The 2014 Arrival Of Our Elves On The Shelf, Plus A NEW ADDITION

The Elf on the Shelf has become the most fun Christmas tradition YET, in our home! It's a daily thing and the kids get super excited. What parent doesn't like to see and hear excitement in their children's eyes.  The elves do NOT arrive until the Christmas trees are FULLY decorated.  Yesterday, I finally decorated our trees and this morning our elves arrived: Ariel, Napoleon, and Chippey.  If you desire to know a little bit about the Elf On The Shelf, you can click here or visit the actual website by the creators at http://www.elfontheshelf.com.  We have made our tradition a little bit different as the years have moved forward and our faith has become REAL! We don't ever want the kids to think that Santa trumps Jesus or is even remotely close to Jesus.  We don't want the kids to think that if they "do good" they will get presents. We always tell the kids that being obedient is what is so important and that no matter if Santa is really watching or not, Jesus ALWAYS is.  To us, this is just a super fun tradition filled with mounds of elf shenanigans.

The kids woke up this morning and as always, their elves were waiting on them.  Not only did their elves arrive, but so did a few new outfits.  AND.... an additional ELF.  HUH?  WHY??? I'll explain in a moment. Below is Ariel (Lilah's elf) and the adorable and very trendy "Tartan Skirt and Boot" set.  

 Chippey is below (Jax's elf).  He received an Aviator coat with goggles.  

Ty's elf, once named "Nicey", but renamed "Napoleon, received a Christmas Sweater! I hid Napoleon downstairs.  I wanted Ty to sweat it out, thinking his elf didn't arrive because he's been so naughty this year.

So what's the deal with a new elf addition?  Well, last year, we hid Lilah's elf, Ariel, in Tyson's ceiling fan.  Ty forgot to shut his light off and I began smelling a fire, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  We were running throughout the house frantically and low and behold, Lilah's elf was on fire.  PRAISE GOD WE WERE HOME!!!!  I just searched for the blog post on this terrifying event, in our home, but I guess I have YET to post on it. UGH!!!! I am so behind on posts.  LOL!  I will include a few photos of the sad tragedy.  

 The inside of the elf appears to be made out of toilet paper roll.  Scary..... 

Had we NOT been home, we would have had our house burn down because of an Elf.  Imagine?

Lilah was BEYOND devastated.  You can see the smoke still coming off of the elf, near her hair bow!

 She was NO LONGER like the other elves.  She was an amputee elf!

You can see how upset Lilah was.  Her eyes were blotchy red, from crying, and she just kept stroking her face with sorrow.

Check out the fire!!!!

We cleaned her all up, putting a band-aid on her. All better... "just like new", or MAYBE NOT!!

Lilah loved her regardless, but I hated that her elf was "flawed".  After all, I want these to be things that are passed down to my children's children. ONE YEAR LATER, this past November, I contacted the owner's of the Elf On The Shelf and after a few email conversations, the owners granted Lilah a NEW female elf.  

 So what's inside the "candy cane envelope?"  A NOTE!!!!

 Lilah opened it with enthusiasm.  

 What did it say?

Dear Lilah,
Last year, your elf had an injury, which took her leg, up to her knee.  I know how hard it made you cry and how difficult it was for Ariel to fly.  I've watched you and Jax, as twins, have fun, and I thought that Ariel needed one.  There are days she's just not up to par, flying to the North Pole is very far.  It's not really fair for you to have two, so this was a really hard thing for me to do.  Please be gracious with your brothers, it's not nice to brag to others.  Twins have special names that seem to rhyme, I will share a few of mine: there's Isabelle, Annabelle, Noelle, and Tinsel too, AND now you have a job to do. The only thing that will be hard is now you have two elves on guard.  Be obedient, loving, and kind.... please always let your light shine!
Love, Santa Claus

Lilah chose Ariel's twin's name to be "Rozee"! It doesn't rhyme with Ariel, but it's what she wanted.  She also chose the spelling, all on her own.  I love that she is learning to sound out things, spell, and read.  It makes stuff like this more personal.

Get ready for some Elf On The Shelf fun!!!!