All in at the Baby Jesus Fort
Dec 17, 2025My cherubic sons are now big and hairy and out in the world: I love them to distraction, and I’m insanely proud of them. Here at Advent, I’m thinking of them as I wonder where in the world I put the Christmas decorations after my recent move.
Where is the creche? I remember shopping for it after the birth of the Firstborn: that Advent, he was 6 months old, and a clear rival to the human glories of Baby Jesus in all ways but gentleness: it was obvious by then that our household needed a creche made of rock, wood, steel, or …
Okay, plastic will do.
We ended up with a set of realistically painted plastic nativity characters: Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, plus shepherds, wise men bearing gifts, angels, a star, and plentiful livestock. Weirdly, the manger came glued to Baby Jesus. After recently giving birth, I couldn’t bear the sight of that, so we pried off the baby and ignored the blotches of hardened glue stuck to his backside.
Thus began my sons’ ongoing relationship with the creche, and with the Nativity story.
Just as Mary and Joseph were seeking shelter in the story, so were these little figures. They camped on a tabletop for a year or two until we were informed the Holy Family required a proper stable, so we built them a rugged pole barn out of sticks and wire.
As the years passed...
Continue reading Laura Huff Hileman's reflection here: All In at the Baby Jesus Fort
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