Not the real Santa!

Emily told me yesterday that the Santa that came to their school for the Breakfast with Santa wasn't really Santa. I asked her how she knew that and she told me it was because he had a Volunteer Pass sticker on his Santa suit. You see, when you enter the school for any reason, you have to check into the office and either get a Volunteer Pass or a Visitor Pass. She said that since Santa had a Volunteer Pass on then that meant that he couldn't have been the real Santa because it was just somebody helping out at the school. That girl just about blows me away with her logic. So, maybe I need to put a bug in Santa's ear for future reference to get a yellow Visitor Pass the next time he is there visiting and not a blue Volunteer Pass. I told her that maybe he was one of Santa's helpers that was there working for Santa and that he was going to pass the information along to him. She said, "I don't think so. And besides, he didn't ask us what we want anyway." She has really been struggling this year with whether or not to believe in Santa Claus. She has moments where she is really skeptical and then other times where she is totally drawn into the magic of it all. Today was one of those times because of their teacher.

The kids came home from school so excited. They had these huge bags full of goodies. They couldn't wait to get home to open them and show me everything. There were two things that they each had in their bags that they were really excited about. One was the special key for Santa. It was a real key that had glitter all on it to make it sparkle and it can be left out for Santa to be able to use to get in our house on Christmas Eve. And the other thing that the kids thought was really cool was the bag of reindeer oats to sprinkle out in the yard to attract the reindeer to our house. So, this got Emily thinking that maybe there really might be a Santa Claus after all with this special key and the reindeer food. Thanks, Mrs. McFarland, for adding to the magic this year. Emily needed it.

And I also think I need to say another big thank you to Mrs. McFarland for the amazing keepsakes that the kids made and surprised me with. There were those adorable ice cream cone Christmas trees, the Angel magnets, the hand print ornaments, the little wreaths, all of the fun goodies for the kids, and the best gift of all...those amazing calendars!!!!! Even though the kids were supposed to put those gifts under the tree, Emily just couldn't stand it. She wanted me to open the present the second we got home. I opened it up and wasn't prepared for the onslaught of tears that came pouring out. That was probably the best gift that I could have ever received this Christmas. I got two calendars, one is from Ethan and one from Emily. Their picture is on the front and it says "My Hand Made Calendar". For each month in the year, there is a piece of artwork that the kids have done that pertains to that month/season. Several of the pieces of artwork use their hand prints in some way or another. This was a truly thoughtful and cherished gift that is very much appreciated. Thank you so much, Mrs. McFarland, for everything you do.