Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Christmas Sunday....

This past Sunday was "Christmas Sunday". The bell choir had been practicing since Thanksgiving and today (and Christmas eve) are the times that we are playing. I won't be able to make the Christmas eve service, but I was certainly excited to play in church. I invited my family to come and hear the bells and then after church, to come back to the farm for a Christmas Sunday brunch. My Mom and Dad, "all the kids" and Kelli and Rick attended church. And then other friends came to the house after the service. I think the bell choir did a great job, and my Dad said the same.



After we played a few songs, the children of the church told the Christmas story. They did the little play of the "animals in the manager"... The choir sang the song and the kids played it out. It was simply wonderful!!! And you could tell that the children had a great time dong it... I can't wait for Abbie to be old enough to do things like this!!!!









Back at home, it was brunch time. Abbie got to open a present from Auntie Kas... an ornament for the tree.... another to add to her collection...
















Then Ed began to cook breakfast. We had farm fresh eggs...a great egg casserole that Kelli brought, fresh bacon and sausage from "our" piggie... coffee, sweet rolls and great conversation and company. Nothing is better than a house filled with family and friends, and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I have to say, I am just thrilled at the "layout" of the house... you can "work" in the kitchen and still visit with everyone,it was so much fun.






Course in this house, "guests" always means four footed as well. Mary and Ed joined us and brought Banjo's sisters for a run on the farm. I think the four footed had as much fun and the humans!!!










Folks went down to visit with the horses, and stayed and chatted for a long time. This "is" Christmas to me.















Ginger was happy when Kathleen and Bob arrived and brought brother Leo with them. The puppies got to have a romp out in the pen!!!








In the evening, we found out that a plane was coming in with a group of homeward bound troops. It's what is called a "Pease Greeters". Kas and Nate often attend them and asked if we wanted to join. I have been wanting to go and do some of the greetings for a while, and this was a perfect time to go. So, we packed up Cam and Ginger (well behaved dogs are welcomed) and down we went.











Not only was it great fun, but a wonderful training opportunity for Ginger. Talk about a big crowd with lots going on!!! She handled it all in stride and it was "icing on the cake" when she got special attention from one of the soldiers.











There was huge crowd there to greet the troops. The crowd always varies depending on the time that the planes are coming or going....but there is always someone there to greet the troops. Pease is a "rest" stop for re-fueling and it gives the soldiers a chance to step back onto US soil, call home, and just have a little break before they continue on.





This being an "in coming flight" meant that these men and women will be home for Christmas. Course, we have to be mindful of the folks that will soon be heading out, or will be away for Christmas, but this was a real celebration... and what a great way to end Christmas Sunday...
busy, busy day.... wished it could have lasted longer!!!!

















dressing up the house...

So if Christmas were on a schedule, I can tell you that I am way behind. But I have come to the conclusion that you can't put Christmas on a schedule, at least I can't, because all of a sudden it seems like the pressure arrives. I would have liked to had the tree up much sooner than this, but I guess if it goes up late, it can stay up later. And I think that is what we'll do this year.







Abbie of course, was pretty taken with all this festivity. She kept saying "oh pretty" as we were stringing the lights, but once we open the box of ornaments, she was more than delighted. Course, we had to keep a careful eye on her, some of the ornaments are very fragile, and OLD. I started collecting Christmas ornaments when I was 12, and I have many of them still. There are also ornaments that have been gifts, or bought at different places, or remembrance of people and pets that have gone on....





I am sure anyone of us can say the same about our Christmas ornament collections. And I do replace them out, some are just tucked away and some are sorted out time to time when new ones arrive. We have begun Abbie's collection, and I passed Kassy's onto her when she started having her own tree.





Sadie tried to show Abbie how we "did" this, but we soon found out that Abbie had her own idea of how it was done. No sooner would an ornament be placed and she would move it. We put anything "unbreakable" in Abbie range --- and in Ginger range for that matter-- so a little rearranging isn't any big matter. But we'll have to keep an eye on her for sure.






Some final touches here and there.....









and there you go.... the first tree in our new house!!!!

holiday events....

I've been a bit upset about how "behind" I am this year. I am usually one of those folks that is ready for Christmas sometime around Halloween. But not this year, and I just don't know where the time has gone!. Course the fact that I had been teaching four nights of dog classes, putting in some extra time at the post office, training a new puppy, plus taking care of the farm, boarding dogs....... and the trip to Williamsburg.. I guess I can account for my time after all. One thing though, I am enjoying the holiday season, and I'm not going to stress on what does or doesn't get done.....



Last Thursday evening was our annual Christmas party, pot luck and auction. As always it was a great time... Wayne was our auctioneer.. and here is a prize that I 'won"... I thought this little case would be a great "project holder"....











some of our members enjoying the auction....














Kelli and baby Abbie.....













AND.... if there wasn't enough happening.... in my rush to get to the dog club party, I didn't close Duke's stall door tight, and while we were parting.. so were some horses. Course they weren't thoughtful enough to pick up after themselves and left this nice little mess for me to deal with the next morning... silly boys, (but you can be sure I'll double check the doors from now on....... )




I have also been practicing with the bell choir again this year. We met every Saturday afternoon all December.... I love being in this choir and we are hoping to make this a "more than once a year" event.







Then Saturday evening, one of the firefighters hosted a party for the kids. Course Abbie was invited, and she had a grand time checking out their tree. She also had a great time just being with other little kids... she fits right in with everyone, I'm glad to see that she is not a bit shy...








and look who the surprise visitor was.....











yup.. Mr. C. made a quick trip down from the north pole to check up and make sure everyone is being good... after all, his big ride is later this week!!!



getting the tree....

We finally found a day to go and get our tree.(actually is was just a week ago today) I don't ever remember getting our tree this "late" in the season, but between everything going on, and then this past weekend proved be very rainy and yucky... it just took time. We actually started the day with a trip to the vet with Miss Ginger, she needed her booster shots. She hopped right up on the scale (at 23 pounds!!) and sat as good as gold until I told her to get off.




Dr. Spahn has graciously offered to be her sponsor. This is such a generous offer, because not having to pay for vet services is a big thing for NEADS. Dr. Spahn also took care of Chester, so to be doing this again.. is so appreciated!!!! The staff that works for him is outstanding, and we love going there!!!!! After shots and the exam.. we were off to the Christmas tree farm...



The day was cold, but sunny. We haven't had any snow yet, which is a bummer in a way... but it made it easier for Abbie to walk among the trees. We said we would let her pick the tree out...





Cam and Ginger on the hunt for the "perfect" tree....





Abbie seemed to like this tree... she kept pulling at the branches and saying "pretty".. so we went with this one...






Watching carefully as Grandpa cuts the tree....








and his wish.... "where's my chain saw???"







After watching, Abbie was pretty sure that she could have cut the tree herself!!!!!













pup-pups and me......







"yup, let's get moving and get this tree home!!!"













my wish... "why are we dragging this trees, where are those drafts when you need them??"









course, it just isn't a visit to the Christmas tree farm without getting a little candy cane...









or having a nice sip of cocoa....
think the season has begun (finally) at our house!!!!















training day....

So, it proved to be no rest for the weary.. we got home from Williamsburg on Tuesday... Wednesday I hosted a Christmas get together with the ladies from our church.. and then Thursday, it was on the road again... taking Ginger and Leo back to NEADS for a day of evaluations and training. Ginger rides very well in the car and just laid quietly in the back seat while we cruised along.







We met up with Teena and Freedom, plus Camille was with us because I had to teach dog class in the evening, and then it was Kathleen and Leo.. so three gals and four dogs!!!









Dave went over evaluations in the training room at the campus. Noises are the big thing right now, just getting the puppies used to all sorts of loud and unexpected sounds. Ginger can be a little sound sensitive, so we're working on that at home. Then we took the puppies around some of the equipment in the training room.. things like walkers, wheel chairs, canes and the like. Neither one was too phased about any of those kinds of thing...






After that, it was playtime. One thing about puppies, their attention span is pretty short, so you have to keep the lessons short, sweet and simple. That way they want to learn, because it's fun to do so.








After that, we loaded up again and headed to the little mall where NEADS works alot of their dogs. It's fun because at this mall, no one hardly notices you because the dogs are there all the time. It's kind of nice in a way,because you can really concentrate on your puppy and not have to "bother" with the public. Both Ginger and Leo did quite well at the mall... the slippery floors, lots of people, kids ... were all taken in stride. Ginger was even brave enough to check out the metal floor just in front of the escalator. (they are not allowed to ride on them, but it's good to not be afraid to approach them)




A quick trip to the parking garage provided another experience. A place to potty, and then the noises and the cold. We didn't hang out there too long...one thing about service dogs, they need to be taught to "go" when given the command to do so.. you can't always depend on the fact that there will be that nice patch of grass to do your business on!!!







good puppies... a long and exciting day...







and then time to head north once again. We plan on going to NEADS once a month with these guys, so you will certainly be reading this kind of post in the future..