Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today was the Christmas pageant!
First the practice...

 Aren't our angel's wings lovely? She would have liked the pig to help her announce the news to Mary, but, what with Mary being Jewish, and considering the scarcity of pigs in the Annunciation story, we decided the pig might be an awkward fit.

 Joseph, test-driving a snazzy hat (one that a wise man wears, in years when we have a wise man). The hat did not make it past the rehearsal.

 The pig!

 Joseph helps the shepherd with her necktie, but not very well, since Joseph doesn't actually know how to tie a necktie. Joseph's father should teach him, some day. The tie was another element which did not make it into the pageant.

And here is the actual pageant. It went just fine! The angel did not sit down, Mary and Joseph didn't call it quits right in front of the manger, and the shepherd kept her sheep well under control. It went just the way it was supposed to go. And the choir sounded very nice.

The sheep, working into her role.

 Travis, in more appropriate head attire.

Here, the angel reads her lines off the notes taped to her sleeves.

 If you look at the base of the cradle you will see that the pig did make it into the pageant after all, though not in a speaking role.

 The shepherd and her little flock travel to Bethlehem.

 Lovely!

Afterwards there was a lovely lunch (the entertainment chairwoman was not going to have funds left over!), and then home for a peaceful afternoon of happy puttering.