An Outdated Updated Post about our Minnesota Christmas

We traversed through the cold and desolate tundra over the holidays to unite with my family for Christmas. It was the first time in the history of my family that all of my parents' nine children were together for Christmas. My youngest brother, Ammon, was born when I was a sophomore at BYU. My older sister was already on a mission and my brother right below me started his mission only a month after Ammon was born. Ever since then we have stayed separated due to missions and marriages which then created visiting obligations to the in-laws. So, it was a momentous time for our family. We laughed a lot and played a lot and even though my parents mourned the absence of potential spouses for my single siblings I felt grateful for their singleness. They all spent grand amounts of time entertaining my children and helping to meet their needs. It made our visit much less stressful, much more restful, and really just plain fun!

The drive to MN and back again was a little rough,but as Lehi states in 2 Nephi 2:11: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so,...righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad." I don't think my joy would have been as great upon reaching my parents' home had we not encountered a little misery along the way!

This is pretty much what the road conditions were like for 18 hrs. on our drive to MN! P.S. The drive isn't supposed to take 18 hrs.! White knuckled driving is a bit exhausting after a while. On a positive note Shyler and I discovered the best way to keep him awake late at night is to get angry with him for not pulling over. The man gets fire in his eyes on the last leg of our trips. He's in the zone and there is no way we're stopping until we've reached our destination.

Minnesota was so covered in snow and so terribly cold I couldn't remember how to breathe or move every time I stepped outside. -20 below sort of feels like ice daggers being catapulted at one's face from point blank range. I also must mention my sweet and adorable husband is a little out of practice with driving in true snow. He sort of missed the turn to the church building the morning after we arrived and ran us up into a snow bank instead. Whoops. It's a good thing I had already applied my mascara and had not yet located my lipstick!

Our drive home consisted of 12 hours through torrential rain, heavy fog, and high chilled winds. Yummy.


My favorite part of Christmas is reenacting the Nativity. My sister Brandice (whom we lovingly call "Nan") orchestrates the entire production. She is a slave driving director/producer, but the entire show goes off without a hitch thanks to her demands for performance perfection. With 6 kids and 14 adults on Christmas Eve I suspected there would be parts to spare, but with Nan's script many actors were required to double up on characters.

The wisemen were really wisewomen this year and also Nephite hecklers who threw Nerf balls at Samuel as he prophesied on the city wall. When Nan is in charge the production is no small thing. We don't simply tell the story from Bethlehem. We also perform scenes from the accounts in the Book of Mormon found in the books of Helaman and 3 Nephi. If you want it done right you have to tell the story from two continents! I found it quite coincidental that Nephi and the Inn Keeper both donned a very frilly pink robe. Must have been high Jewish fashion back in the day. I'm proud to provide a baby for the manger although there was a wardrobe malfunction this year and baby Jesus was swaddled in blue and brown stripes.

My brother Damian always makes a fine Samuel the Lamanite. I think it was his head dress which threw his balance off atop the city wall this year and not so much the Nerf balls being tossed at him.
Uncle Jordan seemed satisfied with his part in the play. He was the donkey who carried Mary on his back last year also. This year we didn't make him don an itchy horse blanket though or a reindeer bell for that matter. Cousin Li-Li (Liam) landed the part of the lone sheep. Dashle took part in the writer's strike even though he never really gave any creative input. He was demoted to set crew since he thought he should bark like a doggy instead of baa like a lamb.
Erin and Zach were the wife/husband narrating troupe. They also claim stewardship over this year's little lamb. If you're in a Nan production you can expect highly detailed plots and schemes.

Even when disaster strikes the show must go on. The set crew guy forgot to stay out of sight during the production and felt moved to kneel down next to the wisewomen at the manger. The manger walls came crashing down once Mary and Joseph stepped inside. Mother Mary had a hard time reading the words to the song she was supposed to be singing with Joseph due to the hair in her eyes. Baby Jesus was shaking with anxiety from mama's milk withdrawal, and the shepherd's sheep was spotted using his binky for a quick fix during the performance. We obviously had some performers with addiction problems.Also, during the Nephites' attack on Samuel the Lamanite a cry could be heard from the crowd, "Stop throwing the big balls! You're going to knock over my nutcrackers!" Ahem. Mother.


For a more detailed look at my massive family and our Christmas together click on the picture icon found on the sidebar.