The Important Part of Christmas

Three Kings Day was the day before yesterday. Which means (according to custom) that Christmas just barely ended. Which means that my next three Christmas posts are technically not that late. . . right?
I think I crammed a year's worth of stuff (projects, parties, traveling, organizing, etc.) into the last three weeks. Not even kidding. But here I am with a moment to breathe. . .
and finally a teensy bit of time to blog.

Our 2010 Christmas season was once again filled to the brim with pageants. Just the way I like it.
First up,
Primary Christmas Program.
I outdid myself again this year by writing and rehearsing another smash-hit Primary Nativity Production. . .
Of course the smash and hit part came mostly from my own children. A friend emailed me a link to someone else's blog post with the caption, "Hey, doesn't that shepherd belong to you?" (What? You mean the one in the background swingin' at the stage lights and jabbing the angels with his shepherd's crook?)
Besides steal-the-show Brig, Isaac definitely did his part to be the most entertaining of the wise men. And Clayton was (as always) a perfect Joseph.

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We took the show on the road the next morning for our annual
Retirement Center Performance.
These dear people love seeing us year after year. But this year, in the middle of "Silent Night" they had a special surprise - an impromptu wrestling (laughing, yelling, kicking, rolling on the floor) match between two particular little kings. (which sent me home in tears - honestly.)
Afterward the Primary children handed out Christmas cards which they made and decorated. It was heartwarming to see everyone interact. All the smiles. All the handshakes and hugs. All the kind words. Old people are so forgiving of misbehaving little boys.
Even these ones.

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This year our family participated again in the neighborhood
Live Nativity.
The whole production is about 20 minutes long. It includes a cast of about 30 people. And requires some minimal acting skills. We performed it four times.
Nate, Clayton, and Isaac were shepherds again. They did a really good job acting "sore afraid" when the angel appeared. From what I hear, (since I missed all their appearances as I was backstage for that part) Isaac played an especially compelling scared shepherd.
Brigham, Eliza, and I were Bethlehem townsfolk. Our main job was to make Bethlehem seem very crowded by strolling through the set pretending to shop and mingle as Mary and Joseph made their way through town. On the first performance, Brigham stepped out right on cue and then, completely misunderstanding what was going on, bee-lined it into the audience. He moved so quickly climbing through and over people's laps that he had already secured the only empty seat in the crowd and was happily watching the show before I could even get close enough to whisper, "Briggs, no. We're IN the show, buddy. Come on."Eliza was happy and pleasant as she tagged along again and again through Bethlehem. Unlike last year when she played baby Jesus and screamed through all four performances.
In the car, at the end of a very late and exhausting evening, I asked the kids if they had a good time. Isaac said,

"Yes. I like-ted showing all those people about Jesus. Because that's the important part of Christmas and I'm glad they didn't miss it."


So true.
I'm glad our family didn't miss it either.
(despite our few unorthodox moments)

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