Where do I get the Wise Men??
So I realized I never mentioned where these little Wise Men arrived from! I bought some half naked Ken dolls (and one Flynn Ryder) from local thrift stores, then cued up my Netflix Hallmark-style Christmas movies and pulled out the hardly used sewing machine and created traditional robes for these guys! I hot-glued turbans to their heads, sorry guys, and painted their eyes brown and added some beards!  Seriously, I have never taken a single sewing class, but it was super easy to figure out simple seams!!

I like that I was able to turn these cast-off dolls to create the men who earnestly sought Jesus. Just like God takes us in all our sins, even when we were yet sinners (or castoffs) and died for us and now we can earnestly seek Him! (yay, made that work...lol)
So I hope you can find some castoff dolls and create living lessons for your family! (if not, I am scouring all our local thrift shops and hope to have sets of Wise Men available for economic prices next year, so you can start these traditions with your family!)- April

Wandering Wise Men: Day 4
Today I had a brain freeze and couldn't think of what to write except for "this" is what I did and "this" is what my awesome friends did... then as I was trying to sleep, my mind was racing and I literally started to cry... let me back up. This morning as I was was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across a Christian friends's post. (Now we are not to judge someone's salvation and since she claims to be a Christian I will give her that much of the doubt! and please read to the end, this redeems itself!) Anyways, she had posted a picture of what her Elf had been up to the night before, apparently he had drank an entire bottle of alcohol and was passed out on the shelf in his vomit. yup. That was what her seven year old daughter was going to wake up to see. What message is she trying to tell her daughter? That as long as she is "better" than the elf then she will get her gifts? That this naughty elf was really going to tattle on her to Santa? AND on top of that, the mom posted it to Facebook so that her friends, Christian and Non-Christian could see. How is that being a light unto this world? Aren't we supposed to be IN the world but not OF the world? While we are here we should do all we can to be a light to the world! Anyways, I am off on a tangent!
This morning I hid our Wise Men in the dining room (a backtrack from the play room yesterday), the guys were reading our Christmas cards... it took my kids quite a while to find them, they were so shocked that the men had not moved forward but had backtracked! My son went and immediately drew a new map of the house in hopes that the men would move forward and not get lost again. My daughter spent probably ten minutes chastising them that Jesus was ahead of them and that they had moved the wrong way! It made my heart glad to hear them talk and interact with the Wise Men, they got to have a tangible relationship with these men today as we chatted that sometimes we might feel we are going in the wrong direction but it's never too late to turn around and head back to Jesus!
I think it was a great thing my Wise Men moved backwards today, cause now I have more Grace to give to this friend of mine. Maybe right now she is moving away from Christ and needs a new "map" a voice of encouragement, or a light to follow out of the darkness! Praise the Lord that he doesn't kick us to the curb when we make mistakes!
So as you can see, my Wise Men were hanging out reading our Christmas cards. I actually made our card holder, it's a pallet I stained a dark brown, stenciled the words "Good news of great Joy" on top, then strung some string and clothespins to hold the cards. When Christ was born the angels told the Shepherds that they had "Good news of great joy". Just like our Christmas cards we send out telling people about the good news we have had this year, the joys we experienced and the joys we hope to have in the forthcoming year. So I just loved that my Wise Men were interacting with our friends who shared their joys for the season!
My sweet friend Anja had her Wise Men on a rock climbing journey! They were trudging up the banister on their path of following the star.
I wish you could see the JOY our kiddos have had each morning as they find the Wise Men and see how their journey has gone throughout the night! Ah, there is that word again, JOY. Thank you Jesus that your birth brings so much JOY to the world!! (now I am going to have that song stuck in my head!) oh well, it's a great song to have stuck... JOY to the World, the LORD HAS come!- April

Wandering Wise Men Day 3
My husband gave me the inspiration for today's diorama... he said the guys should be playing with the kid's Legos, well that turned into me staying up for a few hours trying to create pyramids out of Legos. Not an easy feat believe me! I figured Bethlehem was super close to Egypt so they might have journeyed by some Pyramids... I mean, why travel all that way not to also go sight-seeing a little!?
 The kids quickly found the men today and thought it was hilarious that they were playing! My daughter, 6, said "it's like how we play games on a family vacation!" yeah, kinda like that! I wonder what the Wise Men did on their long journey, some researchers say their journey could have taken up to 3 years! What did they do for fun? Did they ever lose heart? A two week long vacation with family is taxing enough, I can hardly imagine 3 years (6 round trip!!) without knowing if this was the star they had been waiting for! To have faith like that, wow. I pray that I can have faith like that when uncertain times arrive. What verses do you find comforting in uncertain times?
Back to the Wandering Wise Men, my friend Roxanne hid her men in the water fountain outside, this made me laugh as I wondered how long it took her kids to find them!? Oh and her awesome kiddos named their Wise Men "Snap, Crackle and Pop", to which she thought was a little sacrilegious, but yet gives them a whimsical and more relate-able image. I think their names are perfect!
Anja's kids found their Wise Men hiding all snug as a bug in their stockings this morning! I love the creative places these guys hide, the joy in the kid's eyes each morning as they go on their advent treasure hunt and the hidden messages our children are receiving as they know that these Wise Men sought Jesus with all their might just as we are seeking for them each morning!
I also love the sign above Anja's stockings, "As for me and my family we will serve the Lord." I pray that all our families focus on serving the Lord this season!  -April

Wandering Wise Men,      Already on the second day I was hitting a wall, I want to be creative but Wise Men are not as whimsical as Elf on the Shelf, but I think I managed to keep it fun. Today, Ocean waves, Gold Rainbow and Green Grass (yeah, my poor kids naming abilities has me shaking my head too) were discovered as they studied African maps and the globe. 

 My son commented that globes were not in the olden days because they thought the world was flat. So the marshmallows from yesterday's tableau was spot on!?

 My friend Anja's family woke to find their Wise Men hiding in the bushes, and Roxanne's family found their Wise Men riding a stuffed camel near their tree.

My kids and I talked about how the Wise Men were studious men who had heard the prophecies of the Saviors birth and studied the skies until a new star appeared and they left everything behind as they followed the star to see where it lead them.
 We read 2 Timothy 2:15
Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 
Not necessarily about the Wise Men, but  just like they studied the scriptures we need to study also then in the day when trials come we can present ourselves to Christ without shame. For us moms, this also reads for us to study hard so that we can teach our children with accuracy and truth.

Last night as I was setting up the Wise Men, I prayed over them and prayed that my children see the Christmas story for more than the fun of a birthday celebration, but that because of this baby boy we can have eternal life with Jesus! Wow.. takes my breath away thinking of this! I pray that as you read this, or start your own Wandering Wise Men that your kids can see the eternal impact of Jesus!
                             -April

Wandering Wisemen

Wandering Wise Men.....
So I have never liked Elf on the Shelf (yeah I know, I am like the only one left....) it's not the act of having to move the guy around each night or trying to be "that" pinterest parent who comes up with the most amazing scenarios for Elfie.... it's just the fear the kids have of misbehaving in front of Elfie lest he runs and tells Santa.... hmmm... in this time of CHRISTmas shouldn't the daily focus be on keeping Christ in Christmas and that we do good things and act justly because we love Jesus? Being good should be an outpouring of our Love for Christ and others and not a reaction to fear of being outed to a fictitious humanitarian! Now don't get me wrong, i like St. Nicholas and all he stands for, his kindness and generosity to others is a serious inspiration but PALES in comparison to the kindness and generosity of our Lord and Savior! 
    SO, this year instead of caving in to Elfie, I found some discarded Ken dolls (and one Flynn Ryder!) from a local thrift shop, and sewed some super simple robes and turbans! I kept 3 and sent 3 to some AWESOME friends!  (don't freak, I know there was more than 3 wise men but in keeping with 3 gifts, I am going with 3 wise men!) Anyways, we started a little late but hey, better late than never! So on the First day of the Journey, my kids found their new friends roasting marshmallows on the stove (don't mind my stained stove top!)... today's challenge was to create maps for our new friends and assign them names.... now my kids are 8 and 6 and even though they are amazing, their naming assignments were a little off... so this year we are stuck with "Ocean Waves", "Gold Rainbow", and "Green Grass".... apparently these are names that men from the East would have had! 
My awesome friend Anja had her Wise Men arrive on a rocking horse, and my other amazing friend Roxanne, well her husband hid the wise men among the Nutcrackers! 

Each day the Wise Men will journey throughout the house getting into mischief and adventures, yet unlike Elfie, my kids can play with their Wise Men and participate in the Christmas story. As the Wise men brought gifts to the Christ child, my kids are doing small business projects to raise money to buy gifts through the World Vision catalog. My son chose clean water in Africa for a family, and my daughter is raising money for a hutch of rabbits for a family in South America! I just want to teach the kids that gifts are not bad, but that before we open our gifts, we need to spend this month preparing gifts for the King! Would love to hear your ideas for the Wise Men or other ways of keeping Christ in Christmas!-  April