Our Seasonal Visitors

They arrived last night—on the heels of subzero temperatures and flurries. Four wee elves. (Sometime after the Colts lost a painful game in overtime to the Cowboys.)

The Christmas season has officially begun, now that the elves are ensconced safely within our home quietly observing the happenings and behavior of the kids and giving Santa daily reports through Christmas Eve.

The elves, heads just peeking out of some of the stockings “hung by the chimney with care” in hopes that Santa will see fit to fill the colorful oversized knits full-to-bursting on Christmas morning, were found by Greyson this morning. He was giddy with happiness over his discovery and immediately soared into his annual “hyper-drive.”

 Perfect! ; )

Only the presence of his elf will help Greyson “maintain” himself and my/our sanity through the holidays. I remember well the feelings: the giddiness, the magic, the sacredness of the season. I am thankful that my mom instilled such a sense of wonder and appreciation in me and kept it going for so any years. ( Junior high. Yep. No need to comment…)

Aubry. That’s another story. She discovered this past summer that the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Santa don’t exist in the real sense of how we exist. Aubry had left her years of loving fairies, make-believe and dressing up. She was thrilled to be “in on it.” Well, she thought she was… But disappointment lurks as she adjusts to what knowing the truth behind the magic means. Aubry has become a keeper, like the rest of us. A keeper of tradition and the sacred knowledge of that special magic. And because she loves her brother, she will embrace perpetuating the magic for him.

Our Elves…Christmas Season Helpers

“The Elves are here!!” yelled Greyson the other morning as he tumbled into my bed.

He didn’t stay snuggled in long with me, as he was off—back downstairs to take another peek and to add an ornament to the Advent calendar.

December is exciting around here and the annual appearances of the elves make it more so. They rank next to Santa in awesomeness…and in controlling the kids’ behavior throughout the month.

My four are at fifty-fifty now, two who believe and two who don’t. Despite Josi and Holden not believing, the elves still help to modify their behavior. Could it be from sibling pressure due to elf pressure? I’m not sure, but it seems the elves are effective magical little beings. They watch over the kids while the tree is up, reporting to Santa as he readies for the big night and extending the wonder and joy of Christmas from just a day into a special season.  The elves leave with Santa on Christmas Eve in order to help him get a jump on the coming year. The kids look forward to their return and so do I.

My Definition of Family

I have always believed that a family is defined by love, not biology. Watching my children evolve into tweens, teens, and young adults reinforces my belief. At the heart of it, they are sisters and brothers. At the heart of it, we are a family. It’s that simple.

People try to define us – the family with all of “those” kids, the mini U.N. (oh, yes!), similar to “Brangelina” (although we actually formed our family earlier)…

A friend said it best, “You’re just the Millers.”

Yes we are. And I like that – just fine.