I'm married to an incredibly creative and talented man. He started a little tradition 9 years ago and has kept it going. Here is his latest masterpiece:
THREE’S A CROWD, FOUR’S A PARTY!
Winter, Spring, and Summer are nice,
But Autumn is there for a reason.
For a year to be complete, you see,
You need to have all four seasons.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are great,
But with only three, something is wrong.
The Bible simply isn’t the same
Without the Gospel of John.
Think about the rock group The Beatles,
John, Paul, and George are so-so,
But the Fab Four would only be three
If they didn’t have drummer Ringo.
And bikes and trikes are certainly fun –
With two or three wheels you’ll arrive –
But to really enjoy your travels,
You’ve got to have four wheel drive.
As all Scouters know, when it comes to plant-life,
If you see leaves of three, let them be.
But stumble across a four-leaf clover,
It’s luck of the Irish to ye!
Have you ever heard of a barbershop trio?
That’s something I’ve just never met.
For in order to make the best music work,
Most songs require a quartet.
Four quarts make a gallon, four quarters a dollar.
And we sing of four calling birds.
Mount Rushmore has four faces,
But avoid those four-letter words.
I guess you could say I’ve got four on the brain,
And you’re wondering, “What is the deal?!?”
Well three years have passed since I’ve written a poem,
So here is our shocking reveal.
Nan and I have bounced all around,
First Utah, Virginia, and then Illinois.
In each of three states, we’ve been very blessed
With the birth of a new baby boy.
Now we are back in beloved Idaho.
The closeness to home can’t be beat!
We’re in a new house, with three awesome boys,
But our family is not quite complete.
Much like the Gospels, the Beatles, and seasons,
Our three boys are great – why stop there?
So we’re happy and grateful and eager
For we’ve wonderful news to share.
A new baby is coming, early next May!
As to boy or a girl, we’re not sure,
All that we know is that we cannot wait
For the arrival of our Number Four!
He's awesome, huh! I'm going to include the previous 3 poems just for fun!
OUR SECRET SOMETHING
Hey there Fam! How do you do?
Boy, have we got something for you.
This “something” is something you don’t want to miss,
So hold on to your hats, y’all ready for this?
It’s really quite simple, but how do we start?
Sometimes it is hard to speak from the heart.
Perhaps we’ll begin by giving you clues,
Perhaps – if you’re smart – you can guess our new news.
If you do have a guess, and you’d be so kind,
We ask you to please keep your guess in your mind.
Just bite your tongue, don’t blurt it out loud,
Don’t ruin the end for the rest of the crowd.
So zip up your lips, seal them with glue,
And open your ears, ‘cause here’s the first clue.
Our something’s not big, not large, and not tall,
Our something is little, it’s petite, and it’s small.
Nope, not a coin, nor pebble, nor key,
Nor is it something you’ll find in the sea.
Our something is small, and it has lots of wrinkles,
And it’s not made of sugar like frosting and sprinkles.
Nope, not a raisin, not a bed-sheet, or shirt.
Not a wrinkly puppy dog rolling in the dirt.
Are you having trouble guessing? C’mon, you have to think.
Here’s another clue – our something’s kinda pink.
Nope, not a flower, not a lollipop, or pig,
Nor is it a necktie I picked up in Leipzig.
Our something is pink and wrinkly, but also really sweet,
But it’s not cake and ice cream; it’s not a thing you eat.
Think of something small and pink, lovable and new.
What’s a thing to cuddle with, a thing to be close to?
Nope, not a teddy-bear, not a blanket or a pillow,
Our something’s not a quilt or a fuzzy pussy-willow.
Our something is something living; with a heartbeat, lungs, and head,
It’s something that breathes in and out; it isn’t something dead.
Nope, not a monkey, not a kitty, nor a lizard,
Our something’s not a strutting rooster, grateful for his gizzard.
Our something isn’t here yet, but we're sure it's on its way.
Our something should arrive in the merry month of May.
Yet it won’t come by mail, some say it comes by stork.
But our something comes from heaven, not from China or New York.
Our something isn’t far; it’s inside of my dear wife.
Nan gives our something love, she gives our something life.
Ok. That’s all. That’s it. Are all the clues enough?
I think you know our something after hearing all this stuff.
So should I tell you? I just don’t know. Yes? No? Maybe?
It’s just so exciting, I can’t hold it in – we’re gonna have a BABY!!!!!!
2008
It’s the end of December, the end of the year,
And wasn’t ’07 just great!?!
Our hearts overflowing with holiday cheer,
We’re ready to welcome ’08.
The Lord is so giving; we all are so blessed
As on the past we reflect.
A new year beginning, let’s give it our best,
Here’s just a few things to expect.
For the Hobbs family much is in store.
The Mission Home always is hoppin’!
Zone conference, transfers, sick elders, and more,
But Mom and Dad Hobbs just ain’t stoppin’!
Brittany’s a senior at Providence High,
Come June she will don cap and gown.
In August she’ll be on her way to the Y
To join Jason in sweet Cougartown!
Speaking of Jason, he’s just so dang smart.
Ace O-Chem? Just how does he do that?
But his BYU classes are only the start,
This summer he’s taking the MCAT.
With Kamie, her fam, Heather, Richelle,
There’s just too much fun for this list.
In their crazy lives you never can tell,
Baptisms, weddings—you get the gist.
The Chandler home could be so quiet these days,
All except Lauren are gone.
But she makes up for the quiet in so many ways,
There’s still quite a lot going on.
She’s dancing and singing but that is not all,
She’s also excelling in school.
A big Twin Falls Bruin she’ll be in the fall,
And then she will really be cool!
Luke is a Cougar; his year has been awesome.
But he’s anxious to go do some fishin’.
As a fisher of men he’ll help the Church blossom,
This year he’ll be serving a mission.
For Amy and Shane it will surely be crazy
‘Cause Carson and Cade are around.
Those two newborn babies won’t let you be lazy,
We’re so glad they are here safe and sound.
A summer in Utah for Lindsay and Wynn
To help him in his education.
There also will be a new temple in Twin—
Can’t wait for the spring dedication.
As for Natalie, Dillon, and me,
’08 will surely be fun.
After three years of study I’ll have my J.D.,
It’s hard to believe I’ll be done.
And early next fall I will start making money!
But first I must pass the exam.
And the bar exam folks—it just isn’t funny,
So in June and July I will cram.
And somewhere in there—we still need to plan—
I’ll pack up my wife and our boy,
And load all our stuff in a big U-Haul van
And move us all to Illinois.
One other thing—right around July third—
Another small something to do.
We already have the doc’s final word,
We’re going to have Number Two!
Oh, 2008… I can hardly wait.
GOODBYE AND HELLO TO GRANDPA
At times like these, our feelings are tender
But that is why we’re all here.
To laugh, cry, and fondly remember
The life of our Grandfather dear.
Saying goodbye is a hard thing to do.
But one way to soften the blow
Is to never forget the beautiful truth
That there’s always another hello.
For birth’s not the start of human existence
And death is not the end.
By virtue of Our Father’s plan
We know we’ll see Grandpa again.
’Til that sweet day comes, however,
Grandpa won’t just be “pushing up daisies.”
There is work to do; he’ll be busy as ever,
Heaven’s no place to be lazy.
I don’t know if it’s doctrine, but I’d sure like to think
There are spirits who’ve yet come to earth
Whom Grandpa will meet, love, and adore –
His great grandkids well before birth.
One of those spirits will soon come to Texas
Where Jason and Di work and study.
But around the same time, maybe April or May,
Their baby might get a buddy.
Another great grandchild for dear Grandpa Petty
(Who named every critter by species and genus).
In words he might use, we proudly announce:
Nan is gestating a fetus!
Some of these include jokes you may not get if you don't know the people, but you get the idea -- Aaron is amazing!
I'm so grateful to married to such an incredible man and to be able to welcome another child into our family!
