Elf Mail: Days 1 and 2

Day 1

Elf Mail took off quickly in this house. My girls absolutely love getting mail, and the fact that it's from a Christmas elf is just the cherry on top of the sundae. Right after they got their first letter, Penelope was excited to send something back. She wrote a letter something like this:

Holly,

Do you live at the North Pole with Santa? Do you make toys and wrap them in paper?

-Penny.

Now, this is really interesting to me because the first letter didn't really mention the nativity story at all. The letter was a friendly introduction from Holly, and of course, a reminder to be on their best behavior. I encourage Penelope to write a letter back, so I can see what she really heard in the letter from Holly. It helps me understand how her mind is working, and how she is understanding the story. That way I can make adjustments in my Holly's writing if need be.

Day 2 

We thought we lost the first letter Holly wrote, but my husband found it this morning under the couch. I started putting them in a large orange envelope to help keep me sane. Holly replied to Penelope's letter and I realized that I was going to need to find a way to keep the letters linked together, so that Penelope didn't forget what we were talking about from the day before. So this is what the second letter said:

Penelope, 

Yes I do live at the North Pole with Santa and all the other elves! It's really cold, but we keep warm by drinking hot cocoa while we make toys. Do you know what my favorite part about Christmas is?! Celebrating the birth of our dear savior --Jesus! He was born as a baby a long, long time ago! I can't wait to tell you more, but for now I have to go feed the reindeer! Bye! 

Stay Jolly. Love,

Holly

You see, I learned real quick that I need to keep these letters simple. Penelope has a habit of sticking to one topic and repeating it no matter how hard you try to stray away. So in this case when we wrote Holly back, she told her that Jesus was also her favorite part of Christmas. The one thing she got out of this letter was that he was a baby a long time ago. If you are doing this for older kids, I think bigger chunks of the story will work in one letter. But for my girl, we're probably taking tiny, elf steps. 

Holly's letter for tomorrow will say: 

Penelope (and Vivian), 

Now what was I saying? Oh right! A long time ago (key words from the last letter) there was a lady named Mary. Mary was going to be married to a man named Joesph. Mary loved God. One day an angel, named Gabriel, came to Mary. Gabriel said "Mary do not be afraid. God loves you very much! You are going to have a baby named Jesus!" Mary was so happy, she cried happy tears! Even though Mary and Joesph were confused, they trusted God. When you are confused you can always trust and pray to God! I can't wait to tell you what happens next! Be on the look out for my next letter!

Stay Jolly. Love,

Holly 

If you need ideas on how to break your letters down, I find it's best to keep things simple. Here is a super condensed version I found on Pinterest:

You can break it into a few sentences. You can simply write out a few verses, or you can write about each character, and their importance in the nativity story. No matter how you decide to write your letters, keep them straight and to the point. Especially for kids 5 and under, only make one or two personal comments like "Brr. It sure is cold here today!" Chances are they will remember the very last sentence the clearest. So end strong.

Excited to see what unfolds tomorrow! 

Ashley  

Elf Mail: Bringing the Nativity Story to the North Pole

Sorry if my blog has seemed abandoned lately, we've been super busy this year!

               So, I was walking through my local Dollar Tree yesterday when I saw a bunch of little Christmas themed mailboxes lined on the top shelf. I thought they were adorable, so naturally I put one in my cart.

Now, let me interrupt myself in order to apologize to all retail workers out there. I've worked in retail and I know how irritating this is, but I can’t quit this awful habit: I’m a cart-filler. You know, that person who puts everything in their cart as they are walking through the store, then notices they have way too much stuff….then you see them standing in a random isle weeding through their basket, sticking things that are not of priority on a random shelf...I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I really try not to do it.  If it makes you feel better, I have never stuck a frozen food item next to boxed mac and cheese.

Anyway, back to my story. As I was strolling through the Dollar Tree, I stumbled on some plush elves sitting on an end cap. And a light bulb went off above my head…and I was so excited about it I could have jumped through the roof. Elf on the Shelf is pretty huge. I mean, there is a BIG chance that if you have kids, you participate in Elf on the Shelf. If not, you are probably like me. And if you are like me, you could possibly want to jump through the roof over this idea, too!

My grand idea was: Elf Mail. Instead of thinking of crazy scenarios to put my little plush elf in, I was going to take a much more simple approach…tiny letters dropped off every night. These letters are written by “Christmas Elves” who love to tell the Christmas Story. You see, I rack my brain so much about how to tell the Nativity story to my kids. They are 4 and 2 and they listen like they are 4 and 2. But, whenever Santa or the North Pole is mentioned, they go flying into a room and are planted on their bottoms, all ears ready to hear what I have to say. I guess this is a natural reaction…there is just something about that magic that make kids crave it. So, as a mother I will use that to my advantage to tell these kids why we celebrate Christmas.

So this is where we introduce Holly, our $1.00 Christmas elf. (Sorry for the quality of the photo.) She is the girls newest pin pal, due to good behavior. Today was their first letter from Holly. She simply introduced herself on night one. Holly will be breaking the nativity story up into several letters, along with the history of the candy cane (complete with mini candy canes) and the importance of gift giving. I’m thinking small doodles will be some filler days to bring us all the way to Christmas Eve. Then, on Christmas Eve morning our Holly is going to drop off a package with Christmas jammies and a Christmas book inside. I’m also considering a Happy Birthday Balloon for Jesus, since my 4 year old keeps talking about it.  

What you'll need:
-1 mailbox (found at Dollar Store)
-1 elf (optional. we took a picture of the elf putting the letter into the mailbox and the kids loved it.)

-A small notepad 

-Scrapbook paper for tiny envelopes.There is a simple tutorial on how to make them: here. Just shrink the square down so it will fit inside your mail box. 

-The nativity story. My favorite children's version is in the Jesus Story Book bible. You can even find the animated story on Youtube. It's titled "He's Here" and "Light of the Whole World",,,,You can also find cute stories on Pinterest. 

all in all, the picture above was all I needed. 

Ideas to write about: 

1. Elf introductions, including names and jobs they may have. 

2. Why they are writing to the kids. My reason was a simple one liner: "I am a Christmas Elf who loves to write about, well, Christmas!"
3. The nativity story. (this is probably going to be broken down into about 5-6 at least 6 letters.)

4. Singing Angels/Christmas Carols

5. Shepherds/Candy Canes

6. Jesus' Birthday/Giving Gifts 

7. The Christmas Star

8. Three Wise Men/Receiving Gifts

9. Replies to your kids questions. Penelope wrote Holly a letter immediately after she received her first one. 

10. Fun Christmas doodles. 

You know your kids and what you want to highlight this Christmas, so be creative! If you decided to do something like this, I would love to hear your ideas as well! Merry Christmas!!! 

Here, I'll Trade You.

You know how you hear something over and over again that you understand, but it doesn't grab out at you...then one day it just completely snatches you up and overwhelms you with it's presence? ...If you have no idea what I am talking about, just imagine you are re-watching a movie from your childhood and finally understanding the subtle humor they added in to keep adults sane. 

Anyway. I've had one of those moments this week. You see if you are a lot like me...you've accepted Christ in your life a while ago, but you are just now waking up, and stepping out in your faith and really taking in what that means.
Pretty much everyone in my life knows that I grew up moving around. We usually stayed in the same state and region, just different counties. In fact, I went to four different high schools, two of them were during my senior year. I didn't mind this at all. Why? Because before we hopped house, I was bullied. A lot. And I was rejected. A lot. And rejected by people I was taught you needed in your life. And because of that, who I was was completely shattered. I didn't even realize this until about a year ago. 
When I was 16 I went to church, and accepted Jesus into my heart, truly for the first time. I then began reading the Bible and slowly (and I mean slowly) rebuilding my confidence. I picked up these tiny pieces of myself that I had lost in my childhood. And with each move we made, I took it as an opportunity to become invisible -in order to protect myself from losing those fragile pieces all over again. 
My senior year I was engulfed in God's word and prayer. I met my best friend, and now my husband who helped keep me accountable in doing just that. But, I had walked past the pieces of my past and completely ignored them. Things were still just a bit bumpy for me. I left walls in my heart for years, leaving myself open for easy offenses. At the time,  I was completely oblivious to the fact that I would have to go back and pick those pieces up eventually if I wanted to move forward in my faith and begin to do the work God has called me to do. 

And that's where I am now. I've spent more time in the past two years walking through old anxiety, hurt and repressed memories then I have ever want to. But, because of this I feel closer to the Lord than I ever felt in the beginning of my journey. I've done things that I have completely sworn off, like open up to strangers. Teach. Lead. and most importantly, let go. 

You see, Jesus died on the cross for us. He carried our sins, our burdens. (This is what I was referring to in the beginning of my blog post.) I knew this, it's like Christianity 101, right? BUT! This is what I was missing -Jesus died and took my burdens and sins with him. He left me with His yoke. He left me with His burden.

“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The yoke I give you to carry is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 

Jesus said to me, "Hey that baggage of yours looks pretty heavy. Here, I'll trade you."

Letting go of the past is easier said than done, trust me I know this. But when I accepted Christ into my life, no longer was I a victim...no longer was I rejected...no longer did I need to live my life in fear of those things, because it was never. who. I. was. and it is definitely not who I am now. I can say I am a child of the King, and I can understand what that means. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says you are made new in Christ Jesus. I feel like for the first time in my life I can say with confidence, and believe, the past is the past. And I can continue to pick up and dust off those pieces with peace of mind. 

-Ashley

Clean House.

This has been on my heart for a while now. I've felt convicted, judged and "less than" because of this one topic and one topic alone: a clean house. And here's why: my house is hardly ever clean. And what I mean by this is -when you are walking into one room, you are walking into an entirely new disaster. 

This began to weigh on me more when I became more active in my church, because I would often visit other families from church at, you guessed it, their homes! I would walk into their house and smell fresh air, see a tidy living room and a sparkling kitchen and immediately start beating myself over the head with thoughts like: "How are they doing this?" "There is NO way they can have nice furniture and three kids!" "What am I doing wrong?!"

I became so overwhelmed with these thoughts that I started to avoid meet ups at my place, simply because my house was not "as good as theirs"...And my stomach would turn in knots at the thought of random "pop-ins." Now, I have friends that I have been friends with for a long, and they know that my house doesn't sparkle on a regular basis. Neither does theirs. And we are okay with that. We take comfort in it. But the second my mother in law calls my husband and says she is going to stop by I fly off the couch and begin throwing things in inconspicuous places and blowing steam out of my ears on why our house has to be such a chore! 

Then...about a month ago I started spending time with another stay at home mom who had kids around my children's age and her husband worked full time with a heck of a commute, also. I had come over one day with my kids pumped full of energy, her kids pumped full of energy as they yelled in excitement and raced down the steps the first thing she did was apologize over the mess in her house. Again, I found comfort. We talked for a while about our dirty laundry...quite literally...and how it feels like such an impossible task to keep an entire house clean forever, or at least long periods of time. Right there in that moment I saw myself, my struggles, my anger and frustration, and my discouragement. And I realized I wasn't alone in this battle. 

So I had to set some guidelines in my mind to follow, and remind myself of them often. 

1. Stop comparing your house to others. 

I'm not talking about them having a beautiful granite counter top you might want to install in your home one day, or a paint scheme you like better than your bland white walls. Inspiration is good. I know I will always, always be redecorating my house. I love seeing other's styles and personalities come out through their homes. I talk about it often. But, when you start beating yourself up on how clean those counter tops are over yours and how there are absolutely no fingerprints on their walls and yours is starting to look like you painted it that way ...stop. There is no encouragement in comparing. 

2. Invitation vs. Surprise 

When you are invited over to someones house, they are most likely expecting your arrival. A good host will clean their house for you. Think about it, you wouldn't plan a party and then have people sit on a couch covered in laundry and wash themselves a cup out of a sink so that they could fix themselves a drink. You see, when you go over to somebodies house and start comparing their floors over yours, you are comparing a home that they cleaned knowing you were coming over.
Now, with that being said...if it was 4:30 p.m and someone called me and said they needed to swing by for a minute, you can be sure that my living room has been hit by tropical storm Vivian and hurricane Penelope. My kitchen is probably a mess because I will have started dinner (and dishes, from at least lunch, will be in the sink). I can't make any promises on what the bathroom looks like considering my 4 year old usually remembers she has to pee at the last second and doesn't always remember to flush...or put her pants back on for that matter. And you know what, this is normal. If it is not normal, you don't have kids and you don't eat in your home. Or you were blessed with the art of "cleaning as you cook," in which case -you go, girl! 

But listen, this person isn't judging you. There is a difference in a lived in home and an episode of hoarders.

3. Enjoy your company and stop stressing out

If someone pops into my untidy home I get uneasy. I start to apologize, and they ensure me it's okay. But I keep stressing myself out knowing there is a sink full of dishes. And I think this passage alone speaks for itself on this situation:

While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.” -Luke 10:38-42

4. Enjoy your kids company 

I recently saw a picture of a triangle with each corner labeled: 1.Your Sanity 2. Happy Kids 3. Clean House. And at the top it said "Choose Two of Them"...how true is this? For me, very true...like "Can I get an 'Amen'!" true. If my kids ask me to play with them and I am caught up in picking up my living room and shooing them away, I am treating them like an inconvenience. I am a stay at home mom...playing with my kids is the best part of my day, and pretty soon I won't get to have that as an option anymore. I want to say I am the mom who will always choose playing with her kids over everyday tasks, but I'm not. I have to remind myself to be that mom. My kids need me far more than my laundry needs to be put away. The laundry will still be there when my kids are sleeping. 

5. If you are feeling in a funk, check to see if that is what you are sitting in 

I don't know how else to word this one, so my apologies! My mom always told me if I couldn't shake a sadness, or an illness, to take a shower. It's amazing how good a clean body can make you feel inside. I believe that goes for our home too. I always find myself spending the most time in the cleanest part of my house. I don't think it's a coincidence at all. It is less stressful. I used to just get out of the house if I found myself in a crumby mood about my surroundings, but you have to come back to it. You live there. So, If you are finding yourself overwhelmed, stir crazy or depressed turn on that worship music and clean! Even on days where I have to force myself to clean up, the more I straighten up the better I feel. 

Another thing I would add is always straighten up before you go to bed. It sounds like a bother, but really it is you taking care of yourself. 15 minutes of tidying. There is nothing better than waking up to a straight house. You will always thank yourself for it. 

And lastly. You are doing a great job. Don't stress, this too is a worldly thing that is not a priority in the kingdom of God. 

-Ashley

Road Rage.

We all have it. Some more than others, I think. But, I don't struggle with road rage as much as many, many people I know. And, I think I kind of...maybe...know why...
When I am driving, I often look into the other cars around me and wonder: 

Where is that person going?

I think we often forget people have lives that they live every day, just like us. They have families...jobs...appointments...(and the lucky ones,) vacations. I'm curious. I've even started the habit of praying for families when I see an Ambulance rush past me.

My husband is one who struggles with road rage, more than anyone else I have personally been in a car with (aside from my older sister.) So, together, we thought up some situations that you could easily see a person in that could hinder their best driving ability.

1. We're Having a Baby!
This is mine and my husband's go-to comment. We always know someone pregnant, so it relates. The last road we turn on to get to our house merges into one lane. Right before this lane merges, there is a stop light. Every single time we are at this stop light, there are cars in both lanes...and my husband and I grit our teeth. We know that these people know the left lane ends. We know that they are going to try to cut us off. I can usually see my husbands hands clinching the steering wheel as if it were their necks...So, when that light turns green, (when I remember) and I see them speeding past us I yell "Maybe their wife is in labor!" It usually changes the mood.
You see, I've been there. I know the panic...and so does my husband.
And if you are a man, and you just don't get it...my husband also refers to this one as "I Got to Poop!!"
Because when you got to go...

2. Just Got Fired.
On a more serious note, this one is actually pretty common. If you are the soul provider for your family...and that unexpected thing that you never saw coming hits you square between the eyes, I can't imagine what your mind is doing...thinking...praying on your way home to tell your family. My first thought wouldn't be to turn on my blinker. Just sayin'.

3. Death in Family.
Last year my mom called me at a quarter til midnight to let me know that my grandmother, her mom had passed away in her sleep. I immediately jumped out of bed and went with my mom to her mother's home. I was close to my grandmother and my mind wasn't focused on anything else but getting to her. But, at midnight you can imagine what it looks like outside...and my grandmother lived in the deep, deep woods. When you have tears in your eyes and no reflectors on the road, you will need your bright lights. We did not intentionally blind anyone, but it may have rubbed a few the wrong way. (We're sorry.)

4. Physically Ill.
One evening I decided to go to the gym. I was there for maybe 10 minutes before I felt extremely nauseous. I chalked it up to too much caffeine and too much heat. Then I got the sweats. I had. to. leave. My gym is about 15 minutes away and about 5 minutes into my drive I had to call my husband because my head was pounding so hard it hurt to keep my eyes open. But I had to get home.
Nothing like driving while you have the stomach flu!  

5. Overwhelmed Parent.
If you are a parent, you get this. The description says it all, right?
When you have one kid screaming because she was playing with a barbie in the backseat but if fell on the floor and she can't reach it...and the other one had just spilled a juice box all over their brand new shirt (you know, because they had ALSO destroyed the other one in Target earlier)...and they pulled their bows out of their hair...and they have a runny nose...and they're also crying because they can't find their pacifier. And of course they start fighting because they are both being too loud...(This doesn't seem like a personal experience at all, does it. ;))
Trust me. No music can tune that out. You're just swatting your hand around the back seat (to try to find that pacifier, or to give a good ol' fashion spanking, whatever comes in to contact first!) and praying the steering wheel isn't swaying with you as you're driving down the road.
At that point, I know, you are doing W H A T E V E R it takes to arrive to your destination, so,watch out world.

When my mind is focused on a situation of another's, rather than my own...I am slow(er) to anger.

I tried to explain it to my husband like this: When you get angry, you are yelling at cars. But, what if all of these people were on bicycles? You see that sobbing woman struggling to push through her journey...that father trying to find the words...that mom trying to get her kids home. Would you still yell at them, or would your patience get a little bit stronger, for a little bit longer? That line of traffic isn't a line of cars...it's people. People who have ups and downs, just like you.

Proverbs 14:29

And maybe you are one of those people in said situations...breathe. Pray. And know that you can rest easy in the hands of your maker. God has you right in the palms of His hands, and he's got it all planned out for you.

-Ashley
xoxo

You Matter

You matter.
These are the words that have been on my heart since Sunday. I don't feel like these words are meant for me. Maybe they are, but I get the feeling these are not just my words. So, I will say it again: You matter. 

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." -Romans 5:1-5 

It's easy to get caught up in day to day stresses. Lately I've been sitting in mine. And unfortunately, we all know where that gets you -don't we? But, everything about Romans chapter five, verses one through five tell me what I need to know.

We have been justified (made right by) faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (whom died, for us). We have access by our faith (complete trust in) to His grace, in which we stand and rejoice in the glory of God. 

In every, every, every situation we have a reason to be thankful. We have a reason to stand and rejoice. When I am focused on the stress of my world I am not focused on the bigger picture. I am not focused on the one who loves me unconditionally. I am not focused on the one who gave up everything for me.

God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We have the ability to tap right into the source through scripture and through the Holy Spirit. We can listen to self-doubt and worldly standards...or we can focus our minds and fix our eyes to our God, the one who loves us (even on the days when we don't really love us).

You matter. 

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." -Romans 5:6-11

Listen, we're not going to always get it right. God knows that. If that was the deal breaker, the cross would have never of come into play. Jesus died for the sinners. God showed us his love when we were weak, when we were tired, and when we were broken. This means, when you are feeling weak or tired or broken, turn to your Father. God is always going to be there, and He is always going to care. Why?
Because, you matter.

Ashley

xoxo 

The Little Things

The other day I was with my family in the dinning room, listening to some children's worship songs on the computer. My husband and girls were laughing, dancing and singing to the music and I just watched them, with a full heart...and then I noticed something. My three-year old was watching her father while she was singing and dancing. John made a silly face during one tiny part of the course and she mimicked him. Then, when that part of the song came back around...she made that same face he had subconsciously made the first time. Just like that she learned a new habit from my husband. Just like that.

I know that it is normal, children pick up habits and traits from parents. But right in that moment, I realized how quickly that happens. This really makes me want to focus on what I am doing and what my kids are learning from me...but it is nearly impossible to analyze your every move...and if you do, your kids will probably learn that from you TOO! But, it has made me become more intentional about habits I do want them to learn from us. 

Opposed from focusing on how my child pretends to brush her hair, or "put make up on," I can focus on how my child spends her free or quiet time...by being intentional about how I spend my free and quiet time. This may not seem accurate to you, but it makes a lot of sense if you look at it from this perspective: My 20 month old daughter loves to talk on the phone. What 20 month old doesn't? It's what they see every adult do on a daily basis, more than once.
My 20 month old daughter also loves to pray. We have made it a habit (intentionally) to pray before each one of our meals. My three year old now leads these prayers...most of it is mumbling, but she takes pride in this part of our day. And if she prays before I get a chance to sit at the table for my meal (moms know what I am talking about, here!) she makes sure I stop and pray for my meal. And my 20 month old daughter will stop and pray both times a prayer is said at the table. She will say "amen" at the end of her gibberish prayers.

So, if you want your child to be more interested in books then television...guess what YOU should be doing? It's not enough to just read with your child, they need to see you doing it on your own will. 
And if you want your kids to stop leaving socks all over the house...guess what you need to do with your socks? (Okay, that one may be for my husband, ha ha.) 

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not stray from it. -Proverbs 22:6  

--Ashley