So, this Christmas has been just as busy as any other, even though I no longer have to worry about school. Saturday, Chris and I went to the Oakland Temple at the perfect time to enjoy the Christmas lights. It was definitely different from Temple Square, but the effect was the same. We also had the chance to see an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon (so cool). The Oakland Mission President bought it at an auction some time ago and decided to put it on display at the visitor's center. There were a lot of sister missionaries around, so I thought I'd ask them if they perhaps knew my cousin James. They did! When I asked them, their eyes got big and both of them exclaimed how funny and great he is. So cool. Wednesday, I volunteered for the Christmas Crèche exhibit at the LDS Stake Center in Palo Alto. It was so neat to be able to get in the spirit of Christmas. I volunteered for 2+ hours in the children's room, which was the perfect place for me. I got to sit, color, clean up after little kids and just have fun. I didn't wander around much, but I did make a point to see Brian Kershisnik's Nativity. Stunning. When I took a class from him a while back (almost 2 years ago) he had started working on it. His goal was to have 100 attending angels in the scene, and I think he reached it. The 8'x17' piece is just commanding of your attention. I love how he portrayed Mary and Joseph. Joseph seems to perfectly embody the exhaustion and magnitude of the event while Mary seems so calm and relieved to have the baby out and in her loving arms. I love how humble it is, yet so powerful. This, in my opinion, is how the nativity would have been. Brian Kershisnik, Nativity