Whether or not to “lie” to our little ones about the magical parts of childhood seem to be of much debate as of lately. And while I don’t usually touch any topic that can be seen as a “mommy war”, this one just won’t let me be.

I’ll take a firm stand here and let the cards fall where they may. I will make my girls’ childhood as magical as I possibly can, and though I enjoy it immensely, just for fun, I’ve realized there is a much deeper, more spiritual reason for my enthusiasm.

That reason is faith. Plain and simple. I believe it’s something that we’re born with and I refuse to stomp it out by forcing the lenses of adulthood on my children.

At birth, we cry, and take it in good faith that someone, namely our parents, will come to our aid.

As we age, we take it a bit further, and on wobbly legs, take those cherished first steps, in full faith that someone is there to catch us when we fall.

As maturity continues, our faith shifts forms, and we begin to create our own views of the world and everything in it, and as scary as it seems, most of those views stubbornly stick with us into adulthood. We’ll basically be “believers” or “skeptics”.

From a parent’s standpoint, that is hallowed ground that I pave. Whether or not to extend a practice of faith, and a belief in something beyond ourselves is essentially in my hands. That’s positively terrifying!

And while each parent has their own reasons for parenting the way they do, I feel compelled to share why I try to make believing in more so very important.

A subject like the Trinity is difficult at times for even adults to grasp. We practice in baby steps if you will, memorizing stories, scriptures, and simple prayers. With hopes of someday understanding the complexity of it all.

But on the other hand, faith itself, which is the absolute cornerstone of Christianity, is belief in the unseen, complete trust if you will, and knowing, that beyond a shadow of a doubt something we’ll never physically see on this side of Heaven is real.

If we practice taking steps, babbling words, and every other action under the sun, why should we not practice FAITH in terms understandable to children?

In my humble opinion, sharing the “magic” of Santa and elves, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and all the like, is sharing a practice of faith. It’s believing that though we can’t see something, it can still be very real. And after all, as a mother, I fully believe myself to be all of those roles! I AM their Santa, their Elf on the Shelf, their Tooth Fairy, and their Easter Bunny. Those things are not lies to me, they’re baby steps into faith. They’re a foundational belief in goodness, joy, and love.

Imagine this: you’re taught during your childhood to take things at face value. Believe in what you can see with your own eyes, in only what you can understand and prove to be true. We’ve just destroyed faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Matthew 18:3 also instructs us “become like little children” in order to inherit the kingdom. If we never allow our children to BE LITTLE CHILDREN, how will they ever become ADULTS who are capable of belief like a child?

I don’t know about you, but when I’m breathing life into my children’s imaginations and fueling their wildest dreams with “things unseen”, I FEEL like a child! My heart soars and pure joy fills my soul. Like Psalms 23:5 “my cup runneth over” in moments like these! 

Now don’t misunderstand, I connect fun traditions like Santa and the Easter Bunny to our walk with Christ every chance I get! I do that so that we never underestimate the teachings of Deuteronomy 6:7-we talk about God and His goodness, when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. I never allow the fun stuff to overshadow the REAL stuff and I firmly believe that putting our faith into action in terms understandable by children is the key to a deep, long lasting faith as an adult.

If we can’t allow the belief in something as wholesome as Santa, which they see portrayed in a positive light all over the world around them, how can we expect that they’ll ever fully accept the concept of salvation, which is almost hidden by most societies, tucked away in “special stores” and legally separated from state affairs, such as public schools? 

Now I’m no Biblical scholar, no fine teacher of The Word, just an ugly sinner, saved by grace. I know, with full confidence that the Holy Spirit resides in me, and chastises me when I’m out of the will of God. And when I share beloved holiday traditions with my little ones, I’m not filled with dread, guilt, or doubt (because those are emotions the enemy brings). On the contrary, I’m completely overcome with love and joy that often spills down my cheeks in tears. It’s a beautiful thing! 

If Jesus himself were to step foot in my home during any holiday celebration, especially His birthday, I’m quite certain He’d smile at all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it! That feeling of comfort when thinking “what would Jesus do” tells me all I need to know.

My home will be filled with traditions, with the magic of childhood (which I’m thankful to be experiencing a second time, through the eyes of my own babies), with joyful hearts, and with the Gospel. And for none of that am I ashamed!

He’s everyone’s favorite guy of the month, next to Santa Claus himself. He’s sly, tricky, playful, and usually, quite frankly-up to no good! He’s the “Elf on the Shelf”. Ours is named Herbie, and unfortunately he looks EXACTLY like a million other elves-or at least he did last year ;)

I’m not a big fan of blending in, especially when it comes to little red elves that ooze mischief and are posted all over social media and store shelves alike. My girls are only 3 and seeing what appears to be “their” elf, EVERYWHERE else is downright confusing….and frustrating! So, I decided to make a few little adjustments to Herbie to set him apart from the pack (and make it easier for me to create mayhem with him).

To hopefully end the “There’s Herbie!” cries, I simply sewed a tiny silver jingle bell to the top of his hat. That’s it, for this year anyway. I told the girls that the bell was a special gift to Herbie from Santa, kind of like a Girl Scout badge. He must’ve been a very helpful elf to earn such a big reward! 

I’ve decided that if the trend of “elf personalizing” catches on (which I’m sure it will because it’s brilliant, LOL) that I’ll add a little something different each year. Like next year he may have a name tag, new shoes, a cool stripe down his pants, a flashy silver belt…….who knows?!

But the main improvement I made, from a mommy perspective anyway, was the floral wire to his limbs. I was fed up with trying to figure out how to get this stiff little felt doll to stay where I put him, so I made tiny slits in hidden places and ran doubled floral wire through his arms and legs! A job well done, if I have to say so myself! The little booger is now bendable and posable and I don’t have to fiddle for hours with string, putty, or tape to make him stay put!

Go mommy! It’s your birthday! And now elf posing won’t drive you cra-zay! *doing a little dance*

Have you tweaked your elf in some way? If so, share your ideas in the comments below!

Despite what the Elf on the Shelf book says, I’ve decided that our elf, Herbie, will not make his big debut at our house from this year forward, until December 1^st. According to the book, he’s supposed to come the day after Thanksgiving, but you know what? I’m not ready then! And I’m not going to feel guilty about it.

The days after Thanksgiving in our home are spent putting up the Christmas tree and resting up from all the hoop-la of the holiday. We deserve a few down days! I need those days to plan the chaos that Herbie is sure to bring, and 24 days of elf-capades is PLENTY! I finalized our plans last night and am sharing them with you now.

The last night of November we’ll throw up a few little decorations, including the “Welcome Back Herbie” banner I made as my very first Cricut project.

December 1^st-crepe paper will barricade their door as we’ll “accidentally” leave it out from decorating for Herbie’s “Welcome Back”.

December 2^nd-Herbie will be hanging from mistletoe and there will be Hershey’s Kisses scattered about on the floor with a little note saying how much the elf missed them.

December 3^rd-We’ll find our elf “rocking baby Jesus” in our Little People Nativity set with a note reminding us that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”.

December 4^th-There will be a silly face drawn on their bathroom mirror. Probably an elf, reindeer, or Santa face that they’ll be able to stick their faces in to get some giggles-this will depend on which I manage to draw best ;)

December 5^th- A messy message will be left for the girls in the kitchen with “spilled” cheerios, crackers, or M&M’s (depends on what we have on hand that morning! LOL) The message will be a simple “Be Good”, “I Love You”, “Santa’s Watching”, “Elves R Cool”, something like that!

December 6^th-Herbie will be enjoying “elf donuts” (aka Cheerios) for breakfast with syrup to drink, probably sitting on daddy’s coffee pot or somewhere close to it.

December 7^th-Our elf will be a master gardener as he leaves “magic seeds” to plant while we’re gone to Shu Shu’s house. (We’re going to visit the girls’ grandmother, so this buys me a few lazy days ;)

December 10^th-We’ll come home to find that the “magic seeds” have grown into suckers!

December 11^th-We all put our shoes beside the back door and Herbie will be hanging there with a sign reading “I didn’t do it!”. He’ll have put jingle bells on the girls’ laces!

December 12^th-This is the day before the “12 Days of Christmas” begins in their stockings and Herbie won’t be able to contain his excitement so he’ll wrap the toilet as a present!

December 13^th-Personalized books will be in their stockings and Herbie will be found reading too.

December 14^th-An empty package of glow in the dark stars will be in their stocking. Herbie will be bowling and have a note that says, “You’ll be bowled over by the stars tonight!” While they’re in the bath I’ll scatter the stars around their ceiling :o)

December 15^th-Herbie will be found taking a bath and there will be “magic towels” and bath crayons in their stockings.

December 16^th- Hot cocoa will be in their stocking and the elf will have instigated a marshmallow fight with other toys.

December 17^th-Punch balloons will be the stocking surprise and Herbie will be “floating” from one.

December 18^th-Today begins the official week countdown to Christmas and elves tend to get a little extra boost of crazy as anticipation builds for the big day! He’ll leave recorders in their stockings and have Christmas music BLARING from our speakers when we turn the radio on to play/sing along :o)

December 19^th-All of the stockings will be replaced with underwear and inside will be bags of “reindeer poop”. And sticking with the “poop/undies” theme, Herbie will “TP” the tree!

December 20^th-My girls have a strange love for flashlights, so Herbie will leave new little flashlights in their stockings and tape down all the light switches to encourage maximum flashlight usage.

December 21^st-The first surprise of the morning will be waking up to mom and dad’s noses painted red like Rudolph! (I’ve seen it done with the kids’ noses, but I don’t think mine would sleep through it!) Herbie will be perched near our bed somewhere and the face paints will be in their stockings.

December 22^nd-In light of the Chipmunk movies being their stocking surprise, Herbie will pose as Alvin in the singing chipmunk trio.

December 23^rd-Ingredients to make reindeer food will fill the stockings as Herbie rides one nearby.

December 24^th-A good bye note will be the last thing from Herbie in their stockings and he will empty the tree in the breakfast nook to make way for the Disney themed ornaments we’ll be making in the coming days!

There it is! This is our Elf Plan 2012. Of course, if something comes up it won’t be a big deal to switch days or adjust accordingly to their behavior. I can’t wait to post pics of our wacky elf mischief!

Share your favorite Elf on the Shelf ideas!

I like to tell myself that I’m not a pack rat, but there are certain instances that it’s just not true. Pictures of family and friends are some of the things that I can just NOT get rid of! But what to do with them?!

For the past few years I’ve been displaying the cards we receive in the mail for that season and then when I put away all the Christmas decorations, I would stuff them the best I could manage in a photo album. However, as with everything else on the planet, the “bigger is better” mentality has begun to apply to Christmas cards and my ordinary photo album, with its measly 4x6 openings, just wasn’t cutting it. 

I tried trimming the gigantic ones down, but that just hurt my heart because I was ruining the cards, sometimes even severing the names and dates. Something had to give!

After mulling over possibilities, including just “round filing” them, I finally settled on what I’ve deemed the perfect solution!

I separated the cards into piles for each family, chronologically arranged them, punched holes in the upper corner, and then thread them onto metal ring binders! I have a ring for my side of the family, DH’s side, friends, and then simply our family cards. 

I’m in love! I can easily flip through my cards now and watch how families and children have grown and changed over the years! I’m just tickled pink! 

This little project was a tad time-consuming as I’ve been saving cards for at least 6 years now, but the sacrifice of an hour or so seems insignificant as the reward is well worth the time!

Do you save photo Christmas cards? If so, what is your method of keeping them organized?