A Walk thru Bethlehem

Last night we joined Barbara and Andrew for an immersive experience as we walked thru Bethlehem at a local church just down the road from our house. First we saw the star showing us the way (a spotlight). Then we saw a Roman guard, wise men, and animals. As I was taking the picture of the camel, the camel swatted JHP with his tail. John was not happy about the surprise experience and took some soothing to calm him down. Soon it was time to start our walk, after we paid the tax collector, of course. We saw lots of townsfolk who offered samples of their wares, like cheese, fruit, candy, and bread. This woman showed us how they made flour.

And the boys got to help this man use a manual drill.

I think one of the highlights was when they made rope together, each getting a piece to take home. The last stop, of course, was seeing the Baby Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph. This live child was complete with green Soothie pacifier, but that didn't bother John at all. When I asked if he knew who that was, he whispered, "That's Baby Jesus." And he knew who the Baby's attendants were, too. The reverence in his voice made quite an impact on me.

We circled back afterward to see the animals again, including this cute little 5 month old donkey. It was well worth the trip. We'll be sure to go again next year.

-EBP-

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Click, click!

I got the camera out Sunday to take a photo for the Christmas Card. I was using the remote to fire the shutter. JHP thought that was pretty cool. When I was first getting it set up I let him take a photo of Daddy. I showed him where to look and where the shutter button was. (In case you are wondering, this is not the one on the card!)

So after we were done, he wanted to take more photos. So I set it up and let him take photos of Daddy and me. We only had to wait like 20 seconds before John was satisfied and took the shot. Mind you he had nothing to control except the shutter.

And to round things out, we let him use the remote to take a self-portrait or two. Of all the photos we took, these had some of the best smiles. Figures!

-EBP-

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The Christmas Train

On Saturday night we went down to the Christmas Train at local church. The train takes you around their grounds where they have lots of light displays set up. I'd heard good things about it, so we decided to check it out. It had been a really mild day (mid-seventies), but a front blew in that night and it was blustery and much colder than I wished. We bought our tickets and ended up waiting over an hour to ride the train. There were things to do, but not enough to occupy all our time. Luckily, we ran into several folks I knew and got to chat a while to pass the time. Of course, they had a Santa there, too. And of course, my son wouldn't go near him. Not even if I held him.

And here's our photo from the train. Can you even tell we are in a train? John really liked it and wanted to stay. But it was way past bedtime, so we headed home. Honestly, I probably would've enjoyed it more if we hadn't waited so long and it wasn't so windy out. That wind was brutal!

-EBP-

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