Comfort and Joy

Jingle Bell was found with Marvin the Martian this morning, and although you can't see Marvin (he's hanging from the tree), you can see Jingle Bell looking through a really old Marvel Star Wars comic that Daddy's had for quite some time.

Our day was a very, very full one.  It's easy to happen this time of year!  Mommy was with her friends learning about essential oils, while Madison and Daddy got caught up in a shopping frenzy.  It was quite by accident, as we were out the mall looking for something for Mommy.  It turns out today was a big day for a particular store and a particular type of item.  We went in there just going for one certain item, and the two of us were in the middle of this feeding frenzy with crazed women all around us diving for items that were on sale.  We managed to get a lot of things still, as their supply was pretty good.  I imagine other malls were even more crazed, as Lakeshore Mall isn't exactly the busiest of malls.  Still, the line to get this stuff - when it was time - was outside the store, and around the corner.

We stopped at a few other places, and got some other items too, and got home a little ready to take a break.  Madison got a bath, while Daddy was getting Christmas cards and a few items for Mommy.  We went over to get Mommy early this afternoon, and then together we had a bite to eat at Chick-Fil-A.  And after that, it was as if our seats were saved in the front row of the balcony again:  we were there to see the Living Christmas Tree at the First Baptist Church, which had the theme "Comfort and Joy," which you can see below, written to the left and right of the tree.

Daddy was able to snap a couple of great pictures here and there.  This year's show was the best it has been in a few years, with some great orchestrations, and of course the harmonies of the choir were fantastic.

It turns out our former governor was in the audience too, although this was not necessarily advertised or pointed out.  And it didn't matter either, actually.  We were there to enjoy this wonderful presentation together, to celebrate Christmas with others, and it was a very special time.

We left there and it was dark by this time, so we were driving down Green Street nice and slow so that we could see all the decorations on the houses.  And after that, we met another family at yet another church down the road from us - we were there to see a "Walk through Bethlehem" presentation.

We had no idea what we were getting into.  You can see one of the guys outside, a prophet of old telling us a prophecy about Jesus, one we would all see come to pass once we got inside!  There were three prophets outside at different stations, each with a fire to keep warm and add atmosphere, and each prophet told us a scripture about the birth of Jesus.  Of course Isaiah was there to greet us and tell us what he wrote in Isaiah 9:6.

You can see we met three Wise Men outside as well, although they're currently busy talking with King Herod.  I think they're already on to him.

There were animals outside, donkeys and cows.  The kids got to come up and pet them, and pose with them for photo opportunities while we waited to go through the gate and see Bethlehem itself.

There's Madison with the cow there, waiting to go inside because it is actually pretty cold out right now.  Again, we had no idea what was going on when we arrived, and thought briefly that the entire thing would be outside, which was worrisome because we weren't dressed for weather to be this cold.  It would be more like a run-through Bethlehem!  Fortunately, the door opened, and we went into another world.

We time traveled back to Bethlehem, and were greeted by beggars, Roman guards and all manner of citizenry.  Above you can see carpenters, and they were talking about this couple that just arrived, a couple that could find no place to stay.  There were many here telling us as we arrived that there was no place to stay the night.  This was not surprising, as there were quite a few people there in costumes.  There were merchants staying in place, and plenty of others milling about.  There was a temple area, and that's where we met Zechariah, telling us his story.

There were a lot of little areas where people either asked us if we wanted to buy some items like fresh bread or pottery, or other places where people would tell us there was no room to stay at.

Once we were there, we just had free reign of the place, walking about and interacting with people or just observing.  I had my camera ready, which must have looked confusing to these people.  What is this strange flashing magic?

It was actually pretty neat!  We've been wanting to go to something like this for a while, and finally this showed up on the calendar.  It was at Hopewell Baptist Church, and you can see by the costumes and scenery that they invested quite a bit of time in making this a wonderful experience for visitors.

Madison and her friend Jolina enjoyed it quite a bit, along with the hot chocolate they gave us outside (and the cookie).  They did almost get arrested by a Roman Guard, an event Madison was quite happy to talk about a few times afterwards.

You can see the blacksmiths above, banging away at their metal pieces, creating harnesses or useful bits.  And towards the exit, we finally found them:  the Holy Family.

Yes, Joseph, Mary and Jesus were there, along with an angel.  It was a quiet spot towards the back of the room, and it didn't call attention to itself so much.  But that might be in line with the point of it all.  Madison and Jolina stopped to pose in front of the Nativity.  And when we were all done, they posed again elsewhere:

Afterwards, we posed for a family shot.  I think they'll be sending us the photo later on.  This was nice.  And so too was the presentation we attended after this:  there was yet another orchestra, although smaller, and a choir of about fifty or so doing some classic Christmas songs and some new ones.  Interspersed with these songs were clips of a movie the church had produced itself, which extended the evening somewhat.  But it was a nice night, and certainly a festive seasonal sort of day.  We enjoyed it!

We got home late, and pretty much went to bed right away, no reading tonight.  We said our prayers and fell asleep very quickly.  We did quite a bit today!