Twas a While 'til Christmas

Twas a while ’til Christmas, at Four Sisters Farm.

The house was a wreck, but we’d meant it no harm.
There wasn’t a mantle to hang stockings upon.

Oh dear!  What to do?  It all seemed so wrong!

The walls were all finished with sheet rock and mud.

They were primed, even painted, we’d hidden the studs.
We’d worked long and hard but some things went amiss.

Pop’s shoulder was injured and would require a fix.

But Pop is so tough; that the surgery would wait

while he worked through the pain and made the walls straight.
He worked on the wiring, the framing, the floor;

he worked ‘til the doctor said, “No way! No more!”

The year had been busy with our grown up offspring

buying houses, and moving, and fixing their things.
They had helped us so much; gave the time they could spare.

“God bless them. We’re grateful.” was often our prayer.

We had put down lush sod for our lawn in the spring

then summer was hot, and no rain did it bring.
The garden, though watered, just would not produce

how long could the farm withstand such abuse?

It wasn’t all bad.  We did have some fun

like a trip to Gettysburg, then down to Charleston.
The time at the beach was so pleasant and warm

and hiking at Yellowstone took us out of our norm.

Pop’s shoulder’s still healing, the house still in progress;

we’ll keep moving forward, ignoring the mess.
The days go so quickly, like reindeer they fly

so we do what we can as each day goes by.

We decided against putting up Christmas lights.

“There’s no place to put up a tree”, Grammy sighed.
So we hung up the stockings at DW’s and Doc’s

and gathered up our family which always rocks!

We’ve been working for years to simplify this season;

less gifts and less fuss and more Jesus as the reason.
We got together early with a family mission

to share Christ at Christmas has become a tradition.

We still dress in PJs as matching can be

from the smallest to tallest and gather near the tree.
The children listen quietly while Pop reads the story

of Mary and Joseph and Jesus in His glory.

The young ones play while their moms stuff the stockings

with candy and toys and other small gift things.
They help roll out dough, then spread on some butter,

then sprinkle on sugar and make quite the clutter!

The sweet smell of cinnamon rolls lingers in the air

while the stockings are emptied and candy is shared.
We laugh, we love and retell some old tales

then we make some new memories without fail.

We review the year past with a special edition

made by the Superheroes which is their tradition.
They will add a new baby to their precious brood

an awesome and wonderful little super dude!

A baby girl is soon due to Romeo and Pretty Princess

They'll be the “Royal Family” then - that is our consensus!
The Farmhands, now city folk, due to their move

are adding a sweet baby girl to their crew.

Next year, Lord willing, we will gather once more

with three babies coming, no one will be bored.
Four Sisters Farm is where we hope we will be

with some lights, decorations, and of course, a tree.

So we all send our love from our homes to you

as you celebrate Christmas with your own loving crew.
May the coming New Year be cheery and bright.

Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!