Arnie Arrived

Our little Elf on the shelf, Arnie, arrived on December 1st. This is his third year at our house. We had hoped that he would arrive a day early, but he sent the girls a letter letting them know that their actions were making him sad so he had to decided to delay his arrival to our house. He gave them a list of things that they needed to complete in order for him to arrive the next morning. The list included:

• Listen to your parents and do what you are told to do.
• Do your homework.
• Do not tell your parents "NO".
• Be nice to each other and share.
• Use your good manners.
  

Thankfully, the girls met all of his requirements and he made his first appearance the next morning.

Normally, Elizabeth either gets up before Dennis leaves the house or she comes in a wakes me up and sadly declares that she missed sending Daddy off to work. Not on the morning of December 1st. Dennis was already gone and I was up early. Elizabeth appeared just as I was finished getting ready. She was so adorable and crushed. "Mommy, I can't find Arnie anywhere! Maybe he is hiding in Katherine's room." I told her that I was sure that he was around and that he would be downstairs and not in Katherine's room. About that time, Katherine woke up, so I headed to get her up and dressed. Elizabeth resumed her search downstairs. About two minutes later, I hear her hollering! "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Arnie IS here! He's here! He's up there!!!!!" I could here her continue to talk on and on as if she was sharing her entire year with her little elf friend. The girls were both so excited to she the little elf.

Yesterday evening we lost power at our house. I'm still not sure why, but whatever it was took out the power in quite a large area. The power flickered on and off for a good 5 minutes before going out completely. The first thing Elizabeth did was to go and ask Arnie if he could use his elf magic to make the power come back on. Katherine completely echoed Elizabeth's request. It was so sweet. They were so sad when I told them that Arnie was only allowed to use his magic to make his nightly trip back home to the North Pole.

It is amazing to me to see how much Elizabeth & Katherine just adores the little Elf. I look forward to seeing the girls search for him and talk with him every day. I will be adding pictures Arnie's Visit 2009 album, so please check back to see where our little elf has visited.