Wrapping up the Weekend....

Sunday morning woke me with the realization that I set the alarm clock for a.m time while the clock was set for p.m. time....so no alarm went off except my internal alarm. We were trying to attend CrossLife Church in Homewood but there was no way we would make it. So, we got dressed and went to Sumiton Church of God. The girls like it there - we just haven't reached a 100% concensus on it. Keep praying we will find a home! After church, we were going home to get ready to go to Haleyville and do some lesson time with Cathy West. She is who we have bought Hannah and Goldie from and also traded Shorty to her for Sparkle and Sunny. Goldie stepped on Jessie's foot in the pasture so we had to do a quick exam before we could go any further. She had a nice bruise that came up instantly but was walking good. I felt for her because I know it throbs...but I told her it probably won't be the last time. Goldie loaded great with Jessie standing watch with her crop. I think Goldie knows Jessie means business with that crop! ha ha ha Off to Haleyville...we got there right at our desired time of 5:00 and got Jessie saddled up. She and Cathy went to the arena to work on a few things. In the meantime, Shelby and I made several trips to our porta-potty housed in our trailer's dressing room. Thank god for the makers of that thing! We settled in to watch Cathy work with Jessie and Goldie. It was a shining moment for a horse loving Mom. Cathy remarked that Jessie was much further along than she expected and was really "quite an accomplished little rider". She said she was truly impressed. We know we have lost some of the fundamentals along the way but her desire is still there and she was there to show Ms Cathy she could ride AND ride she did. It was hot but they rode so well! We made plans to go back in two weeks. Jessie was beaming and asking me when could we go back. It is an hour and fifteen minute drive...but her instruction and guidance is truly worth it! Next time we may take a horse for all of us!

How The Weekend Began.....

Ok so everything didn't go as planned.... This weekend was interesting having a "little one" in the mix...I had almost forgotten what that was like. James is a great baby but a baby nonetheless! So, you are solely responsible for their care, cleanliness, hunger and entertainment! Jessie and Shelby were a great help caring for their cousin! We had a good night Friday night. At bedtime, both girls bedded down in the living room to sleep near the pack and play and keep watch over baby James. He slept until 3:00'ish a.m. Chad was getting ready to leave for his tournament and came to tell me James was up. I asked him to do a pacifier check and that worked! Yeah, a few more hours sleep. At 6'ish, he was up again so we did bottle and he dozed back off. He was up shortly thereafter and we embarked on our day. After our morning activities were complete, we were all going to take a dip in the pool.....so we headed out. James was out in his float about 15 minutes and got sleepy. So back in we went.....I kept an eye on the girls and got him happy. He went back to sleep which was around 10:00 so I seized the moment to start getting ready for the day. Had the girls come in and they started getting ready also. We left to meet my brother, aka Uncle John, aka James' daddy (boy that sound scary) and we were leaving in a huge rainstorm. We got soaked trying to load everything up. Had forgotten that part of having little ones too! We met him under a bank drive thru which was closed for the day and left to go to WalMart and buy a birthday present for Caitlin's party. In Wal-Mart, Shelby experienced a first - she asked for something and Jessie was asking for something also. Jessie was told yes and Shelby was told no. The difference here is Shelby refuses to help clean up or put toys away. So, Jessie will pull double duty and I will reward Jessie with "allowance". I told Jessie she could use her allowance for this and showed Shelby if she would help out and pick up then she could have also. It was hard for me..as I am not sure Shelby truly understands the concept. But I know she understands she is telling me "NO" when she says she doesn't want to pick up so maybe she understood my "NO" also! Left Wal Mart going to the feed store.....five bags of feed should get us a week...we will see. Then to the b'day party. Horse show was cancelled because of rain....whew we couldn't have made it anyway. Chad and Ryan didn't get a check but had a good showing anyway.

Week in Review 7-17 thru 7-21

This week we.......... Rode the horses down to the Mcinvale's (Goldie and Hannah) and 'played' with the barrels. Chad followed behind us to keep traffic off of us and then we rode back home. We had fun or at least I did. Got our above ground 'swimming hole' put up and last night and chemicals put in. So we should be good to go swim this weekend. Did some stuff around the house - refocusing my attention on the inside now that the outside is settling down some. Bought a few lamps, accessories, etc. Baby James is coming over to spend the night tonight to spend the night. The weekend holds...... Saturday we will play around the house, with horses and pool time.....Jessie has a birthday party to attend and there is a horse show Saturday night. Chad has a tournament tomorrow with Ryan and they are fishing for a $20,000 first place payout. Sunday we are supposed to head up to Cathy West's house with a few horses and do some riding / lesson time with her. Catch you up after the weekend! Have a blessed day and weekend!

Back to "Normal"

Well, as I said in my previous post things quickly returned to 'normal' after returning home. Friday night Chad had a tournament meeting to attend, my parents came out with some things to deliver out here - we were going to ride over to the Mcinvale's to ride in the arena but Jessie said it was 'too hot'. So, we stayed around here and called in some dinner to a local restaurant. Jessie was spending the night with Emily and much to Shelby's dismay. So, Granny offered to take Shelby home with her and meet us the next day so Shelby could go to her friend GiGi's birthday party. Saturday led to Jessie staying with Emily most of the day and they went swimming. Shelby got to swim at the birthday party she attended. So both girls had fun during the day on Saturday. The evening ended with friends and family coming together for a horse show at Colt 45. The stables where we boarded had brought several horses so we had lots of friends there, Nanny and Paw Paw came, Kim brought Jessie - Emily and Reed as well as a former co-worker and her daughter came by. We tried to stay late to watch our friends from the Hitchin' Post show in their classes - so Shelby went to sleep in the car but at 11:00 we called it a night and headed home. I had to go home and use my headlights to feed the horses. Then I got Shelby in the laundry room door and she proceeded to 'pass out' right inside the door with her head halfway up on the dining room floor and her body in the laundry room - now that is tired! I got her up and she went on to bed. We woke Sunday morning - later than we needed to - and were trying to get to Cathedral in Centerpoint to hear guest speaker Randy Ruiz. He delivered a great message, as expected and I was glad we made it! After church I took the girls to our favorite restaurant - Konomi in Trussville and then after we ate we went to Kohl's to shop for some new school clothes. A fun time was had by all as we enjoyed our afternoon out. When we got home, we started working around the house - the usual night time activities and so here we are! PS - my frog is gone!

Back at Home

On Wednesday, I took my California acquaintance to the airport with me. Her flight home was an hour earlier than mine but I didn't mind getting there early....better safe than sorry. It paid off because I was able to get on standby for an earlier flight home and successfully made it on that plane. It only got me home an hour earlier but it was worth it. I was so glad to see Chad and the girls. Houston was not some place I will miss and am glad the course is over. The course, instructor and exam weren't exactly on the same page - so my score is yet to be seen. We immediately resumed normal activities...went and bought feed, went to Pizza Hut, went home and fed my equine babies and started straightening up. Some things never change! But again, it was good to be back home. We will be setting up our little above ground pool for this weekend. Hopefully it will help relieve some of the heat! I know Chad is ready for our 'projects' to die down.

Posting from Houston, TX

Friday night we moved all the horses to our house....they have had a time getting the pecking order down. Goldie has always been the alpha mare and our new mare, Sparkle, is really ruling the roost with Sunny running a close second. Feeding time has been interesting to say the least. Saturday, I took Hannah for a little ride around the neighborhood and into the woods behind the Tanner's house. When I took her out of the woods, I took her up on the ridge behind our house. Goldie and Blackie saw her up there and whinnied to her....they began talking furiously and Goldie and Blackie took out running down our pasture at full speed. I was really worried they would fall! I took Hannah back into the woods and could still hear them calling out to her. On Sunday, I prepared to go on my trip to Houston, TX for work. My flight was leaving around 4:30 from B'ham. We ate lunch at the White House restaurant and left shortly for the airport. Shelby was so sad at the airport and really made me feel bad leaving her. She cried and looked just awful....my heart was breaking! I called the car and she was still crying. When I got to Houston, the car rental agency gave me directions to the wrong hotel - couple that with a few wrong turns I made and it took me two hours to get to my hotel. By the time I got there, I was almost having one of my meltdowns! Conference started today and at lunch today, Chad took the girls to Nanny's so he could fish a tournament tonight. We got out of class today around 4:00....so I went to a little outside mall and found Chad two shirts at Gap and a few things for the girls at Children's Place. Went back to the hotel and met a girl from class for dinner. She is from California and has two kids same age as mine. We went to a little seafood place by our hotel. I took her back to the hotel so I could go find Cavendar's Western Wear. I fulfilled both their requests at the western wear store - it was a really nice store with super nice people in it. Tonight when I called to talk to the girls - Shelby was still upset and really wanting me and her Chaddy. After talking to Chad tonight, I think the plans for tomorrow night are changing and he will have them back at home. Back to class tomorrow and studying tomorrow night!

New Pictures

Running Free

We let the two new babies go in our FINISHED pasture yesterday morning. Well, it was truly a Kodak moment. They were absolutely beautiful going out thru there! Sparkle is going to see someone today that may be interested in buying her. I will get a picture so I will have one for the memory book in case she sells. My frog is still there....I am glad he feels safe on our porch. I feel the same way...it's just a good feeling here! It's a feeling like putting on that favorite pair of jeans or slipping into really good sheets! Lastly, I have developed a strong dislike for little junebugs, red crunchy bugs that fly in to my fountain and hang around our door! Anyone know what will get rid of them besides my little frog? They way outnumber him! I am going to try to get a picture of him so he can be included!

Holiday

We had plans to go to Norman and Irene's for lunch and to swim. Before we could do that, we had to get some hay for the new horses. So, Chad went to the Walker's and bought some hay. Also, before we ever left the house a small 4th of July parade came down our small dead end road. It consisted of several decorated tractors, flatbed trailers, trucks and golf carts. It was the funniest site but we loved it. After enjoying that we were able to head over to the Waid's. We had some great food and homemade ice cream. Then we left to go home and have Ron and Jeannie (Chad's parents) over. They brought over ribs, bbq meat, beans and bread! So we continued to pig out. They brought Jordan over with them (aka baby Jordan) and the girls played for hours. We had to go feed the horses at the Mcinvale's, so Jeannie and the girls rode with me down there. Chad and his Dad stayed at home and worked on the fence and burned some old hay in our small pen so we could move the new horses to our small pen. In the ride to Norman and Irene's, we were debating names for the new black mare. So each of us put a name in the hat for her. Her black coat and faint white spots all played into the name selection. I put in Twinkle since her faint white spots look like stars across a nighttime sky. Chad put in Sparkle for similar reasons as mine. Jessie put in Midnight and Shelby put in Starry. We let Shelby draw and Sparkle was the chosen name. So - Sparkle it is! Steve said this morning he may have Sparkle sold...he is taking it to someone to see either Thursday or Friday. We will see! When we got back to our house from feeding the regular crew, we went out to water Sparkle and Sunny. Sunny is the first to meet you and is sooo sweet. They are both really sweet but Sunny is so calm. He let Chad squirt him with the hose and never flinched. Our other horses are a little less fond of the hosepipe. After finishing up those chores, we settled in the front yard to watch the fireworks going off all around our house. I love our piece of the country, the nighttime sky, horses in my backyard, kids playing in our backyard (and even kids running in and out)....I love my fountain on my front porch and the little green frog who has come to visit for the past three nights. I even love the big frogs that hop around in our yard when we walk around at there at night. I love little country parades and the people that think of doing something like that, I love spending time with those we love and raising our kids in such a wholesome environment, most of all I love the God that gave me all of this and continues to make the sun rise and set each day on our faces! (P.S. I also found out details on the wreck that kept us held up on hwy 78 on Monday night. A lady was going the wrong way up highway 78 and had a head on collision with a man from Dora. She was ejected from her car, hence Lifesaver landed for her.)

Well, we finally finalized things with the trainer in Haleyville last night. We went up to see if she really wanted to keep my first paint, Shorty, for herself or if we were going to bring him home. Apparently she really wanted to keep him - because she traded us two real sweet horses for him. So, I guess I'm a "horse trader" now....ha ha The difficult thing will be to not get attached. They are both really cute. One is a 6yo paint gelding and the other is a black mare 12 yo. I rode both and they ride really good. I will miss Shorty and what he taught me. It was a lesson learned. I hope to see Cathy riding him on barrels in the near future. I told her she better call us so she will have a cheering section to watch her and Shorty run! It took us forever to get home because there was some wreck on 78 Hwy that involved Lifesaver helicopter coming - so we sat for over an hour! Glad to be home - Happy 4th!

No Go to the Horse Show

We were supposed to go Saturday to the horse show in Cullman. Due to my youngest child totally revolting, we never made it. I was in meltdown mode by the time my parents got here as they were coming to go to the show with us. So, we changed directions and got my fountain put together for the front deck. Things seemed to only go downhill! Shortly after getting the fountain put together, all the water was draining out. There was a huge crack in the bottom. This finding only perpetuated the meltdown that had began earlier in the day. At least this time I had a support system here. So, Paw Paw, my dad and mom helped me load it up and we made a trip to Lowe's. While we there, we bought the landscaping blocks to raise it up and flowers / ferns to go around it. It looked really pretty once all put together...even though I do have to go back and buy a few more blocks to complete it. Chad thinks having a fountain on the front deck is crazy but with our swing and wicker out there, the water feature is a nice accessory. It can also be seen from inside my keeping room window and can be heard slightly. So, we didn't make the horse show but we had a productive afternoon in spite of it. By the way, Shelby didn't get to play with anyone or anything at all for the rest of the day due to her behavior!