Wayde's Words

I am writing this blog, about something I love, Horses!  I grew up being around horses, and taking care of them.  All of my spare time was spent with my horses.  I had a very special horse name "Foreo".  I got him when I was 8 years old.  He was a Christmas gift from my Mom and Dad.  We were inseparable, he was a colt when I got him, and we grew up together.   I lived in a small town and we had one small grocery store.  Every body gathered there.  It was a place to relax and the farmers to get together and talk about the weather.  Every body knew every body.  They all knew who's kid you belong to.  Most people knew when I was at the store, because I always rode Foreo everywhere.  The owner of the grocery store was a very good friend of my family, he always watched me stand out side and let the other kids get what they wanted, then they would come out and hold Foreo for me so that I could go in and get what I wanted.  One summer day I rode Foreo to the store and he had put up in front of his store a hitching post for me, so that I could tie Foreo and come in with the other kids.  That meant a lot to me. 

Now that I am older, I still love horses and like to ride.  I have found that in all of the places that I have lived with my husband and family, that there are very few places that you can go to ride or stable your horses.  I live in Evansville, IN now and we do have a great choice of riding stables.  Here is a list of the ones in our area.  

Ancient Oak Farm, 15965 Middle Delaware Rd. Henderson, KY                           270-546-9530

Armon Effinger Stables,  St John Rd,  Chandler, IN                                       812-867-2330 

Cedarwood Farm,  2201 Old State Rd, McCutchenville, IN                             812-867-5368

Hobby Horse Acres, 733 Inderrieden Rd, Chandler, IN                                   812-925-7659     WEB SITE: www.hobbyhorseacres.net

Night Sun Stables, 2601 Night Sun Dr., Evansville, IN                                  812-499-3403

P5 Equestrian, 8720 Hedden Rd., Evansville, IN    812-867-0079  WEB SITE:             www.p5equestrian.com

RiverWind Stables, 5377 Grimm, Newburgh, IN  812-490-4001

Signal Knob Equestrian Center, 5300 Heckel, Evansville, IN  812-867-0933

If you are thinking about moving to the Evansville Area and you are a horse lover like me, call me and let me help you find your new home and talk about our love for horse.      

 Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Christmas Traditions

Family traditions are wonderful to pass down from generation to generation: At my house, my family had one that was very strong, from the oldest to the youngest in my family. We don’t know how it got started, but it was something we all looked forward to at Christmas time.

This is how it went: on Christmas Eve, My brothers, sisters and I would go to bed just like most families, waiting for Santa Claus to come. We could not wait for 3 o’clock to come. That’s right; we got up a 3 o’clock in the morning Christmas Day. We had Aunts and Uncles that would come from all over to enjoy the 3 o’clock wake up.

We never thought about what time Mom and Dad went to bed, but they got up too. Most of the time us kids would all be in the same room, watching the clock. We tried to be as quiet as we could, so Mom and Dad would not know that we were awake. My Older brother would try to keep us entertained and quiet. He always said that was a chore, but I know he loved doing it.

Once it was 3 o’clock, we would all start down the stairs to Mom and Dad’s bedroom; we would slowly open the door and say Merry Christmas. Mom and Dad would just look at us and say, “Is it time?” That would make us all start laughing. Then we all would head for the living room. I grew up in a very old farm house that was 21/2 stories tall. The ceiling in this home was 15 feet high. We always had a real tree and it was at least 10 feet tall or more. I can still remember what a joy it was to walk in and see the tree al lit up and presents all over the place. We had a large family, Mom and Dad, Janet, Sam, Joe, Judy, Lynn, Tracey and me, as well as all of our aunts and uncles.

After all of the presents were given out and opened, Mom would head for the kitchen to start Christmas breakfast. When it was ready, we would all gather into the dinning room and sit around the table and wait for Dad to sit down.

This is one of the most enjoyable moments of Christmas Day to me. Dad would have the Bible in his hand; he would slowly open it up to the story of the first Christmas Morning. He would read us the Story of Christ Birth. After his reading, we would have breakfast and just enjoy our family time together.

We celebrated Christmas every year this way. Even after we all got married and moved away. If at all possible, we would all make it home with our families for Christmas. If one of us could not make it home, the others would call that one a 3 o’clock in the morning, and most likely that one would be sitting by the phone waiting for the call. I know when I could not make it home; I was sitting by the phone. I looked forward to Christmas every year, as I still do.

I miss that tradition very much; there is only, Joe, Lynn, Tracy and Myself left. Dad passed away a year ago in August. This will be the second Christmas with out him and I miss him very much. My Dad was blessed and was 93 years old when he died.

I hope, when you read this that you will think of a tradition of your own, that maybe you have forgotten or that you would like to start for you family.

Merry Christmas