Christmas - from the Horsiemama Blog

  I will write more about our family Christmas when I get some time. In the meantime, this is today's post about it on the Horsiemama blog.

(A little background - those in our family who were coming for Christmas self quarantined for two weeks and then had COVID tests to ensure they were negative. This let us feel comfortable in getting together.)

Every other year, our family gets together for Christmas at our home here in Indiana. It's a monumental task coordinating the schedules of 28 people, but usually most of us make it. And while this year we were missing Mountain Mama Jessica and her family as well as Beach Son Kyle and crew, we were grateful to have four of our kids and their families with us for Christmas.

Back row left to right: Todd, Denver Daughter Sarah, JC, Emily holding Pony Pal Susie, Music City Son Cole, Local Son Curt holding Pony Pal Mila, Vanessa. Seated left to right: Horse Buddy Trinity holding Cowpoke Ian, me holding Pony Pal Kate (who insisted on wrapping up in the 10' pink python we gave her for Christmas), Craig holding Cowpoke Lukie, and Teacher Daughter Lisa holding Pony Pal Julie.

Of course, we went out to visit the horses. Julie, Mila, Lukie, Kate, and Vanessa with Abby. (A longer blog post on that barn visit is coming.)

On Christmas Eve we always reenact the Nativity. I got to be a horse in the stable. (Typecasting? Haha!)

I was also asked to read The Night Before Christmas to everyone. The unicorn who was in our Nativity reenactment hung around to hear the story. (What?? You didn't know that a unicorn came to see Baby Jesus? Well, she did in the Isenbarger family version!)

Speaking of unicorns, Pony Pal Mila loved her new Breyer Aurora. I took it out of its Breyer box, wrapped it in bubble wrap, and put it in a Breyer mailing box before wrapping it. She was SO excited and liked the box so much we had to save it for her. 

Craig and I got at least one gift wrapped in unicorn paper.

Guess who got new cowgirl boots for Christmas?? I am hoping to ride some more this spring.

Craig also surprised me by having a blanket made with a picture of Abby and me on it.

The Not Mares in Black, Music City Son Cole, Todd (Sarah's hubby), Craig, and Local Son Curt, chat around the kitchen island.

JC (Denver Daughter's oldest and a college student at BYU Idaho) was a patient cousin and let Julie, Lukie, Mila, and Ian tackle him on the trampoline.

Since we had told everyone that their dogs were welcome to come to our home, we had five dogs among the chaos.

Horse Buddy Trinity (JC's sister) stretched out with her dog, Blue and our Pepper.

Pony Pal Julie with Millie and Molly, Teacher Daughter Lisa's dogs.

Music City Son Cole took a nap cuddled up with with Rhett, Denver Daughter Sarah's Australian Goldendoodle puppy.

And while we only had a little dusting of snow on Christmas Day,

it was still a magical day. (Must've been the unicorn.)

Embroidering Christmas Ornaments for the Family

  (I wrote this post at the end of November but delayed posting it because I wanted to wait until everyone had opened their gifts. Didn't want to spoil any surprises!)

 I have been sewing since November 12, frantically trying to get the grandkids' Christmas ornaments made and to them before Thanksgiving. I missed that deadline, but they will go out tomorrow so they will still be able to enjoy them much of the holiday season.

I made a sort of "spread sheet" on the table as I made them - that helped me keep track of who I still had to sew for.

Sarah's family.

Jessica's family.

Kyle's family.

Lisa's ornament. She made the sign that quotes Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, "He uses his keys, his Santa Claus keys!"

Curt's family.

Cole's family. (The flamingo's legs are supposed to be ridiculously long.)

Some individual look at the ornaments ( mostly so I will have reference photos in the future):

The first practice one - I like it so much I'm going to hang it on my own tree!

I wasn't happy with the neon green when I made Addie's so I made a second one.

Kyle said he liked the darker one and I agreed with him.

So, Addie is getting that one.

I experimented with background color a lot on Baby Yoda.

The pattern called for the pink outline and the pink by the eyes but I did not like those and left them off.

Trying a charcoal felt for Baby Yoda's pram.

Since the blaze on the gingerbread pony looked a lot to me like a unicorn's horn, I made unicorns!

Experimenting with colors.

I am going to make this flamingo for Anne Field and Jennifer Buxton, my Flamingo Pond buddies.

I absolutely love this gingerbread owl.  It is from Memories in Stitches, a UK virtual store. 

Not an accurate photo of Julie's cat - lighting is WAY off.

See what I mean?

Some of these are for family while others are for the sisters I minister to as well as my ministering partner and the woman who ministers to me.

The kids' ornaments, all wrapped and ready to go.

Talk about a marathon stitching project!

Dr. Lane Passes Away

 Dr. Larry Lane was my obstetrician and delivered all of my children except Sarah. He was her doctor when she gave birth to Isaac, and I will never forget how, busy as he was, he pulled up a chair by her bedside and sat and chatted with her while she was in labor. 

He also saved my life after I gave birth to Cole. Cole was huge - 10' 4" and 23 inches long, and my cervix tore. I began to bleed out, and remember wondering why my knees suddenly looked so bony and thin. Dr. Lane put his fist into my belly and began pushing hard, trying to stop the bleeding. He later told me that I'd lost half my blood volume and I had a nurse assigned to sit with me for the next 24 hours to be sure I was okay and didn't begin bleeding again.

Rest in peace, Dr. Lane. You were the best of the best, both as a doctor and as a human being. I am sure there is a very special place for you in heaven.

--

NAPLES, Fla. — Dr. Larry Ray Lane, 80, of Naples, Fla., and Champaign, passed away Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at Moorings Park Memory Care, Naples.

Born Aug. 1, 1940, in Mattoon, Larry was the son of Raymond Henry and Pauline Virginia (Wingler) Lane. He married Glenda Lee Marshall on Aug. 29, 1959, in Effingham.

After graduating from Effingham High School, Larry attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago.

As a beloved obstetrician/gynecologist at Christie Clinic in Champaign for more than 30 years, Dr. Lane delivered thousands of babies. He will be remembered for his 24/7 dedication to caring for his patients and their families. Also, he had leadership roles as president of the Christie Clinic Board of Directors and medical director of Christie Clinic.

He adored his Portuguese water dog, Samurai; wowed his grandchildren with his toy train collection; and joyfully shared his love of music at family gatherings.

Most of all, he will be remembered as a generous, kind and loving father and grandfather. In particular, his wisdom will be missed by all of his sons.

Survivors include his wife, Glenda Lane of Naples; three sons, Robert H. (Teri) Lane of Parkville, Mo., Charles H. (Lori) Lane of Champaign and William H. (Tanya) Lane of Fresno, Calif.; five grandchildren, Genevieve A. Lane, Henry P. Lane, Hunter D. Lane, Austin C. Lane and Sean T. Lane; and a brother, Steven H. Lane of Champaign.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Pauline Lane.

Memorials in his honor may be given to the Music Department at North Naples Church, 6000 Goodlette Road North, Naples, FL 34109, or the Alzheimer's Support Network, 660 Tamiami Trail North, Ste. 21, Naples, FL 34102.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the dedicated staff at Moorings Park Memory Care and Avow Hospice.

In consideration for the health and safety of everyone, a celebration of life for Dr. Lane will take place at a future date in Champaign. He will be buried in Marion Christian Church Cemetery, West Salem.

Melissa's Christmas Pillowcase

 I forgot to embroider Melissa's Thanksgiving pillowcase, so I made sure to embroider her Christmas one!

It was REALLY hard to choose a color for the embroidery thread. 

Still, she will be able to see it, so I'm not going to worry too much about it.

My Penpal, Pepper: Christmas is Coming!

 Hi Mom!

Guess what? Lynn and Craig have put a reminder tree up in our living room! Having a reminder tree in the house is just the BEST because it smells like the trees outside and reminds me of the things I love to do - play frisbee in the park, go for a walk, or hunt for bunny cocoa puffs. Because of the reminder tree I am asking Lynn and Craig to take me to those places more often and sometimes they do! 

Even better, they have put some interesting boxes and bags under the reminder tree. I like to go over to them and sniff them - MMMMMMM! But for some reason, Lynn and Craig tell me that I have to wait until Christmas to see what's in those packages. 

Now, that doesn't seem fair. Christmas is a long way away and I have a hard time waiting. But Lynn told me not to worry, that she had something that would not only help pass the time, but help me count the days to Christmas. And she went into her closet and pulled out a huge box!

She said that every day she would open one of those doors and that I would get the treat that is hiding behind it! WOWZA!!

There are 24 doors and, this just keeps  getting better and better, there are 44 treats inside. That means I get two surprises on some days! DOUBLE WOWZA!!

We have opened four doors so far and I have to say, everything has been tasty. Lynn tells me that I can count on opening a new door every day but that I have to wait until we come home after playing frisbee in the park. (The reminder tree told me to ask about that this morning when we first got up, but Lynn said that 5:00 AM is not the best time to play frisbee. Doggone!)

Well, that reminder tree just reminded me to ask to go outside. (I will use my puppy eyes, too - neither Lynn or Craig can resist those!)

Sending wags, licks, and wiggles to all,

Peppermint (my holiday nickname)

Christmas Tree Shopping!

 I kid you not - Craig and I found our Christmas tree in 90 seconds flat this year. He'd seen them at Kroger for $30 and came home and told me that the Kroger trees were really nice. 

I've learned to listen to Craig when he's found a bargain, so we hopped into the car, drove to Kroger, and the first tree we pulled out was absolutely perfect. We weren't even gone from home for 20 minutes!

Lisa's tree was a different story.

She invited us to go out to Cassens' Tree Farm and choose one from there.

Cassens' is an old farm with a historic home...

... and a barn that distracts me from the trees we are supposed to be looking at.

But we love it when our kids invite us to tag along with them, so we met her out there and began the hunt for that perfect Christmas tree.

Too big and too pricey ($225!)

Too small! (I think that one was $15.)

Maybe...

After wandering around two different fields of trees, we headed back into the barn where precut ones were available.

Hmmmm...

And the winner is the one on the right!

Lucky us, Lisa invited us to bring Pepper and come over for pizza and help her put the lights on the tree.

Her tree stand just barely fit - it was made for a bigger tree

 but she got it to work with help from her dad.

I was on lights duty

and the safety spotter.

Lisa finished up the next day - her tree is so beautiful!

Now we need to work on ours.