It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. . .and the North Pole Breakfast!

Jackson, my little buddy, was SO excited about decorating for Christmas this year.  He helped me pull everything out of the garage and was beyond thrilled to get our house “in the Christmas spirit!”  He’s turning into such a little man and I’m just so proud of his big heart.  He and Bear both made things so much fun!

Lincoln of course, was his usual joyful self.

We took a break from Christmas decorating to ride bikes outside.  Bear was being a pretty big stinker.  He’d gotten into the honey jar and made a huge mess in the kitchen. These pictures were snapped on my phone right after he said, “well, if you get me in trouble (for the big honey mess) I will just fly out of my bed like superman and lick honey right out of the jar all night!”  He did, in fact, get into trouble yet did not fly anywhere like superman.

I don’t know if you can tell from this picture but Jack is in a nerf gun war with 11 little boys from the neighborhood.  Jack’s a pretty happy dude!

Back to decorating a few days later. . .

First of all we don’t have a fire place in the new house so Gaga sent us this awesome stocking hanger.  Secondly, I have always REALLY wanted matching stockings but never wanted to pay for them because I never wanted to risk spending the money and then having another kid and not being able to get a matching stocking.  So, now that we are forever a family of 5, I used a gift card and got some really nice stockings.  You have no idea how giddy this made me.  Probably my favorite material item of the Christmas season.

Works pretty well!

Jackson always takes special care to set up the nativity set that Nana and Papa gave him.  Bear was pretty upset that Jack had his own.  As luck would have it, Bear received one for Christmas this year.

Jack is very particular about baby Jesus and the manger set up.

Although I only have 4 pieces the boys just love the snow village.  You can see the blue tape for the warranty guys in the back ground, classy, I know.

I just love all different kids of nativity sets although this one and the boys are the only ones we have.  This one is my absolute favorite of any I’ve ever seen.  My precious grandparents got it in Israel so it’s extra special to me.

And now on to the North Pole Breakfast!  This was my kids absolute favorite thing and I owe it all to Adrienne who found out about it on pinterest and planned one for her family and let me copy all of her ideas.

The boys had been searching for Dufus (our elf on the shelf) each day just hoping he would show up.  So, one Saturday morning they awoke to not only see Dufus (he’s in the chandelier) but to a yummy breakfast that Dufus had brought all the way from the North Pole!

Dufus brought the gingerbread house for the boys to put together.

We don’t have any special Christmas dishes (much to Jackson’s dismay) so Dufus brought a whole special set up for each boy.

The breakfast included strawberry Santa’s.

And LOTS of treats (thank goodness for Trader Joe’s sugary but all natural ingredients)!

Dufus also brought a special Christmas bag and some books and CD’s etc.  My goal was to have lots of meaningful Christmas books in this bag and for the month of December the boys could at (almost) any time bring me a book and we’d read together.  The books were great and all had wonderful messages about the true meaning of Christmas.  Their favorite was The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado.

It was so much fun to set up!

Jackson was amazed not only to see Dufus but all of the other festivities when he came down stairs that morning.

Little Bear was more than ready to try cinnamon toast (they’d never had it before).

I just love the looks on these silly faces!

Next year I’m sure Lincoln will be a little more excited!

3 of my guys relaxing and watching one of the Christmas movies that Dufus brought us from the North Pole.

Here’s the letter that Santa sent with Dufus for the boys.  It’s kind of long. . .because I’m kind of long winded. . .no surprise there:

Dear Jackson, Baron and Lincoln,

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, but you must promise not to tell any of your friends (we don’t want to hurt their feelings)…of all of the millions and billions and jillions of children in the world, you are my three favorites!  I love how kind you all are, how much you love each other and your parents, and most importantly, how much you love Jesus.  I know he lives in your hearts.  He lives in mine too, so that makes us all especially special.

I have to let you know about something important.  You know that whole naughty and nice list that you hear everyone talking about?  Well, the truth is…that’s not really true.  I don’t have a naughty and nice list.  I know that kids are not perfect.  I know that you guys are not perfect.  But I know that Jesus loves you all the time, and I do too.  Jesus taught me about grace and getting what we don’t deserve and He definitely doesn’t have a naughty and nice list, so neither do I.  So you don’t need to worry about being on my list.  If you believe that I will come to your house on Christmas Eve and leave you some special surprises, then I will come!  That’s all you need…is to believe and to do your best to make the right decisions.   I know you already make a lot of great decisions.  Jackson and Baron, I've been watching how caring and sweet you are with Lincoln and how helpful you are to your mommy each day.  You are both doing such an amazing job of showing God's love.  I also notice what gentlemen you are becoming, holding the doors open and carrying packages-this makes me so very proud of you.  Lincoln is so blessed to have such wonderful big brothers as role models!

To help you remember about grace and about getting love even when you don’t deserve it, I wanted to send you a very special treat for this Christmas season.  I thought you might enjoy a little visit from your special friend…Dufus, the elf…and a special elf breakfast.  This is what Mrs. Claus makes for the elves every morning while they’re working hard to make toys for me to deliver on Christmas Eve.
Dufus is a dear friend of mine, but he tends to be a bit naughty.  I have explained grace to him many, many times when he chooses to sin and be a stinker.  I think he’s starting to understand how Jesus gives us grace, but I thought that if he stayed with you for the Christmas season, then you might be able to teach him some more about the way Jesus loves us even when we sin.  I love Dufus so much and I want him to understand and believe Jesus and know that his heart can make good choices too because Jesus loves him so very much!  Maybe to show Dufus what great decisions you make you could talk each night about one thing that you did that day that really made Jesus happy.  You all do so many kind things, choosing just one might be hard!

One important thing about Dufus…he is an elf, and elves are not exactly the same as humans.  Dufus stays still all during the day, but he comes alive at night…and that’s usually when he gets into some trouble, so you’ll have to keep an eye on him.  You can talk to him, but remember not to touch him so he can come back to the North Pole each night and tell me all of the fun, amazing, sweet things you’re doing this month as you get ready for Christmas!
When I told Dufus that he was going to go stay with you guys, he jumped up and down in excitement!  He really thinks you guys are so fun!

Have fun, enjoy your special breakfast, and I’ll be back to pick up Dufus after Christmas!

I love you guys so very much!

Santa Claus

P.S.  Don’t forget to send me a letter so I know what you really want for Christmas.
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So there you have it, North Pole breakfast 2012 was a success. We’ll definitely be doing that again next year!