"There is No Peace on Earth"

I love many things about the Christmas season, but if I had to pick a favorite thing, it would be singing Christmas hymns. I LOVE singing those hymns, and am often sad that we only sing them at church 3-4 weeks of the year. In recent years, the words of the hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" have really touched me. Especially verse 3 and 4, here is verse 3:

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."

We live during troubled times, and it can be so easy to despair. It seems like the wicked are winning. Wrong is called right, and right is called wrong. Religious freedom is under heavy attack, and anyone who tries to stand up for it is persecuted. Our vote seems to matter very little in our country, and that should be a frightening thing for everyone. I feel like we are on a sinking ship, and there is very little I can do about it.

But then I remember the words to verse 4:

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."

God is still with us. The wrong may prosper for a little while, but the right will prevail. We cannot give up the fight. Jesus Christ will soon return to this earth, and it will not be as a babe, but as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Our Savior will uphold His church and His people during the difficult days ahead. Satan is fighting hard because he knows there is little time remaining. And he knows that he will lose. We ARE on the winning side, and we have to stick it out to the end.

And even though we live in difficult times, we can find peace through our Savior. Jesus Christ did bring peace on earth when He came to earth as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Because of His divine birth, He was able to give His life for us, and take it up again. Because of Christ, we can have peace in a turbulent world.

"The Savior is the source of true peace. Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior’s Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace. In the intimate setting of the Passover chamber, the Savior promised His Apostles that they would be blessed with the “Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” and then uttered these important words: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” Then just before His Intercessory Prayer: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”"

-Elder Quentin L. Cook, April 2013 

Super Baby, Thanksgiving, and Snow

P1 makes a pretty handsome super-hero with his Winnie-the-Pooh blanket. This is his #1 favorite blanket. He gets quite upset when I have to wash it.

 Showing off his top teeth! (3 on top, 2 on bottom)

 We celebrated Thanksgiving in Manti this year with family. P1 decided he loves yams!

 I was excited to take P1 out to play in the snow for his first time! Unfortunately, he decided he hated the snow. He had a complete meltdown when he realized that the snow was everywhere and was covering his grass, leaves, and rocks. So we never really got to play in the snow, maybe another day!

A Silly Little Boy

P1 likes to hug the dishwasher while it's running:

Climbing on his box of diapers:

P1 loves his new desk that my visiting teaching companion gave to us:

Fall

I think fall is P1's favorite time of year. He loves playing in the leaves!

Halloween

P1 was quite the little monster this Halloween!

We went trick-or-treating to Grandpa's office, where first a bashful and shy monster made an appearance, soon followed by a happy monster wandering the halls:

 

 

Then a cute little monster showed up at Grandma's pumpkin patch:

 That night, the monster went trick-or-treating to his other set of grandparents:

Happy Halloween!!!

Birthday Celebration

 We celebrate P1's birthday on Sunday by having close family come over. We tried to keep it small so as to not overwhelm P1, but it was still overwhelming for him. P1 didn't nap at all during church, so we came home and put him in his crib for a nap. He crashed hard, and didn't wake up until after everyone showed up for his party. P1 wasn't a fan of waking up to a house full of people, and he didn't like everyone watching him while we hurried and feed him his dinner.

Once he ate his birthday dinner (chicken nuggets) we tried to open presents. Again, P1 was not thrilled to be the center of attention. He didn't want to help open anything and he kept crawling on me in an attempt to get away from everyone. P1 got his first set of Duplos, lot's of warm clothes, board books, and an "I Spy" quilt from Grandma.

 P1's teddy bear cake that I made the night before:

P1 did think it was funny when I blew out his candle:

P1 did not want to eat his cake at first. He even cried when I put a piece in his mouth! But once he disintegrated the cake into tiny pieces with his hands, then he was willing to eat it!

Throwing his cake onto the floor while talking to Grandpa:

 

Finally eating the crumbs of his birthday cake:

 Playing the "drums" with his aunt:

Family picture:

Playing with his Duplos the next morning:

Thanks to family and friends for the sweet gifts and for helping us celebrate P1's first birthday!

One Year Facts

P1 had his 1 year check-up on Monday. This time, he was not a happy camper. During previous visits, P1 laughs and is full of smiles while the nurses and doctor measure him and check everything. The only part he dislikes are the shots. But this check-up he cried whenever anybody tried to touch him (including me!). However, as soon as the doctor/nurses left the room, he was happy as could be. Go figure.

P1 weighs 22 lbs 3 oz (41 percentile) and is 30.25" tall (67 percentile). Definitely not as chunky as he used to be, but still growing! I'm grateful that P1 has always been so healthy!

P1 has 3 teeth (2 bottom, 1 top). He loves walking around and rarely crawls. P1 had his first haircut and hated it! (I cut his hair, and thought it turned out well all things considered!) The day after his haircut, he cringed anytime someone touched his hair.

P1's favorite toy is his plastic green spoon that we got with our ice cream at the State Fair. P1 loves to stick his spoon in any bowl-shaped toy and pretend to stir things in it. I think he's making stew.

He loves to the chase our bunnies up and down the hall. Dogs seem to be his favorite animal though. P1 loves the outdoors and likes to collect rocks and leaves.

P1 didn't really like cow's milk at first, but he's finally drinking it. I ended up just having to leave him in his crib with a bottle at nap time. He wouldn't drink it if I was with him because then he thought he had the option of Mommy's milk. We're both a little sad that our nursing days are numbered. But I am glad he is finally okay with cow's milk!

P1 is such a good sleeper now! He definitely didn't start out that way, but I think consistency has finally won the battle! I put him to bed at 8 pm, and he either falls right asleep or he just talks to himself until he falls asleep. Hardly ever any crying. And he sleeps until about 8 am! I love it! And he takes longs naps!!! Often, he'll take a 2 hr morning nap and a 2 hr afternoon nap! Recently, I've been letting him sleep with a blanket, and he really likes that. He'll giggle and laugh when I tuck the blanket around him. One morning at 6 am, James and I woke up to P1 giggling to himself. It was so sweet and adorable to listen to him.

P1 has become a bit more shy. We do play dates and I try taking him to story time at the local library, but he really is most comfortable when he only has to deal with a couple of people. Larger groups make him nervous, especially when everyone is looking at him! He does fine at church since most people aren't focused on him. And he always buries his head into my shoulder when strangers talk to him. 

P1 gives me hugs now, and I love them. We love to play peek-a-boo/hide and seek in the apartment. He loves to hold onto me, and so I feel like half the time I have a giant growth on my leg.

Oh, and his favorite new food is macaroni and cheese:

The End.