At Christmas

At Christmas
(Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959)

A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season’s here;
Then he’s thinking more of others than be’s thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.

When it’s Christmas man is bigger and is better in his part;
He is keener for the service that is prompted by the heart.
All the petty thoughts and narrow seem to vanish for awhile
And the true reward he’s seeking is the glory of a smile.
Then for others he is toiling and somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas he is almost what God wanted him to be.
If I had to paint a picture of a man I think I’d wait
Till he’d fought his selfish battles and had put aside his hate.
I’d not catch him at his labors when his thoughts are all of pelf,
On the long days and the dreary when he’s striving for himself.
I’d not take him when he’s sneering, when he’s scornful or depressed,
But I’d look for him at Christmas when he’s shining at his best.

Man is ever in a struggle and he’s oft misunderstood;
There are days the worst that’s in him is the master of the good,
But at Christmas kindness rules him and he puts himself aside
And his petty hates are vanquished and his heart is opened wide.
Oh, I don’t know how to say it, but somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas man is almost what God sent him here to be.

Christmas Shopping

Sara and I got stuck on the walking street, it was raining cats and dogs! Mommy and Joy were supposed to pick us up one block down and we had to make a mad dash through the rain. Thankfully we had an umbrella, so we ran together laughing the whole way. All the other shoppers were prudently staying under shelter and we were the only ones out in the rain. We caught a few strange looks but we were having too much fun to be bothered.
Dripping wet
"I'm singing in the rain" or more like laughing....
"It's raining and pouring"
Get a wiff of this!
Shopping in Carrefour...Letting Pailine's ipod down out the confusion in the store.
Pailine trying to hitch a ride on the trolley. We were actually helping Mommy with the home shopping.
Joy and Sara waiting in line.
A glimpse of the traffic jam of people blocking the aisles.

Christmas Quote

Christmas is for love. It is for joy, for giving and for sharing, for laughter, for reuniting with family and old friends, for tinsel and brightly decorated packages. But mostly it is for love.

Family + Beach = Fun

A Picture Of Me

Some people were griping that i haven't posted many pictures of myself. So this evening I asked Sara to tabke a picture of me. And here it is....

Baby Rush

So I've neglected my blog, again....Sigh, when will I ever learn? Well, I do have plenty of good excuses up my sleeve! Let's see, uh...um, hmmm, oh well, I forgot them!

Actually, the main reason is that December's just a really busy month, it is, there's a never ending stream of work to be done. But not only that, for the Caroni family this month means that most of us will be turning into Aunties, Uncles and Grandparents......yes, Joy's baby is due on the 18th of December. And I say 18th in good faith, as the doctors haven't quite made up their minds but Joy is set on having the baby before Christmas. This new addition to the family is proving to be a lot of work. Just today Joy and I washed and hung three loads of baby clothes! There's so much that a baby needs and sometimes I sigh and wish for the days when babies were born in stables and needed nothing but swaddling clothes and a manger. But no matter, what must be done must simply just be done! So we're: changing rooms, putting together the baby bed, trying to find a mattress for that bed, looking for newborn clothes, hoping for a changing pad....and many other things that modern day babies seem to need. Keep us, and Joy especially, in your prayers as we're a little behind and these items are proving difficult to find. So it's "baby rush" time, and we're scrambling a bit. I'm so happy to be here and be able to help Joy, it's lots of fun to be with her again and helping her prepare for this exciting new part of her life. We have two weeks to prepare so off I go..........

Pictures

Pictures of our fun weekend:
Papa took Joy and myself to the beach. The last time we had Papa to ourselves was quite a long time ago...so we had lots of fun! The usual stuff of course: laughing, talking, being silly, sharing stories. I love my Papa, he's the best!

Enjoying our icecream.

Papa not looking too happy at having his picture taken.

"I could eat it all in one big bite!"

Joy and the baby in her belly


Sunday we went to Ste.Marie for a picnic, and to pick up Chris and Philip from their football tournaments.

Ahhh, I love the ocean!

Joy, taking a rest on the pillow she stole from Papa...tsk, tsk.

While exploring the beach we found an interesting specimen of rock. Reminded us all of Sid's babies in Ice Age 3.

Taking shelter away from the terrifyingly hot sun.

Papa enjoying his baguette sandwich.