Snowflake's Shenanigans {the final chapter of 2013}

Snowflake made himself right at home while he was with us in December. So much so that he may have upset the natives...


After we set him free he made the kids some snowman donuts.


The last shenanigan by Snowflake that I thought to photograph was this one...well, it was the reindeer really.

Those naughty reindeer made quite the mess! And Snowflake made it pretty clear that he was NOT cleaning it up! :o)

What kind of trouble did your elf get in to? I'd love to see! Will you share a link to your blog post in the comments?

I can't wait to see what Snowflake gets in to next year!!

Where is YOUR happy place??

Ever have a place that can put you in a good mood no matter what kind of mood you're in? Not a phony, smile-because-we're-in-the-presence-of-Christians kind of place? I'm about to share with you my happy place.

Every Sunday morning Hubs and I get up with the best of intentions. We wake up early to get our rowdy bunch showered, dressed and fed. Getting them out the door for us to make it to church on time, of course, is our greatest challenge. Most Sundays we're able to get through this task without a hitch. Other mornings we are ready to tear into one another. Inevitably, someone in the truck has their feelings hurt or is irritated with the person sitting next to him/her. It's what I call our "we need Jesus" kind of mornings. Or, "the Devil knows how to get his way" kind of start. You know the kind of start I'm talking about.

Earlier this week, at our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, the pastor shared with us this video. It was an absolute reminder that I LOVE MY CHURCH! {will you grab a latte and sit and watch? It's just six minutes. Six really great minutes.} I think after seeing this video you'll see why I love my church.



Isn't that great?! If you live in or near Jacksonville, Florida you should totally come visit us. I guarantee you'll be met with a smiling face!

Snowflake's Shenanigans {Elf on the Shelf, part 3}

i'm pretty excited to share with you what our elf, snowflake has gotten in to these last few nights.

ready? ok. he's been a naughty elf...


snowflake replaced the kids stockings with their undies. {don't miss the diaper at the end. LOL}


he hung out with the nutcrackers.


snowflake got back here to sunny florida and missed the snow...so, he made snow angels in our sprinkles. {one of the boys commented that it's a little weird that snowflake is going through our stuff.}


snowflake and woody played a friendly game of connect four. {jett was pretty excited about this one...he said, "even our toys come to life at night!"}


he added some *elf-sized* christmas cheer to our home most recently.

we're having so much finding snowflake each morning. some mornings he's just hanging around in the stockings or up on a ledge...but, some mornings he's getting in to a little mischief. those are our favorite mornings.

what sorts of shenanigans is your elf getting in to??? will you leave a link in the comments? i'd love to see!

Snowflake's Shenanigans {the Elf on the Shelf}

as i thought they would, the kids LOVE snowflake the elf. we're only on day two and they couldn't wait to see where snowflake would be next in our house.

well, snowflake came in from the north pole last night and tp'd our christmas tree. for real!



hubs is totally creeped out by this little elf but, HE was the one that was super excited to show the kids what snowflake got in to last night.

*****

this morning i couldn't wait to get on the computer and create what was bouncing around in my head last night.

the idea behind the elf {if you read the book} is that he watches the children all day and then goes back to the north pole and reports to santa whether they've been good or bad. well, i like the idea of that and it's really working on my kids but, i want there to be some sort of positive reinforcement with that. i looked on etsy and found a few printables that would come from the elf or santa but so many of them say "be good or NO toys for christmas." REALLY!?!?!? good or bad, my kids are getting presents. kids are never perfect angels. and i don't want them disliking the elf. we truly do it for the fun of it anyways.

so, i made this printable that is a progress report and is positive. i'm excited to get them printed and have snowflake bring them back from the north pole later this week!!

you can get one, too! head on over to my etsy shop and pick one up. it's a digital file that will be delivered right to your inbox. you can print it as often as you'd like and use it year after year! tell your friends! spread the word! :o)


{your final product will NOT have the watermark.}

will you share a picture of your elf and his progress report when you use it? i'd LOVE to see!

the Elf on the Shelf {with jonahbonah}

For the past two years I've wanted to start the Elf on the Shelf tradition with my kids. But, for the past two years I've said "I'll just wait and do it next year".

This year is the year! Our elf traveled from the North Pole to spend the month of December with the kids. {he was a day late due to a severe blizzard}

He was quickly named Snowflake.



The kids found him next to his magic door adorned with blinking lights and a fresh wreath. Snowflake even put out his Christmas welcome mat.



Today Snowflake will watch over the kids and then report back to Santa tonight. When Snowflake comes back in the morning he'll be in a new place in the house...hopefully he won't get in to any mischief.



Do you do the Elf on the Shelf with your kids? I'd love to see pictures of his/her shenanigans! Will you post a link in the comments? Or, tag me @jonahbonah on instagram.

as seen on blissfully domestic.

A couple of weeks ago I curated a post over at Blissfully Domestic FILLED with 10 DIY Ornaments you can make with your kids. I'd love for you to go check it out!


{click here to view}

This week I'm curating a post that'll give you lots of ideas for Christmas crafting with kids. I'll let you know when it's live. :o)

How was your Thanksgiving? I'll be back here tomorrow to catch you up a smidge on what's been happening around our neck of the woods.