An Unforgettable Journey

At the start of the Christmas season this year I asked Dylan if he knew the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  He answered, “The toys.”  Agh!  I want the focus of Christmas at our home to be Christ’s birth, as it should be.  Last weekend, my heart was deeply grateful to the people at a nearby church who stood out in freezing temperatures to walk my children through a Journey to Bethlehem.  We went last year, and it is simply AMAZING!  We were given Biblical names and traveled with our big family (a group of other people attending).  They walk you outside through a wooded area, and you pretend as if you are on that very Journey to Bethlehem that Mary and Joseph took.  You meet the Roman soldiers who appear so fierce that I had to remind Dylan that they are really nice and just pretending to be mean.  We had to show our papers to one of the Roman soldiers at one point.  Dylan scrambled to get his paper ready to reveal as the soldiers barked their orders.  We traveled to the marketplace where the kids were given bread and cheese to sample.  There were chickens, sheep, camels and goats along the way.  We met with the shepherds and the wisemen.  As we made it to the place to be counted and taxed, the Roman soldiers became excited as they saw our children.  They shouted, “Oh, look at this family!  They must be wealthy. They wear animal pelts on their heads!”  He was referring to our kids’ adorable animal hats we got last year at Target!  Ha!  We saw the angels on the Journey, but most importantly Dylan got to see Mary and Joseph holding Baby Jesus in the stable.  He got to witness a reenactment of the greatest birth ever recorded, and my heart was forever grateful to the people who showed this to him.  Dylan asked so many questions throughout it; he was in awe of the things he saw!  Afterwards, they served us all cookies and hot chocolate.  As we opened the doors to leave, we were met with carolers on our walk to our car.  They were dressed in red coats and scarves.  It was just beautiful!  Dylan understands the true meaning of Christmas now, and I hope he always is in awe of Christ’s birth like he was on that Journey.

Last weekend Cody, Anna, and Dylan also had their Christmas program at church with their choir.  Shawn thought it was one of the best written Christmas programs he has been to.  The drama was simply fantastic and gave a great glimpse into what Mary and Joseph must have been feeling and also of the night of Christ’s birth.  The kids did great!  To be truthful, though, Dylan yawned through most of his songs and sneaked in waves to us constantly, as we sat in the balcony.  He was so pleased!   We went out to dinner that night to celebrate a great evening!  Merry Christmas!

P.S. I included a photo of Dylan and Abigail as we were getting ready to leave for the Journey.  I could hear Abby on the stairs say to Dylan, “Dylan, I love you too much.”  Dylan responded, “I love you too much too, Abby.”  Then I caught them hugging.  Sweet moment.