"A woooong journey to Befwehem!"

My three-year old nearly burst when I told him we were going to a live nativity.

"There will be real people and animals," I said. "But they will only be pretending to be Mary, Joseph, and shepherds in Bethlehem."

Grady Lee was incredulous. "Micah!" he screamed. "We are going to see Baby Jesus in Befwehem! Let's hurry to see him!" And he couldn't get his coat and shoes on fast enough (mind you, this was three hours before it was time to go).

Our first stop was dinner at Q'Doba. Grady Lee was upset when we walked in and Baby Jesus was no where to be found. Chips and cheese quickly solved the problem.



Fast forward to our car ride to the live nativity. After stopping at a traffic light, for less than 30 seconds, he announced, "This is a wwwooonnnggg journey to Befwehem to see Baby Jesus." Aahh, the patience of a toddler.

I decided to use the opportunity to talk through the Christmas story and was thrilled to discover he could pretty much tell me about all the major characters - who they were, what they said, etc. No sooner did he sweetly tell me that he was happy Baby Jesus came and that he thought Mary was brave to go on such a long journey when she didn't feel good, when he emphatically said, "Baby Jesus will give me a candy cane and presents tonight, too." And from there on, his theology of the First Christmas digressed.

The live nativity was all he hoped it would be - though he was concerned about the camel not eating his hay ("He'll have to finish it for breakfast, right Mom?"). And the grand finale of the horse-drawn carriage ride was a hit with both boys - despite their continued reference to "the donkey pulling our cart, just like the one Mary rode."

Memories. That's what our family made tonight.

But more importantly, the curious excitement of two toddlers invited mom and dad to share the best gift we could ever give them: a simple explanation about the true meaning of Christmas and why Jesus loves us.