This has been a crazy week or so...on the 1st of December was our stake's annual Creche Festival. This year we had a dozen nativities on loan there (2 were on loan to us from my Grandma Darlene) and Brian was some of the singing entertainment on Saturday evening. Sunday night we had to go back over there to pick up all our nativities. We went over to Terry & Theresa's first and then I left Brian and the boys there and Theresa went over to the stake center with me to collect all the nativities.
Fast forward to the 8th and it's deja vu...except it's at our ward building and Brian and I have way too much involvement with this thing. He got "asked" (I use that term loosely) to pull together a music program that was to include people from the community, which he did and it was great. I got "asked" (used even more loosely than before) to do the posters & flyers and the programs. Brian and I were up until 2:30 Friday morning getting those things to the point of being able to take them to the church Friday morning (well, later that morning) and copying everything. I've learned how to use Excel a little bit and also learned that if they do this again next year I'm not going to be volunteered for doing the programs, etc. They turned out beautifully, but what a headache!! When we went to copy the programs Friday morning, Joshua was at school. Brian didn't have to work until the afternoon. Which was a good thing. I helped, one-handed as I held Nathaniel on my hip, set up some of the nativities. Then I picked up Joshua, came back to the church, programs were just about finished copying, Brian was just about finished practicing and working with the lights and I helped set up our Nativities.
The program went well on Saturday, but it was just such a nightmarish headache for a while. Next year, we're not letting ourselves get volunteered for things...I haven't even finished my Christmas cards, much less got Christmas gifts finished or anything! It's insane!
Joshua sang with the Primary at the creche program on the 8th and did a great job...yay, hopefully we're past the dissolve into sobs and run from the stand stage. I tried to get a picture of him, but with the flash it's too dark and without the flash it's too light and it's blurry (or is it the other way around, I can't remember, just that I didn't get any good pictures, so I didn't even try when Brian was singing).
Here are some pictures of our Nativities. The picture at the top is what we used for the cover of the program...a white porcelain Holy Family that my Grandma Darlene gave me...the back drop is the dress that my mom made me to match the bridesmaid dresses she made for my sisters for my wedding 8 years ago. It made a beautiful backdrop for the white pieces.
My mom made this one for me while I was on my mission.
The foam one in the back left is one that Joshua & I made this year from a kit at Micheals. The front left one is a little Holy Family that Brian found at a thrift store this year. The tiny tri-fold one in the front right is one that Grandma Darlene gave Nathaniel last year from her collection.
Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Lorrayne made this cool block one for Joshua a couple of years ago. Nathaniel likes it...though he can get a bit violent with it!
The large one on the mirrored tray in the center is another one that Brian found at the thrift store near where he works...it's a beautiful set and in great condition and it was only like $5 or $6. The tiny one in front in the center is one that Grandma Darlene gave Joshua last year from her collection and the one on the right is one that she gave me this year.
This is one of Grandma Darlene's that she loaned us for the creche exhibits. My dad made this one for her. The one below is one that I cross-stitched for her a couple of years ago that she let us borrow for this.
We got this snow globe at Costco...the boys love it...so it has to go up high!
This was a multi-generational gift! Brian, after looking at all the nativities at the stake festival the past couple of years, requested a more traditional (than my little Indians) nativity, just painted white. So, Grandma had one in her stuff, Mom (and I, a little bit) painted it in October, Grandma fired it and Mom and Dad brought it down on their way to Arizona at the beginning of November. So Brian got one of his Christmas gifts almost 2 months early!
Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I'll post about decorating the tree and other stuff later!
