This year I wrote a short verse for each of our offspring and made a card for them with a special photo of each on their card. Here are the verses. Maybe I'll post the photos later.

KEIRON (My oldest who hiked Katahdin with me in the late fall)

Well you are the first and you lead the way,
And you’ll always be first what more is to say.
Adventures we’ve had both you and I,
Up to the point of you learning to fly.
This year though was one of the best,
And will always stand out from most of the rest.
It was your call in the night
That quite gave me a fright
And woke the whole camp,
On that night very damp.
Not once but twice you got lost on the way,
Coming back from the john where you went out to pray.
But up to Katahdin next day did we go,
We puffed and we panted through boulders and snow.
We stood at the top and looked at the view
And we looked at each other both of us knew
We’d remember the day we got to this spot,
Cos we’d just accomplished one hell of a lot.
It was great to do this thing with my daughter,
And thank God we both carried plenty of water
But we got to the top and had quite a show.
I’ll always remember this trip with my daughter,


CHRIS AND ADELE (Number two son and his wife)

The oldest and boldest of all of our boys
Shops at the hardware for all his new toys.
In his own right he was quite the man
But when he went south he got more than a tan.
We all thought he might just go to hell,
But he returned with a wonderful girl called Adele.
And now they are married and have two great kids,
And we are so proud of our Bella and Lids.
And Adele is the one who’s helped make us sane,
For amidst all the turmoil her cool doesn’t wane.
Our family has grown and I hope so have we,
Since it’s not US that’s now changing the diapers with pee.

JACK (Our 16 year old Houdini)

When we gave birth to Jack
We were taken aback
Before he could talk or even walk,
He could do a flip back without even a balk.
And as he’s got older he hasn’t slowed down,
He’s makes us all laugh much more than a clown.
Every family should have one if they do dare,
Cos there are those times when he’ll give you a scare.
But we wouldn’t be without him not for a day,
For Jack being Jack is keeps our family at play.


JOSH (Our 20 year old future CEO of Apple Computer)

“Zit Zit” were the words that he very first spoke,
And now its Italian he talks and has wrote.
He’s become quite the student and does us so proud,
With his pictures and web work he stands out from the crowd.
This year in true fashion he had us surprised,
When at UVM he got a free ride.
We love him to bits and think he’s quite cool,
And we know full well that this guy is no fool.


LORI (My wonderful wife - had to do one for her too).

To the love of my life dear Lori
Since I met you it’s been quite a story.
Not one without its contenture
But oh have we had some adventure.
Like to swim with a shark just for a lark
Or a moose close up did I mention?
Well now that it’s Christmas it’s all plain to see,
I hope many more we’ll have you and me.
So Merry Christmas my dear from your man without fear,
Now you take the lead and I’ll bring up the rear.