First off, this was a history-making event for Jeremiah, who had a part in our last two Christmas plays and then refused to play them the night of the performance.  So we were very proud of him, to say the least.

Jerry chose to be a shepherd this year.  He was so cute!  However, when you put six little boys in a manger with hay, and expect them to sit there posed for about an hour, it's a sure recipe for disaster.  Before long, there were shepherds throwing hay at each other and punching cows and kicking sheep.  Wow!  Needless to say, Jeremiah was removed from the manger before the play was over.  He handled it well and then quite impatiently sat with me at the back of the sanctuary and waited for the rest of the play to be over.  With each new song he would whine, "Not another song!  How many more songs?  Is it almost over?  I'm done, mommy!"  He layed on the floor under the chairs and finally ended the play out in the foyer where he waited for the after-performance refreshments to be served.

Overall, we think he did really well considering all of the factors involved.  And besides, how do we know for sure?  I'm sure the real shepherds scrapped over whose sheep were whose every now and then!  And didn't those ornery, disobedient and wandering sheep need a good swift kick in the rear to get them moving in the right direction from time to time?