On Black Friday, the grandkids were here. Our grandson, Jack, and his sister, Kenzie, are in gifted classes! Kenzie is a quiet and introspective, extremely loving, and always so helpful, while Jack talks a mile a minute. Charly is the most adorable toddler on the planet!

When they arrived, we already had the Christmas tree ready to put up, and the boxes of decorations open. I told them we needed their help and they got right to work! There was lots of laughter and hugs and we had Christmas movies playing in the background. They also helped us put up the snow people in the front  yard.

At one point, Charly found our copy of The Night Before Christmas, walked up to Brian, sat next to him on the sofa, and handed him the book. Adorable! He was VERY dramatic while reading it and the adults in the room were cracking up!

We had snacks laid out on the table, including a fruit bowl. Jack asked me if I liked pineapples.

I said, “You mean pinenipples?”

Without even so much as a smile or a smirk, he matter of factly replied, “No, pineapples. They taste really good but sometimes they make my tongue feel funny.”

We continued discussing them. He kept saying “pineapples” and I kept saying “pinenippes.” Again, he never cracked a smile, nor tried to challenge me on the pronunciation.

A few minutes later, he whispered to his mom, “Gram is pronouncing it wrong and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

A few minutes after that, his face lit up. He pulled up his shirt, looked at his nipples, and said, “Now I get it!” 😉

We’ve had an Elf on the Shelf named Christopher for years. Since all of our kiddos have grown up, and moved out, Christopher is retired. Every year, I try to get our daughter and son-in-law to adopt Christopher. They already have three small children, and another one on the way. Their life is hectic so they’ve always declined the adoption.

Just before they were heading for home on Friday evening, I took Jack’s hand, and pulled him into the guestroom, out of sight of everyone else. I had the elf in my other hand. I held Christopher up, and said, “Do you want to take him home?”

Jack’s face broke into a HUGE grin while he adamantly shook his head up and down, and whispered, “YES!”

I tucked the elf into the side of his pants. He was holding a stuff rabbit. I showed him how to hide the elf bulge by holding the rabbit right by his side. I whispered, “Okay, wait until you’re about half-way home, when it’s too late to turn around, and then toss the elf at your mom in the front seat.” He and I laughed some more.

It took them about another 15 minutes to get everything organized, and out the door. Jack and I kept looking at each other, laughing, and winking. It was so much fun! Our daughter finally said, “What is UP with you two?!?!”

About an hour later, I received a text from our daughter:

“You are in SO much trouble!”

Brian and I roared!!!

Since the elf is retired, he no longer has his magic. He doesn’t pull any pranks (so our daughter and son-in-law aren’t tasked with extra work) and the grandkids get to snuggle him. 🙂

Oh, I almost forgot! We’ve had snow here twice in the past week. That’s extremely early for NW Georgia! We can already tell it’s going to be a brutal winter. We have big rains coming tonight. Brian is stacking wood by the wood stove right now as I type.

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