Christmas Day

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We are blessed by the true meaning of Christmas, the ultimate Gift of God.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 KJV

Joy to the world! Our Lord is come.

Delivering Christmas Goodies

This afternoon Annie and I decorated the horses, and we all went out to deliver our Christmas bread to our neighbors. We bought red and green yarn and gold bells and braided their manes and tails. Daddy rode Jack, Momma rode Rusty, Annie rode Buddy, and I rode Peg. We had a really nice time, and everybody behaved. It has been over a month since the younger horses were ridden, and Rusty has not had a rider in over a year. They were good boys, especially since we encountered a four-wheeler, several dogs, some cars, a few chickens, two frisky, galloping horses, and a loop of loose barbed wire in which Rusty entangled his foot. Jack said it was all quite interesting.

I really like to hand out our Christmas goodies that way. Our neighbors seem to enjoy it as well. This year it was extra special, because Daddy and Momma came with us. Riding down the road on our horses, bells jingling, carrying cranberry bread (it smelled so good!) really puts one in the Christmas spirit. Peg and Jack thought the bread they were carrying smelled like something a horse would like to eat. They kept trying to reach it while we were riding. Thankfully, we were able to keep it away from them. We fed them horse cookies when we returned to the barn.

Tonight, Daddy is hanging our outside Christmas lights. They are not cooperating, and some of them won't light up. Our house will be lovely when Daddy finishes, though. I think white icicle lights on a house are pretty.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Today we made cranberry orange bread to give as Christmas goodies. Momma and I made six big loaves and four little ones, and they look really good. I know that the dough was tasty, because we tried it.

We made it all in one batch, which posed a few problems. The volume of the ingredients made stirring difficult, but thankfully barn work strengthens one's arms. Our bread is in the oven right now, and Momma and Annie tell me it smells delicious. I can't tell, because I have a cold.

Annie and I plan to deliver the bread to our neighbors on horseback. Last year we decorated Peg and Buddy with greenery and red yarn. Then we rode down our gravel road and gave out our goodies Pony Express style. At one house, the resident horses bolted across their pasture, and Peg took off running, too. However, the bread we were carrying was none the worse for the excitement. This year we hope to have none of that sort of adventure on our rounds.

Garden Harvest

I harvested our first crops from the garden last week. We got turnips, lettuces, cilantro, parsley, and green onions. Momma and I are enjoying the turnips very much. We prepare them by roasting them in the oven. We also had a fresh lettuce salad yesterday, and it was delicious.

We were blessed with such an abundance of produce that we were able to share it with some of our friends. God has been good to us by causing our garden to grow so well. We know we cannot take credit for it ourselves. We just plant the seeds and weed, and God waters and sends the sunshine. Our garden is a constant reminder of God's care for us.

Snow!

Last night it snowed at our house. The fluffy, white flakes came down in abundance, and about an inch stuck. It was a perfect finishing touch to our evening, since we had gotten our Christmas tree that afternoon. We put up the tree and strung the lights while Daddy made chicken and sausage gumbo. Then we decorated our tree between trips to the door to watch the snow fall.

We were thrilled when the snow finally began to stick. At about 10:30 p.m. Annie and I took a walk around the property and marveled at the wonders of God's creation. The landscape was truly lovely.

This morning, Annie and I went outside early enough to catch the sunrise on the snow. We

watched our cats and dogs play in the snow, and we turned out the horses so that they could play as well. Jack liked eating snow.

Later, we built snow people. I made a person and a dog, and Annie and Momma made snow kitties. When it snowed last year, we forgot to make snow people, so we decided not to miss the opportunity this year.

It was such a blessing to be able to experience snow again this year. Every time I see snow, I am reminded of the awesome power, wisdom, and creativity of God. Praise the Lord!

Our Trip to Oklahoma

Momma, Annie, and I went to Oklahoma for the week of Thanksgiving. We visited my grandparents and my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was a special visit. God really blessed us with a nice week together.

Annie and I spent a lot of time playing with our cousins. We played a lot of hide and seek, capture the flag, and a game we invented on the spot called kneeball. Croquet, horseshoes, and several inside games were also popular.

My uncle owns a feed mill, so he knows most of the ranchers in his area. One ranch with which he is familiar has recently put 5,000 wild mustangs on its land. Uncle Rick took us out to see the horses on Sunday. That was an experience I will never forget. The mustangs were beautiful, but what surprised me was their curiosity. They came right up to the car and sniffed it, and they would almost let one touch them. We took a lot of pictures. One herd of nearly 100 animals was galloping across the prairie as we drove along the road to the driveway of the ranch. It was a living image of the Old West.

Uncle Rick also took us to see a herd of buffalo on the Tallgrass Prairie. Although the buffalo didn't quite have the romantic beauty of the mustangs, they were worth seeing. One cannot imagine the presence and power of a bull buffalo until one sees him up close. I was glad that I was in the car!

We are now home again, and we're settling back into our schedule. I know Daddy is thankful that we have returned, because he was taking care of the whole menagerie while we were gone. He even had to clean the stalls.


Here is today's memory verse.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. Psalm 17:15 KJV