Christmas Eve Candlelight service

One of our Christmas traditions, a candlelight service to celebrate the birth of Jesus. 

Instead of a gingerbread house, we decorated gingerbread cookies in the Nativity scene. The kids shared them with our next door neighbor boys, Camden and Conner ( I was surprised they ate them as you know store bought cookies like this have been sitting in a box for awhile)

Christmas Eve...ready for Santa to come!

I didn't label any gifts.  Instead each family member has their own ribbon. I put a small piece of ribbon in each person's stocking.  So on the morning of Christmas we will then know which gifts belong to who. 

Journey to Bethlehem

One of our family traditions...driving thru the Journey to Bethlehem at Bethany Church in Fresno

Kids paying the Roman guard 

Traveling to the census while Mary was pregnant 

King Herod 

Mary rode on a donkey all those miles 

Angels of the Lord appeared to the shepherds that the King was born 

No room in any "hotel", they stayed and had baby Jesus in a stall with animals, laid the newborn King in a manager. 

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God sent his one and only son to live on earth with us to share the Good News that he would die and take all of our sins with him so that we might be able to live with God forever....if we only have faith and believe!  

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Thankful for experiencing the true reason for the season, our Savior's birth