it to the top.

Zipline Fun...

Sam and Ginger decided to have some zip line fun through the house last night.

It's A Bird!...It's A Plane!...

No, it's Super Elves!

Sam and Ginger took to the sky to make sure everyone is being good.

For those of you with Photoshop or a photo editing program, here's a template that you can plop your photos into...just click on it and then right click to download/save to your computer.

Say Cheese!

Sam, Ginger, and a couple friends decided to have some fun with the photo props that we have for our Girl Scout Christmas parties.

Looks like Ginger took advantage of Sam being under the mistletoe.

It's Potty Time!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Who has to go?

Sam Says "No..More...Candy"

We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

Ginger seems to be enjoying her m&ms, but I think maybe Sam had a bit too much sugar, looks like he has a tummy ache.

Do Not Open Until Christmas!

Sam and Ginger trapped the girls in their rooms last night.

The Stockings Were Hung...

Sam and Ginger decided there was plenty of room for them to hang their own stockings up with ours.

Wonder if they will get candy or coal?

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While Lili was home from school sick she drew Sam and Ginger a picture. So glad that my girls love their elves.

If you cannot read it, it says:
Merry Christmas
to: Sam and Ginger
From: Lili
Elvs Rock

Sam Van Gogh and Ginger Dali...

Sam and Ginger felt that the girls photos were not quite good enough the way they were. Good thing they have an artistic eye!

Snowman Fun...

Ginger and Sam built some snowmen last night. They were even nice enough to leave the snow outside so I didn't have to clean up the puddles.

Sleigh Ride...

Sam and Ginger made themselves cozy in one of Lili's Converse shoes and hitched up to a reindeer for a 'Sleigh Ride'.

Just hear those sleigh bells jinglin, ring-ting-tingling too.
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Lili also left some S'more Snack Mix that she made at our Girl Scout Snack Attack outing for Sam and Ginger tonight...

Yum!

Stowaways...

Today when I went to get the girls from Grandpa and Grandma's house I had two stowaways along for the ride. Sam and Ginger must have figured since we would be gone all day that they would join us.

A Letter From Up North...

Bella and Lili,

We missed seeing you girls last night, but had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends Minty and Fred. We colored pictures at Santa's house and gave our finished pictures to Mrs. Claus to hang on the refrigerator. She really liked them, even gave us milk and cookies!!!

We were a little homesick for snow since Illinois doesn't have any yet, so before heading back home we built a snowman with Buddy and Trixie. Ginger even made a pretty wreath to put on the Snowman's head. It was so nice to see the snow. Hopefully we will have some at your house soon.

Hope you both had a great time at Grandma's house. See you soon!

Love,
Sam & Ginger
(your elves on the shelf)

P.S. Bella - thank you for your Christmas tree shaped note. It was very thoughtful of you.

For those of you with Photoshop or a photo editing program, here's a template that you can add your own letter to and plop your own photo into...just click on it and then right click to download/save to your computer.

A Night Off...

The girls are spending the night with their grandparents tonight, so Sam and Ginger have decided to make plans of their own.

Their Letter Reads:

Dear Elf Friends: Buddy, Trixie, Dobbie, Lollie, Mr. Bear, and Minty

How are you all doing? We are having a great time at the Robertson. Have you guys done anything fun? I hope you are all staying out of trouble. We have been having a lot of fun...we helped decorate their Christmas tree and even built our own little tree out of Legos. (We found out the hard way that you have to make sure to not leave any Legos on the floor because it really hurts when you step on them.)

Did you know that Illinois doesn’t have any snow right now? NO SNOW!!! It’s a serious crisis, I don’t know what will happen if they don’t have a white Christmas?!? Since there is no snow outside, Ginger and I made some snow to hang up inside...makes us feel more at home. And speaking of crises, this house needs more sugar! Can you believe that they don’t even eat syrup on their spaghetti? We added some of the Elf food groups to the grocery list the other day, hopefully Mom will stock up soon!

Do you have any plans for tonight? I overheard Mom talking on the phone and the girls will be staying the night with their Grandma and Grandpa. Maybe we can get together and deck the halls or have a snowball fight? I can’t wait to tell you all about what we have planned for the rest of the month.

Love,

Sam and Ginger

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Bella wrote Sam and Ginger a little note before they went to stay the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. "Sorry. We are going to Grandmas. Hope you have fun."

Let It Snow...

Sam and Ginger pulled string through cotton balls and hung them up to ease us into the idea that it is going to snow soon.

To Market, To Market...

Sam and Ginger decided to add a few elf-friendly items to our grocery list last night.

Legos Galore...

Sam and Ginger decided to have some Lego fun...wonder if the girls will be able to figure out what they are building?

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Sam and Ginger finished their Lego masterpiece while the girls were at school today.

FYI: Holiday themed Lego sets can be found in the stocking-stuffers in the Christmas section at Target for only a few dollars.


For those of you with Photoshop or a photo editing program, here's a template that you can plop your photos into...just click on it and then right click to download/save to your computer.

Star Light, Star Bright...

We got our Christmas tree last night and the girls worked very hard at decorating it, but when we were done we realized we had no star topper for the tree. Sam and Ginger decided that this mini-star from the girls Christmas tree parade costumes would fit perfectly.

There's Been An Elf Spotting...

Sam is back and he had so much fun with us last year that this year a friend came back with him. They are very excited to watch Elf this year...and all of the other Christmas movies.

Meet Ginger, our new Elf on the Shelf friend.

Ginger's letter in the first picture reads:

Dear Bella and Lili,

Hi! I'm Sam's elf friend from the North Pole. I heard about all the fun Sam had at your house last year and wanted to come visit your house with him. Santa thought that since there were two of you to keep an eye on that it would be okay if I came with Sam to help him out.

If it's okay with you, I'd like to be your elf friend too. You can even pick a really fun name for me...I can't wait to hear what it is!

Remember, just like with Sam, you can't touch me, but every day Sam and I will be in a different spot, so try to find us when you wake up!

PS I'll try to stay out of trouble