I came home late from college the other night with my head swimming with the things I still needed to do before bed. As I was running around like a loon and really resenting this busy time of year I came across something so beautiful it really made me stop and think.

Our little elf has been hopping around the house each night surprising the kids with his antics. I looked up to find he had already found a spot for the next day. There he sat on my kitchen window sill surrounded by all our well loved and well played with nativity ornaments that I place around the house to help the children remember the true meaning of christmas. Here they all were, gathered together with our elf reading them the Christmas story from the Bible. This was a perfect reminder to me of the true meaning of christmas. I stopped in my tracks with a heart full of gratitude for our little elf on the shelf, for my wise and caring husband but mostly for the little baby Jesus, who he was and is and all that he means to me.