From The White House:

Remarks of Francine Wheeler
The President’s Weekly Address

Hi. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not the President. I’m just a citizen. And as a citizen, I’m here at the White House today because I want to make a difference and I hope you will join me.

My name is Francine Wheeler. My husband David is with me. We live in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

David and I have two sons. Our older son Nate, soon to be 10 years old, is a fourth grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our younger son, Ben, age six, was murdered in his first-grade classroom on December 14th, exactly 4 months ago this weekend.

David and I lost our beloved son, but Nate lost his best friend. On what turned out to be the last morning of his life, Ben told me, quite out of the blue, “ I still want to be an architect, Mama, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.”

Ben’s love of fun and his excitement at the wonders of life were unmatched His boundless energy kept him running across the soccer field long after the game was over. He couldn’t wait to get to school every morning. He sang with perfect pitch and had just played at his third piano recital. Irrepressibly bright and spirited, Ben experienced life at full tilt.

Until that morning. 20 of our children, and 6 of our educators – gone. Out of the blue.

I’ve heard people say that the tidal wave of anguish our country felt on 12/14 has receded. But not for us. To us, it feels as if it happened just yesterday. And in the four months since we lost our loved ones, thousands of other Americans have died at the end of a gun. Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief.

Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy.

Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home – the same firehouse that was home to Ben’s Tiger Scout Den 6. But other times, I feel Ben’s presence filling me with courage for what I have to do – for him and all the others taken from us so violently and too soon.

We have to convince the Senate to come together and pass commonsense gun responsibility reforms that will make our communities safer and prevent more tragedies like the one we never thought would happen to us.

When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all. Then, after the President spoke in Hartford, and a dozen of us met with Senators to share our stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward.

But that’s only the start. They haven’t yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And a lot of people are fighting to make sure they never do.

Now is the time to act. Please join us. You can talk to your Senator, too. Or visit WhiteHouse.gov to find out how you can join the President and get involved.

Help this be the moment when real change begins. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Not just a baby in a manger…
But Good Will.

A hand of good will from a Good God, extended toward needy man in the most sacrificial expression this earth will ever know.

Love made tangible.
A quiet miracle birthed in an obscure place, yet celebrated even so, with angelic fanfare to humble shepherds.

Christmas.
It’s Christmastime.

But this year…our nation suffered a devastating blow.
We were not punched in our gut. We were not kicked in our sides.

We were raped savagely of our joy.
Our young ones – our innocent babies – were brutally, cruelly, yanked out of our grasps.

We were powerless to stop the insane mind that attacked them and he ripped into their little sweet bodies with bullets that were crafted with intent to stop evil men, not tear down young ones on the threshold of life.

This year, we will again celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th.
Evil does not stop Good.

But our brothers and sisters of Sandy Hook mourn.
Gifts under trees will remain unopened, just as the eyes that would have sparkled with delight will also remain unopened.

Beds are not slept in.
Breakfast dishes are not left in the sink.
Shoes remain on the floor; there are no little toes to fill them.

Closets full of Christmas splendor that were meant to adorn little spindly frames will now retain their contents.

And mothers and fathers will wake to hearts of stone; no appetite, eyes clouded with pain, and arms aching with emptiness.

No voices at five a.m. to wake them up too early.
No one bounding upon the bed, or down the stairs.
No laughter.

No laughter because there are …
No children.

Celebrations continue all over our nation. Music plays through unseen speakers over our heads while Santas in the mall pose for one more snapshot.
But not for everyone.

A shadow hangs over our land.
This wound is deep.
We bleed still.
Christmas Day will come, and you will be tempted to put the thoughts of their suffering out of your mind so that you can enjoy what is before you.
That is human nature.

I adjure you most urgently: Ignore it.
Ignore that urge and walk to a quiet place, lifting those parents up in prayer as if you were praying for your own shattered heart.

It’s okay to cry on Christmas.
It’s okay to feel sad sometimes.

There is time to mourn.
Do not let them mourn alone.

They need your prayers.
Our prayers.

This Christmas as you celebrate, you will feel a small shadow pass between the brilliant sunlight of your own joy and its source.

It is the grief of your brothers and sisters of Sandy Hook.
It wafts through the atmosphere of our nation.

When you become aware of it, acknowledge it, and then acknowledge them – in prayer.

Take them to the One who has vowed that He will not leave our souls desolate.
Implore Him to help them recover, and then leave them in his care.

To see one who suffers, and feel sad, is not enough.
Do what you know you can do.
In this way, we love one another.
We are one nation under God.
Their suffering is our own.

Do not be afraid to feel sad on Christmas; rather, channel those emotions into something that will help them heal.

Remember with them…
Stand with them in spirit…
Mourn with them…

It is difficult.
It is painful.
It costs.
It is True Love.
And it is crucial for our nation’s healthy recovery.

Merry Christmas.

Leah

For tangible demonstrations of support:
If you wish to make a donation by check, please send to:

‘My Sandy Hook Family Fund’
c/o Wells Fargo Bank
26 Church Hill Road
Newtown, CT 06470

The NRA membership is surging since the Sandy Hook massacre according to an internal document that was made known to Jim Rosen of FOX News. They are gaining roughly 8,000 new members a day which is unlike anything they saw even in the wake of Columbine.