The true meaning of Christmas

I love Christmas! I love the peace that I feel when I sit in my quiet living room at night in the dark except for the lights on the tree. I love the nativities spread through the house, even the little plastic one the kids play with. And I love the opportunity to spend some extra time thinking about, learning about, and talking about the Savior. With small children, we struggle every year to put more of an emphasis on the birth of the baby Jesus than the world puts on Santa and presents. As many of you may agree, it is an ongoing battle!! When I was a teenager, my family started a tradition in our ward of having a devotional on Christmas Eve to help us focus on the Savior, a tradition that my parents have continued through several wards and many years. This year, none of our wards opted to have a devotional because it was a Monday night, so we had one as a family. We went to the church in our Sunday best, sang hymns, reenacted the scriputre story of the birth of Jesus, and heard a message given by our beloved patriarch Papa. Even though it was a little (or maybe a lot) crazy with so many little ones, it was beautiful. I hope this is what my kids remember the most about Christmas. I know I will.

Two wise men, Joseph, a shepherd/narrator, Mary, and an angel

The littlest angel giving "loves" to the baby in the manger