His and Hers

Sunday. Was. Manic!

In the morning we had the nativity service, which the young people of the church not only acted out, but for the first time that we are aware of, they also wrote it.

Anyone is welcome to join in with the nativity on the day, and at 9:30am in the morning the KHT decided that she, too, would be a 'wise person'. She went on ahead while I ferreted in the garage for props. I found some gold fabric and a hobby camel, but no crown. That was stored in a box too high for me to reach. When I arrived at the church, the camel was greeted with great enthusiasm, however, the gold cloth was not required, as the cover from the sound desk had been requisitioned...

The casting was a bit uneven, with the younger girls mainly choosing to be angels, and the older one's opting to be wise persons. Only one chose to be a shepherd. Fortunately, some of the leaders had no qualms about sheep-minding, and a couple of members of the congregation were recruited to swell the flock.

Mary & Joe were played by siblings - who very effectively acted out the confusion and division felt, as the implications of news Gabriel gave to Mary, sank in. Simple actions conveyed the equivalent of several pages of dialogue, as with just the turning of the back and the lifting of a chin, Joe made his feelings VERY clear, followed by a swift and wholehearted reconciliation once Gabriel visited Joe and verified Mary's outrageous story, ensuring that they were both singing from the same hymn sheet.

After the service, I replenished the candles for the evening service and added more. It was going to be the sort of service where, the more candlepower, the merrier!
DH printed the service sheets, and I found some willing volunteers to read reflections.
Meanwhile, DH was searching for the cover for the sound desk, which was no-where to be found.
"I suggest you chase after L, as she has just left with a large bag of props. It has probably been picked up by mistake..."
Sure enough, the sound desk cover had been tidied away, along with costumes for shepherds and kings.

After a quick lunch, we headed off to Morrisons to collect the turkey. DH collected it from the front of the store, whilst I picked up some odds and ends. Each of us circumnavigating the supermarket several times whilst searching for each other.
"How am I supposed to find you, if you have taken the turkey out to the carpark?"
"I was only gone a few seconds, not long enough for you to notice.."
"Wanna bet?"

Next on the agenda was a quick trip over to the nearest Waitrose to collect our joint wedding anniversary/Christmas/Birthday presents to each other. Christmas is usually a time when I take the opportunity to supply my husband with brightly coloured socks (think Muppets or superheroes) cuddly jumpers, new shirts, things I think he will find useful - such as touchscreen gloves, fudge and assorted treats and any entertaining tat I find. Given his dietary uncertainty - which is looking more and more like lactose intolerance given his reactions, I found myself in the unusual position of making a confession I never thought I would make.
"It is Christmas in a few days, dear, and I haven't actually bought anything for you."
Given the stash of presents he normally gets to unwrap, he was torn between being disappointed at the lack of potential present unwrapping, and relief at the reduction in expenditure.
When he reflected, he couldn't think of anything he needed.
"I have been thinking, instead of buying each other presents, why don't we have an apple watch each instead." 
He was somewhat surprised at the suggestion, and at the earliest opportunity took himself off to do some online research. Any relief he felt at a potential reduction in seasonal expenditure rapidly evaporated. However, DH is a sucker for gadgetry and will have hours of fun learning how to use the new technology!

Having acquired our goodies we returned home, taking the opportunity to staple the service booklets, before departing to set up for the evening service.

After dinner, we finally got to play with our new toys. Woohoo!
I nearly leapt out of my skin in surprise the first time my mobile rang and my watch vibrated!

We will now be able to track each other around the supermarket, via walkie-talkie mode, regardless of the signal!



The good news is, as our wedding anniversary is just before Christmas, we could have our presents early! Happy anniversary?Christmas/Birthday, dear. We won't be repeating this in a hurry!