An Isenbarger Night Before Christmas

(With acknowledgment to Clement C. Moore, author of A Visit from St. Nicholas.)

Twas the day before Christmas

 and all through our home

 wrapping paper and gifts

were stacked 'round the rooms.

 Twenty-two stockings hung on the mantle with care

 in hopes that Boompa and Grammy would fill them (if they dared!)

Baby Jesus was nestled all snug in his bed

While visions of feeding the masses danced in Grammy's head.

The home was all decorated and ready for guests 

 with breakables stowed away at Grammy's request.

Two trees were trimmed and ready to go

 with one up so high, that Boompa said, "Whoa!"

"Let's put one up for the littlest kids,"

 "And they can play with it without the adults blowing their lids!"

 The tables were prepped with festive cloths and candles

 the booster seats in the kitchen 'cause the chairs there had handles.

 There were plenty of healthy things to counter the sugar

which was in such abundance that it was really quite vulgar!

The holiday items were strewn through the house

 even in the bathroom was a painting of Santa Claus!

 From garlands

 and candy canes

 and baubles galore

Grammy and Boompa were ready for some rest and a good snore.

But a giggle outside and a ring of the doorbell

meant their family was now here - there was no time to chill!

A wink at each other and a clasping of hands,

They threw open the door to greet the merry band.

"It's Julie, and Kate, and sweet little Susie!

"And Ian and Mila, ohhhh, and cute little Lukie!

"Hi, Titan! Hey, Cambria! Come into the hall!

"Wow, JC and Trinity, when did you get so tall?"

From the top of the house and to the main floor, too,

Those kiddos dashed away, dashed away, away they all flew!

But we heard them exclaim as they scurried out of sight,

"Merry Christmas, Grammy and Boompa, we're staying up all night!"

Ponies and Pies with the Pony Pals

Vacationing with my Pony Pals was fun. It was really nice to not be the only horse lover in the group!

Finding Cambria had left her unicorn with a book to read in the hiding place under the stairs made me smile.

And when we visited an apple orchard, the kids flocked to see the donkey pastured by the trees!  

Ian, Julie, and Cambria were distracted a bit by a caterpillar, but Mila, like her Grammy, only had eyes for the donkey.

Kate and I hung out with the little guy long after everyone else had moved on.

We all enjoyed the kids' buckboard wagon, too.

Afterward we bought apples so that we could make pies for dinner. I was hoping to save a few to bring home to Abby, but with sixteen of us vacationing together, they never made it home. (She still has a partial bag of candy corn she's working on, so she'll be fine.)

Me and the Pony Pal Pie Crew. (Cambria, Julie, Titan, Mila, Ian, me, and Kate.) Titan's mouth is stuffed full of the apple slices he snatched from the pie just before the photo was snapped. (Those little Pony Pals ate so many slices that we had to peel a couple of extra apples to replace them!)

 Despite the slice-snatching, our pies turned out well and were yummy!

The Horsey Gene - Will it Last?

And the horsey gene surfaces in my grandchildren, even without my help!

Jessica, our daughter in Virginia, sent me this picture this morning of her daughter, Cambria.

Jessica texted, "Cambria decided to make a stick horse all by herself. I didn't know what she was doing, but she kept asking me for tape and crayons. Now she is galloping around the house."

(I helpfully offered to buy her a pony for Christmas, but for some reason, my daughter declined. Go figure.)

Then earlier this week, our Tennessee son, Cole, sent me this photo of two of his daughters at a local festival.

Cole used to show model horses with me when he was little, but he outgrew that by the time he was in middle school. I am glad to see Kate and Julie getting an opportunity to have some horsey interaction - it will help that horse gene grow!

(I have also noticed that that miniature horse does not seem to have a lead rope or handler. Docile it may be, but I would hate to see it step on one of the girl's feet, shy and knock into them, or even kick them.)

Mila lives across the river from me in a different town, but she's close enough so that I do still get to encourage her horsey gene. But, I had nothing to do with this!

She came over for a visit Saturday afternoon and brought this picture that she had colored with her. I spy a unicorn horn and wings - isn't that called a "pegacorn"? For the past couple of visits, Mila has brought pictures of horses that she's colored to hang on my fridge. A fridge covered in pony pictures? I love it!

Granddaughter Trinity is a teenager and loves horses so much that the word "horse" is part of her social media name.

That's her on the left riding in Estes Park, Colorado. (Where is her helmet??) She lives in Aurora, Colorado, and while she loves horses, she also plays the harp, and that is a very expensive instrument to purchase as are lessons for it.

She had to make a choice between harp and horse, and she chose harp. I get following your passion, and that is what Trinity is doing. And who knows? She may come back to horses as an adult.

Finally, there is Addie, who lives in Florida. She loves horses and she loves to read, so naturally for her birthday I sent her some books to encourage that horse gene.

 Misty of Chincoteague, Born to Trot, and Brown Sunshine, all Marguerite Henry classics, were added to her growing collection of horse books.

Will any of my grandchildren grow up to love horses as much as I do? That's hard to tell. So many girls go through a horsey phase, which they often outgrow. Boys don't seem to go through that, but you do find men who are passionate about horses throughout their lifetime. (And, if you read The Chronicle of the Horse and other magazines, you will see that the top tier of horse sporting events has a greater percentage of male riders than female ones.)

I would love it if someone in my family became an avid horseman or horsewoman. But I would hope even more that, whatever their passion is, they follow it and find happiness.

Just as I think Trinity is doing with her harp. But I will still cross my fingers and hope.

Welcome, Susan Jane Isenbarger!

This is a totally non-horsey post, but since I've been ill and in the hospital, I haven't done anything horsey, real or model, for several days to write about. A couple of other family members have also been in the hospital, and for a very good reason.

Welcome to our newest grandbaby!

Susan Jane Isenbarger, 8/11/18. I love that her birthdate is a palindrome!

 It was a fast delivery, but mama and baby are fine.

 I think our new little miss looks a lot like her daddy.

 Kate and Julie, the big sisters, are thrilled!

Susan is our 15th grandchild, and our second "birthday pair." She shares her birthday with her cousin, Titan, who turned three the day she was born, while Sarah has given birth twice on the same day, with Isaac being eight years older than Trinity.

I can hardly wait to meet her!

Pony Pal Pictures

Our hurricane evacuees left early this morning to head home to Florida. I'll miss them, and will also miss discovering that my pony pals liked to take pictures of my collection on my phone.

They're very random - I see no rhyme or reason as to why these pieces were selected! (I'm going to check that Misty's Twilight - is that a seam split on her chest?)

 My glass cases with some of my mini Hagen Renakers and other minis.

The chinas and porcelains in the living room display case. (And my head - I thought she was taking a picture of me!)

Looks like Corinne traveled all over the house specifically to photograph my collection!