Why yes, I DO have an elephant in my nativity set

My husband and I bought a Fontanini Nativity Set for our first Christmas.  

I was already pregnant by then and mostly we liked it because the figures were unbreakable.  They were very popular at the time and you could find them in every Hallmark store.  

They are not as available anymore though you see them here and there.  What I grew to like about them was all the unusual characters you could buy.  Including women and girls.  And every character has a story.  And animals.  Every year we would buy one or two figures.  

As you can imagine, 24 years later, I have quite a collection.  I need two tables to set them all up

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One year  we saw this elephant.  

I fell in love with the elephant.  It was $30.00.  This was when I got paid barely the salary of a seminary graduate and my husband took care of our young children.  $30 dollars for a nativity figure was out of the question.  I reluctantly put the elephant I had been longingly stroking back on the shelf.

No doubt you've figured out the end of the story.  That Christmas eve, that was the gift my husband had bought me.

It is surely my favorite.

Friday Five -Fall

It's been several weeks since I've participated in a RevGalPal's Friday Five....but it's all about Fall...and good subject for me and I've been neglecting the blog so this is at least a good reason for me to get back to writing.

1. Share a Fall memory -- this season makes me think of my late husband. Particularly Halloween - he loved Halloween--he would fix up the front porch with
spider webs and always make a scarecrow. We really did Halloween. Every year I made my kids costumes and carved pumpkins He would give out the candy and I would take the kids trick or treating. He would take a piece of paper and mark down how many kids came to keep track. One warm fall night we had over 200 kids.

He stayed home with the kids and I worked. But come fall he would work in the potato harvest. He usually cooked suppers but during that time I'd cook --he'd come home 8 pm and I'd have something warm and good waiting for him. It made me feel all wifey and domestic.

2. Your favorite Fall clothes--(past or present)? I love the fall colors - browns, oranges, rusts. I have a bunch of sweaters and cardigans...so it's nice to get them out.

3. Share a campfire story, song, experience...etc. Hmm...not really connecting campfires with fall since I always camping in the summer. Around these parts we still burn the fall leaves. That was my husband's job and still remember when I decided to take on the task after he was gone. I was terrified I might burn down the neighborhood so I had the hose on and close by. Have since learned leaf burning is pretty manageable as long as the wind is not blowing.

4. What is your favorite thing about this time of year? I am ambivalent about fall. It fills me with a sense of dread since I know the winter is coming. I feel a little melancholy about fall because it reminds me of death. I cannot forget that the reason those leaves are so spectacular is that they are dying.

But there is some relief as well. The garden is done and there is nothing more I need do for it, but cover it with leaves and burn them to replenish it. It will rest during winter and next spring there will be a new chance for another garden. I always plant bulbs to remind myself that no matter how harsh the coming winter will be, there will always be a Spring. Without death, there is no resurrection.

5. What changes are you anticipating in your life, your church, family...whatever...as the season changes and winter approaches? Oh there will probably be some changes. I'm just not ready to talk about it.

Bonus Question - What food says autumn at your house? Chili of course! I used to always serve chili on Halloween. One time I even made it from all orange tomatoes I grew.
Here's my Recipe. (by the way I said in that post I hate beans --have learned to like black beans and red beans and rice - but I still would not put beans in my chili) Also I used to put my garlic in first and then would have to watch like crazy to keep in from burning - I've since learned if you put the garlic in AFTER the onions...it's not as likely to burn

Loren's Birthday

Loren Paul Hanson May 19, 1950-August 1, 1999

Today is my husband Loren's birthday. He would have been 59.

More Thoughts about Joseph

Nobody thinks much about Joseph except at Christmastime. And then he's just kind of there.

We don't know much about Joseph. There aren't really even many apocryphal stories about him. It is assumed that he died sometime before Jesus' public ministry. As I thought about Joseph today I realized that added to his other human sufferings, Jesus also experienced losing a beloved parent as a young man.

I think of Joseph as a man who preferred to be in the background, taking care of his family without a lot of fanfare. It reminded me of my late husband, Loren. He just did what needed to be done. I took him for granted in the way we all take our loved ones for granted. But I really don't think he minded. Some people are like that. They just do what needs to be done, whether or not you appreciate them. They don't do it for thanks or appreciation. They do it because it needs to be done. God needed Joseph to be an earthly father to Jesus and so he was.

Today I thank God for the Josephs and Lorens in this world.