A Visit from an Elf

My son and his family stopped by Monday evening for a short visit on their way to the Glamis Dunes. I was already asleep when they arrived. Very early Tuesday morning I had two little monkeys jumping on my bed eager to share with me all their news. Top on the list was the important news that an elf was nestled in my collection of Longaberger baskets hanging in the family room. Completely unaware of what they were referring to I was hustled out of bed to see my new guest.

Here she is .... the Christmas elf hanging out in my basket. Excuse the fuzzy photo but in my excitement to see her I couldn't keep the camera steady!

This Christmas elf thing is new to me but the kids new all about it. They wondered how she got here, and why was she so early?? "Early I asked, what do you mean,  I thought you kids brought her with you." Oh no grandma, the Christmas elves come to you.

After a lengthy conversation I learned this ...

* Christmas elves usually come on December 1st.

* The poses magic and you can not touch them.

* If you do they lose their magic power.

* They are here to be sure that children are good.

* They report to Santa what they see.

* The get into mischief now and then.

* And, as magically as they arrive they disappear.

Hummm, was all I could say. I was sure someone in my son's family brought her here but of course no one would claim her. Well, since she was here I felt she needed a name. I chose Betty the Basket elf since this is where we found her. All day Tuesday she sat nestled in the cozy basket watching my three grandchildren play. I actually forgot about her until Wednesday morning. My granddaughter came running into my bedroom to tell me Betty was gone! She had left the basket and was no where to be found. Calm down I said. You told me they can magically leave so she left.

Once I finally rolled out of bed and began my day I eventually strolled into the kitchen to do dishes and fix breakfast. YIKES, I turned around and found Betty the elf. She had mysteriously moved into the kitchen and helped herself to the chocolate chip cookies!

What a mess Betty made. Cookie crumbs were on the counter, floor, her dress and all over her face!

Look at her messy face!

How she opened the cookie container has me baffled. I have a hard time opening it. The kids were right, she was full of mischief! 

Hours later I discovered a cleaned up kitchen and a missing elf. Scanning the house I found her on the dining room table sitting in a little chair. This is too much ... someone is messing with me.

My son and family were leaving early Thursday morning. I went to bed early while he was packing the motor home preparing for a quick get away. I was sure the little elf would be packed up by the time morning came. Nope, no suck luck. Again my granddaughter came in to let me know Betty was at it again. This time she was sitting on the table coloring and playing tic tac toe! She even got into another book and did some painting.

She doesn't do a bad job coloring!

The  painting is a bit messier. I don't think painting is her "thing."

 The kids left for the dunes, I waved a teary goodbye and set about cleaning up the house. Betty was gone, color books too, she was headed to the desert.

Ummm, not so fast. I was sitting on the couch resting my achy knees and guess what I saw ....

Holy Moly, she still here and hanging from a basket!!

The questions are ... does Betty poses magic? Is she staying here or will she move on to another grandma's house? I guess time will tell.