come to the stable

for the past three years phil and lynn utilize the stable in their backyard and have a "come to the stable" christmas nativity play. this year, ken and i hearded the mini-shephards to the stable to see "baby jesus."


crazy otho...he likes to shows his "guns" when i take pictures these days.


baby riley was our sheep (note the sheep hat that she's wearing). it was so cold for us that night - okay, not nearly as cold as it is for all you normal people who live where it snows, but stinking cold for us desert folk - that we had to bundle riley up with layers and layers and layers. she was probably sweating under it all.


abe and cole as shephards. i love this sweet pictures of the two of them...they really are best buds.


my little ellie, eating a cookie and looking so pretty in her costume (thank you grandma and grandpa carlsruh for picking up the shawl in jerusalem last year). granted, by the time the show started, ellie had shed her costume, but she still tagged along on daddy's lap.


and riley at the end of the night, warming up in the house. we love the "come to the stable" tradidtion because through all the hustle and bustle of christmas, it is nice to step back and remember what the season is all about: the birth of our savior, jesus christ.