Nativity Night

 We were so happy that the Westons joined us, which multiplied the number of our cast members to re-enact the nativity. Here's our cast: Kelsey, Madi, Tyler, David

and Brynlee, with her sweet mom Lindsay.

 First we did the story of Samuel the Lamanite getting run out of town for his prophecies about the birth, life and death of the Savior. Here he is dodging the "rocks and arrows" before he fled. (This is an account of how the people in America knew about the birth of the Christ child, as related in the Book of Mormon.)

 Then we moved on the account in the New Testament. Of all the characters, David chose to be the angel. Probably because this portrayal shows the angel to be a man, not a winged, cherubic female like we traditionally celebrate.

 The donkey dutifully carried Mary and Joseph to their destination.

 I think Kenny ended up being a wise man, with our sweet baby girl helping him out. Ken's always good for a cuddle with Alina!

 And of course we had the angel who came to the shepherd and the sheep--even if the sheep by then was just carrying her sheep's clothing.

It dawned on me that my family's tradition of acting out the nativity each year made me more aware of the true meaning of Christmas. With David in preschool this year, I realized that my belief in Santa came primarily from school and community more than it came from home. Mom and Dad let our believing hearts believe in the man in red, but the real reinforcement at home was in the nativity story. Santa never quite made sense to me--although the idea was always exciting--so I was never devastated to find out the "truth." And when I knew it for sure, it was wonderful to have the real reason for Christmas so reinforced in our traditions.