Mail sweetness!

We had 3 days in a row of sweet Christmas surprises!

My Aunt Pat sent us a box full of treasures...and I mean full of Christmas smiles! It seemed the minute we thought we were done taking out everything, there would be another gift hidden. It definitely made our day. Thanks!
My friend, Lori, sent our family their beautiful Christmas card & this fun book. We all cannot wait to use it. Oh, and she sent me Harlan Coben's book Hold Tight too! I can't wait to read it! Thanks for thinking of our family!

Kacey from Doodle Bugs sent this adorable sign.....I love it! Thank you! If you haven't you need to check out her store. Really you do.

How is that for some good mail? Have you rec'd some pleasant surprises in your mail too?

He wanted to add a little holiday cheer....

We woke to find Freddy did some decorating for us!!!!

Lindsey said it looked like he was pulling a sleigh....

I think she is right! I think we will be moving it to the tree ......thanks Freddy for all the fun!

What has that little elf been up to?

Tuesday morning, the kids woke up to find this! Freddy talked with Santa and he wanted them all to write a letter to Santa. Complete with envelopes, stamps and pens! That Freddy sure is organized! Their letters have been mailed....hope the big guy gets them in time!In the glow of the Christmas tree, the kids found Freddy this morning like this.

With beautiful blue stars to hang on the tree! Freddy said they reminded him of all the bright stars near his home. So, he brought 6 for ALL of us to hang. He is one generous elf!

Another beautiful bonus happened when we were about to leave for school. Aunt Janice showed up with freshly baked Snickerdoodles for all the Scavo kids. Why was she so generous?

Because Freddy called her and asked her to!!!!

(See I told you she was amazing!)



What a wonderful few days it has been with Freddy. Tomorrow morning should be exciting!

A birthday list for an amazing friend.

Janice. She is more than a friend, she is family. Here's my list in honor of her special day!

1. She has the most beautiful hair.

2. She is a jill of all trades.....seriously, she does electrical, plumbing...you name it!

3. She is a Girl Scout Leader.

4. Red is her favorite color...it totally fits her personality!

5. She has never had canned jellied cranberry sauce...can you imagine?

6. Special Dark is her favorite chocolate treat.

7. She handmakes baby gifts. Knitting, sewing, embroidering such beautiful keepsakes.

8. She is definitely a movie buff.

9. Buttered popcorn is a must at the movies!

10. She is a wonderful cook....so much so, that now her son is quite the chef.

11. She made 2 beautiful children who are kind-hearted, smart, witty, and helpful.

12. Sweet pea & winter candy apple...a few of her favorites from Bath & Body Works.

13. Her handwriting is what I wish for!

14. She has gorgeous hazel eyes.

15. Clarks....sandals are her fave.

16. Her toes are always painted.

17. She is always on the hunt for the smallest purse...just to carry her license, cash, and her lipstick!

18. Her home is so cozy and inviting.

19. She has a dog named Lola...got to love it.

20. She just celebrated her 17th wedding anniversary!

21. She makes the absolute BEST Snickerdoodles...really, she does.

22. She, along with her family, are involved in many different charities.

23. She doesn't mind my kids calling her Aunt Janice.

24. She is an awesome aunt to 2 nieces and 2 nephews.

25. She is a very neat and organized person.

26. She is our Martha Stewart.

27. She is a terrific listener.

28. She is an avid reader.

29. The cakes, the cupcakes.....they are too beautiful to eat. Once you do though, they are delicious!

30. She always has a smile on her face.

31. Her smile is contagious!

32. She was brought home in a Christmas stocking...cute right?

33. She has been one of the first to hold all my babies at the hospital.

34. Two words....Dairy Queen.

35. Has a serious collection of Lennox Christmas plates.

36. Has the same addiction to all things Williams-Sonoma as I do.

37. Shares a secret love for Mauricio with me. He is our hair stylist....fortunately, she goes to him more often. Which further confirms item #1!

38. She loves to shop...who doesn't?

39. Shoes.....shoes....and more shoes. Need I say more?

40.She has a degree from U of A.

41. She is a native Tucsonan.

42. She needs to start a blog...

43. She is an amazing friend, sister, aunt, daughter, wife and mother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND!

A very quick Freddy update.

This morning we found Freddy rockin' out to Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is coming to town" on my ipod.Get it? He was rockin' out with my ipod in the....... rocking chair!?!

I thought it was pretty genius of Freddy.........

Freddy has been busy.

Friday night he was all business....he called Santa with his list of who's who in the behaving area!

We woke this morning to find this....a donut snowman, along with some half eaten by Freddy!

He explained in his letter that it reminded him of the snow in the north pole....that cute elf. Don't you wonder what he will be up to tonight?

A few fun arrivals at our house!

Yesterday was a great mail day! My Pink Christmas gift is here......I can't wait to open it!

Another swap I entered was a Snowflakes and Sparkles Christmas Swap hosted by Holly. My package arrived from my swap partner, Heather.

I opened the box to an especially sweet letter and super cool red & silver snowflake.

A delicious scented candle,

Some great bright, shiny red ornaments that I just love and

to make the box even sweeter, she added my favorite.....Reeses!

She quilted stockings for each of us. I am so touched that she took the time to do this for me and my family.

Thank you so much Heather for all of the gifts....swapping is so much fun!


Much to our surprise this morning, Santa left us a letter along with one of his best elves. Freddy the elf is staying at our house for 12 days to check on us. He is going to report to Santa every night to let him know how we have been behaving. On Christmas Eve, he gets to leave with Santa on his sleigh. He is sleeping under our Christmas tree (he sleeps there all day) right now. Isn't he cute?

Has any fun mail arrived at your house? Any elves?

A mid-week update.

With only 15 days until Christmas, it is starting to get a little crazy over here. I know, you all are probably feeling the same pressures.

Here's my list.

Get our Christmas tree & decorate it.

Go Christmas shopping... I have only bought a couple of items so far.

Wrap those items.

Get Christmas cards done.

Mail those Christmas cards.

Start our elf tradition(on the 12th)

Mail out of town items.

Decorate the outside of the house.

Grocery shop for Christmas dinner at our house.

Visit Santa.

Go to Zoo Lights.

Go to Winterhaven.

Make ANY type of Christmas cookies.

And I left out all the other fun stuff like laundry, etc. Is it possible to get all that done in time?

But, in an effort to see the positive, this is what we have completed so far.

The kids wrapped their gifts and made cards. Wonder who they are for?

We got out all of our decorations...and played with some of them. This was their Elmo/Cookie/Oscar Christmas sleigh they were playing with.Started moving furniture around to figure out where we wanted the tree. The kids didn't want to move the loveseat from in front of the tv. They said they were at the movies:)Found some wonderful reminders of when the kids were younger. This is Tyler's handprint wreath he made when he was 2. They were so little...sigh...time goes by.

We rec'd a fun good mail surprise in the mail. Jill, the Good Mail Queen, sent me a wonderful Christmas mix cd, along with a nice note. Thanks for the treat, Jill! I love all the music.

We took several cat naps in between. Is he cute or what?

Angels were about at our house! They did a good job, but this was about all they had the patience for. The parts were so tiny to glue.

A major highlight? Santa writing them all a letter! They couldn't believe it....no better photos due to battery failure(really, I just forgot to charge it) Thanks Aunt Pat for making that

sweet memory happen.

Scavo stars and snowflakes....known as starflakes around here, were made. Lori...you got to love the buttons!


How is your list coming along?