Nativity

The first night of any production is always... a drama. Our church's first 'Road to Bethlehem' was no exception. It is an outdoor spectacle where people walk from one scene to the next listening to the retelling of the old story. It goes for another two nights.

The big girl plays the role of a first century merchant in Jerusalem and she stunned me with the confident delivery of her lines and excellent acting. The boy plays one of a few shepherds who lay about in mock sleep by a few sheep until a bright light shines and an angel leaps up from hiding on a nearby rooftop to declare the birth of the King. He was excellent, too! My role was in assisting with pony rides, but the risk assessment people decided at the last that they didn't want the insurance premiums for that. (I think somebody forgot to tell them about that angel on the roof!) Finally, after successive obstacles, I am typing this late at night with a heavily pregnant miniature horse and two sheep in my back yard. 

Tomorrow, I intend to ring a farrier for the horse. Her hooves appear not to have been filed in years and she tried to bite me when I inspected them. I'm hoping I'll find someone who cares more about animal welfare than scheduling appointments since I only have her for a limited time. I'm hoping she doesn't labour overnight- she's so heavy and has travelled so it's not an impossibility. At any rate, all three animals were clearly relieved to wander around a bigger space and have a yard full of grass to eat. To watch that was lovely.

My blip captures the final scene with this (real life) little family. He is their first born, Ethan, who could not have done better at sleeping peacefully and turning his head to the audience as Baby Jesus.