The Living Nativity!

Going to the Living Nativity at Discovery Baptist Church in Gig Harbor has become a must do Christmas tradition for our family. The production only runs the first Saturday and Sunday night in December. In years past the kids have just not had the ability to focus on everything and really embrace the whole experience, but this year was completely different. It was amazing to get to really enjoy each and every aspect of walking through the streets of Bethlehem. 

On this particular week Michael was on-call so he wasn't going to be able to make it with us. However Michael ended up getting a bad cold and was off work for 3 days and they had someone else take his call. So realistically he could have come with us, BUT....the night before we went Michael got a call about a main break at 5pm and he didn't slip into bed until 4:33AM the next morning. Needless to say he was pooped! The kids and I ended up meeting Ga-Ga & Pa at a shopping area in Tacoma and then we all rode together. Parking can be a bear since it's such a popular destination.  

Fresh out of the car and ready to go! 

So nice to have 2 extra hands to help coral kids in the dark! 

We had originally planned on going on Saturday night, but our friends the Kuch's already had plans. We decided to wait until Sunday night so we could go with them. It's always fun to go with friends! 

Handsome Zeke Man! 

Jack with his bear paw gloves! 

Addison all bundled up! 

Anna excited to show off her newly lost tooth! 

Precious Ella Grace...she barely ever zips up her coat! 

I'm not sure if Owen is giving two thumbs up or two thumbs sideways! 

Caleb is ready to go! 

The church really does a top notch job of making everything look amazing! I can only imagine the hours of preparation that go into these two days! 

When we got up to the gate shortly after 5pm we were greeted by the Roman Centurions who asked us how many people were in our party and then they wrote the number down for the census!  

I tried really hard not to take many pictures because I didn't want to detract from the authenticity of the experience. 

That and when I took a picture of this lady holding a chicken it freaked the chicken out! I did copy some of the pictures Christina took and put on FB though! :) 

No room in the inn! 

The street is lined with tents that are for the different merchants. We got to see the bakery and eat nice warm raisin bagels. We also got to feel all the different grains they would have fed the animals. 

There were teachers that were reading from the Scriptures. They had scrolls for all the kids that had the prophesies proclaiming Jesus' coming....one side was in English and the other side was in Aramaic. 

We also got to enjoy, dried fruit, hummus, lentils and spiced almonds. 

The tax collector was interrogating people and telling them how much they would need to pay and if they didn't pay the amount of shekels he said they needed to a Roman Centurion would take them off to jail. 

Jack and Ella both got wooden crosses from the carpenter's workshop. All the kids got to pet goats, sheep, chickens, horses and bunnies. We also got to witness a Centurion telling Herod that the Magi had not returned to tell him the location of Jesus. Herod was of course angry and sent the Centurion off to find the Magi. 

After that we were ushered into a tent where the 3 Magi were proclaiming the good news about the baby. When they were finished a shepherd boy opened up the tent and proclaimed he had seen the star. We all piled out of the tent and were starting to make our way to the star when we were freaked out by a bright light...it was the angels giving glory to God. Then a shepherd boy came running saying he had seen the baby and we got to walk up to the stable and see the baby Jesus. 

It really was so magnificent! Everyone was in character and you could ask them questions and they would answer the way you'd think they would for the time period. The costumes were fantastic and all the different age groups that participated was truly amazing! 

After we saw the baby we made our way back up to where we parked. Discovery Baptist Church is right next to a Covenant Church and they partner together. Everyone parks at the Covenant Church, but the production is at the Baptist Church. Then the Covenant Church opens up for everyone to come in, get warm and have some hot cocoa. 

Of course hot cocoa was a huge hit with these cold kids! 

Christina really bundled her kids up and we learned from this outing to have the kids wear more. In fact later in the month we went to Zoolights and we were really bundled up and we were so happy we were! 

It was a fun outing with family and friends!

 It was also a great way to kick off the Christmas season....focusing on the true meaning of Christmas!