Yes, that is our Elf on a Shelf. It all started right after Thanksgiving when the kids asked when Chippy would be coming back to check on them.  My son is 9 and my daughter is 6.  At age 5, Kole started asking some really hard questions about Santa, and I almost had to give up on the magic.  My husband and I think that he probably knows the truth now, but he’s afraid to admit it because he still wants the presents.  🙂

Anyway, I wake up one morning to a note on the kitchen counter written by my daughter:

Chippy came to visit the next day, and he wrote back to thank Zoe for her thoughtfulness.  The kids noted that Chippy had bad handwriting, (Or David’s left hand.)  Every morning since, the kids wake up and race to find where he landed.  They know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chippy flies to the North Pole every night to speak directly to Santa.  Last year they got early Christmas presents from Chippy, so they wrote notes asking for books like they got last year.  They’ve made cards telling Chippy that they love him.

One Saturday morning, Kole woke up before 7 AM, and came into our room really upset that Chippy hadn’t moved since the night before (crap!)  When he went back into his room to play video games, I grabbed Chippy and threw him on top of Brock’s crate to make him seem like he was spying on the “new dog.”  Kole came back in a few minutes later and asked, “Mom, have you seen Chippy?  He’s not where he was.”  He proceeded to find him by Brock, and thought it was hilarious that he was checking out the new threat.

Later that day, we were running some errands as a family, and Kole begins to say, “Chippy hasn’t been very good at moving this year.  He forgets to leave at night to see Santa, or he flies back to the same spot in the morning.  Then he moves in the middle of the day while we’re at school.” (Stupid parents, I mean, silly elf!)

I started to worry, thinking he was putting all of the pieces together, when he said, “Chippy must be really smart and studies our schedules.  He knows when we go to school or are gone for the weekend, so he knows when it’s safe to move if he forgot the night before.”  Phew.

There is no hesitation, no skepticism, no question or bit of disbelief.  Chippy is real.  End of discussion.

I have a relationship with God, and I love Him more than anyone else.  However, I can’t say that I never doubt or question his plans for my life or that of my family’s.  I want to experience that kind of belief, and that kind of passion.  One without hesitation or doubt.

How about you?  Is there someone or something that you believe in that strongly?  What is it?  And how do you keep that unquestionable faith going day in and day out?  I’d love to hear your input!