The Brown Thrush by Lucy Larcom

"There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree;
He's singing to me!  He's singing to me!"
And what does he say, little girl, little boy?
"Oh, the world's running over with joy!
      Don't you hear?  Don't you see?
      Hush!  Look!  In my tree,
I'm as happy as happy can be!"
And the brown thrush keeps singing, "A nest do you see,
And five eggs hid by me in the juniper tree?
Don't meddle!  Don't touch! little girl, little boy,
Or the world will lose some of its joy!
      Now I'm glad!  Now I'm free!
      And I always shall be,
If you never bring sorrow to me."
So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree,

To you and to me, to you and to me;
And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy,
"Oh, the world's running over with joy!
      But long it won't be,
      Don't you know?  Don't you see?
Unless we are as good as can be."

The Horseman by Walter De La Mare

Charm's birthday party

We weren't overly impressed with any of Walter's poems.  Most were alright to read, but none presented itself as a great candidate for memorization.  Claire picked this one because of the subject matter.

The Horseman

I heard a horseman
Ride over the hill;
The moon shone clear,
The night was still;
His helm was silver,
And pale was he;
And the horse he rode
Was of ivory.

Christmas Night

 Nana and Papa brought Grandma Ogle over Christmas night.

Grandma Ogle gets to observe the chaos first hand!




Ooo, a horse carrier.  Exactly like I picked out.



This looks like it can make a lot of noise!  I hope it has an off switch.

Christmas Day

What a mess!

 

Baby Evan.



I'm directing traffic, here.



Evan is investigating everything.

Here Grandma, this is for you.

What else do I have in my bag?

Christmas Morning

Look, our stockings are so full that they could no longer hang.



Let me help you, Cody.



Wook, another twain!

This must be for the cats.

Whoops, I think Cody needs more help.

Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas, and we were with Scotty and Pam
eating lil' smokies, tetrazini, salad, pie, cake and ham.
We made the children pose in front of the tree for this great shot,
Then the mayhem began as they tore off the wrappings to see what they'd got.
Shoes, boots, pjs, puzzles, a truck that really goes,
Lincoln logs, boat trailer, tea set, and a machine that sews.
We were elated, overwhelmed, and convinced we'd had more than enough
When Daddy and I were given boots, shirts, edibles, and a bunch of whiffy stuff.
Then, exhausted we all collapsed in front of the big TV,

Claire opening her sewing machine.

And laughed 'till we cried watching Despicable Me.

It was finally time to load everything up in the car.

I'm so glad we don't have to drive very far.

We still have many preparations of our own to make

For Christmas morning when our two precious children awake.

Cody opening his truck pulling a boat trailer.

Gingerbread Train

We enjoyed assembling and decorating this gingerbread train.  (Then, two hours later, both children enjoyed disassembling and eating it!)