Christmas in the Desert

It has been a tradition for the kids and I to go out to Tuacahn each year to watch the Live Nativity. We get all bundled up in warm clothes, gloves, beanies and blankets in preparation

for the chilly, outdoor show. This can be a spiritual experience as well as quite entertaining. You see each performance is done by a different group of volunteers...such as a ward...so the performers are not experienced actors and have little rehearsal before the night of their big show. They use real untrained animals which apparently they do not feed prior to the curtain going up. The Shepherds' (small young boys ages 4-10) clothes are tattered which must appeal to hungry goats because they tend to feed on them every chance. If they are not feeding they are trying desperately to exit the stage in multiple directions dragging the little Shepherds behind them. The camels...which were replaced this year by llamas must get stage fright...they tend to relieve themselves all over the manger hay that all three Wise Men are required to walk through as the exit their scene...leaving a trail of wet sneaker prints off stage.
The music is beautiful, the story humble and true, the lights are festive but this year the company was the most enjoyable...our small family of four spending time together, feeling the Spirit together and sharing love with one another....OH 'TIS THE SEASON!