christmas with meaning, part 1 - christmas in a manger

It seems like Nate and I have had a conversation regarding Christmas traditions at least once a year for the past ten years.  This year, we finally made some changes to the way we decorate and celebrate Christmas.  The decision has come out of trying to find ways to make Christmas meaningful and intentionally about Emmanuel, God with us.
So, without further ado, I’ll introduce you to our manger (we found great building instructions here so we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel). 

We have decided to take a day and build it as a family.  This is taking the place of going to chop down a Christmas tree and decorate it (which I must say I will miss, but am glad we’re finding a new way to build memories and make traditions).

So, Nate and Courben set out to buy the supplies while I stayed home with Judah, who was feeling a bit under the weather.

Thankfully, by the time they arrived home, Judah was raring to go and ready to help!

Courben kept saying over and over, “this is fun!”  If you’ve been around him lately, you’ll know that phrase isn’t offered up without real reason.

The boys lasted longer than our drills’ battery packs.  So, we had to take a break to let them recharge.  Once we had power again, Courben helped Nate make the finishing touches.

Judah was busy snuggling and holding baby Jesus (who I must say was quite tricky to find online), and promptly put Him in His new bed. 
I’m sure things will be tweaked as the years go on, but this was a perfect beginning to this new tradition.