It’s December already?!? What d’ya mean?
We can’t be nearing the end of Twenty-Fifteen!?!
Back twelve quick months our minds must now zap,
To attempt to write our yearly Christmas Wrap.
We started our year with a trip to see
Our family over in northwest Tennessee.
We followed that up with the Nashville Symphony
And David’s ninth birthday at Wilderness at the Smokies.
Brandy then joined Usborne Books & More
And held book parties galore just before
Our big 50-states trip – we flew way out west.
Thus far we do think this trip’s been the best!
At Manhattan Beach, the boys took their first dive
Into the Pacific just before our long drive
Through the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran, and Painted.
Good thing we were driving ‘cause we would have fainted.
The Mojave boasted the old mining town
Of Calico. Then Route 66 we drove down.
The Grand Canyon was our very next stop:
A breathtaking sight, it just made our eyes pop.
Sunset Crater Volcano and the Wupatki –
An example of the southwest’s Anasazi.
Then we trekked to Las Vegas to tour Hoover Dam
And beheld the World Finals at #MyMonsterJam.
Death Valley was such a sight to behold
With Badwater Basin 282 feet below.
And Devil’s Golf Course with huge rocks of salt.
We stayed all day and saw not all that we ought.
Our last stop in Nevada boasted red sandstone spires
And ancient petroglyphs in the Valley of Fire.
In Utah, Zion, Escalante, and Bryce,
Atop [Hades’] Backbone Levi accepted Christ.
The Arches, Canyonlands, the Monitor and Merrimack
To Utah, we hope one day to go back!
We dropped by Four Corners and Mesa Verde in Colorado
On our way to visit missions in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Before cruising over to see our Okie family
At Cadillac Ranch, cars we spray-painted with glee.
Then we spent Easter Sunday at Wichita’s Holy City
Before heading back east to mid-Tennessee.
We wrapped up our school year at the end of May.
In June? Summer camps and Isaac’s first birthday.
In July, we ate a humongous light saber cake
As Stephen turned twelve (too. much. sugar. intake.).
We lacked much of a summer, in retrospect,
For Brandy planned a CC community to direct.
And Stephen prepped for Challenge, a homeschool seminar.
It’s been worth all the effort, thus far by far!
The last half of the year has raced lickity split!
Isaac now dances and prances – and throws a good fit.
Thinking back over our year… what else have I missed?
The Parthenon, the zoo, and a trip to the Frist.
A certain paralytic man and demon-possessed boy
Were “Touched by the King,” and filled with pure joy.
And one last big performance, the blacklight puppet show
Stephen played (among others) a pig, frog, monkey, and crow.
In chilly November our family met to camp out
At Fall Creek Falls (we’re all crazy no doubt).
Then December the first is when Levi turned seven.
That boy has been such a great gift sent from heaven.
As our family longs to be together this season
With Gary in Brazil, we remember the reason.
This time of Christmas is not just about family.
It’s about a baby whose mission was to hang on a tree.
Jesus left his throne for a manger and swaddling cloths –
Chose to be our sacrifice, no matter the cost.
So whatever the state this time of year finds you in,
Remember this Gift. “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15
With love,
The Ferrell Bunch