As we look back upon the year 2017
And crank up our brains with a cup of caffeine.
It’s time to wrap up the scenes that we’ve seen
From January to December, and all the months in between.
January found us in a state of despair
As we rushed to finish Stephen’s Challenge B Science Fair.
We took a quick trip to Cumberland Caves
And came home when it snowed to sled in our PJs.
Historic parks were the thing in month #2:
Cordell Hull, Alvin York, and the Scopes Monkey Trial, too.
David turned eleven and we played board games all day,
And we started a new business as we prayed and we prayed.
After publishing our first books on cursive and poetry,
Gary started what we now call the cursive letter factory.
In March we visited the Secret City’s museum of energy,
And David as Da Vinci presented his “Faces of History.”
At field day in April our boys ran for miles.
Stephen finished his year with two runs through Mock Trial.
Levi built a bridge and David, an egg protector,
And Gary decided to become a Challenge B Director.
May marked the start of a big trip where we saw
A topiary park in the style of Georges Seurat.
Through Ohio to Cuyahoga and A Christmas Story House –
A major award of great laughs for many a spouse.
After Niagara Falls we arrived at the Museum of Jell-O,
And Seneca Falls, model town of that George Bailey fellow.
We picnicked alongside the Erie Canal.
Though we hiked the towpath, we did not find Old Sal.
After Vermont maple syrup and a glass-making forge,
We gazed over a bridge at the great Quechee Gorge.
Lost River in New Hampshire was a favorite stop.
At Mt Washington the cog took us halfway to the top.
In Maine we explored Acadia National Park
With Sand Beach and Thunder Hole it was quite a landmark.
Then Lexington Green and Boston’s Freedom Trail.
Plymouth Rock was as we thought – but on a much smaller scale.
Plimouth Plantation and the National Monument
To the Forefathers – their faith, this statue documents.
In Rhode Island we enjoyed Newport’s Cliff Walk.
In Connecticut, we boarded a submarine in a dock.
From the USS Nautilus we headed to NYC,
Where we saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Ground Zero, St. Paul’s, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park,
With friends we soared high to the Top of the Rock.
In Jersey we dug dirt with machines at Diggerland
And played in the sand in Ocean City, Maryland;
Then Assateague and Chincoteague where wild ponies roam free,
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel – now that’s a hefty toll fee!
Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, and then
To Hawk Manor Falconry during a weekend with friends.
In Charlestown we visited Patriot’s Point
The carriage ride downtown did not disappoint.
After a tour of Fort Sumter and Angel Oak Park
For our niece’s graduation to Atlanta we embarked.
There at Wild Animal Safari the animals did roam
And after 4,000 miles we headed back home.
Yes, South Carolina was our very last state!
Now we’ve been to all of the lower forty-eight!
In June, with Paw Patrol, Isaac turned three.
For Stephen’s fourteenth, we went to see MercyMe.
In August, the eclipse and a new year of CC
As we entered a new season of Homeschool Dramatic Society.
In October we met family at South Cumberland ’s campsite.
Stephen and David performed puppets in our church’s blacklight.
In December to Dollywood for Levi’s ninth birthday,
Where his parents switched off in a roller coaster relay.
That wraps up our year, and some of the joys we’ve shared.
God continues to guide us through the dreams that we’ve dared.
In light of the Light Who came to earth long ago,
These things pale to compare to the Gift He’s bestowed:
Our Counselor, our Father, our Shepherd, Our Friend,
The Prince of Peace and our Savior is in whom we depend.
He left all the glory of heaven above
To grant us His presence, His salvation, His love.
Let us not forget these things, no matter our life’s phase
And marvel at this birth of the Ancient of Days.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
Gary, Brandy, Stephen, David, Levi, and Isaac Ferrell
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days… And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord… And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace… Micah 5:2-5