First, I’ve just gotta put a plug in here for Noel Piper’s perfectly inspiring book, Treasuring God in our Traditions.

After all, it was there that I was inspired to set up a “Nativity Corner” with dress-ups to act out the nativity.

Little did I know that this would be a HIT with Vivienne (you may ask, “come on now, how could you not have known?!”).

We’ve been playing “The Christmas Story” every day for over a week.

Of course, Baby Jesus often gets sick and needs all kinds of repairs – eye goggles, an oxygen mask, a highly-monitored pulse, and a great deal of medicine. The first time He fell ill, “Joseph” piously suggested, “Well, Mary, I suppose the very first thing we ought to do is to pray and ask God to heal Him.”

“Mary” confidently replied, “He IS God!!”

So, “Joseph” has been leaving it up to “Mary” to figure out ways to soothe “Baby Jesus'” while He embodies our frail physical system…

I must say, this experience has been so so precious. Many times, I find Vivienne cradling Baby Jesus and caring so diligently for His needs. I pray that she’ll do that often as she serves those He loves. And Lia is always the Angel of the Lord – drool and all – which is very suiting for her since she is named in honor of such: Lia means “Herald of Good News!”

Here’s your own behind the scenes look at some of the characters:

Oh, and, despite our adorable wooden cradle that really does make a fantastic manger, the Baby Jesus spends most of His time in this:

This year, I’ve also set up our beloved Fisher Price nativity set on the three crazy shelves under our kitchen counter. Lia can finally touch the things on these shelves – and she’s in heaven (or gnawing on a bit of it, anyway). From now on, I’ll just have to decorate those shelves with chewable plastic. I like that the characters are so accessible and are already a center of her life.

Teachable Tuesday is designed to share teaching ideas that specifically connect a child’s heart with God’s. What are you teaching this week?