Nativity Play

Last night Phillip and I attended a live Nativity scene that one of the wards here in Vegas performs every year. It was such a neat experience! They performed it outside on the church's parking lot and had cast of probably 50 people or so. They had live animals too! Sheep, chicken, a dog, big horses and miniature ones, donkeys, and goats. It was so fun! They set up 3 sets of bleachers and have two performances a night for 4 nights. It was absolutely amazing. I had obviously been thinking about the story of Christ with it getting close to Christmas and everything, but this time I felt a special connection to it. I am guessing because I felt like I could relate every so slightly with Mary. Just with being due right around Christmas, the story seemed to hit home a little more. Of course I don't have to ride a donkey or deliver in a stable, but just hearing the Christmas carols and being reminded what Christmas really left me with such a wonderful feeling. After the play, they made an announcement that you could bring your children up to visit the baby Jesus and to pet the animals. We of course don't quite have any children yet, but I really wanted to go see the baby. It was a real baby that they were using too! And Mary up close was absolutely beautiful. It was almost surreal going up to visit them. I hope that we can all take time with the hustle and bustle of the holiday to really remember why it is that we celebrate during this season.