Some Bethlehem Business

I adore the Bethlehem Walk event a local church here holds. We missed it last year (whoops) but started the tradition back up this year. Jonathan took the Roman soldiers very seriously. He signed DOOLEY for our family for the census, and when Anna signed A (remember, it's HER letter, ALL hers!!!) he went behind her with the pencil and filled in the -nna part. So odd to think that last time we went, Anna was still nursing and in diapers, and Jonathan could not write any letters, much less his entire name! WOW! Jonathan took all of the Bethlehem townspeople quite seriously, also, paying careful attention to their speeches. One man told him to come back and tell him all about the Messiah, and Jonathan wanted to go back and report to him after we saw baby Jesus. (They were having a shift change for the babies right then, it was so funny. Anna was perplexed and irritated that they would have TWO babies for Jesus.) Jon worried and fretted about going back to tell the man all the way into the parking lot. I had a hard time explaining to him that it was really okay, the man was just pretending. They did a great job making it all seem real, even heckling over the cost of fresh fish at the market. The young man selling the fish had an elderly lady on either side of him, and he said, "Come on! I have to support my grandmas!"

My favorite part is seeing Morgan the donkey, who is SO FAT from eating all the bread at the walk every year (supposedly) that everyone thinks he is a she who is with child! Poor Morgan, I understand. The fat part. Anyways.