The 12th day. . .

was the coolest! We were so excited to find out who our awesome friends were that we tore the basket open and didn't even get a picture!



So, we put it back together the best we could and quickly snapped one.

The first things I saw in the basket were the Jones' sodas. I knew immediately that it was our friends Jerry, Carla, Jerrod, and Carly. (Jerrod probably spent enough to pay for his first year of college stocking up on Jones' when he would find them on sale at the Allsups near the McDonalds we always stop at on the way to camp!) We spent many hours working alongside this family while we were in youth ministry. Jerry and Carla are special to us. They were faithful supporters and encouragers of the youth ministry, and they were always ready to do whatever we needed. We respect them so much as we watch them parent their kids. We pray that our kids turn out to be as great as theirs are.

Of course Jerrod and Carly were in our youth group. I have many fond memories of working with Jerrod at camp. We always made each other laugh and I still look forward to seeing him when we are at church. Carly is just a sweet, tender, loving girl, and everyone wants to be her friend because of that. She tries to include everyone and wants everyone to have a good time.

Thank you friends for such a special treat this holiday season! We loved every minute of it and we love you!

Days 10 and 11

Here are the gifts we received from our friends on Days 10 and 11. They are pretty cool. Honey is especially excited about the southwestern themed basket from day 11. (He loves chips and salsa) The note we recieved with our gift this morning says that we will find out who our little elves are IN THE MORNING! I can't wait!

Where's Nancy Drew?

So. . .we haven't solved the Christmas mystery, but the gifts keep coming. I've done a little investigating, and we've even confronted a couple of people, but so far, no solid leads.

The theme for this little adventure is "The 12 Days of Christmas". We just received Day 9. You've seen Days 1 and 2, so here are the rest.

Here are days 3, 4, & 5. The books were day 3, the snowman day 4, and in the basket were 5 candy cane rings for day 5.

Here is day 6. All of the gifts have come with a poem, but this is my favorite.

"Six geese-a-laying. . .

What't up with that?

Who needs a goose

Sitting on their door mat?

When I think of Christmas,

I don't think of geese.

I think of goodwill towards men

And world peace.

There's nothing so peaceful as

Holiday cookin'

So bake up some men-

Gingerbread and good lookin'."

This is day seven. Bubba is still beggin' to make smores.

Here are days 8, and 9. We made waffles with our new batter bowl (complete with a no slip surface on the bottom) this morning. And, when we opened our front door to check the snow accumulation early this morning, we found this very cute cookie jar.

We definitely have some great friends (or family), and we really are clueless as to who this might be. But, it has added some fun and sparkle to our holiday season. I can't wait for it all to be over so we can find out who it is!

Christmas Mystery

So, last night, the kids and I are curled up in bed watching the Grinch, and Honey is sitting at the dinning room table working on a contract for our house. All of a sudden, Honey hears some banging on the front door and goes to investigate. Sitting on the front porch is this:

It is a cute little gift with a note attached: The 12 Days of Christmas! Apparently we have some little elves running around our neighborhood leaving Christmas cheer. They are keeping their identity a secret until the end of the adventure, but last night's note promised a surprise this morning.

Bright and early this morning I opened the front door and there on the porch was our second gift!

I can't believe it! It is a Christmas mystery! I've been trying to figure it out all day! It will be fun to go along with the fun. I've even written a poem of my own. Stay tuned. . .