Nativity

Yeah, sorry about that last bitter post, I think I might be a bit testy since we've seen Lewis for about an hour and a half since last Saturday. The guy is completely pooped, he even worked a 40hour stretch in which he didn't even have a minute to lie down. We're all a slight bit burned out here. A few of our moments from this week:

I took the kids Wednesday with me to the church to have the stake president sign my new temple recommend (the ones with the bar codes) and the whole way there Brooks was saying "no church no church no nursery I'll cry. I'll cry. "
After the recommends were signed (hooray, he was nice and signed Lew's too since Lew was stuck in a surgery) I took the kids to get a Christmas tree. They picked it out and we tied it on. Well, a nice guy tied it on, but it still fell off about a half mile from the store. I held it on the roof with my hand the rest of the way home and hit the brakes extra hard to get it to come forward. It was an exciting ride home!! I carried the tree in, shook it out, and put it up in the stand. Lewis got home as I was putting it up and he was on the phone so he waved and walked by. Should I be concerned that he didn't find anything wrong with me getting a tree and putting it up entirely on my own? I guess we're all getting used to this new lifestyle, I just hope it doesn't stick!
Thursday I took a bunch of baked potatoes to the church for a missionary zone conference or something and the whole way there Brooks again was saying "no church no church no church".
Thursday night I got to go to the temple, but barely made the 6:00 session because of crazy traffic. I dropped the kids off at the babysitting and ran into the temple. The guy was really nice, but my barcode wasn't activated yet and he was just beside himself. He found someone who sorted it all out and finally he let me in. I was the last one in the session, but was so glad to be there and enjoy 2 hours of peace!
Friday night I took the kids to a Nativity Exhibit at a stake center about 25 minutes from our house. (they call it a creche exhibit, but I can't bring myself to call it that because I know how to say it in French and it just isn't right to call it crutch or cretch or however they say it here.) It was a lovely ride there in traffic with Brooks screaming his head off, but luckily he fell asleep right before we got there and I was able to keep him asleep in the sling while I enjoyed the beautiful different nativity sets. I was so touched by the beautiful depictions of the Savior's birth and especially loved the ones where the angels are crossing their chest with their hands in amazement of the beautiful child. I know that the birth of every child is significant and wonderful and I can only imagine the moment Mary first laid eyes on her child. I can't imagine the anxiety and loneliness she must have felt giving birth for the first time in a stable most likely surrounded by filth and animals. When I was in Jerusalem for study abroad we went to Bethlehem and spent some time in a field outside the city singing Christmas hymns. It was a wonderful evening (even though some people were overly into it and wanted to stay forever while I was just thinking about how hungry I was--hey I gained a good 12 lbs. over there). I thought about how I might have been in those hosts of angels singing hosanas and feeling the excitement of the moment--it could happen, I could have had a good voice in heaven. Anyway, I really enjoyed the exhibit and can't wait to go back next year. I know that it was a ton of work because my mother in law was in charge of a similar event in Houston for a few years and she pretty much worked on it year round. I for one was grateful for all the hard work and enjoyed it immensely.

This is a picture from the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, at the actually sight of the birth (or so they say)


The Shepherd's Field across from Bethlehem