Live Nativity

It has been a few years since our family attended the Live Nativity in Alpine.  We decided to try it again.  This year, they required tickets so we were hoping that would cut down on the crowds.  It didn't much, but we still had a good time.
We stood in line at the church for about 45 minutes before we were loaded onto horse trailers, which took us up to the nativity.  Luckily, the weather was very balmy for December and we weren't too cold.

Guard was so excited about seeing the animals, especially the camels.  We first had to get past the Roman soldiers!

Once we promised to pay our taxes, we were able to walk through the town of Bethlehem.  We saw donkeys, sheep, cows, chickens, geese, goats, horses and camels!  Guard loved all of it.

We also met potters, wood cutters, bakers, farmers, weavers, shepherds, wise men and singing angels.  When we first walked into the barn where 'Bethlehem' was, I thought, "Ugh, it's so crowded in here and it smells and it's noisy.  Let's just get through as fast as we can."  The thought quietly came to me, "What do you think Bethlehem was really like when Mary and Joseph came through?  Perhaps, in a very small way, you are experiencing what they did."  That one thought from the Spirit changed the entire night for me.  It made me appreciate the nativity story in a completely different way than I had before.

Finally, after a lot of waiting, wandering, losing and finding Enoch in Bethlehem, we saw Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  I was amazed at how reverent and quiet the kids were once we walked into the room where they were.  They were so excited and worked up over all the activities in the town, I wasn't sure they would calm down, but they did.  It was wonderful!  Guard didn't want to leave baby Jesus and we finally had to pull him away so the line could keep moving.
We ended the night with hot chocolate.

What a great way to start our Christmas season!  We all enjoyed it so much and really felt the Spirit.  And when we go back next year, I won't complain about how crowded it is!