As is the case with most everyone, the weeks leading to Christmas have been busy ones. Charles has been hard at work putting together presents for his family. 

The boxes were full of gingerbread that Charles made under his mother’s supervision, and they were very well received. 

Every year, a few days before Christmas, comes Neely’s birthday. She is now 15. What a joy to see her grow, especially in the context of moving beyond some of those trying early to middle teenage years. Teenagers are like a good wine. They only get better with age. Neely is such a blessing.  

Knox returned home with Molly’s parents and spent the previous day making the chocolate cake which turned out quite well. 

Neely has been struggling with her horse. Initially, he seemed promising, but he now regularly tests her. At first, he refused to load into the trailer. She has since been working with him and can now get him in fairly easily. But then, he refused to let her mount him. And now, she can’t even get him to stand so she can tack him. Understandably, she is very frustrated by all of this. She frequently returns to the house in tears. While I see this as a matter of course when working with any animal, Neely doesn’t seem to share my same commitment to such an investment. I think it is the ideal opportunity to forge a powerful relationship with a horse through training everyday. Neely rebuts that she is not experienced enough to train a horse properly. Molly is contemplating hiring a trainer to come to the farm to help Neely as Neely’s hunter/jumper trainer is too busy to give Neely lessons and work on her steed. I have no doubt that we can get this horse in shape (and Neely occasionally admits her resolve to not give up and let this animal get the better of her), but it looks like it will take some time and, maybe, her horse won’t be ready for the start of the season in March. 

Both Charles and Neely expressed interest in participating in the Youth Christmas Pageant at St Stephen’s in Richmond this year. Neely was assigned the job of reader. Her having never read in public, I was curious how she would do. 

She did not disappoint. She read audibly, concisely and flawlessly. I was most impressed. 

Given his younger age, Charles was a cart pusher. He took his job very seriously. During the recessional, younger brother Thomas leaned out from the pew into the aisle to wave to Charles right in his face, then tapped him on the shoulder as he squeezed by trying to elicit a response. Charles very stoically marched by willfully oblivious to his brother’s efforts to disrupt the solemnity of the service. 

The morning of the pageant I discovered our young bull dead on the floor of the South House. My reaction was one of sorrow, disappointment, and anger. We had hopes for that little guy. However, I noticed fairly early how much thinner he appeared than our younger calves. I attributed the difference to his particular breed or, perhaps, he was just not as well cared for by the seller. Yet still, I was thinking he would fill out on our farm with all of the good forage that keeps our bovine fat and happy. Alas, he never thrived. Given what we paid for him, I am truly irritated that, perhaps, we did not get a fair deal. Unfortunately, I doubt there is any recourse in getting a refund or replacement. I can tell you I will not be buying any more animals from that farmer. As the weather was brutally cold that week, I mercifully did not have to dispose of the bull’s remains until we returned home from Richmond that afternoon. 

Christmas Day arrived. Another glorious celebration. The house was decorated. A fire was lit. My parents joined us that morning. We all thoroughly enjoyed sharing in each others’ company, gifts, and the merriment of the holiday. Among my favorite gifts was one from Charles to Elouise. Charles apparently invented characters from one of Elouise’s toys, Calico Critters (little pose-able cats that can be dressed and live in a "dollhouse"), that they play together whenever he must watch after her. Unbeknownst to me, he authored a book based on these characters that his mother helped publish and print through a photo website. It was most remarkable. 

Ever present is Charles’ preferred theme of werewolves. Elouise frequently asks her brothers to read her book to her. Such an imaginative and special gift for a little sister. Charles never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. 

2022 has drawn to a close. As we look towards a new year and all the blessings and joy we will share, we will never forget all that transpired over the past 12 months. How we have grown. The love and goodness we have shared. The sorrow and disappointment we have endured. The lessons we have learned and the experience we have gained. The wisdom we have earned. Here’s hoping that everyone continues to have a blessed Christmas full of joy and wonder. That you all reflect on the beauty of the past year as you ring out 2022. And that you inhale the promise of a bold new year as we step into 2023. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!