Special day

For those of us who are of the LDS variety, we believe that the true birth date of Jesus Christ was today, April 6th.  

We were invited by some friends to go spend the day in Bethlehem, so Joni and I jumped at the chance to see the town where Jesus was born on the very day it happened.  We had a great day filled with amazing memories.  

First we walked around some shepherd fields near Bethlehem and checked out the olive trees....

We found a place overlooking Bethlehem to sit and read Luke 2 and sing Christmas songs.....

Then we were off to Manger Square where our friend from Bethlehem (Sahar, pictured above) was even able to get us in a back door to bypass the long lines to see the spot where it is believed that Christ was born.....

The air had a different feel to it today.  It was easy to imagine Joseph and Mary with their brand new baby, the Savior of the world.  Bethlehem has always had a unique beauty, but today it was especially beautiful.