Twelve Days of Christmas

This year Gabe and I decided to surprise our good friends, with a little something everyday for 12 days. We started on Dec.13 and made our final delivery on Christmas eve.

Each day we left the surprise with a number and a little note attached saying. " on the 1st day of Christmas my true friend gave to me"... And then the rest of the saying went along with whatever we gave them.



The first day we left some homemade sugar cookies and caramel corn and said " some yummy treats to share with your family"

Day 2



"There are so many reese's why we like you and hope your Christmas is merry and bright"

Day 3



"we wash you a merry Christmas"

Day 4



"wrap yourself in a wonderful holiday season"

Day 5
This day brought a challenge because our friends gate code changed and I couldn't wait around as I had to get home and leave for the airport in a few short hours.



" sending clean and sparkling Christmas wishes your way"

Day 6 and 7 ( were combined because we were out of town and had to deliver when we got back)



"save your energy by letting us do your dishes this holiday season"

Day 8
This day I thought I was caught as our friend called and asked if it was me....but I played dumb and well they say that they gave up thinking it was me..



"thanks for being a lifesaver lately"

Day 9



"wishing you a scrumptious Christmas with homemade caramel autumn spice dip"

Day 10



"friends are the magic of the season"

Day 11



"take note we are thinking of you this holiday season"

Day 12
I didn't get a picture of it, but we left their favorite wine, beer, roll of cookie dough and a card letting them know we were their little Christmas elves.

"everyone could use some extra drinks and dough around the holidays"

We had a blast doing this and Mike and Sharon said they enjoyed getting the surprises everyday and trying to figure out who was leaving these little gifts!

Can't wait to surprise another family next year!

Christmas

Wow we can't believe Christmas has come an gone. This year we were lucky enough to have my mom, sister, and brother in law visit. This visit was long overedue, since we hadn't seen Alyssa and Chris since our wedding! They were here for a week, and what a fast week it was.
Gabe and Chris were able to golf twice and play lots of games on the Wii. Mom, Alyssa, and I enjoyed pedicures, shopping and lunch at Serendipity.



Our beautiful tree, and yes everyone was spoiled including baby L.



Makena got lots of new toys and treats!



Mom was very excited and surprised by her pink iPod!



And Alyssa by her green iPod!



Chris loved 007 for the Wii. I think gabe was secretly hoping he would forget it when he left today!



Gabe with his one request, a white TN hat with an orange T.



He also loved his wolf pack champion shirt....



And his SF giants world series champ shirt!

Personally, I think I got the best gift of all. As if my family coming for Christmas wasn't enough, Gabe surprised me with this...



No not just an apple case....



An iPad! I really think this could be the coolest present I've ever gotten.




Alyssa, Me, and Mom the night before they left



I swear gabe is happy about baby L despite the serious look.

We are so thankful to have had such a wonderful Christmas week. Also, I'm so happy because Gabe is working from home, which means he will be here through the new year.

Lastly, we are still amazed that in 6 weeks or so, we will be blessed with our new bundle of joy! We know this time is going to fly as our next few weeks are extremely busy.

We hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season as much as we did!!

PAINT SURPRISE

Ever think you have the best friends in the whole wide world?!?!?! Well, I'm sorry to tell you I think my friends are better than yours..just kidding. Anyways, our friends Sharon and Mike have been nothing but helpful and so excited for us since we told them we were expecting! Sharon, immediately started planning my baby shower, which will no doubt be the best EVER! Since they own their own painting business, Mike then offered to paint Baby L's room! Gabe and I were so blessed with this gift because neither of us have the patience, motivation, or will to paint a room.

As you know Thanksgiving weekend Gabe and his dad finished the crown moulding in the nursery, so the next step was PAINT! I had brought the crib bedding to Mike and Sharon a few weeks ago and with their expert advice of course the first paint sample they picked matched perfectly! That alone would have taken Gabe and I several trips to home depot to find just the right color. Every day Gabe would ask 'so has Sharon said when Mike wants to paint"? Every day I would tell him "no this week they are busy, out of town, etc"

Well this past Wednesday Sharon calls and says Mike wants to paint tomorrow, what do you think. What do I think? I think heck yah this is the best news I've had all week! Yippee! Like clockwork Gabe asks his usual question about when it was going to be done and my response to him tonight was a little fib because I said oh i don't know Mike's out of town this week ( which was true, until he decided not to go).

Thursday, while I was at work Mike came over and painted everything.... Crown moulding and base boards, the walls, and my bookshelves. So, 3.5 hrs later (told ya he's a professional) I came skipping in from work to find this.....






Gabe, came home Friday afternoon and first thing he says when he walks in is "Why does it smell like paint in here"? Hahaha he has a good sniffer...so I said well Mike was here!! He went into the room and was like a kid in a candy store. He was looking around in disbelief and couldn't stop saying this is awesome but I thought Mike was out of town this week. Hahaha I just laughed and said well he didn't go, so yesterday I came home to everything done and looking amazing!

Saturday, Gabe decided he would put the fan up! Well after blaming me for leaving the switch on, and getting shocked twice...we have this....



Sorry to go on so long about paint...but really if you only knew how happy this made us both you would understand!

Thank you Mike and Sharon for making Baby L's room absolutely PERFECT! We couldn't ask for better friends than you guys! We can't say thank you enough... we love you both!

December 1st

OK..so where has the time gone?!!?!? I couldn't believe it when I had to write December 1st on everything today. This set me into a slight tizzy when I realized I didn't have a Christmas wreath to hang on the door. So, immediately after work I headed to the craft store. A few hours later I had whipped up this beauty for our front door.


I'm much happier knowing that all my decorating is finally done. Now to finish my shopping and wrapping!

Mail

I used to love getting the mail when I was younger, but that has since changed. Now it seems like every time I open the mailbox, out flies a bunch of bills and junk mail. Hence, the reason I choose to check my mail every couple of days. However, yesterday when I opened my box I was greeted with the dreaded bills but also a KEY! For those of you who have real mailboxes ( you know the ones that actually are at the end of your driveway), not a community one, this key signifies you have a nice little package in a bigger mailbox. So, I took the key and opened it up to find this.....
Homemade Caramel Corn from Auntie Sheri!!!!!Originally, I thought she was joking when she said she mailed me some. She sent two nice bags of this melt in your mouth caramel corn. Yes, as you can tell the minute I opened it I couldn't resist. As of this evening that 1/2 bag went to a 1/4 bag... and well by Friday Gabe may not get any at all. Thanks Auntie, for making my Tuesday so much better and please do share the wonderful recipe! Sorry to make everyone jealous, but this stuff is addicting and delicious!