Upside Down Snowflakes... Day 21

21 days till Christmas! 

Elfia the elf was, according to my kiddo, apparently practising for the circus this morning. She was found hanging upside down from my kitchen cupboards... something my five-year-old found absolutely hilarious. 

The letter she brought back with Santa today also told us to spend some time making some snowflakes to hang from our windows. After several rather lame attempts at paper snowflakes, we gave up and went with a Pinterest craft I've been thinking of doing with my monkey. An hour later, we had four blinged-out Popsicle stick snowflakes. Much better. ;-)

Day 23 and Day 22 -- Yes, we are counting backwards...

Yesterday, Day 23 in our countdown to Christmas, we woke to a more difficult search for the mischievous Elfia. After some help from mommy and daddy, our daughter found Elfia hiding in the glasses in the dining room. A nice vantage point actually, from which she can see the living area!

The letter from Santa revealed our first RACK (Random Act of Christmas Kindness) assignment ... baking some pumpkin bread to gift to a neighbour or friend. We opted to send it to school tomorrow, as a gift to the faithful crossing guard who so cheerfully does her job. Our loaf goes with a note that reads: 

"You have been chosen to receive this small blessing 

as a Random Act of Christmas Kindness. We hope 

that you find God's love and blessing in your life this 

season and through the New Year. Merry Christmas!"

This morning our kiddo awoke and giggled in glee at finding Elfia playing "Go Fish" with our dog's favourite toy... his own dog. ;-) 

Santa's letter encouraged us to read a Christmas story or two, which we eagerly snuggled up to do this afternoon after school. We ended up enjoying a book I borrowed from work... a delightfully depiction of the birth of Jesus set to rhyme. 

The Nativity... and a Letter to Santa - Day 24

We awoke to an excited child declaring that she had found Elfia cuddling up next to the baby Jesus in our little nativity scene. A good reminder of what the season is all about, especially as we prepared our hearts for worship this morning. 

Next came the discovery of the letter from Santa that Elfia brought back with her. It's contents instructed us to write our annual letter to him, and then to enjoy a "donut date" with mom and dad on our way to mailing said letter. While sadly the donut date never happened, we did enjoy colouring our letters to Santa! 

She's Here! - Day 25

We were awakened early this morning by our excited five year old, who woke to find the living room, piled high with Christmas boxes, the kitchen table set for a Christmas breakfast, a Christmas mail box, and...  a wrapped box with her name on it. 

Elfia has a arrived, complete with a cozy Santa hat she uses as a bed. With her came a letter from Santa to remind us why she's here. Last year I wrote the letter myself. This year I found a letter I loved online from another family determined to make Christmas more about the presents and Santa, and adapted their letter (you can read it here: here) to fit us. Daddy read about the true meaning of Christmas, and Santa's hope that Elfia would report back to him on how we were doing following the rules:

Love each other.

Speak nicely to one another.

Help each other

Help your friends and neighbours too.

Give to people who don’t have all the stuff you have.

Remember that God loves you so, so much.

We then went over the rules (do not touch Elfia, she is here to observe; obey the rules, because Elfia will report back to Santa each night to let him know how we are doing; in the morning you must find Elfia... who knows what mischief she'll be into; and in the morning you must find the letter Elfia will bring from Santa). 

And with that, we picked a place for Elfia's bed, tucked her in, and got busy with the Christmas decorations and the yummy breakfast Elfia had brought. 

We look forward to our daily adventures with Elfia this year. But more so we are excited to read the letter she will be bringing back with her from Santa. Last year's letters were full of great suggestions for how we could celebrate the season that day. Some were silly/fun, like going to see lights, or making a gingerbread house. Other days the suggestions from Santa were "others focused" with random acts of kindness to do. This is how we'll be incorporating Kids of Integrity's lesson on "Generosity" this year. Stay tuned for more, as we count day to Christmas.

The mess of decorations piled on our table.

The table was ready for a yummy breakfast!

Opening the wrapped present she found...

... Elfia! Big hugs for our returning elf!

Reading the letter from Santa...

An annual tradition since she could walk... Daddy and Daughter do the tree while momma makes breakfast...

 

A north pole breakfast ... Christmas Rice Krispies, a fruit candy cane, "snow" donuts, egg nog, and..

... an overnight pumpkin pie french toast bake! SO GOOD!

A yummy way to start our elf adventure...

And So It Begins...

Tomorrow morning is a big deal in our house. We’ve been counting down the days to this day all month long, and the anticipation is palpable. It's practically dripping off the walls.

Christmas is coming, and tomorrow, our elf arrives to help us kick off the season.

Now before you dismiss this as yet another “Elf on the Shelf” blog, from yet another family obsessed with the “love it or hate it” tradition that has swept across the continent, let me be clear – very clear – our family DOES NOT celebrate “Elf on the Shelf.” We do not have the book. And we do not have the official elf.

What we *have* done, however, is adopted what we love about the original tradition, and reworked it to suit our own family, our beliefs, and our journey through Kids of Integrity’s lesson on generosity. Our desire was to find a way to teach our daughter about the REAL reason for the season, and take the focus off the gift-getting in a fun and engaging way.

With the help of a little elf we name Elfia last year, our family counts down the days to Christmas by focusing on loving Jesus, loving others, being generous and having fun as a family. And it all begins tomorrow morning.  

Will you join us in our adventure?

Spring Flowers!

Ok, so I don't often post the little craft projects I do with my kiddo on this blog (reserving stuff like that instead for our family blog for long-distance grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins and friends, but this one I had to share. Mostly 'cause I'm proud of it. And mostly 'cause I wanted to Pin it to Pinterest to add to my growing collection of Kiddie Krafts & Ideas board, for my growing list of followers. ;-) 

I'm proud of it because it came out of my own head, as opposed to a lot of the crafts we do that are inspired by crafts found on Pinterest etc. It all started while shopping in a new dollar store in our area. A new, and may I add AWESOME dollar store. It's officially my new favourite place to go when on some much needed "mommy time." 

Anyhoo, while in my new "sancutary" of craftiness, inspiration and treasures called "Dollar & Coin" I found some cute little foam flower shapes. Seeing as how I was there with the intent to scoop up some Easter/spring related things for my spring-break-at-home-with-my-monkey week, I grabbed them. Then I found painted wood buttons and the idea "bloomed" from there. 

Behold I give you my new spring bouquet, lovingly created by mother & daughter last week:

This craft requires:
- one empty tin (i.e. a coffee tin, hot chocolate tin, etc.)
- a spring-like wrapping paper (to cover the tin; construction paper would work too)
- foam flowers (easily found in dollar stores, but equally easy to make yourself with sheets of coloured foam for crafts)
- buttons (as stated I used wood buttons, but any big buttons with equally large holes would do)
- green pipe cleaner 
- filler for the tin (i used some tissue paper i had on hand, but beans, styrofoam, cotton balls, would all work)
- glue or tape, or both

Instructions:
1. cut paper and cover tin using tape or glue.
2. poke one end of each pipe cleaner through the middle of each flower, and then through one hole of a button.
3. weave the pipe cleaner back through another hole on the button, and back through the flower to the back side. 
4. twist pipe cleaner around "stem" to secure it.
5. Repeat with as many flowers as you want to make.
6. fill tin with filler and add flowers!

A Timely Lesson

It's Good Friday, and thanks to oversleeping and a morning breakfast preparation that took much longer than I thought it did, I missed attending the Good Friday service we had hoped to attend. The Man went alone, for some reflective time on his own, while the monkey and I stayed home for our own kind of reflection and quiet. 

While she cleaned up the mess she'd made with her endless amount of toys, I busied myself preparing a craft and reading through the Kids of Integrity lesson on forgiveness. I carefully prepared the packing tape cross, getting slightly frustrated in my attempts to lay it down on the table without it sticking to me, and then prepared some colouring tissue paper for the project. When I was done, I called the monkey to come. She eagerly ran to the table, and ooed and awwwed at the pretty colours. Then, she noticed the tape I had so meticulously laid down, and her four-year-old hand instructively reached out to touch it... and get stuck in it. And that's when it happened...

... I ashamed to admit it...

... "NO," I screamed in horror, all my frustratingly hard work going up in smoke! Slapping her little hand a little to hard, I again raised my voice, "I said don't touch!" 

Her eyes filled with tears. She pulled her hand away and looked down... look of devastation on her little face. 

And I knew.

This is why He died. This is what He died for. All my moment so ugly responses, impatient words, and painful missteps. He died for these. He died for me.

Scooping my now weeping monkey-pants into my arms, I apologized and begged her forgiveness. Forgiveness she readily granted --- humbling me all the more. And then we talked about what Jesus did. Why He died, why the cross is important, and how He forgave us, just like she forgave me. 

A timely lesson on this Good Friday, and a practical real-life application for my monkey to ponder on as we made our tissue paper/packing tape cross together. 

I'm Busy

“I’m busy.” It’s a phrase I am very familiar with. I say it and hear it quite a bit. But one day not so long ago when the words came out of the mouth of my four-year-old daughter, they were like a slap in the face.

One afternoon while my daughter was enjoying her daily “quiet time,” contentedly playing in her room with her dolls, I spent some time getting the dining room table ready for some crafts I had worked particularly hard on. I was excited to spend some quality-time with my child, free from the distractions of work and house-hold tasks that usually kept me busy, and eager to put on my “play time” hat with my creative, imaginative little girl. When I was all ready, I eagerly knocked on her door, and when she answered I excitedly told her I had assembled some fun things for us to do. I was expected a squeal of glee from her, but was greeted instead with words that shook me: “Not now mommy, I’m busy.”

Busy? How could a four-year-old be busy? How could a four-year-old even understand the concept of being too busy to do something fun?

The answers to those questions of course led me to the harsh realization that she had learned those words from me. So often busy with my own chores, the work I do from home, or my own selfishness in simply wanting to do my own thing for a change, I must confess that I have brushed her invitations to play off with the excuse that I’m too busy. I’d never considered how that felt to her, until that humbling day when she was too busy for me.

This got me thinking about how much we can miss out on in our families, our marriages, and relationships when we allow ourselves to be consumed by busyness. So often we hear stories of those who, when faced with the end of their life, come to realize this too late. If I've learned anything in recently turning 40, it's that time goes by so fast. Too fast. And if I don't slow down and savour the minutes I have, they'll be gone before I know it. 

Refiner's Fire

Have you ever watched a documentary or done any reading about the process gold, silver and other precious metals go through to bring out their glorious shine? Full of impurities, these metals in their natural state aren’t anything wonderful to look at; however all that changes when they go through fire. And not just any old fire, but the controlled, hot fire of a refiner.

The idea of going through fire is scary. Fire implies pain, and complete destruction. But the refiner’s fire is different. At the hand of a loving, skilled refiner, a refiner’s fire is one of hope, not annihilation. A refiner sits by the flame, his eye never leaving the metal entrusted to his care; and when he can see his reflection in the precious metal, he knows it’s time to remove it.

Malachi 3:2 refers to God as a Refiner; and much like the fire that metals endure to reveal their beauty, we too can be put through fiery times that can make us question God’s purpose. It’s in those moments however, that we must cling tightly to the Refiner, trusting that, though painful and beyond comprehension, He is watching over us and will not let the fire destroy us. He IS good, and He WILL prove Himself faithful. Until then, He’ll give us the strength to endure it. He'll hold us in His hand… and never let go.

********************************

Many years ago I had the privilege of spending time with two amazing men of God, both of whom had walked through the fire at some point in their Christian journey. One of them wrote the following song, and other sang it. Their work speaks to me even now, some 25 years later. 

The Refiner's Fire (as sung by Steve Green)

 
There burns a fire with sacred heat
White hot with holy flame
And all who dare pass through its blaze
Will not emerge the same
Some as bronze, and some as silver
Some as gold, then with great skill
All are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will

I'm learning now to trust His touch
To crave the fire's embrace
For though my past with sin was etched
His mercies did erase
Each time His purging cleanses deeper
I'm not sure that I'll survive
Yet the strength in growing weaker
Keeps my hungry soul alive

Chorus: The Refiner's fire
Has now become my souls desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner's fire

Words and music by Jon Mohr and Randall Dennis
Copyright 1989 Birdwing Music/Jonathan Mark Music (admin. by Gaither copyright management)/J.R. Dennis Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.

Without Him, I am nothing...

I am not skilled to understand what God has willed, what God has planned. I only know at His right hand stands one who is my Savior. I take Him at His word and deed. Christ died to save me; this I read. And in my heart I find a need of Him to be my Savior.

That He would leave His place on high and come for sinful man to die. You count it strange, so once did I before I knew my Savior.

Yes, living, dying, let me bring my strength, my solace from this spring; that He who lives to be my King. Once died to be my Savior.

My Savior loves, My Savior lives! My Savior's always there for me! My God: He was, my God; He is. My God is always gonna be...

~Aaron Shust