Nativities

We love nativities. We are up to about 60 in various forms. This Jim Shore nativity was a gift to Marie on the December birth of Will six years ago.
The afghan depicts the three wise men who "came bearing gifts" if was a gift years ago from my sister Mary. We have a small pillow nativity plus two camel pillows--one from Jerusalem and one in red from Dubai. The newly hung "paintings" represent our sacred place wall. On the left is a 1930s photo of the temple mount and the old city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives--with its shepherd and olive tree. In the center is a wooden mosaic of the Logan temple. While serving in Indonesia in 1976 I commissioned a man to make it using two photos I had of the temple. It cost me $25. On the right is an Egyptian papyrus showing the final judgment and entering into the presence of the god/king.
The painting of the Wellsville Mountains and Cache Valley was commissioned by my dad. The six children all got a reprint for Christmas a few years ago. The wooden German nativity is from Rothenburg when I went to visit Bill and family. Irish nativity in green--a gift to Marie who was born in Ireland. And a nice illustration of Mary and child from a children's Christmas book--a gift to Marie on Sarah's first Christmas. The red tapestry is from Bethlehem last year.
We bought shelves this year to hold more nativities. This shelf includes gifts from neighbors, a Venezuelan nativity (front right) from Marie's sister Jan and the center nativity made from clay pots by Sarah under Marie's direction at an activity day two years ago.
This porcelain nativity was a gift from my parents years ago. The angels were Marie's first angels. She now has many more.
Three different olive wood nativities form the holy land. I bought the front one on my first trip to Bethlehem in 1979.
On the top shelf is a hand-painted-in China nativity ornament (from Pier One) and a Greek Orthodox icon of the Nativity from Athens.
A bamboo Indonesian nativity from Marie's sister Jan--who lived with her family in Jakarta for 13 years.
Marie's first nativity is in the center.
Marie and I bought this olive wood nativity on our first trip to the Holy Land in 1997.
Marie stitched this ornament for me as a Christmas gift about three years before we got married. We have many other nativity type ornaments on the tree--shepherds, sheep, camels, wisemen, small olive wood nativities, angels, stars.
An Egyptian nativity in Coptic Christian style from Marie's parents who while serving as mission president in Greece were also tasked with over seeing church units in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
An Amish wood cut nativity bought in Arthur Illinois and a Christmas gift from my brother Jake. The flight into Egypt is on papyrus and was a gift to me from our Egyptian guide Ahmed last year in Cairo.
Arnold Frieburg's three wise men.
A wood burned nativity from the Munoz family.
A Carl Bloch painting
Jerusalem tile and Jerusalem mosaic.
Sarah's art work age four.
More of Sarah's art work--age five. One of my favorites. One of my Mom's favorite nativities is a clay nativity I molded and painted for her in fourth grade (is it still legal to make hand made nativities in elementary school?).
Shepherd and sheep from Jerusalem
Armenian tile from Jerusalem
Marie's hand stitched Christmas stocking
Tiny match box nativity hand made by Sister Spencer and given by her to Marie last year at a Relief Society gathering in Tiberius.
Chilean nativity given to us by the Munoz family--friends from the Spring Creek 18th ward. The camel pitcher behind is from Bethlehem.
Marie's Christmas present last year. A hand made Armenian pomegranate Nativity from a nice shop just inside Zion's gate in Jerusalem's Armenian quarter.
On the left a Puerto Rican tile--a gift to Marie from a student years ago. We bought the blue glass nativity on our honeymoon in Victoria British Columbia. Marie made the white tile nativity at a Relief Society event.
A Mexican nativity from my 1993 trip to Mexico
On the left is Marie's Christmas gift this year--a Delft Nativity that Sarah and I bought for her in Amsterdam this summer. Marie bought the Russian nesting Nativity in Bethlehem last summer. I bought the Polish nativity on the right in Krakow back in about 1995,
An angel choir made of bamboo in Indonesia.
Marie's angel wall. Each year I try to give her an angel or a nativity.


Our fresh cut Christmas tree. It is decorated with dozens of white snowflakes hand tatted by my grandmother Veara Fife. During her 90's she made hundred of these snowflakes--each is unique.