We’re decking the halls and hanging the balls and greeting our family and friends.

Let’s all share some holiday cheer before the old year ends.

We hope this year’s been good for you, and things have been just great.

Can you believe it’s almost here -- the end of Two Thousand Eight?

So what shall we talk about this year? Plenty of topics are hot.

Olympics, finances, and storms far and near -- we’ll have to cover a lot.

We chose not to travel to China this year, to see all the games in Beijing.

But we watched on the tube and cheered right along for every American team.

The gymnasts were dancing and flipping in air, such grace and such strength to behold.

And Michael Phelps did swimmingly well, winning eight medals of gold.

A storm named Ike hit Texas hard; a terrible cyclone in Burma.

Earthquakes in China, and one in L.A., were shaking the old Terra Firma.

The Stock Market also got shook up, with a different kind of a tremor.

And Wall Street is more volatile now than we can ever remember.

Now Bailout is the magic word. The economy’s all out of whack.

And the Feds offered aid to some of the banks, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The big carmakers flew into town, each in his own private jet,

Asking for some of those bailout funds -- just how bold can you get?

In a year of endless politics, suspense, excitement, and drama,

The hottest campaign going on was Clinton vs. Obama.

The people said they wanted change; the Republicans were ailin’ --

But things were livened up a bit, when McCain chose Sarah Palin.

Then, watching the polls, it dawned on us, just how the people were sidin’ --

We soon came to see the winners would be Senators Obama and Biden.

We saw on that Election Night, some history-making phenomena,

When the voters chose the first-ever black, and elected Barack Obama.

If it’s Sunday morning, It’s Meet the Press. Yes, it’s still on the air,

But it’s not much fun to watch anymore, ’cause Tim Russert’s no longer there.

Dr. DeBakey passed away, the greatest heart surgeon we know

Just think of the hundreds of lives that he saved, before it was his time to go.

Paul Newman no longer graces the screen, with those beautiful eyes of blue.

And Charlton Heston died this year. (Will he always be ‘Moses’ to you?)

O.J. Simpson is back in the news; now he’s going to jail.

How can he find who murdered his wife, if he spends all his life in a cell?

We pray for our troops at home and abroad; they sacrifice all that is dear.

In Iraq and Afghanistan they fight, while some are protecting us here.

India suffered a terror attack; and pirates now threaten the seas.

An Iraqi tried to hit Bush with his shoes -- what perilous times are these!

But Isaiah, Micah, and David too, foretold Messiah’s birth;

And Jehovah sent Emmanuel to bless the entire Earth.

‘God loved us and sent His Son,’ the Holy Scriptures say,

So we receive Him in our hearts: the Truth, the Life, the Way.

We pray that you receive Him too, and feel the joy and cheer,

That Jesus brings at Christmastime, and all throughout the year.

‘Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men,’ the angel chorus sings.

And those are just the gifts we hope this Merry Christmas brings!

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year,

Stanley and Patricia