We started our "minimal" Christmas decorating this weekend.  I pulled out our nativity scene and began to put it on our mantel and laughed at how sad it looked.  The donkey was missing an ear and one side of his face was all banged up, the cow was missing part of it's front leg, our angel had one wing, was missing an arm and her "good" hand was missing its fingers.  The shepard boy was missing the top of his staff.

We have only had this nativity for five years.  I dropped the angel the first year and caused her deformity but what in the world happened to the rest of our friends?  I think Max and Sophie "happened".  I love letting them play with it and they love hearing the story of Jesus's birth year after year. 

Maybe it is not such a bad thing that it is "banged up" a bit.  I don't think that it should be high up on a shelf  away from chubby little fingers to hold and ask questions.  I would rather have a shabby looking nativity scene with the knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas locked away in my children's hearts than an untouched  nativity with questions lingering in their minds.