On the Sixteenth Day of Christmas

We have a new addition to our family, thanks to an early present from Santa! It’s one of his elves he dropped off at our door to keep an eye on the kids. He then reports back to Santa nightly on what he sees and hears, keeping the kids on their best behavior and Santa in check on who belongs on the “naughty” or “nice” list.

This silly guy, that we lovingly named Stewart Elfy Kempiak, is so sneaky. Each and every morning he’s hiding in a new, interesting spot around the home, which makes waking up a fun thing for us all as the kids’ race down to find their tiny red friend. They can’t touch him though, otherwise his power will be lost and his rule from Santa is that he’s not allowed to talk to us (just him). That doesn't stop any of the Party of Five from talking to Stewart though!

On Christmas Eve, Santa will pick Stewart up to head back to the North Pole, giving our little guy a much needed vacation. It’ll be sad to see him go but happy too, knowing Santa was here. Hopefully Santa will agree to have him back at our home again next year and all the years that follow, even when I have tons grandkids!

Here are a few snapshots of our special treasure directly from the North Pole. Check out some of the spots he’s been hiding!



(Here he is, in his sleeping bag right next to the couch where Owen was crashed out during his slumber party with Papa John, Grandma Pat, and his brother and sister. What a crack up, he didn't want to miss out!)


(He arrived in this box with candy canes...his favorite food, a handwritten letter from Santa, a green fuzzy sleeping bag, and book introducing the new tradition.)
(Since we can't touch Stewart, Santa's rule, we left him in his box and went to bed. The next morning, this is what we first discovered!)



Isn’t he adorable (and mischievous looking)? I can’t tell you how much our three kids LOVE this guy!

We're curious, how many homes have "An Elf on the Shelf" like Stewart?