First, lets look closely at this picture. If you can't see for sure, I'll point some things out:1. We are missing the angel--it was dropped last year and broken to a million little pieces. We replaced it with the star thing.
2. The donkeys ear is missing (and the one that is still there is super-glued on).
3. You may notice that the manger is quite small compared to everything else--that is because it is the manger that belongs to the cheap $5 nativity set that I bought for the kids to play with last year. When the real manger was broken to a million pieces, we replaced it with this extra small one.
4. And the best for last--Baby Jesus is also of a much smaller scale (because yes, the real Baby Jesus was broken into a million pieces as well, and replaced by the cheap $5 set's Baby Jesus).....also take note that even this Baby Jesus is missing both arms and is hanging upside down off of Mary's lap.
So you might have guessed that my purchase of the little $5 Nativity Set didn't work. My little kiddos cannot keep their hands off of my beautiful, hand-painted Nativity Set. Perfect example: look at the sheep (the larger one came with my nice set, and the small one from the $5 set). Joseph and one of the Wise Men are holding the sheep so that they can see Baby Jesus better. Another good example: it's hard to tell in the picture, but despite all of the extra room on my front table, every figure is as close to Baby Jesus as is physically possible. He is usually completely surrounded on all sides but I moved a couple of people to take this picture.
I am sad to say that I didn't realize how "cute" this is until today.......it really hasn't seemed cute at all. Honestly, every time I walk by my front table and see the all of the figures re-arranged AGAIN, I think "Aaugh! Why can't my kids play with their little set and leave mine alone????!" Then I re-arrange it the way I like it and I say "You guys PLEASE stop playing with my Nativity set!" Does that sound like the TRUE spirit of Christmas or what?
So today, the girls were at school, Isaac was having an extra long nap, I was getting lots of things done and feeling un-hurried for the first time in a few days! And when I walked by my front table and noticed the scrunched up, re-arranged Nativity Set, I actually paused for a second and just looked....and realized:
1. Being un-hurried allows for some very important realizations.
2. I'm going to miss this someday.
3. Material things don't matter. Nice expensive, hand-painted set = cheap $5 set in a child's eyes. They go together perfectly and the more the merrier!
4. Physical appearance doesn't matter. It's okay if the donkey only has one ear, and even if Baby Jesus is missing both arms, He is still just as special!
5. The closer to Jesus, the better. That is the TRUE meaning of Christmas!
Thank you my sweet little kiddos for teaching me what this season is really about! I just love your little mischievious hands so much and I'll try to remember that every day!
