Bethlehem Dinner

  I love CHRISTMAS! 

I love Santa, his reindeer and candy canes. I LOVE gingerbread houses, snowflakes, and hot cocoa. 

I love the wonder, the magic, and the fantasy this season brings.
But... I want MORE.
Oh, so much more!

I really want my kids to get it! I really want them to understand!

More than ANYTHING...I want them to be AMAZED!!
 
 It's NOT at all about a man in a red suit, BUT it's ALL about a baby in a manger.

It's not about beautifully wrapped presents beneath the tree, but about the sweetest gift EVER given.

It's not about a smile on a child's face Christmas morning, but about finding TRUE joy which lasts ALL year long

It's ALL about our SAVIOR!

Shane and I were talking the other night about ways we can make sure our children get IT!

We do the whole Santa thing and it's totally GREAT, but we want to make sure our kids truly understand that Santa and presents are NOT what it's all about.

And as we get ready to go into yet another week chalked full of festive activities, we decided to take a moment tonight, and spend some time focusing on the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Tonight, we hosted our very first Bruce Family Bethlehem Dinner!
 

We all got dressed up, using sheets and pillowcases, and pretended we were the characters in the nativity.

Sophie was Mary,

Hudson was Joseph,

Shane was the Inn Keeper,

Corban and Riley were shepherds,

Molly was...well Molly was a grazing animal in the stable-ha,

and I was the narrator;)
I really wanted to be Mary, but Sophie was adamant that that was HER part;)

For dinner, we ate things that may have been readily available to Mary and Joseph, and familiar to Jesus during his time on earth! 

We had to use our imaginations a little bit here, but this was the menu we came up with:

Bread dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil

cheddar cheese (we didn't have any goat cheese on hand-ha)

grapes

hummus

fish (for us it was popcorn shrimp and crab cakes-ha)

AND

grape juice to drink
 

 Since Jesus was born in a dirty, dark and cold stable, we decided to eat our meal on the floor of our  dirty garage. We turned off all the lights and ate by candle light only. The kids totally LOVED it!
 

We ended our night by reading the Christmas story and singing (Sophie and Hud's FAVORITE Christmas carol) Away In A Manger.
Shane and I did feel a little silly at times, but we hope our wacky night made an impact on the kids!

Our deepest desire this Christmas is that the TRUE meaning of why we celebrate will be engraved in their precious minds AND written on their little hearts---FOREVER!!

Jesus is the ONLY reason for the season!!!