Unto Us a Son is Given

I got Ben a Little People nativity set to play with during the Christmas season and so far it's been a whole lot of fun.

First, we are a little confused about the contents of the set. It's seems as though one character can double as both Joseph and a shepherd. He was standing in the stable by baby Jesus, but he's also holding a shepherd's staff. Chuck keeps saying really helpful things, "Where the heck is Joseph? You'd think he wouldn't miss something like this."

Second, Ben really likes to play with this set and one of his favorite things to do is put another character on top of the stable where the angel is supposed to be. So far his favorite choices are one of the wise men and the cow.

This tempts me to say things like, "But the cow said unto them, 'Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"

Third, Gary likes to get into the action further leading us to rewrite the Christmas story. Here's an example. "And this is the way you shall find the babe, he is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and is lying in a manger. And it came to pass a great and terrible beast came upon the land. And the beast destroyed all that was in his path. And all the people were sore afraid. And they called the beast Catzilla.'"

Lastly, this toy allows me to ask this question every single day, "Ben, where is baby Jesus? Benjamin, look at me, show me where you put Baby Jesus." He's usually tucked safely under Ben's blanket (which he now calls Buddy) or sometimes he's less fortunate and laying face down under the couch or Christmas tree.

In any case, this toy has been a whole lot of fun for our imaginations over the last few days. And we wish you a joyfilled holiday season too.