One Moment

If you live near the Princess' house, you might want to try and see the "Living Nativity" put on by Cathedral of Joy. We don't go every year, and you do have to sit through some weird little Christmas plays before getting out to see the nativity, but it is worth it.

We took the princesses out Sunday night to see it, and they were in awe of seeing Mary riding on a real donkey with Joseph along side her, watching the shepherds tending real sheep and donkeys, watching the wisemen come with their camels and gifts, gasping as Herod's soldiers came looking for the baby King. Even the tiniest princess was silent for a moment as we watched how it may have been. I think what moved me the most was thinking on what one gal shared at MOPS last week combined with seeing visually what Jesus' birth night may have been like. She shared how she had been thinking about Mary, and how Mary was just a teenager, and that she may have been mocked and made to feel ashamed because she became pregnant before she was married. Anyway, seeing "Mary" riding that donkey and thinking about how my back aches at the end of the day during pregnancy/labor without cross-country donkey rides, made me ache for her and what she must have felt like that night physically, not to mention emotionally.

For me it was very moving, a welcome reminder in this last frenzied week to contemplate the very real sacrifices that a young girl and her young husband made so that our Lord could be born as it was foretold in Isaiah.

Like I said, if you can, you might try and go, if nothing else for those last 15 minutes out in the cold remembering what Christmas is all about. . .

Pay Back

Every second Tuesday I get to look forward to not only MOPS, but Bunco that evening. So Tuesday came and went, had a great MOPS, very inspiring, had a great Bunco, lots of laughs and great fellowship, and then woke up Wednesday morning to my real life. . .

Why or maybe How is a better way to start this question. How do kids know when their moms have had a wonderful time or are totally relaxed before mom has even risen from slumber? Mine do anyway, and then like to take full advantage by either ruining my mood by being difficult and testing every boundary or by just plain being crabby. Hmmm. (Might be worth some tax dollars Uncle Sam.) Anyway, you can read where this is going, we had a rough day Wednesday. Even the unemotional, uncomplaining baby I watch was crabby. So when the baby's father came to get her just as I had taken off my referee shirt AGAIN and holding his cranky baby, and asked how the day had been, I was honest. (Not that I am not normally honest, I was just blunt, the day had been a day from "you know where".)

Well I must say that my honesty paid off somewhat. Long story short, but due to a surgery the baby's mom is unable to care for baby which is why I have her even though the mom is at home. Anyway, their housekeeper will now be "helping" me out by taking the baby Monday and Friday. Maybe I should press my luck and see if she wants three more to really "help" me out!

Christmas Fun

We got our tree on Friday afternoon and got it up that evening. It is our biggest ever . . . and smells so wonderful! The whole house just smells like Christmas, it's been such a treat. The girls had fun putting up their ornaments and "reminiscing" about when they got each one. R has been enjoying hanging and rehanging which ever ornament or candy cane is handiest. I have gotten a kick out of how sneaky she can be! Her new phrase is "Merry Cismas TO YOU". She yells the "to you"-very funny.


A and G are getting practice time in for their Christmas program which is coming up in a couple weeks. Some of them are sung correctly others not. And it has been hard to correct when they are being sung so earnestly.