A day in the life of President Bush (12/25/05): Christmas photos

White House & Yahoo News Photos ^ | 12/25/05

[Wolfstar]

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: With the President, First Lady and their family enjoying Christmas at Camp David, there are no new photos to post. So this will be something of an unual Dose, as I am dedicating it to the mother of our own dear snugs.

Christmas is more than a holiday for exchanging gifts. It celebrates the birth of Jesus, the Christ Child. It also celebrates his parents, Mary and Joseph.

And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid...And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord."

"And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men."

In honor of and to mark the passing of the English mum so many of us have become acquainted with since snugs joined our Dose family:

"The Parable of A Little Mother"

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. Is the way long? she asked. And her guide said: "Yes and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young Mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed with them in clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and life was good, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this!"

Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and Mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Oh Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and we know no harm can come." And the Mother said, "This is better than the brightness of the day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, out at all times she said to the children, "A little patience, and we are there."

So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "We could not have done it without you Mother."

And the Mother, when she lay down that night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the whole earth -- clouds of War and Hate and Evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the Mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks went on, and the years went on, and the Mother grew old, and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was hard, they helped their Mother; and when the way was rough, they lifted her for she was light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill; and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And the Mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said: "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."
--Temple Bailey --

[Wolfstar]

"Immortality" by Joseph Jefferson

Two caterpillars crawling on a leaf
By some strange accident in contact came;
Their conversation, passing all belief,
Was that same argument, the very same,
That has been "proed and conned" from man to man,
Yea, ever since this wondrous world began.

The ugly creatures,
Deaf and dumb and blind,
Devoid of features
That adorn mankind,
Were vain enough, in dull and wordy strife,
To speculate upon a future life.

The first was optimistic, full of hope;
The second, quite dyspeptic, seemed to mope.
Said number one, "I'm sure of our salvation."
Said number two, "I'm sure of our damnation;
Our ugly forms alone would seal our fates
And bar our entrance through the golden gates.

Suppose that death should take up unawares,
How could we climb the golden stairs?
If maidens shun us as they pass us by,
Would angels bid us welcome in the sky?
I wonder what great crimes we have committted,
That leave us so forlorn and so unpitied.

Perhaps we've been ungrateful, unforgiving;
'Tis plain to me that life's not worth the living."
"Come, come, cheer up," the jovial worm replied,
"Let's take a look upon the other side;
Suppose we cannot fly like moths or millers,
Are we to blame for being caterpillars?

Will that same God that doomed us crawl the earth,
A prey to every bird that's given birth,
Forgive our captor as he eats and sings,
And damn poor us because we have not wings?
If we can't skim the air like owl or bat,
A worm will turn 'for a' that.'"

They argued through the summer; autumn nigh,
The ugly things composed themselves to die;
And so, to make their funeral quite complete,
Each wrapped him in his little winding sheet.
The tangled web encompassed them full soon,
Each for his coffin made him a cocoon.

All through the winter's chilling blast they lay
Dead to the world, aye, dead as human clay.
Lo, spring comes forth with all her warmth and love;
She brings sweet justice from the realms above;
She breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead;
Two butterflies ascend encircling her head.

And so this emblem shall forever be
A sign of immortality.

[Wolfstar]

Pinging you to a late Christmas day Dose.

[Wolfstar]

PHOTO OF THE DAY: A young boy attending St. Catherine's Catholic Church, within the Church of the Nativity compound in Bethlehem, December 25, 2005.

[Wolfstar]

[kayak]

Merry Christmas!

[Wolfstar]

Yahoo posted this nice file photo of GWB attending the graduation ceremony for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 2, 2004.

From the archives, one of the best presidential photos ever:

A photo taken on GWB's 59th birthday.

[Wolfstar]

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you President George W. Bush.

[Theresawithanh]

Hi, Wolfstar! Thanks for doing the dose today, on Christmas day!

Love the opening!

[Wolfstar]

True love. Ain't it grand!

[Wolfstar]

Christmas 2001

[Wolfstar]

Christmas 2002

[Wolfstar]

Christmas 2003

[Wolfstar]

Christmas 2004, while we were all awaiting the arrival of Miss Beazley to the White House, this little guy was already celebrating at his new home.

Well, maybe Barney wasn't waiting for Beezie to arrive.

But Beezie arrived anyway, on January 6, 2005, and she was so CUTE!

[Wolfstar]

Didn't take her long to begin checking out Barney's soccer balls.

By August, she owned them.

[Miss Marple]

Merry Christmas, Wolfstar, and thank you for those lovely stories.

[Wolfstar]

Cats celebrate Christmas, too. They just do it on their terms.

[Wolfstar]

Don't forget them in your prayers this holiday season.

[Wolfstar]

From lucianne.com, a photo of wolves, my favorite wild animal. Lucianne's caption is one we will do well to remember as the 2006 mid-term election year unfolds:

When shutting detractors up, do it with language they understand.

[Wolfstar]

A dog's Christmas.

[Wolfstar]

ALL CLEAR!