'Twas the night
before Christmas, when all through the house
Not an
Erichsen-Webster was stirring, not even a mouse (well, except maybe
Kennedy and Shulamith downstairs. The Webster-Monsons welcomed a baby
sister, Kennedy Webster Monson, July 5th.)
The pictures were
hung on the kitchen wall with care (Yep,Terrianne, the LEAST crafty
person on earth, somehow created a family photo gallery),
In hopes friends and
visitors soon would be there.
The children were
nestled all snug in their beds (including Swen, who at age 2-1/2 has
finally figured out sleeping, much to his mother's relief!);
While visions of
Diet Coke danced in their heads;
And mamma
(Terrianne) in her 'kerchief, and I (Gerald) in my cap,
Had just settled our
brains for a long winter's nap.
When out on the lawn
there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed
to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I
flew like a flash,
Tore open the
shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the
breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave a lustre of
celebration to objects below,
When what to my
wondering eyes did appear,
But seven
Erichsen-Websters from far and from near,
With Isaiah in the
middle, so lively and rad,
I knew in a moment
he must be a grad (from Westminster College with a B.S. in Computer
Science).
More rapid than
eagles his family they came,
And he whistled, and
shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Luke!
now, Shulamith! now Eli and Seth!
On, Mathew!
On, Désirée! on, Mom and Dad!
To the top of the
porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash
away! dash away all!" (And dash away Isaiah does, all the time,
in his new position with Lanyon Inc., where he travels the world as a
tech support specialist at various events and conventions).
But Isaiah, not the
only graduate this year,
Dr. Luke Erichsen
soon would appear;
So up to Indiana a
few of us flew
Terrianne, Gerald,
and Shulamith too — (...possibly for the last time. The
Erichsen-Valentines moved from Indiana to Maryland in August, where
both Luke and Désirée secured jobs in their respective fields of
psychology and business at exactly the same time, no easy task for a
family).
As we landed in
Indy, and were turning around,
Down the aisle of
the auditorium Luke came with a bound.
He was dressed all
in black, from his head to his foot,
Including a
mortarboard, tassel, and hood;
A Ph.D. he had
earned on his back,
And he looked like a
scholar just opening his pack.
His eyes—how they
twinkled! So thrilled to be done!
Through five years
of hard work, the battle he'd won.
On his face was a
smile, his countenance glad,
With Evelyn
watching, so proud of her dad.
But before all that
happened, and lest we forget,
The most glorious
day of the past two years yet;
At the airport we
waited for one flight to land
'Til we saw Elder
Webster, Book of Mormon in hand.
We ran forth to
greet him, for after two years,
Oh the joy! — and
then Mom in a puddle of tears.
We touched him, we
hugged him, we looked in his eyes,
It was really our
Eli, a little more wise;
He spoke many words,
then went straight to his work,
Serving pasta at
Mac. Grill; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his
finger aside of his nose,
Up to BYU-Idaho in
Rexburg he rose.
Then there is
Shulamith, home with her babes,
Terrianne helps her
on most of the days.
Save three mornings
a week when with strength, mind, and might,
She tries to help
college kids learn how to write.
Matt works for
Vision, supply chain his role,
Gerald helps people
hablar español.
And last we have
Seth, who in June turned fourteen,
Which is totally
nuts if you know what we mean.
He is our “baby”
and needs to stay small,
But he currently
stands five feet, nine inches tall!
He sings in the
choir, piano he plays,
He makes our lives
joyful in so many ways.
Magic his favorite,
with card tricks galore,
A freshman in high
school, so much still in store.
From the twelve of
us here to the many of you,
May the love of the
Savior, bless through and through.
And hear us exclaim, ere we move out of sight —
“Happy
Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
