The Week Before Christmas

a retelling by Leonard Reil

'Twas the week before Christmas, and at the Reil home
They gathered together, to look over their annual tome;
Mommy had made it with the tenderest care,
With pictures and stories written with wit and with flair;
The children sat anxious to hear the narrations,
Of work and of school and adventurous vacations;
The first stories were Daddy's, the head of the flock,
Simple stories of work-travel to Seoul and Bangkok;
Mommy's first story was great - a much deserved break,
Las Vegas without kids, no one to keep her awake;
But next time in Vegas, with three kids in tow,
She cracked her one elbow and shattered her toe;
To top off her year, Mommy had one more score,
Discovering she was pregnant with baby number four;
Kaleb and Noé, our sweet little twins,
Had many new challenges and a whole lot of wins;
In first grade this year, they've started their path,
With reading and writing and a fair bit of math;
Kaleb played many sports, baseball, basket and soccer,
Though with all of that he still has no locker;
And now he has started to study Kungfu,
From white belt to yellow without much ado;
Noé, our princess continues, to dance,
Across the stage with a twist, jump and prance;
Her second recital, what an amazing display,
None of us could ever forget that day;
Gavin, our toddler, who has just turned two,
Started to make such a noise you'd have thought it a zoo;
For you see that young man, I don't want to tattle,
In Kindermusik learned how to make things shake and to rattle;
In nursery, playgroup, or just home with Mom,
Little Gavin surely thinks that his life is the bomb;
Then came family tales, the whole clan together,
Tramping here and there without heed of the weather;
And also some stories that happened at home,
For things will still happen if you stay put or you roam;
Last year Santa had given us a trip to Hong Kong,
To see Victoria Peak, the Big Buddha, and Disneyland's throng;
Then to the kids' school came a man, Jack Gantos by name,
The author of many “Rotten Ralph” books of fame;
And a singer/song-writer by the name of Jim Valley,
Singing songs of the planet, oh, what a finale;
90 miles in six hours did we drive to Sun Moon Lake,
For all of Taiwan was on the road for Spring Break;
Yes, travel we did to the south and the west,
Because seeing family and friends is truly the best;
First to the Reil's, if of our love you need proof,
Eight adults and thirteen kids were under Steve and Suzette's roof;
Visiting Disneyland, the beach, a park with many a train,
Playing games, sharing stories, all the memories remain;
Then to Boise we flew to join with clan Pittl,
Though neither Grandpa nor Grandma can play on the fiddle;
All the children and grandchildren sang out with wild cheers,
As with them we celebrated their marriage of ten years;
Later Great-Grandma Pittl up to heaven did go,
Yet we know she still looks down on us here below;
Finally back to Las Vegas for Lee family play,
We all went - except Dad who went back to Taipei;
We went there to join in the joy that was spreading,
As Tom and Erika exchanged vows at their wedding;
Then with Grampa, Gramma and Kris we did go to relax,
To Thailand's beaches, its temples, and on elephants' backs;
Then we finished our telling and closed up the book,
But if you'd like to see it, you're welcome to look,
At www.jenniferlynnreil.blogspot.com you can find,
All these stories and more with cute pictures combined;
With that we will leave you and wish you plenty of cheer,
A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
The Reil Family- Leonard, Jennifer, Kaleb, Noé, Gavin (& baby #4)