
Several things in our lives have made it rather hard
To organize and send out a traditional Christmas card
Instead I will narrate our year with some poetry
And conveniently send it out en masse electronically
We began the year with 5 in our clan
We outgrew our car and bought a minivan.
The kids thought it was cool to have a new ride
Mommy loved the practical space we had inside.
In February Christopher came down with the flu
I also felt sick and just figured I caught it, too.
Weeks went by and I still felt all wrong
Until a sonogram showed I was nearly 12 weeks along!
You can imagine the surprise and all of the fun
Of hearing this news before Hannah turned one.
Another McCracken would be added to our number
And she would be born some time in September.
In early April, John got in a wreck
Someone ran a red light and totaled our Buick.
Thankfully John walked away without much harm
But a few days later, Christopher broke his arm!
After a cast and 4 weeks, you know how boys do
His arm healed up fine and he felt good as new.
We drove up to PA for the whole month of May
To visit my family that lives too far away.
We returned to
After perfect weather in PA, this sure was a bummer.
We spent most of our days at the neighborhood pool
Sarah learned to swim while we tried to stay cool.
Christopher developed an obsession that went way too far
He poured over books to know all about dinosaurs
Before we knew it, he was reading very well on his own
His interest in fierce and wild animals has grown and grown.
At the end of August, homeschooling had begun
Though I was nervous at first it has really been fun.
We learn lots and work hard in the first part of the day
While his sisters distract us with their loud and hearty play.
On September 11th we got to meet face to face
With our new little bundle - precious Mary Grace.
Now 3 months old she is chunky, happy and bright
But most importantly of all, she sleeps through the night!
Hannah is walking, talking and charming with her looks
She loves for us to read her lots and lots of books.
Sarah loves to color and put puzzles together
She also takes good care of her sisters and brother.
John’s been the pastor of Trinity for more than 7 years
While he’s still not yet 40 he has lots of gray hairs!
We love our church family and are excited to find
How the Lord will work in our church in ‘09.
While sleep-deprived and busy we must tell you this,
We love you and wish you a Merry Christmas!
We hope you’ll stop and wonder in the midst of all the fuss
That the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.