Advent

Dec. 1
Buddy the Elf returned this morning, delighting the kids with a game of Hide & Seek.
He left a series of clues for them, leading to his hiding spot...

Well hello again Laura and Rachel,

I hear you have been excited for me 

to come back this year -

but you'll have to find me first!

This is your first clue,

you'll find the second clue 

in the downstairs bathroom

#2: Aha! You found it!

Collect this candle and

look for clue #3 on the TV stand.

#3: You found clue #3!
Collect this candle 

and look for clue #4

under Rachel's bed.

#4: Congratulations!

You found clue #4!

You will find clue #5

where you get your forks.

And don't forget the candle!

#5: You have done a great job 

finding all of the clues, girls.

The last place you look

is where you'll find me:

somewhere in the kitchen

that's warm and light...

#6: You found me!

I knew you girls liked Hide & Seek!
*elicits giggle from Laura*

Now that I am here, 

I will join you for Advent

to remind you about Christmas Spirit.

Today, you can take the candles you collected

to the First Light Festival

to kick off the holiday season.

Love, Buddy

      We went over and met Grandma to see the First Light Festival, and watched her choir perform. They light over 5000 candles; it was really lovely.

Dec. 2

Good morning Laura and Rachel!

I know you have been excited for this,

 so let's put up the tree today!

Love, Buddy

     We didn't actually get time to put the tree up until the next day because we had to pack up and get on the road for Laura's cheerleading competition. The girls were happy to finally be putting it up when we did, though!

Dec. 3

Laura and Rachel,

Spend some family time together today

cheering on Laura at her

cheerleading competition!

Love, Buddy

     We had lots of fun cheering Laura on at her competition, and her team won first place in their division!

Dec. 4

Hi Girls!

I had lots of fun

playing with your toys here!

You should consider

sharing some of them with

kids who don't have as many!
Love, Buddy

     The girls did a good job pairing down their toy collection, specifically a bunch of stuffed animals! (Hooray!)

Dec. 5

Good morning, Girls!

Why am I in a boot, you ask?

Well, last year we learned about Hannukah,

and this year I would like you

to learn about Siinterklaas

and Saint Nicholas Day. 

Love, Buddy

 Because Buddy wasn't really on the ball, we had to go to the library to learn about Saint Nicholas Day today. There wasn't much material we could find about it, but I was able to find a blurb in one book about holidays in December. I sat with Laura and read it to her while Rachel paid no attention. Laura paraphrased it afterward to Rachel, and then we put some oats and a carrot in our boots that evening (you know, for Zwarte Piet to take to Saint Nicholas' horse) and he left them some new puzzles and some treats!

Dec. 6

Hello Laura & Rachel
Today is the day
to let the Big Guy
know what you would
like for Christmas!
Love, Buddy

   After being very excited about their surprises from Saint Nicholas and Zwarte Piet, the girls wrote their letters to Santa. Laura did a very good job sounding out and spelling all the words in her letter, only needing a little bit of help. We took them to the post office to mail when we were done. 

Dec. 7

Laura and Rachel, 
Let's have some fun
with Rudolph noses today!
We'll make some 
Christmas treats to 
give to your friends.
Love, Buddy

   The girls really enjoyed making these treats to hand out to our friends, and Daddy commented that we were like little elves at a Reindeer Treat Factory. Mommy did the cutting, Rachel drew/ coloured the faces, and Laura wrote "Merry Christmas" on the back of each of them. It was fun!

Dec. 8 

Good morning, Laura and Rachel
I dreamt of ghosts last night -
just like in 'A Christmas Carol'.
Perhaps you should read up on it today.
Oh, and I have tickets for you 
to go see the play tonight!
Love, Buddy

   We unfortunately incurred a winter storm this evening, and were seriously considering not going, as it was an hour's drive away. But we decided to tough it out and we ended up really enjoying the show - the acting and singing were quite well done! The best part was when Scrooge was hiding behind his bed curtains and peeking out nervously awaiting the ghosts and the girls were giggling so much, the whole audience started laughing with them. Afterwards, someone came up and told us that was their favourite part of the whole show. <3

Dec. 9

Good morning, Girls!
What a storm, eh?!
Maybe you could show some 
Christmas Spirit today
and help your neighbours 
shovel their driveways!
Love, Buddy
P.S. How did you enjoy the show?!
We didn't get out quite early enough to shovel the whole driveway, but the girls did help!

Dec. 10

Laura and Rachel,

Today is the day for painting!

Go paint some

Christmas ornaments
after swimming lessons!

Love, Buddy

I usually find this activity a little stressful (getting paint in places it doesn't belong), but we actually had fun this year, and I'm really excited to see how Laura's, in particular, turned out. She painted each of us on her ornament, and I just so love her drawing/ painting style right now. 

Dec. 11

Wheeeeeee!
Laura and Rachel,

Let's go sledding 

today as a family!

Yahoo!

Love, Buddy

We took the girls to a toboggan hill we have never been to before. Josh debated bringing his snowboard, but didn't want to dig it out of the crawl space. Anyway, we all actually really enjoyed ourselves. Josh and I did a few runs with them, but had just about as much fun watching them go on their own. They had never been down such a big hill, and Rachel especially was loving it. <3

Dec. 12

Ho Ho Ho!
Good morning, 
Laura and Rachel!
Why don't you go and 
visit Santa Claus
at the mall today?
Love, Buddy
i feel like this one was a bit half-assed, but rachel was so excited when she found buddy this morning wearinga santa beard.

Dec. 13

Laura and Rachel,
Today I would like you to 
show Christmas Spirit
by spending time time together
with your family.
Can you think of something 
to do for each person
that would make them happy?
Love, Buddy 
Today is the anniversary of my second miscarriage and hysterectomy (and only 3 days off the anniversary of my first miscarriage), so I typically hold a little vigil on December 13. This year I was planning to involve the girls, too, because I think its important to talk about, and pay our respects. But, I feel like it has been thrown in my face a lot in the last week, and I had a rough night last night with all of it, so I decided it would be too much for today. Daddy suggested a day of helpfulness, so that is what we went with instead.

Dec. 14

Hello, Girls!
Let's do some christmas baking
today to share with 
our friends and neighbours
love buddy
We remembered that our children's librarian's favourite cookies were oatmeal craisin, so that was what we made to bring to her this morning! Then we ate a bunch.... so we might need to make some more for the neighbours!
Also, today was the blood donor clinic, which I had wanted to go to. I was nervous because of what happened last time, but I also feel like I still owe a whole lot, so I powered through, and am pleased to say that I donated without a hitch! I'm a little extra thirsty, but that is about it!

Dec. 15

Laura and Rachel!
I blew you some Elf Bubbles! 
They are un-poppable!
You can use them 
to make Christmas gifts
for your family today.
Love, Buddy

Dec. 16

Good morning, Girls!
I'm just getting back to nature here,
making a popcorn garland.
Today you are going to learn
how people in the olden days
decorated for Christmas with
what they had!
Love, Buddy
This seemed like a good idea, in theory, but when the girls got up this morning, Buddy's popcorn garland had mysteriously disappeared (Thank you, Grinchy McPiggy Chester!). Luckily, his needle was stuck through the edge of his sleeve for him to "hold" it, so that wasn't consumed with the rest of it! We had a good time at the Tiffin Centre making old fashioned Christmas decorations today, though it was cold! We warmed up by the fire in one of the cabins and worked on weaving with sticks, which Laura in particular really enjoyed. Then we had some hot chocolate and our lunch before heading home!

Dec. 17

Hello Girls!
Why don't you show some Christmas Spirit
and bring some treats to the horses
when you go on the horse-drawn wagon
ride today?
Love, Buddy
The horses had to wait until their dinner time to eat the carrots because they had their bits in, but their driver seemed appreciative. :) The wagon ride was fun. Rachel seemed to especially enjoy it.

Dec. 18

Laura and Rachel
You can run and run
as fast as you can
but you can't catch me
I'm the gingerbread man!
Will you please bake
me a house today?
Love, Buddy
Rachel once again won the gingerbread creation idea again - she wanted to build the paw patrol tower, so that is what we are doing!

Dec. 19

Good morning, Girls!
I brought you some skates, today!
Let's go skating! Whoopee!
Love, Buddy

Dec. 20

Hello Laura and Rachel
I'm standing here in plain sight
but I have hidden 48 candy canes
over night. See if you can find them
all and hand them out today!
Love, Buddy

Dec. 21

Today is the Winter Solstice:
the first day of winter and
the shortest day of the year.
Let's celebrate the light
by making ice lanterns today!
Love, Buddy

Dec. 22

Laura and Rachel
Let's have a family
games night tonight!
Oh, and don't forget
about your Solstice lanterns!
Love, Buddy

Dec. 23

Good morning Girls!
Good luck at your
Christmas recital this evening!
You'll be great!
Love, Buddy

Dec. 24

Dear Laura and Rachel,
Tomorrow is Christmas!
It's practically here!
And now that advent is over,
I, in my cap, will be settling down
for a long winter's nap.
Here is one last gift for you
to remember me by.
You two did a great job
of spreading Christmas Cheer this year.
Love, Buddy