Zoos are Fun!!! - Day Four

"Zoos are Fun!" laughed the boy.


Me imitating Conor (or George Michael)


Jackie is truly thrilled to be going to the zoo


Conor mustered up a little bit of excitement for this shot


Warthogs


One of these two is a real pig


Jackie is not a pig


She is a freak
Jackie and I had a contest to see who could take a better picture of this bird


#1


#2

Dang, I think Jackie won!


Lions imitating Conor


Hyenas imitating Conor


A bear imitating Conor


Conor smiling?!? He loves them turtles!




Jackie and I got to feed a Kangaroo!!!




Not real...






Tree Kangaroo




Meerkats








Jackie's and my favorite animal of the day: The Red Panda! He (or she) would run around and around, climb up his tree, run around in the bush, climb back up in the tree, repeat. We didn't really know what prevented him/her from just jumping out though.









That evening was Christmas Eve. After we got home and ate supper I started the arduous task of wrapping all the presents for Jackie and Conor from my me, Mom, and Mike. Then we went to Midnight Mass at the Cathedral. It was very moving service for me, but I wish I wasn't so tired. The most incredible moment was at midnight the whole choir and orchestra burst into song...it was so exciting and breathtaking. The homily was really good too. You can read it here.
He quoted something from Pope Benedict which I'll copy for you here:

“Jesus comes as a baby, defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love through which we spontaneously learn to enter in his feelings, his thoughts and his will. We learn to live with him and to practise with him that humility of renouncing self that belongs to the essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him and love him.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Midnight Mass Homily 2006)

I was really struck with the thought of the infinite God, so immense and beyond our comprehension, becoming as small and as weak as a baby. And then it dawned on me, he became even smaller than that! He became the size of a zygote. Do you realize that's 0.1-0.2mm??? That's the same size as this o. That is the how far God humbled himself to meet us where we are. How incredible...

I got the same priest for the Eucharist and I must have had my arm positions right (or he recognized me) cuz I got a proper blessing sans delay or confusion. Then we got a ride home with Jackie and Conor's friend.

I fell fast asleep on the cot. Santa would be dropping by soon - End of Day Four.