I apologize if this doesn't copy and paste well. But the following is the Christmas letter. I had a little fun with the letter this year and wrote it from the point of view of the ponies. There are times where I wish they could talk, but there are just as many times where I am sure glad they can't tell me what they are thinking. Enjoy!
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the barn, the horses were snuggled and cozy and warm. It was snowing after all and the ponies were kind of a bunch of pansies about the cold, especially those two new ones from Oklahoma. Soft nickers were heard as they settled down to sleep and wait for Christmas morning. Let's listen in..
Mercy, "This weather here in Minnesota is for the birds! Actually not even birds should have to live this horrible cold! I miss Oklahoma." She shook her sassy sorrel head and her forelock flew in her eyes. Cher chuckled at her.
"Oh Mercy, you'll get used to it. My winters in OK were nice, but it's great to be back with my family and sister again here in MN." Cher had recently returned home to join her sister, Cutie. "I know that Melissa, Libby and Sophie were so happy to have us both together again. It's like a dream come true having both of us back in their pasture. Right, Sis?"
Cutie, who was still chowing down her hay as she seldom missed a meal, snorted. "Yep. Love that kid, Sophie. She was a little timid getting back in the saddle this year after a 5 year break, but I was glad to help her out. She's a great kid. And not only does she work hard at riding and training her ponies, she also plays like a million sports. I heard that she's playing volleyball and basketball on the JV as a 9th grader. And she's on a JO volleyball team too. Which makes it hard for us to see much of her, but I'm not complaining about a winter off."
"Winter off! I'm not getting the winter off! Sophie says she's showing me next year so we have a lot of work to do. I admit I don't know much, but I'm trying." Mercy stomped her foot in impatience.
Sully nodded his head in agreement, "Me too. Melissa says it is time for me to begin this training thing too. Which mostly now consists of her trying to scare me with stuff and me looking at her like she's an idiot and not nearly as scary as she thinks she is." All the ponies in the barn chuckled except China, who pinned her ears, snaking her head at Sully.
"You watch it little man. You can learn a lot from Melissa. She's not perfect, and dang does she think that loping thing is completely necessary, but she does know some stuff. If you ever want to be a show pony, you've got to start from the ground up. Look at what we accomplished this year, high point overall judged horse for the MEC circuit. We even won a saddle!" she exclaimed, but then mumbled, "although I wish she didn't feel the need to use it quite so often."
Sully slunk back in the stall and looked ashamed, "Yes, mam. I'll be a good listener. But what about the other girls that showed this year, how did they do?"
Cutie flung her head up and down in joy. "Sophie and I were class winners and almost made it into the top ten, even though we only did half of the shows. I had kind of forgotten a lot of this show stuff, but she really helped me remember. And I know Peach got to move back to OK, but she and Libby were 5th overall judged horse and she and Joker were 7th. Joker didn't even do the first show either. Melissa was pretty proud of all of us ponies."
Sully chimed in sadly, "I miss Joker, he was my buddy. And I know that the family misses Libby too. It's hard with her being away doing college stuff and learning to be a master digital media person (whatever that means). It sucks growing up. But!" he exclaimed in joy - perking up, "I love our new home! It's so beautiful here with all the fruit trees and bushes, the grass, the trees, the grain and hay..." All the ponies nodded and nickered in agreement. "Melissa exclaims how happy they are all here too. They even named it Berry Sweet Acres because of all the fruit that they never share. And I love pears and apples too!"
China shook her head, "I don't know, it sure seems like we aren't getting much of a winter off with this new indoor riding arena that's so convenient. But I guess a girl has to keep her girlish figure up over the long cold months ahead," turning to scratch at her slightly over round bay belly. "But the family has been working really hard making this a nice place for all of us with clearing trees, putting in pasture and fences and Tim built us these amazing stalls so we can be warm and dry during the cruddy weather. Although I heard he got a little help from some of the kids too."
Cutie retorted, "Not me! I'm loving this break. But Melissa said next year that I'm going to be Carter and Tim's new trail pony. I'm hoping they are both too busy working on the family dairy farm, running track and Tim reffing basketball and coaching track so I can extend this vacation a little longer. I kind of like my belly just as round as it is. Although I hope to see some of Taylin this summer. I'm awfully proud of her playing JV volleyball as an 8th grader and her track accomplishments. She's a great kid and a good student too." The ponies nodded as they knew they were lucky to have such a great group of kids to love up on them.
"You know what I don't love?" asked Cher, "Those darn noisy chickens and guineas! They are everywhere and every color of the rainbow. But they seem to bring the family great joy and they sure seem to love to keep the place bug free. Hopefully the family doesn't add any more new animals to take care of. I need all the attention I can get. Chickens and cats and dogs and ponies should be enough! Especially that Jinx, the aussie pup, she's an energetic one for sure." They all nodded their heads in agreement at that one. The pup had been a fun addition to the family and they knew she was much loved by the whole family.
Sully yawned wide and flopped down in the sawdust. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. Time for this guy to get some sleep." The barn was a flurry of ponies settling down to their sides and curling their heads in to rest. China's motherly tone helped them all drift off to sleep as she reminded them of the true meaning of Christmas and told them all the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus on a night much like the chilly one they slumbered through in a stable not so different from theirs. As the ponies drifted off to sleep one by one, they slept knowing that their family loved them, loved each other and loved all the friends and family who shared in the spirit of giving and gathering that Christmas brings each year.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Berry Sweet Acres ~
The Andrings: Tim, Melissa, Libby, Carter, Sophie and Taylin (and the ponies, chickens, dogs, and cats too)
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