Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

‘Twas the year before Christmas, when all through the house

We were all stirring, even my new spouse.

The boxes were all stacked in the garage with great care,

In hopes that nothing would break during the long trip out there.

Our belongings were nestled all snug in their newspaper wraps,

With the exception of our warm winter caps.

And I in my flip-flops, and Kevin in his sandals,

Thought to ourselves, “OH MY. I hope we didn’t pack any candles!”

When out on the street corner there arose such a clatter,

Kevin called me to tell me what was the matter.

Away to the junkyard his car was towed,

One less thing to move to our new abode.

We had started to think the end would never be near,

When, what to my wondering eye should appear?

That bright sun on the cactus and palm tree,

Has us both shouting out a loud “Whoopee!”

With a few final miles, through the gorgeous peaks,

I knew we had finally arrived in Phoenix.

Right behind us the moving truck came,

And as we unloaded the boxes, we called them by name:

“The Bedroom! The Guest Room!

The Room with a view!

The Office and Den!

And don’t forget the Loo.

Just stack them all up,

Next to the wall!

Now empty them! Empty them!

Empty them all!

We emptied the boxes in the scorching summer heat,

Into a house without air conditioning – no easy feat!

So up to the ceiling, empty boxes did stack,

While we filled the cupboards in a race to unpack.

And then in a blink darkness did fall,

Onto every soft surface we all did sprawl.

As our heads hit the pillows, we sighed with relief,

And sincerely hoped that our sleep wouldn’t be brief.

Morning brought with it a bright, sunny day,

Zoe and Lexi couldn’t wait to go out to play.

Into their backyard, so new and so big,

With lots of room to run and to dig!

Law school -- Quickly it started! The classes, how many!

Only six, but it felt more like twenty!

Case briefs, outlines, and memos a plenty,

For his thoughts, they didn’t pay a penny.

Into a good lawyer, he will turn,

So much from Civ Pro he did learn.

Torts was a bore, Contracts was worse,

Lawyering Process turned into a curse.

A pretty white car, so shiny and new,

And a prosperous job offer finally came through.

And after a few months of this new work,

I’ve almost gone completely berserk.

For a house of our own, we’ve begun to dream,

The time has come to begin a new scheme.

To the other side of town we wish to move,

Hopefully there we will find our groove.

2011 was one for the books,

Now onward we go, with no backwards looks.

We wanted to say as the holidays draw near,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good year!

Love,

Michele, Kevin,

Zoe & Lexi

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.