I love nativities

I love nativities.
I got one from Wayne the first year we were married for Christmas. It's a Precious Moments one. I display it with honor every year, all by itself, on the piano. It means the world to me. That's the year we had no money and for Christmas all we were going to get was 4 new tires for the car.....but Wayne sneaked in the nativity too.
I cried.
I love nativities.
I'm not really a nativity collector like Laura Belnap or Carol Merrill, but I have my fair share.
I love watching my boys and now Laila play with the nativity pieces and move them around so they can see the baby Jesus better. This playing with, inevitably leads to chips, cracks, and broken pieces.
I have some broken angels, shepherds,wisemen and donkeys to different nativities through out the years. I just pull out the super glue and try to piece the ceramic back as best I can. I don't throw nativities away. I think the broken pieces add character and a much needed analogy:
We come broken to the Savior and he "fixes" us and sees us as perfect.

I've left my big statuary-one out in front of my home. This began 3 years ago when Landon said, "Please leave baby Jesus up until I go on my mission." This would have been in the summer. I thought, "why not."
I left the statues in place for months, then a year went by, and finally Landon allowed me to take it down.
We both cried.
I liked having the nativity up all year though as a reminder. So I've continued doing this. I've left a quilted one and a snowman nativity out on my antique sewing machine top in my dining room the past 2 years. It's lovely to dust it and walk past it, and have my thoughts taken back to the greatest gift.


Addison sculpted a "shy-little-troll-kids- posing-as-Mary- and-Joseph-in-a
-pageant-with-a -crying-Jesus -ready-to-cry- themselves," Nativity for my mom and dad for Christmas. Their response to it was classic JOY!

Nativities bring out the best in people....they help us center our thoughts on the Christ Child.

This year I'm trying to decide which one deserves the honor.

(I just wrote an entire post and didn't mention food or eating once.
YEAH for me!)