Real Life or The Legend of Ricky Bobby?

Breakfast conversations are usually pretty interesting around this house. This morning was no exception.

Me: Jilly, do you remember what we celebrate at Christmas?
Jilly: Baby Jesus' birthday.
Me: Exactly. Do you know what we celebrate at Easter?
Jilly: Nope.
Me: Well, Easter is a time for us to remember that when Jesus grew up and was big like daddy, he made a promise and he kept that promise.
Jilly: Oh. Well, Jesus lives in my heart.
Me: I know and that's very special, isn't it?
Jilly: Yes. But it's not big Jesus. Baby Jesus lives in my heart.
Me: Really? Well, that's fine. I'm sure that Jesus doesn't mind that he gets to stay little in your heart.
Jilly: Yes. He will grow up when I grow up. I like baby Jesus best right now.

Her desire to keep Jesus a baby reminds me of the scene from The Legend of Ricky Bobby where the fictional race car driver explains that he prefers to pray to the Christmas Jesus.

I have wondered for a while how to teach the Easter story to Jilly. The birth of a baby is an easy one, but I'm not certain that an almost three-year-old can understand death and resurrection. That is why I am focusing on the promise of new life that Christ gave us. Jilly's favorite book right now is Horton Hatches an Egg and Horton's mantra, "I meant what I said and said what I meant; an Elephant is faithful 100 percent," is one way to teach the message that God is always faithful as well.

The Untold Christmas Story

Grandma sent Jilly a Fisher Price Little People Nativity Set as an early Christmas gift. She has played with it nonstop since it arrived on Thursday. For one, it gives her another outlet for her already massive imagination, and second, it allows her to play out the birth of Christ as she sees it.

So, here are a few things that I never knew about the First Christmas:

• The three wise men brought Baby Jesus toys and diapers because, as Jilly puts it: "babies need a lot of diapers."
• Mama Mary likes to sing Baby Jesus to sleep with "Rocky Top"
• Snoopy followed the angel to the manger along with the shepherds
• the camel is the daddy to the donkey
• everyone ate spaghetti and had cake for Baby Jesus' birthday