Christmas Fun

Here are some of our favorite memories from this Christmas:

1. Our all time favorite Christmas tradition down here in Texas is visiting Bethlehem Revisited in Waxahachie. A local church in this little town recreates Bethlehem at the time of Christ. You can follow Mary and Joseph through Bethlehem to the manger. You can follow the wisemen who have real camels as they visit Herod and the Christ child. You can even see the shepherds with real sheep as they are visited by an angel. There are tons of actors that all stay in character and have fabulous costumes. Nicholas especially loved the Roman soldiers with their sword and shield and King Herod's dancers' skirts. Nicholas also loved petting all the chickens, goats, and sheep that were running around. When we visited the tax collector's hut, he gave Nicholas a tiny coin which Nicholas treasured until he lost it. My favorite part was tasting the hummus and bread balls dipped in honey that they cooked on an open fire. Joseph's favorite part this year was the synagogue. They had a Rabbi in there teaching some of the young Jewish students and interacting with the crowd. Joseph had a lot of fun testing the Rabbi's knowledge. The Rabbi loved their debate so much that he gave Joseph a little yamaka to wear.
2. This was our first Christmas not in Utah. It helped a lot though that we had some of Joseph's brothers and sisters come down and visit. Nicholas had the best time with all the attention he received. We took all the aunts and uncles down to the Stockyards in Fort Worth and tried out a new BBQ place called The Railhead. (We give it the reward for the best sausage we have had in TX so far.)
   
   
   
   
   
3. Almost every Sunday in December, we spent the night driving around and seeing Christmas lights. It worked out well because Nicholas would be so tired from missing his nap due to church being at 1 that he would pass out on the drive to the lights and then wake up and see all the Christmas lights. He LOVED looking at the lights. Our favorite place to go see lights was up in Deerfield near Plano.
4. This was our second year going to the Nativity Festival in Carrollton. They gather tons of nativities from around the community and put them on display. It is fabulous. They also had a bell choir and Nicholas' attention was completely captivated by their performance. We were so grateful that Nicholas was strapped into his stroller so he couldn't break anything. Nicholas' favorite nativity was the one made of puppies.
5. 
6. We went to lots of Christmas parties. Nicholas would get so excited when I would tell him we were going to go to a party. All day long he would tell me, "Lets go to the party now and eat lots of food and play lots of games."
7. Joseph and Nicholas went to the train display at Gaylord Texas. Even more than the trains Nicholas enjoyed the fountain.
8. Nicholas loved doing his advent calender. He also loved eating candy canes and drinking/making hot chocolate.