Well, Christmas came and went in our house. We bummed around in pajamas and sweat pants, and ate food all day. We (the family) is all in agreement that our old dog, Teddy, was the most excited family member about Christmas's arrival. That old dog was so busy trying to check out the presents under the tree that he sort of drove us all crazy. After finally scolding him, he moved to the couch and hung his head down over the side of it to look at the presents.
I put a Christmas movie on TV and sure enough, he sat and watched it. If the kids were little and still enjoyed watching cartoons and movies, he would be all about that! Instead, they are teens and like electronics better so Teddy floats around the house visiting any family member who has the most comfortable digs to nap on.
Everything was finalized, wrapped and ready by Christmas Eve and I too was like a kid at Christmas. I was so excited for Christmas morning I could hardly sleep! We have never put out lavish Holidays for the kids but we have always had enough to make it exciting and joyful. We have kept it simple, and I was grateful for that this year for two reasons:
1. I want my kids to be grateful for what they already have. Christmas is not about the gifts. It is about God, the Bible, and the birth of our savior, Jesus.
2. Travis and I couldn't even find wrapping paper this year! I am so grateful that we started our shopping in November and used the modern day convenience of shopping on-line. Thankfully, our deliveries all came in tact and in time. When we did venture out to grab a few last minute items, the stores were completely insane and there was nothing to purchase anyway!
Now I am so glad it's over and we can focus on some upcoming joyous events such as the snow, the days will slowly be getting lighter, the new year is just around the corner, and the hope that the world will see some healing in the coming of 2021.
We did not travel to family this year or have family visit us, but we still enjoyed the day together. Some of the gifts were new fluffy pillows for everyone (not wrapped because we ran out of paper). Megan got an electric guitar to add to her music making collection. Megan and Blake both received new head phones for their computers and gaming. Blake got more memory storage to download games on. Trevor got a cell phone holder for his car, car matts, and several pairs of sweat pants. There were some other small gifts and things as well, but all in all, everyone was very pleased, especially since it started snowing and we got a good foot of snow to enjoy! We ate turkey, potatoes and gravy, green beans, deviled eggs, olives, pickled hams, our own canned pears, and cheese cake for dessert. We all went to bed full and happy. Today I personally am struggling from the effects of over indulgence. Haha!
The dogs and cat all had goodies in their stocking and the horses and goat were allowed some home baked molasses cookies and a few candy cane pieces.
I truly feel we are so blessed. Now I must focus my energy back on my rescue animals because Willow needs some weight gain. I feed her 20 (sometimes more if she will eat it) pounds of alfalfa grass hay mix a day, but due to the wild fires over the summer, there wasn't a whole lot of options when it came to alfalfa in our area.
I supplement with feeding EquiPride, which is a vitamin and minerals powder. I also give Willow Muscle Up (which is a great supplement for seniors), and I add rice bran oil to her diet. She also gets fed hay three times daily verses two. I have tried adding senior feed to her diet, which does put weight on her, but it also makes her amped up! She will be very moody and hard to work with or calm down when fed bagged products with molasses, etc. Not to mention with her metabolic disorder, those feeds can be dangerous anyway due to the sugar and carb contents, if not fed very carefully.
Chewbacca is getting ten pounds of soaked hay daily with his own vitamin powder, as well as his two medications of Insulin Wise and PR ascend.
Honestly and truly, there is not much more I can do for them. I have done it and tried it all, and we have the vet bills to prove it. We shall see what the new year brings for them. As for now they are eating well and are sassy and happy.
I will share more about the animals and farm happenings later. Right now I am going to bake a loaf of cinnamon bread for our lovely neighbor, Bob, who plowed our driveway of snow last night after dinner, on Christmas, and we didn't even ask!
Feel free to follow along with us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
May God be with you all,
Amy Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier, Or. U.S.A.
0 Comments