One of my favorite Christmas carols

....that seems as appropriate now as it did when first written in 1862. The 4th & 5th stanzas aren't usually sung.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

So it's been forever...I know.

Jesus: Since the buffalo that he used to feed have all been sold, he has had to adjust to actually punching a time card at the start and end of each work day. He misses the buffalo but has made the adjustment quite well and the folks at the main office now get to see what a truly hard worker he is. He has also enjoyed showing off his birthday present -- lots of new clothes from my mom that look really good on him. And he knows it. :P

BethAnn: Nothing new here. Same old weekend job. I've been sick with a head cold -- nothing serious, just enough to make me not want to go anywhere. I will also be enjoying my Christmas present from my mom & stepdad: a membership subscription to AWHONN, the national association for OB/GYN/Neonatal nurses.

Daniel: By far the most exciting member of our family. Wakes up every morning bounding out of bed and shoving our bedroom door wide open and yelling "MOMMY! PLAY!" Their preschool is out for Christmas right now; he missed their Christmas program and the last day due to an illness that his PNP thinks could have been strep or bronchitis. He's on Amoxil (aka "yummy medicine") and Albuterol (aka "yucky medicine") and seems to be doing better. He also has greatly enjoyed Christmas presents from Yaya & Pappy. A Tickle Me Elmo, several books, Elmo slippers, a Thomas the train tote box to carry either train paraphernalia or matchbox cars, and a loaner flashlight from my mother.

His newest thing is to use one of his toys -- preferable an Elmo (one of the many he has) or his flashlight -- to hit his talking teddybear. At which point he growls in a crescendoing voice "Elmo!!" (or "flashlight!", as the case may be) and takes the offending character to a spot in the hall designated as the time-out chair. He stands watch until said toy has completed its stay in time-out, then picks it up, gives it a hug/kiss, and it may return to playing as long as it can be a "good boy." I think it is a great way for him to remember the consequences of certain actions without him being the one in time-out.

If we don't meet in cyber-space before then, have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. Or as they say south of the border, "Felíz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo!"

Pearl Harbor Day

I don't want to say "Happy Pearl Harbor Day" because it wasn't a happy day 65 years ago. But I do want to thank all the men and women who were there and lived through it for their courage and heroism. Really, today is an opportunity to thank all everyone who has served in the military, especially in a time of war, for your sacrifice. It's because of you that my family and I take for granted living in a free country. So to people like my stepdad and my grandpa, I am honored to share US citizenship with people like you.

Stylin'

Life Update

So what's new in Guevaraland.....

Daniel has learned what a triangle is, as that's the shape they learned last month at school. We were sitting eating tortilla chips and he broke off a little piece, studied it for a minute and said, "Fiangle." Took us a minute to figure it out but when we did, our jaws dropped open in amazement. Also, if I ask him for a kiss and he says no (happens a lot...Papa ALWAYS gets kisses), he tells me to cry. "Cry, Mama. Cry!"

At school the 2 year old class is practicing their Christmas program song...."hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, PRAISE YE THE LORD!" So we hear that a lot at home now too. Christmas program is 12/18 at 7pm.

I am considering dropping my hours back at work. Only a little bit, but every little bit I can be w/ my family helps. The only problem is, right now I'm considered fulltime. If I dropped back to 3/4 time (36 hrs/pay period) the health insurance rates are ridiculously high. Everything else remains affordable but that is the kicker, as we will have our whole family on my insurance as of the new year. Just some ramblings.

Most of our Christmas shopping was done online this year. I LOVE Overstock.com. Nice things, cheap prices, free shipping. What's not to love??

Dear hubby is also having some issues at work, although I don't feel at liberty to post them here until some are resolved. But if those of you who pray will pray for him, we all would appreciate it.

...pray for peace, people everywhere.