The tree is trimmed.
We don't do santa.
We do modest gift giving but I gotta tell ya...we don't really center everything around Jesus at this time of year. At least not any more than compared to the rest of the year.
We do Jesus all the time.
Lets face it...this mama has a hard enough time explaining the Spirit of God, much less the spirit of christmas and it's evil twin the spirit of consumerism. (that is another post)
Still, I felt compelled to have a sit down with baby girl and make sure she was up on the lingo for the whole holiday rigmarole.
I have told her all this before but I just fell like she may need a little refresher.
I mean, seriously, you gotta get your shepherds straight from your wisemen before Grampa asks any embarrassing questions.
So, we are sitting at the breakfast table. (that girl looves her crispies!)
I am playing with the miniature nativity. (I think we got it at the dollar store. )
I ask..."baby, do you know who God is?"
She nods yes.
"you do?! good!"
She shakes her head no.
deep breath..."ok. God. You know, up in heaven? He made you? He made the world? Where Grandma lives...up in heaven...with God??? You know...God?"
She nods. Ok. We are good there.
"Ok. so once upon a time....there was this lady named Mary."
"Like Aunt Mary?" she says.
"Yes. Like Aunt Mary. Only it wasn't aunt Mary. It was just Mary. A different Mary."
crunch...crunch...crunch...still with the crispies...
"so God was going to do something amazing. He was going to send his son...Jesus...to live on the earth. And Mary was going to take care of Him while He was here. So God sent an angel to Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby. But Mary didn't have a husband to help her so God sent an angel to Joseph to tell him to get married with Mary so they could take care of His son while he lived on earth."
I hold up the tiny little figures as I talk. Visual illustrations ya know.
She's nodding. And crunching.
"So Mary has the baby in her tummy and she and Joseph have to take a looong trip and Mary gets to ride on a donkey. They get to the town named Bethlehem. (we both think that is a funny name) And they look for a hotel. Well...everyone is in town that night so there is no hotel anywhere. Not anywhere."
The little figures make the trip around and around to imaginary hotels with big mean scowling innkeepers telling them to go away.
"Well, one guy tells them that they can stay out in the barn with the animals."
baby girl looks interested in this.
"So they go out to the barn and Joseph makes a nice soft place in the hay for Mary to go to sleep. And there is the donkey. And there is the camel. And there are some little sheep. "
(that is all that is included in the dollar store nativity set)
"Then it comes time for Mary to have her baby. She is very excited. Her tummy starts squeezing and the baby is coming and Mary is working really hard and it is beautiful. "
(we are really into natural birth around here)
"Well, Joseph makes a little bed for the baby in a little crib called a manger. (I am thinking they were probably into co sleeping but the manger is in the set and the baby Jesus is glued to it so I am not going to quibble about semantics. Not this time anyway.)
I show her the manger.
While she is looking I take the sheep from the barn (we made it out of twigs and hot glue)
and put them over in the field with the tiny little shepherd.
"So then, after the baby is born, these shepherds are out in the field with their sheep. And all of a sudden...(dramatic pause)....this light fills the sky and there is this star that comes over the manger where the baby Jesus is and angels come down from heaven and sing the beautiful songs and tell the shepherds that a king has been born and He is the son of God and they should go see him." (I sing a little Gloria for her just to illustrate)
"Well of course they go right away and they bow down and then later the these other guys come. These guys are kings, or wise men, from far far away. And they see the star and they start coming. But it takes them a long long time. So Jesus is in a house now."
I take the Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus (who is still glued in the manger but that can't be helped) and put them over in another place.
Baby girl kinda clouds up. she stops crunching.
"mommy, who. is. taking. care. of. the. animals.??!"
"Oh that is ok honey...the shepherds take care of them."
"mommy, the baby Jesus needs a puppy."
"ummm...ok, maybe the baby Jesus had a cute little puppy. Oh! and look...Mary has her donkey, see?!"
"mommy, Joseph really likes camels. He needs to have a camel."
"Great! We have a camel right here. Here ya go Joseph."
she starts crunching again.
The sheep can stay in the barn with the shepherds.
So the wise men come with their gold and perfumes. blah...blah...blah...I finish the story.
She is impressed. I can tell. She finishes her cereal and gets down to play.
The end.
Seems kinda anti climactic but it can't be helped.
Baby Jesus got His puppy. All is right in the world.
