The Manger

C and I have talked about wanting to create traditions for our family to enjoy...C came up with the idea of having a manger to place Christmas gifts under to help us remember that Christ is our ultimate gift and that all gifts and provision come from Him...

With that said, C set out to build our family manger about a month ago. He came up with an idea to have removable slats that can be changed out each Christmas, so that we could each paint some of our favorite memories/blessings from the past year on the removable slats... After the manger was finished, we got ready to paint...B's painting gear included a diaper, his Bumbo chair and his hands...

B was pretty indifferent about the paint...he wanted to try to eat it more than he wanted to play with it...

Bath time came right after paint time...it was hysterical, B had paint all over his face, ears, hair, tummy... it was everywhere!

Here is the final product...

It really was fun to paint the slats together and talk about some of our favorite memories from this past year...some of C's included B's arrival, a kayaking trip, our Maine trip & golfing in California. Some of mine included getting ready for B, B's arrival, walks & runs around our neighborhood with B and Ella, our trips to see family and friends, the glimpse that we have gotten of our church's children's ministry & B's dedication.

We hope this will be a tradition that we can continue for several years to come!

Merry Christmas!