A Double Christmas Miracle by Marissa

Yesterday morning I was awakened around 8:30 by the sound of scraping. I jumped from my bed to see what was the matter. As I glanced through the front door glass I could hardly believe what appeared before my wondering eyes--Marissa dressed in her snowboarding pants and shoveling the walk and driveway. I dashed for the camera to record this Christmas miracle, calling for Delys to be a second witness to this remarkable event. Upon seeing this miraculous sight for herself, Delys exclaimed profoundly, "It's a double Christmas miracle, actually, Marissa shoveling the snow AND being up before noon on a holiday!"

Ward Christmas Party Miracle

It was the afternoon of the ward Christmas party, and the ward activities chair, Delys Snyder, still didn't have a Santa's helper lined up for the Primary children to visit. She had a great dinner, some music, a nativity, and a slide show of ward activities all ready to go--but no Santa. Delys had done everything she could, but nothing had worked out. It looked like the Salem 12th Ward was destined to party without the big man.

Then suddenly she had some inspiration. She knew that the bishop, being born on Christmas Eve, might have some special connections to Santa Claus, so she asked for his advice on how to get one of Santa's helpers to come to the party. The bishop, ever wise and inspired, counseled her to look toward Payson for help, and, sure enough, she got her Santa, a relative of the bishop. He arrived not a minute too soon and gathered his own posse of Santa's helpers to keep the Primary crowds at bay for the 90 minutes he was there spreading Christmas cheer.

It was a Christmas miracle.

I wanted to visit with Santa myself, but by the time I got finished with cleaning up the cultural hall, he was gone. As I stood there in the Relief Society room about five minutes too late, a half-dozen Primary children ran up to me all breathless, saying, "Bishop, Bishop . . . Santa Claus just left with your wife!" I started to panic a bit, but then they added, " We think she had to take him to the airport."

And that's how the ward Christmas party was saved.

Delys and Marissa Ride J.D.

This fall Delys and Marissa took some time out from their Saturday chores to do some riding.

J.D. needs more of this sort of thing, and so do Delys and Marissa. I had a good trot around the corral myself, trying to teach J.D. to be more supple and responsive.

There's nothing like being horseback on a beautiful fall day.

Revisiting Ben's Last Ride

Matt and Kerry Wickman and their daughters, Hadley and Elena, have enjoyed coming out to the Snyder place for barbeques and horse riding. The girls are especially fond of horses, especially Ben. One Friday afternoon a few falls ago, Matt brought Hadley and Elena over for a ride. It turned out to be Ben's last ride.

I noticed that he wasn't breathing well and took a long time coming in from the pasture when I called him. After the girls rode, I called my friend Jon Hunter, who's our vet, and he came over early the next morning. He examined Ben and told me Ben had pneumonia. Jon gave him an injection, and Ben seemed to perk up a bit that Saturday, but when I checked him before I left for bishopric meeting Sunday morning, I found him lying dead in his stall. He was 27 years old.

There's a Western tradition that everyone gets a horse of a lifetime--one that's better than all of the others. I was fortunate enough to have my very first horse be that horse of a lifetime. If there ever was a horse who filled the measure of his creation, that horse is Ben. It wasn't until I owned and rode other horses that I fully realized how truly remarkable Ben was--and how well he always took care of me. He always made me look to be a better horseman than I was. I still don't understand everything Ben taught me. As J. Frank Dobie once observed in The Mustangs ". . . a man who has had a good horse in his life . . . will remember him as a certitude, like a calm mother, a lovely lake, or a gracious tree, amid all the flickering vanishments."

It was sweet and fitting that Ben's last ride was with children. He gave many children their very first horse ride. I'll always remember Elena (who's pictured in the saddle) cradling Ben's drooping head in her arms as she told him goodbye that evening. They both seemed to sense what kind of parting it would be.

Cowboy Class Cowboy and Horse

Here are two photos of me and J.D. leading a class discussion of horses and tack at the Snyder Spread in idyllic Salem this past September.

Notice the custom-made, award-winning (2nd place at Elko) Mike Keetch saddle I'm riding. My goal is to become worthy of that saddle.

I've taken advantage of the beautiful Indian summer we've had this fall to do some riding with J.D. He's not Ben by any stretch, but he's good with kids and is learning to rein better. He remains stubborn and lazy, but is not at all jumpy like Ricks.

What I Did During My Summer Vacation: Part 2

This is a photo of our youth conference group at Camp Williams where we did rappelling and also divided into teams to go through the LRC (Leadership Reaction Course or something like that).

We stayed at Tracey's palatial estate just minutes away from Camp Williams and dined on gourmet food catered by Tracey herself. Everyone was impressed especially by Tracey's fine art collection. I am particularly fond of the tile work in the shower of the master bedroom. I spent some time there admiring it. I found that hot water coming from two different directions enhances the rich colors of the tile.

Cowboy Class

This semester I taught a senior seminar course entitled "The Great American Cowboy." We went on some exciting field trips, including this one to Western Unlimited where we learned all about cowboy and cowgirl dress, as you can see in the photo. I'm the only one who owns everything I'm wearing, although some of my students walked out of the store with the hat they're wearing. Everyone looks good in a real cowboy/cowgirl hat.

Survey Says . . . Under 24 Hours

It's all over but the celebration, folks. I checked my blog in under 24 hours. I also changed the template. Now if I can only figure out how to add books and music to my gadgets. Stay tuned.

Post Check.

This is Travis posting as an experiment to see how long it takes Buckaroo Phillip to check his own blog. I was helping him load in some music and book selections and thought while here it would be nice to try this out.

Please select a choice from the survey buttons to the right.