Creche, Lunch, & Creche

Today we got up and lounged around the house for a little bit and then I got cleaned up and took Autumn over to Mom & Dad’s.  Mom watched Autumn for me while I went and helped out at the creche.  Each year our stake puts on a huge nativity display and they asked me to help be an ambassador from 11:30 – 1:00.  Being an ambassador means you just stand in a section of the creche and make sure no one touches the nativities that are on display.  They also have a game for the kids where they have to find certain unique nativities, like a nativity that’s all moose's.  We had a cheat sheet so we could tell the kids where they could find the nativities on their list of 17 items.

I had a really sweet experience while on my shift.  First of all, they had various musical performances like kids in the different primaries would sing, someone would play the flute, someone else would play the piano, etc.  I could really feel the Spirit and got teary-eyed a couple times just thinking of how much the Savior has personally done for me and how thankful I am that I get to celebrate His birth and His life.

They also had a “live” nativity of Joseph & Mary & Baby Jesus.  They didn’t talk, they just quietly sat there in the background.  But, I was looking at the young girl that was playing the part of Mary.  I got teary eyed thinking about what type of emotions she must have felt to know that she was going to be pregnant but be unmarried and how hard that would be to tell Joseph.  But at the same time, how joyful that would be to know that you would get the chance to be the Mother to the Savior of the World!  Then it made me think of how incredible Joseph must have been to believe Mary when she told him she was pregnant but had never been with a man.  Thank goodness the angel came and confirmed what Mary had told him.  I just looked at Mary & Joseph as real people in a real situation and it gave me a whole new appreciation for them and the part they play in the Christmas story.

Anyways, as I was standing in my area, these 2 little old ladies were walking around and they were really taking their time and looking carefully at each nativity.  When they were about to leave my section, they came over to me and asked if I was Lisa Johnson.  I was a little surprised b/c I didn’t have a nametag w/ my name on it.  They said they had gotten our annual family Christmas letter and recognized me from my picture.  They said Mom used to quilt for them all the time and they just love her and Dad.  They went on and on about how wonderful my parents are and that they always felt loved and at home in our house.  It was really sweet, so after I finished talking to them I ran out to my car and got my cell phone and told Mom to hurry and come over to see them (they aren’t LDS and live about 30 minutes away).  Mom said she couldn’t come right then b/c of Autumn & she didn’t know where Dad was so he wouldn’t be able to come over either.

I was surprised how fast the 1 1/2 hours went by and before I knew it, my shift was done.  Right when I was about to leave, Mom & Dad & Autumn came in and wanted to know if the 2 ladies had left yet.  I told them they had left about 20 minutes ago and Mom was so sad she had missed them.  She had tried calling me back to let me know they were on their way, but my phone was on silent and hidden under a table while I worked my shift.  She said she’ll call them tonight when she gets home.

Since I was done w/ my shift, I walked around with Autumn for a little bit and then she wanted to go sit and listen to the live music they had going.  A Mom & daughter were playing the flute and then when they were done a girl got up to sing.  Autumn walked over to a little girl sitting in one of the chairs and gave her a big hug.  I was surprised and wondered why she did that until Autumn told me it was a girl in her class at daycare.  I guess her sister was the one that was up singing, and her family had come to see her.  Dad later told me that the girl singing is a member, but her family isn’t, and that Dad used to be her teacher in seminary.  What a small world that Dad taught her & that Autumn & her sister are in the same class!

After the singing, we were all hungry and so we went to Souper Salad for lunch.  The place was packed b/c a few girls’ sports teams were there eating after their games.  I thought it was so cute that Autumn snuggled up to Mom & had her arm interlocked w/ Mom’s while she ate.  She can be such a snuggle bug sometimes, and I love it when she is.  She LOVES her some mandarin oranges and ate a ton of them.

After eating, she wanted to get her picture taken by this big carrot, but the sun was too bright so she didn’t want to look at me.  We ran to the Dollar Store so I could get some gifts for my class party next Saturday and then we went to Mom & Dad’s to relax.  Autumn was getting cranky b/c it was her naptime, so I put on a movie for her in Mom & Dad’s room.

We just hung out and watched TV and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Mom had rented it from Red Box) until 6:45, when we took Autumn over to Curt & Mary’s house so they could watch her while I went and helped Mom at the creche.  We had to stop at WalMart on the way to return the DVD.  I ran inside to return it and there was a big, buff, good looking black guy outside ringing the bell for the Salvation Army thing.  As I rushed past him, he smiled and said, “You are beautiful.  You should be a model.”  I just said, “You’re sweet.  Thank you.”  Then as I was walking out he said, “You have a good night and if they don’t take good care of you, you just let me know and I’ll take care of you.”  It totally made my night and if I hadn’t been in such a rush, I probably would have stopped and talked to him.  It’s amazing what a few kind words can do for one’s ego/self esteem.

Mom has over 100 nativities there and has her very own section.  Nick, Dad, Mom, Sis. Jones, Sis. Fleming & I all packed up her nativities and were done in an hour.  It’s amazing how fast we’ve gotten at it, especially when I think back on the years when Mom didn’t have her own section and we had to go find her 100 nativities amongst all the others that were brought.  It used to be a nightmare but now it’s not bad at all.

We stopped & got Autumn on the way home and she was having a blast w/ Jessie.  Jessie had put in a Barbie movie for her & popped some popcorn so Autumn didn’t want to come home until Mary said we could borrow the Barbie movie.  I put that on for her in Mom & Dad’s room while we carried in all the boxes and got an assembly line going.  Mom would carry them from the kitchen to the stairs, I would take them up the stairs, Nick would take them from the stairs to the sewing room, and Dad would put them away in the attic.  We were completely done from start to finish in 2 1/2 hours, which is awesome.

It was a great day and I’m so glad I got to help out at the creche.  There is SO MUCH WORK that goes into it, especially since it’s only up for 2 days, but it’s definitely worth it and really helped remind me of the Spirit of Christmas.  It made me so thankful for my testimony of the Savior and how incredible His birth, life, and Atonement are and how blessed I am.