Opal's Baby Jesus Birthday!

Opal has a baby doll that she calls Baby Jesus. It's her favorite. He goes with her everywhere. We thought this would be a December fad, seeing as how we do talk a lot about Baby Jesus then. February came along and she was still just as in love (if not more) so much so that she had to have Baby Jesus be the theme of her birthday party. She loved it! On February 11th, our family dressed up in costumes that the church let us borrow from the Christmas pageant. We built a makeshift stable out of the play toy and ordered Cuisine of India - hey it's kind of in that region of the world, right? I just knew I didn't want to spend all day making Jewish food and Indian is super delicious, all the kids loved it!

When our guests arrived at the Johnson Inn in Bethlehem we made lanterns out of water bottles and beads and stuck a glow stick inside. Then we headed out into the darkness to find the Savior of the world lying in a manger:

Opal (Mary), Jasper (Joseph), Baby Jesus and Dada (the worship leader) were waiting for us to find them in the stable.

The cute girl had her hands clasped during our whole visit, looking so full of pride and held back excitement.

We all gathered around Baby Jesus and sang "Away in a Manger", Opal's favorite song, while Dada played the guitar. Then Eben and Dada sang a worship song that Eben wrote.

Then we headed back to the Inn and ate the yummy chicken masala, lamb and other wonderful dishes you pour over jasmine rice. Opal opened her gifts and we ate cake and ice cream. Opal had specific cake requirements. It needed to have Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and be pink. She of course ate Baby Jesus, but not till the next day. It was so funny, and kind of wrong. She'd kiss the fondant creation then take a bite, kiss it, take a bite, until it was gone.

She can be the cutest thing ever! I want to kiss her and eat her up all at the same time too.

Opal we love you so much! We love your passion for Jesus and pray that it never ceases. We know you're going to tell the world about Him someday. Carry Jesus with you every day and let everyone see Him through you - just like you do now. Happy Birthday big three year old!