twas the night before christmas and pacito came running out of his babysitter's house in the dark with these babies on. it cheered us up, but he wasn't too thrilled.
christmas was... interesting. everyone was sick and pretty darn tired. his mom got hit with something like strep and his dad got something like the flu. we had lots of quarantine and lots of chores to keep it sano around here. we loaded up with extra z packs and both of the folks went through one round of the antibiotics. franco came and helped us sooooo much! don't know what i wouldv'e done with out my momma. she is amazing.
i was thoroughly exposed, but fought it off like a luchador ninja thai fighter. lots of symptoms but no defeat! i used everything in our arsenal from ozonated water to mushroom derived anticancer supplments. i did NOT want to get this and pass it onto n! 
to boost our efforts, cho and i made this gnarly, good soup from zuppa! (great italian country soup book).
it's called poor man's soup with field herbs or something to that effect. i doubt many peasants could afford it. italians load it with greens and herbs: watercress, kale, mustard, dandelion, spinach, parsley sage, rosemary, thyme etc. then you top it with an herb, walnut, cream garnish after it's been cooked for hours with pork fennel sausage and cranberry beans (we used good mother stallards from rancho gordo... yummmmm... highly recommended). i felt like i was going to die after i ate this. cho loved it and felt fantastic. vive le french genes! apparently it's the italian peasant remedy for kidney problems. umm... eat at your own risk!!!!!! 
i did manage to sneak a few presents in. we didn't have a tree, but i had visa points so ho ho ho!tubbery got a new cashmere sweater! 
...and chonis! sorry, but if you follow this blog, you've noticed that has been his wardrobe since june. maria even felt sorry enough for him to buy him a 6 pack of hanes white t-shirts for a gift. she was showing me up so i had to take action. she acted impressed, but was probably thinking, it's about time she got the poor guy some new underwear!
for the record, i also got him a meaningful gift: simpsons season 6 with his favorite episode "homer badman" where homer is accused of sexually harassing the babysitter by removing the gummy venus de milo from her rear end. n has recalled this episode in detail to meag and me over the years to illustrate many points, which i'm sure were just excuses to make the conversation more interesting.
he has gained nearly 12 lbs. after doing 4 umbilical stem cell treatments. it's pretty amazing, but as i always have to say, i can't get my hopes high cuz it's too painful. i'm just thankful for where we are at now. he is still bed-ridden and dependent on us for full-time help and still has the port in his chest. we are looking forward to a few more treatments and seeing what will happen. when i sponge bathe him i see a terribly crooked spine and i can't fathom how it will be repaired sans a total miracle. but we know our Creator and trust Him no matter what. the routine has become exhausting. i am working 40 hours again, plus go dog go when i come home. just can't keep up with much beyond the basics. we ask for God's help and are receiving it though it has become quite hard.
who let the dork out? anyhow, thanks for checking in. we love you and don't know everyone who's out there reading, but we'll keep you posted. in His grace,
rocko
