David and I were talking the other night about how fast time is going by for us. The holidays here already?! For a split second I thought how it didn't feel like Christmas yet. Then, I remembered... as parents we are the ones who have to create that feeling in our home. On Sunday we got out all of our holiday decorations including the kids' favorite... our stocking holders. They get the pick which one they want to hang their stockings. The kids were sooo excited. I think family traditions are so important for kids. We have some really fun holiday traditions. One of our favorites is "The Elf on the Shelf". Meet Collie. He is a little felt elf that came in a box with a picture book. The book explains that he comes out every Thanksgiving and watches the children during the day. At night, he flies to the north pole to report to Santa how they were behaving during the day. The kids named our elf Collie. He is a deaf elf and the only way to communicate to him is by signing to him. You can not touch him or he loses his magic. This is my favorite part... when the kids wake up they go on the hunt for Collie. This morning I woke up to Summer and Forrest downstairs excited that they had found Collie's new resting spot on top of the snowman stocking hanger. Then they started signing their morning greetings and wishes to him. It was the cutest, sweetest thing ever. In the picture with the kids you can see Summer signing YOUR to Collie (she was asking him, how was your trip to north pole last night?) and Forrest loves to wave to Collie whenever he walks by. I love this time of the year. I love how magical everything is for them right now. I love that I get to be a part of creating that feeling for them. I think tonight we are going to go to the tree lot to pick out our Christmas tree. Summer has been begging us and I don't blame her. I am so excited for the next few weeks. As magical as holidays are for children, it is even more so for parents.
