Tonight, We Were Shepherds

This morning I dropped the kids off at my sister's house to go to the temple. While there, one of my thoughts was thinking about the women I was doing work for -- and thinking about how it is neat that women represent women. I got to do work for family members that have already left the earth. A chain, linking us together, making possible priceless blessings for those not here to do it -- should they decide they want those blessings for themselves.

We came home and I made lunch for two of the kids, while the other one threw a huge fit outside in the driveway and took teeny-tiny steps toward the steps up onto the deck toward the back door. I was pretty frustrated. Didn't get why he was crying in the first place. I ended up putting him in his room without lunch because of how big a fit he was throwing.

I put Mia down to sleep and then came upstairs, cleaned up and then went to my room, climbing into my bed. I finished my book and heard my baby wake up just as I got to the end of it.

Later, I was in the kitchen making broccoli potato cheese soup and listening to Handel's Messiah in the background. I turned on the Christmas lights for the front of the house, turned on our front porch light to highlight the wreath hanging on our door. I walked outside with Mia on my hip to the garage to turn on the colored lights Scott and my dad hung on the outline of our garage. I came in and asked Isaiah to turn on the lights that go across our fireplace mantle. Benji turned up The Messiah and said, "Isaiah, trumpets!" I turned it back down twice so I could hear my sister's voice on the other end of my cell phone.

After dinner Scott had prepared our family home evening lesson. He talked to the boys about the signs given at the Savior's birth so that others would know He was born. (We really just talked about the star in the sky.) Upstairs, Scott had us don bathrobes and towels to be shepherds. He put a couple of his headlamps downstairs in our house, and we went looking for the star -- symbolically reenacting that journey of old. When we came to the last star in the house, we watched a couple minute clip on the Savior's birth, with the wise men seeing the star and the shepherds coming to see Jesus. Then Scott talked about how the Savior still gives us stars today to help us find Him -- we have prophets to be our stars, to light the way, to help us as we seek Jesus today. I know this. I do. I do. I do.

We sang Once in Royal David's City -- the quintessential Christmas carol for me. We prayed and ate M&Ms.

It made me grateful for family.

Grateful for Scott's preparation.

Grateful for experiences to share this most important of stories with my children.