Christmas, 2017

What a Christmas we have had! Sarah, Todd, JC, and Trinity arrived on December 23 and stayed until today, and Lisa was able to be with us every day as well. We packed a lot into the week they were here, despite the harsh weather that hampered travel and being outdoors.

Christmas Eve day it began snowing. We were expecting 2-4 inches and ended up with 6. Todd was a big help in keeping our sidewalks and driveway clear.

Having so many people here was really good for Molly. She got a lot of socialization and began relaxing despite the noise and chaos seven people and Millie created.

 Trinity made sugar cookies for us that we decorated on Christmas Eve.

 They were delicious!

 Stockings on Christmas morning.

 Trinity, JC, Lisa, and Sarah up on the landing before coming downstairs to open gifts.

 Passing out gifts and stockings.

 Let the gift opening begin!

 My special gift to Sarah and Lisa was to have portraits painted of Bailey and Millie. Since Bailey had died only a week or so before Christmas day, it was a very poignant gift for Sarah.

 JC, Sarah, Trinity, and Lisa.

 Molly sat with me while I opened my gifts.

My sisters, Leslie and Jenny, and Rick came for Christmas dinner.

 JC, Aunt Jenny, Trinity, and Lisa.

Steve and Cindie joined us after dinner for Dirty Santa. Sadly, I did not get any pictures!

 Molly continued to relax with family members. Here she is cuddled up to Todd.

The day after Christmas, we went to the temple. Tuesday is our regular night, but our schedules were arranged so that we could be with and assist our family.

Lisa, JC, and Sarah did baptisms. 

The girls stood in as proxies as my mother was sealed to her parents and I was sealed to mine. It was a big deal for me, and the sealer was an old friend from the Champaign Stake, John Bates. I also officiated in Initiatory while they did some family names - what a treat!

Wednesday we went out north of Battleground to see if we could find an Arctic Snowy Owl. A few had been sighted in the area, and Leslie had told me where she had seen one.

And find one we did! Wow!!

Curt and his family came over Wednesday to say hello - it was Vanessa's family's turn to celebrate with them, so we were happy to get to see them.

 We took the opportunity to open gifts together!

 Mila loved her new rocking horse!

 We also had a gingerbread house decorating contest - Lisa's favorite holiday activity. She won the family vote!

Although the one Kyle posted for us to see was pretty cool - the kids made it out of packing boxes left over from their move!

 We played a lot of games together during the week.

 Morning, afternoon, and night!

 My favorites are Wizards, Mexican Train, Skip-Bo, and Sequence.

 Molly and Millie did a lot of sleeping while we played games.

There was a second snow that dumped another 5-6 inches on us, making it so we had about a foot of snow on the ground.

 It was pretty, but it meant several more sessions of shoveling.

And then the bottom dropped out of the temperature - we were under warnings and advisories for extremely cold temperatures and windchills.

 This was the temperature New Year's Day when I woke up!

Just look at that windchill! -30 degrees! Luckily, Molly felt the chill and did her business quickly so we could get back inside.

She also showed some interest in playing - a breakthrough!

 And, when Ian dropped some Legos with a crash, startling her, she ran to Craig and me for safety. Another breakthrough!

Mila ensured that Molly's toys were close by and available.

Ian and Mila watch a movie together while the adults play even more games.

I am sad to see Sarah and her family head home, but I still have the rest of this week off from school, so I will use my time to put Christmas away and clean up from having visitors for over a week.

Happy New Year!

A Mini Molly

My friend, Kathy Nimmer, who helped us find Molly, gave me a gift of a mini Molly.

 It's a cast iron yellow lab.

And, it's a bank!

The facial features have been painted to give it character. I don't know how old it is, maybe from the late 1800s/early 1900s?

Regardless, I am touched at her gift.

Molly Plays Ball!

Last night I saw Molly tug on the tag of her blanket and then mouth something else. I wondered if she might be feeling playful, so I got a tennis ball to find out. This breakthrough happened.

So happy to see her relax enough to play a bit!

Farmer's Field = Tundra?

I guess a harvested corn or bean field can seem like tundra, right?

It's flat, and when it's covered with snow and the temperatures are hovering around zero, who can blame this bird for thinking she is home?

That's a female Snowy Owl, not indigenous to Indiana, but several have been spotted in our area recently. My daughter, a birder (like me) and a photographer (unlike me) took these shots a couple of miles from the barn yesterday morning.

The theory as to why the birds are in Indiana is that there is a more abundant food source here this winter and so the birds are flying much further south than they normally would in order to survive. (They've been documented as far south as Indianapolis.) My sister and her husband live near this farm field and had spotted the bird twice, so yesterday Sarah grabbed her camera and we hopped into the truck to see if we could find one. We drove to the area Leslie said she had seen the bird, and there she was, sitting over a kill.

We stayed in the truck, not wanting to disturb the bird, and watched from a distance. (Thank goodness for Sarah's telephoto lens!)  It was pretty amazing to see such a beautiful, rare bird right here in Indiana.

Indoor Horsey Time

 We have five inches of snow on the ground and temperatures that are very, very low right now.

Look at those lows for Sunday, Monday, and Thursday! This cold snap is not going away any time soon. Neither is the snow - in fact, we are supposed to get some more tomorrow and possibly next week.

Between the bone chilling temperatures and the snow, my barn time is not happening for a  few days. To access the old and new barns, I have to drive down two unpaved, unplowed lanes. I also have a lot of hardware in my body (artificial knees and right hip plus a spinal fusion) and the cold really bothers the muscles around my artificial hip. If I get the shivers, it hurts. A lot.

So, any horsey stuff I am doing is happening at home. Like giving Mila her Christmas present of a rocking horse.

 Which, I am thrilled to say, she loves!

The Ghost of Christmas Past - in the Barn!

Merry Christmas from Abby and me!

 It was very sunny outside, and the angle of the sun this time of year coupled with the time I made my visit to the barn...

 ... makes it look like Abby is being visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past. (In Dickens' book, that ghost has a very bright light that comes from its head and when it presents itself to Scrooge, it is so bright that he asks the specter to put its cap on.)

If you have never read the unabridged A Christmas Carol, I suggest you do - it is a beautiful book and much better than the movies about it. I read it aloud to my students this December and they were absolutely riveted. We even had a "Happy New Year, Mr. Scrooge" party to celebrate the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge.

 I played the role of Governess Isenbarger and hosted the party. (That's my student teacher with me.) In keeping with the time period, we ate Christmas cake, sugar plums, gingerbread, and fruits and veggies.

Beverages were a choice between wassail and hot chocolate.

 Mr. Scrooge was played by Tim Schnepp, our Technology teacher who rearranged his schedule to join us.

My students all created characters who had had an encounter with Scrooge prior to his reformation and had come to the party to chat with him and celebrate the new Scrooge.

Two gentlemen, an undertaker, and a coachman. (I love how the students really got into their characters!)

We had some carolers who sang to Mr. Scrooge...

... and the men who had been collecting for charity on Christmas Eve and were thrown out of Scrooge's counting house.

 Three ladies came and invited Mr. Scrooge to their next dinner party...

... and we even had Her Royal Highness, Queen Victoria join us!

So, as you might imagine, I very much had the book on my brain with it being Christmas and having so recently read it as well as having had a big party about it. When I saw the sunlight playing on Sultanna behind Abby, I could not help but think of the book!

I hop you and yours had a wonderful Christmas!

The Power of a Good Book

When I was in fifth grade, my teacher, Mrs. Hayman, read aloud A Wrinkle in Time to our class. I was absolutely riveted, and it is my all-time favorite work of fiction. I thought then that, if I ever became a teacher, I would read it to my students, too.

And I have. Every single class. I love the book for its content; now I also love it for the many, many memories of sharing it with children who also loved it.

Some love it so much so that, even when they are in college, they remember it. Ben Anthony, one of my three year kiddos, texted me last night.

It made me smile to hear from him and know that he remembered the book.