Friends and Family, meet Jibee Hoban! I know, he looks quite pitiful in this first picture...I'll explain more on that in just a bit. Last year, just before we departed for Japan, Jibee made his grand entrance. We let the kids name our elf, Mackenzie gave him Jibee and Garytt gave him Hoban. Not a clue how or where they came up with those names, I guess they were just the first words that came to mind. Anyhow, Jibee was a good little elf last year and followed us from Grandma and Grandpa's house in MS to my cousin Amanda's house in Tennessee. Then, he appeared in our car and watched the kids all the way to Delaware where he popped in and out of Uncle Dave's house for about ten days. And, like the good little elf that he is, he even appeared the very first morning we woke up in our new country. Living in an apartment made it hard for him to have too much fun last year. But, this year he made up for it!
So, he made his first appearance in the family room this year, hanging from the fan. He left his book by the Christmas tree, which we quickly read just to be sure they remembered the rules of the elf...no touching! Well, it took all of about twenty minutes before Garytt threw a toy across the room and knocked poor Jibee off the fan and to the floor. Garytt immediately ran to the dining room and hid under the table (with his hands over his eyes, just to be sure no one could see him). I picked Jibee up and put him by the television and we just hoped and hoped that he didn't lose his magic. The next morning the kids were very anxious to see if he came back. HE DID! But, as you can see in the picture above, he was a bit injured. He left us a note explaining that Mrs. Claus patched him up - bandaid on his head, and casts on one arm and one leg. Poor Jibee! The kids made sure to check on him several times throughout the day and even whispered "sorry" and "I hope you feel better" a few times.
Here are a few things Mackenzie wrote and drew for him, just to be sure he was nice and cheered up after the fall-heard-round-the-apartment!
Jibee's response:
And, play he did! He found a beautiful ballerina in the tree to dance with him!
Now, I have seen many boards on pinterest and on friends' Facebook walls of the hilarious things their elves do. I'm sure glad Jibee decided to behave himself in our house, because I know one little boy who would have tried to duplicate any daring activity he pulled off.
The next night Jibee decided it was time to decorate his own Christmas tree. He found tiny ornaments and some yarn to decorate my Easter/Thanksgiving tree. Then, he left some cool craft supplies for the kids to make their own ornaments.
The resulting ornaments...stockings, hearts, trees and ornaments.
A few nights later, Jibee was at it again. When he came back from the North Pole that night he brought back 20 candy canes! He hid them all over the house and the kids had to find them all. That was a lot of fun! And, of course the kiddos had some of the candy right away!
The next night, Jibby borrowed our Bible Storybook and read the story of Jesus' birth to a few of the other toys.
He also brought four baggies filled with M&M's. One each for Garytt and Mackenzie, and then one bag for each kid to give to a friend. We hope Jack and Maggie loved the yummy chocolate!
The card reads:
As you hold these candies in your hand
And turn them, you will see
The M becomes a W, an E, and then a 3.
They tell the Christmas story, it's one I'm sure you know
It took place in a stable a long time ago.
The E is for the East, where the star shone so bright.
The M is for the Manger, where baby Jesus slept that night.
The 3 is for the wiremen, bearing gifts when they came.
The W is for Worship, Hallelujah, Praise His name!
So, as you eat these candies, and share them with your friends,
Remember the meaning of Christmas,
It's a Love Story that never ends!
A couple nights later Jibee decided he wanted hot chocolate. He was even nice enough to bring two new Christmas mugs and the hot chocolate to go in them! The kids enjoyed a couple mugs at lunch....I sure hope he cleaned up his mess before the next morning!
The next night was another low-key night. We found him in our card holder, just barely peeking out.
The following night Jibee brought a coloring book! And, he brought a manger scene for the kids to color and cut out! I was very grateful for this, since we somehow managed to NOT pack our manger scene to come to Japan.
The finished Nativity Scene
I guess Jibee wanted to join in on the fun school activities the next day! We found him sitting amongst the school stuff with the Arkansas state information card in his hands! I had two eager learners that morning, in addition to Jibee!
The next day couple of days Jibee was in the mood for cookies! I don't have a shot of it, but the first day he had Grandma's chocolate cookie recipe and candy cane kisses to go on top! Yummy! Both kids helped roll the cookies and then smoosh (some of them a little too smooshed-they went right through the cookie) the kisses on. Below, he brought the molasses....I guess he was ready for my favorite cookies!
The next night I guess he didn't finish playing with his friends before we all woke up. I never thought the kids would ask this...."Why didn't he hide before we got up? He could have played all night and then returned my stuff before the sun came up!" Well.....I guess he was having so much fun that he lost track of time. That seemed to answer the question. Next was, "But...I rrrreeeeaaaallllyyyyyy wanted to play with THAT elephant TODAY!" Geez....so, that one lead into a lesson on sharing.
Finally, Christmas Eve morning Jibee showed up ready for a party! He brought us the ingredients to make a birthday cake for baby Jesus!
He even brought a present....Jibee wants to give his heart to Jesus!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!!!!
Jibee and the family had a Wonder filled month. Glad he found Japan a fun place to visit every day. Thank you for sharing.
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